With the 2023 SuperCoach, AFLFantasy & DreamTeam season officially over, it’s time to review the year in full, one club at a time. Next up for our 2023 Fantasy Footy reviews is the Brisbane Lions.
Embed from Getty ImagesMVP
Armed with the 20th-best average in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 10th in SuperCoach, it’s almost baffling to believe that in some quarters of the community, they view Josh Dunkley’s debut year as a Lion disappointing. That is more due to the high expectation of him entering the season. I created some potentially over-the-top hype, dubbing him the #1 most relevant player in my annual top 50.
From his 21 games, he scored 12 AFLFantasy/DreamTeam tons, including 137, 145 and 172. Nine of these 12 tons were scored between rounds 3-16. For SuperCoach, he scored 17 tons, And between rounds 1-20, he had just one score under triple figures.
Given his high ownership percentage and reliable scoring pre-injury, it’s hard not to award this to any other Lions player. Because if you owned Josh only a little or all of that run, chances are your season never really got going.
Embed from Getty ImagesMoney Man
It could only be Will Ashcroft. There was so much anticipation around him heading into the 2023 season. In part due to the contrast of many draft watchers seeing he was ‘as good, if not better than Nick Daicos.’ Given Nick’s stunning start to his fantasy footy career, the hopes were sky high that Will, too, could develop into a season-long hold. Before his season-ending ACL injury, he was certainly trending that way.
His season in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam netted him an average of 82.8, which consisted of nine scores over 80, three of those over 90, four tons and a career-high 127 against Q Clash rivals Gold Coast. From his eighteen games in SuperCoach, he averaged 84.5. It featured nine scores above 80 and six tons, including scores of 111, 148 & 102 in the three games before injury. You can build a compelling narrative that he improved as the season continued.
From a cash generation perspective, Entering his injury game of round 19, he was at his price peak in AFLFantasy, a massive $430,000 above his starting price. For DreamTeam, it was back in round 11 when he was valued at $744,300, an increase of $448,900. In SuperCoach, he was at his highest price post-injury; after round 19, he was priced at $510,300, an increase of $307,500.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt didn’t quite work out
Daniel Rich has been incredibly relevant over the past four seasons in SuperCoach. Averages of 96.8, 90, 107 & 92.7 heading into 2023 had coaches expecting him to again push towards the top tier of defender. However, a calf injury and loss of form have seen him play just seven games in his final season at the AFL. There wouldn’t have been many that owned him in their classic sides, but for draft coaches, his decline in 2023 has left owners with a sour taste. Sadly, drafting Daniel didn’t quite work out this time around.
Embed from Getty Images2024 Watchlist
The retirement of Daniel Rich has created a vacancy for distribution off half-back for the Brisbane Lions. It’ll be filled by Kiddy Coleman in 2024. For several years, Coleman has shown his high speed, the desire to take the game on and a penetrating left boot. Despite showing some scoring inconsistencies over time, he’s often spent much of that working alongside or in the shadows of Daniel.
Over the last seven games of 2023, he averaged 89.2 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 90.1 in SuperCoach. But it gets better; in the last month of the year, he averaged 94.5 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 95 in SuperCoach. He’ll start 2024 priced at 69 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 71 in SuperCoach. There’s well and truly some value ‘fat’ on the bone for coaches willing to take the plunge of Kiddy.
