A two-time premiership star gets a look this week as well as an All-Australian defender that has lost his mojo. Plus, a Melbourne forward who could very well be their good luck charm, and maybe yours too.

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BACKS

Dane Rampe – Sydney
% owned – 65%
2021 average – 69.3

Rampe has never been a big player in fantasy circles with his best season average being a 79 in 2019 but the star defender has put together a decent form line since returning from surgery to repair a broken finger. In his two games since returning, he has averaged 20 disposals and 8 marks and has now scored 80+ in his last 3 games.

Nick Haynes – GWS
% owned – 70%
2021 average – 53.5

Haynes has been a great pick for our backlines the last couple of years but is having a stinker so far in 2021. He has not recorded over 20 disposals in a game once yet this season after achieving the feat 4 times in his All-Australian year, 2020 (in shortened quarters) and 8 times in 2019. Before injuring his hamstring in round 6, a role change of sorts had appeared to move Haynes out of his preferred intercepting role and further up the ground. Many owners have jumped off but with Haynes listed as a test for a possible return this week, he is worth a look. Whitfield is now back in the side so we could see Haynes return to his more familiar intercepting position and hopefully recapture that 2019/20 form.

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Centre

Josh Caddy – Richmond
% owned – 35%
2021 average – 79

Selecting Caddy is not as appealing as it once was since the removal of his DPP status and with him now seemingly just being a depth player at the Tigers. However, the recent spate of injuries to the Richmond engine room should put Caddy in the frame for a return. After being dropped to the reserves in round 5, Caddy then missed a bit of footy before returning on the weekend with a commanding 32 disposal and 2 goal effort in a big win against the Giants in the VFL. This could be enough to see Caddy add some experience to the senior midfield group this week against Brisbane.

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Forward

Alex Neal-Bullen – Melbourne
% owned – 40%
2021 average – 69.1

Before this season, Neale-Bullen had only played every available game in a season once in his 6 years at Melbourne and that was in 2018 when the Demons came within a game of a grand final berth. He has played every game so far this season and Melbourne is undefeated and a flag fancy. Coincidence? Probably. But he is still putting together a very handy season playing forward and roaming up the field. His tackling has always been a feature of his game averaging 4 tackles a game across his career and this season has been no exception. He has recorded at least 4 tackles in all but 2 games this year, and with those 2 poor games out of his average, he’s averaging 78.

Rhys Mathieson – Brisbane
% owned – 44%
2021 average – 68

The long-term injury to Lachie Neale in round 6 created an opportunity for Mathieson to establish himself back in the Lions’ side after only making 10 senior appearances across 2019-2020. Since coming into the side in round 7, Mathieson has attended 61% of all centre bounce attendances for Brisbane showing there is a lot of faith in his ability to get the footy. This hasn’t transferred to massive fantasy scores just yet but he has been building slowly and, with his forward/midfield DPP flexibility, is a viable option.