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In a move that surprised some, Jeremy Finlayson has departed the Giants and is now a member of the Power. But is he fantasy relevant?
Career High SuperCoach Score: 135 vs Carlton (2019)
Career High SuperCoach Average: 82 (2019)
Career High AFLFantasy Score: 127 vs Gold Coast (2019)
Career High AFLFantasy Average: 70 (2019)
Embed from Getty ImagesImpact on New Club
The pear spent little draft capital in the purchase of Jeremy Finlayson. The benefit of that is if he becomes little more than squad depth as a tall forward who can also play back, then it’s still a win. However, the upside is that if he can fulfil the role currently held by Peter Ladhams as a tall forward who can play some ruck minutes, it adds even further versatility to Port.
At the time of writing, Ladhams is ‘likely’ out the door, but nothing is official yet. It’s no secret that Port want to get games into Sam Hayes, while Charlie Dixon and Mitch Georgiades also picks himself. How Hayes, Finlayson and even Todd Marshall battle it out for the third tall spot will be a fascinating battle in the offseason.
Impact on Old Club
It’s probably too brutal to say ‘none’, but in reality, it’s not too far from it. The key position stocks at either end of the ground for GWS are more than solid. Jesse Hogan has Harry Himmelberg as his prime tall forward support. But they have depth here with Jake Riccardi, and even Zac Sproule showed some signs late.
Sam Taylor is a potential star in the Giants backline, and he’s got great support from Connor Idun, Nick Haynes, and then further depth with Jake Stein and former skipper Phil Davis.
Fantasy Summary
You’ve got to go back to 2019 for the last time that Jeremy Finlayson was anything close to being considered ‘fantasy relevant.’ That year the Giants made the Grand Final, which still had Jeremy Cameron in the forward line and allowed him to kick 37 goals as a third tall forward.
Since then, Finlayson has had the odd scoring pop, but for the most part, had delivered a wide scoring range when he had been able to get AFL games. Based on the media narrative and reports from the club, he’ll be used in a second ruck option in a role similar to that of Peter Ladhams.
He’s not an option in the salary cap formats of the game, and honestly, most draft leagues. However, deeper draft leagues and daily fantasy genres of the game are his likely saving grace, especially if he picks up RUC/FWD status midseason.
