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Will Brodie showed plenty of fantasy footy pedigree as a junior, but at Gold Coast, he’s failed to fulfil his potential. So does a trade to Fremantle change his fortunes?
Career High SuperCoach Score: 120 vs North Melbourne (2019)
Career High SuperCoach Average: 80.2 (2019)
Career High AFLFantasy Score: 142 vs North Melbourne (2019)
Career High AFLFantasy Average: 87.7 (2019)
Impact on New Club
Call me jaded, but I don’t think the club’s primary objective in this trade was securing Will Brodie. Instead, it was securing the first pick on night #2 of the AFL draft with pick 19. History has shown that this pick can easily be turned into multiple selections, including a future first-round pick.
At best, Brodie can create some excellent inside midfield depth for the Dockers. I expect Nat Fyfe, Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw will be the big three in the midfield. If he can crack the Freo side, it might minimise the dependency on Fyfe as a midfielder.
The worst case scenario is he is relegated to the WAFL.
Impact on Old Club
The Gold Coast Suns are relatively stacked for inside midfield units. And even though Will Brodie was a previous top tier draft pick, they were more than happy to see him as a depth option. Touk Miller has become the inside general. David Swallow and Hugh Greenwood are also regulars at centre bounces. The club will be hoping for a clean run of health from Matt Rowell, while his best mate Noah Anderson has shown he also can play on the inside of the contest.
Throw in the MID/FWD role players like Ben Ainsworth, Elijah Hollands and Sam Flanders and all of a sudden, and it’s a deep centre bounce rotation. I list all those names to say this. No, the Gold Coast Suns won’t miss Brodie.
Fantasy Summary
Regardless of the format, every player you select in your fantasy team must have a compelling narrative behind them. So what’s the story or justification of why you’ve chosen this player?
There is a world where Brodie is relevant for us next season. It starts with him retaining MID/FWD status. With forward eligibility, the scoring threshold isn’t as high as a puree midfielder. All of a sudden, an 80’s average like delivered in 2019 becomes a viable option.
However, it’s not forward status alone. Brodie will also need to win a space as the ‘first touch inside midfielder’. The probability of this, I believe, is unlikely, as discussed earlier. But there is a world where it can happen. And if it does, a glance at some 2019 scoring shows potential.
That year he delivered multiple 110+ scores across the formats plus several additional scores over 80. In drafting formats, he’s well worth a late flyer pick, especially as a MID/FWD. However, in salary caps, you’d need to see a blinding preseason to consider him even at a discounted price.
If any salary cap format were worth taking the risk on him, then AFLFantasy would be the only one. There you can quickly ‘abandon ship’ if things turn out poorly and not destroy your season too quickly.
