Premium Content

Trade Review | Aaron Francis


Career High SuperCoach Score: 118 Vs St Kilda (2021)

Career High AFLFantasy Score: 98 Vs St Kilda (2021)

Career High SuperCoach Average: 80.8 (2018)

Career High AFLFantasy Average: 65 (2018)

Impact on new club

One of the great ‘feels good’ stories of the season was the resurgence of Paddy McCartin as an AFL footballer at Sydney. It’s not the first, nor will it likely be the last time the Swans reinvigorate a player’s football career. I’m sure it’s one of the reasons why Aaron Francis was keen to join the club.

Francis is not a ‘lock down’ key position defender. Rather at his peak, he’s allowed to be the third man up to either mark or spoil a contest. Currently, the Swans have Tom McCartin, Paddy McCCartin and Nick Blakey all over 190cm in the backline. Throw in versatile defender Dane Rampe, and there’s no room for him in the best 22.

It will take some injuries and potentially even some luck sliding his way for him to see some AFL games next year. But, hopefully, for his sake, he can get back to playing at the game’s elite level again. It’d make for another good footy story.

Impact on the old club

Sadly for Aaron Francis and the Bombers, the career path never worked the way they’d hoped. Injuries certainly played a part in capping his development, but there are other reasons the former early draft selection never fulfilled his potential.

In 2022, he managed just four AFL games, and in his seven seasons at the elite level only played over ten games in two of these seasons. As a result, the Bombers spent some draft and development capital on other tall defensive stocks. Players like Jordan Ridley, Brandon Zerk–Thatcher, Jayden Laverde and Jake Kelly have locked away the tall roles in the Essendon lineup. Zach Reid is another that the club are bullish on developing into a long-term dey position defensive prospect.

He was sometimes trialled as a key forward, but it only worked for him sometimes. So even though the Bombers are looking for some support for Peter Wright, the club have got others viewed ahead of him. With all this in mind, the Bombers won’t be impacted by his departure.

Fantasy Summary

Aaron Francis is purely an insurance policy for the Sydney Swans. It’ll take some injuries to their defensive stocks to make him get a chance at the AFL level. As a result, he’s not someone in any format you should be pursuing as an option.

Trade Review | Tom Mitchell


Career High SuperCoach Score: 192 Vs Carlton (2018)

Career High AFLFantasy Score: 195 Vs GWS Giants (2018)

Career High SuperCoach Average: 129 (2018)

Career High AFLFantasy Average: 129.1 (2018)

Impact on new club

During the trade period, the club had four key goals to meet. First, secure a versatile tall defender; this was achieved through Billy Frampton. Bolster the forward line with a small and a tall. The arrival of Dan McStay and Ian Hill ensured those goals were met. The last piece of the trade puzzle was to secure an inside midfielder who excels in winning contested footy. That need has been well and truly addressed with Tom Mithcell.

At his peak, Mitchell is a strong clearance and contested ball winner. In 2021 alone, he ranked inside the top 50 players in the AFL for contested possessions, centre clearances and stoppage clearances.

His arrival will immediately take the clubs dependency off Taylor Adams and Jordan De Goey. Both are the only actively listed Magpies players that averaged over two centre clearances and two stoppage clearances a game. As a result, they become a much deeper and more potent team with Mitchell in the midfield.

However, he isn’t just a one-trick inside midfield pony; he’s got other elite skills. For example, in 2021, he ranked first in the league for uncontested possessions. That’s proof that his ability to create space through workrate is elite.

Impact on the old club

It’s hard not to be fearful for the Hawthorn Football club in 2023. The club has allowed two of their best ball winners and accumulators to walk out the door for effectively not much compensation. With no Tom Mitchell or Jaeger O’Meara, the midfield leadership now clearly lands on Jai Newcombe. Based on the end of 2022, alongside him should be Dylan Moore. The crafty forward showed some midfield chops and was regulalrly attending over 60% of centre bounces in the final eight weeks of the season. The other obvious regular in the midfield will be Josh Ward. He showcased why he was so highly rated as a junior and is showing all the signs of fulfilling his potential

It’s after these three that the questions and unknowns emerge. Can and will James Worpel get back to being an AFL level midfielder? Will the experiment in the midfield of Connor Nash continue? Does the lack of leadership in the midfield core mean that Chad Wingard is permanently deployed there? Or will the Hawks fully invest major minutes into the kids of Connor Macdonald and Finn Maginness? Then of course, there’s whoever they land at the draft this year. The club will be a big preseason watch. Because they might provide some fantasy relevance prospects.

Fantasy Summary

There are two schools of thought regarding the fantasy football impact & relevance of Tom Mitchell at Collingwood. The first is that he’s no longer the fantasy football beast he’d been in his early seasons at Hawthorn.

The concern isn’t due to a scoring dip of approximately 20 points per game from the 2021 to 2022 season. Instead, part of that dip can be accredited to him seeing a substantial slide in centre bounce attendance. Rather it’s more to do with the Collingwood game style and subsequent fantasy football relevance.

Last year the Magpies ranked 14th in the league for disposals and 17th for marks. In AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, they ranked 12th for total team points scored and 13th in SuperCoach. Specifically, from an individual player perspective, just one listed Magpie in Jack Crisp averaged over 90 for the season. While in SuperCoach, it was three, Scott Pendlebury, Nick Daicos and again Jack Crisp.

No current Collingwood player averaged 100 or higher in 2022. That’s not due to a lack of fantasy pedigree but more to do with an AFL system that isn’t fantasy football friendly. It’s similar to what we’ve seen from Richmond for the past five years.

All this data can and does start to create a rather compelling narrative, but the key to remember is that Mitchell was specifically recruited to address the clubs clear deficiency in winning contested possessions. Last season, the Magpies ranked 13th for clearances, 14th for contested possessions, and just two players ranked inside the top 75 for centre clearances in the AFL. So the Pies have seen an issue and believe they’ve addressed it with Mitchell.

From 2017-2021 ‘Titch’ was among the most beloved and selected players across all game forms. In this five year window, he frequently averaged 115+ and, for several seasons, was a permanently fixed captain selection. Not only did he score well in these years, but he featured in the top 25 in the competition for disposals and was a fixture among the best contested ball winners in the game.

Whenever there are two extreme viewpoints among a player’s potential fantasy output, I tend to lean towards the truth being somewhere in the middle. Is he washed and destined to be a 90s guy? I don’t believe so. Is he destined to be back as the 120 monsters? Statistically unlikely. But can he be a consistent performer around 105-110? I believe so.

If that’s the case, he’s a serious preseason consideration, if not a genuine value premium to start the season.

Trade Review | Jack Bowes


Career High SuperCoach Score: 146 Vs West Coast (2021)

Career High AFLFantasy Score: 135 Vs West Coast (2021)

Career High SuperCoach Average: 83.6 (2020)

Career High AFLFantasy Average: 80.5 (2021)

Impact on new club

Did teams really want Jack Bowes? Or was it just posturing to land the real target, pick seven? Geelong was adamant about their interest in Jack outside of any incoming draft selections with him. So now that they’ve secured him, where will he be used?

Of the Cats premiership players, only Joel Selwood is a noticeable ‘out’ heading into the new year. The club will automatically include Max Holmes while also wanting to find space for recruits in Ollie Henry, Tanner Bruhn and Jack himself. Around the fringes of the team, throw in Sam Menegola, Mark O‘Connor and Brandan Parfitt, who are all good enough; it’s a tight team to break into. Don’t forget whoever they land at pick 7, which could well be local midfield junior Jhye Clark.

Jack’s going to have his work cut out for him, but his versatility of being able to play across half-back plus through the midfield should only benefit his case. I don’t see him inside the Cats best 22, but he could well force his way through the season with some strong VFL form.

Impact on the old club

Is saying none too harsh? It probably is, but the reality is that Jack Bowes had fallen significantly out of favour at the club. As a result, the club’ salary dumped’ him and also gave up access to the seventh pick in the upcoming AFL draft. Never before has a pick this high been used to ‘sweeten’ a player trade.

Gold Coast lose some depth across the midfield and half-back lines, but they’ll be confident that Alex Davies, Brayden Fiorini and James Tsitas can cover it. The return from an ACL injury for Lahie Weller should also help.

Fantasy Summary It’s all about his role. Because with the right opportunities, Jack Bowes might be worth keeping more than an eye on for the upcoming season. His 2021 fantasy season is proof of his potential. He averaged 80 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 83 in SuperCoach. At first glance, those numbers are solid, but his early-season form is worth noting.

In the opening eight games of the year, he averaged 101 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, which featured scores of 113, 124 & 135. While in SuperCoach, he averaged 104 and had four scores over 110, including a 146 but just one score under 90 during that eight game stretch. This is the career ceiling, but it does showcase the potential fantasy pedigree when all the elements land correctly for him.

As we discussed earlier, just where and how the Cats opt to use Bowes is ultimately the key to his fantasy relevance. He’ll have DEF status, so he’ll get drafted in a single-season and keeper league. Just his pure potential of him is enough to ensure that. But in salary cap formats, so much will depend on his preseason. He has a potential upside of around 25 points per game, and that’s before any injury-impacted discounts hit his price point.

If all the variables land his way, his certainly a prospect, but there’s a significant number of them to overcome. At the very least, keep him on your preseason watchlist.

Trade Review | Luke Jackson


Career High SuperCoach Score: 141 Vs Gold Coast (2021)

Career High AFLFantasy Score: 125 Vs Brisbane (2022)

Career High SuperCoach Average: 84.5 (2022)

Career High AFLFantasy Average: 71.3 (2022)

Impact on new club

How does Fremantle plan to use Luke Jackson? It’s one of the big questions coming out of the trade period. One of his strengths is his unbelievable athletic ability. The club pitched hard for the use of his versatility to play in a variety of positions, not just limited to a key position forward or ruck.

There was some speculation that the Dockers could use him similarly to Mark Blicavs at Geelong. However, while he has the skillset, the core difference between the two teams is that the key position stocks at both ends are secured at Geelong, while up forward, that’s not the case for the Dockers.

When you look at the Dockers forward stocks, it’s quite thin in the ‘tall’ department. Fremantle allowed Rory Lobb to depart, in part only once they had secured Jackson. At the same time, Griffin Logue has also moved to North. I’m a big fan of Jye Amiss, but at 19, he’ll take time to develop. So plenty of responsibility will need to land on Matt Taberner to stay healthy. Otherwise, any plans for the Dockers to use Jackson beyond the RUC/FWD role will be damaged.

Impact on the old club

There are short-term and long-term impacts with Luke Jackson moving to the Fremantle Football Club. However, you could build a case that the Demons are in a stronger place in the short term due to losing him. That’s due to the arrival of one of the modern-day great rucks in Brodie Grundy. Without throwing any shade on Jackson, the arrival of Brodie is an immediate improvement on their secondary ruck stocks.

How this combination of Grundy and Gawn working inside the same 22 will continue to see plenty of conjecture in the offseason. Still, the Demons can feel that, at least immediately, they’ll be in a stronger position without Jackson due to the arrival of Brodie.

Melbourne will need to adjust their list strategy in the medium-long term plans. The club made it no secret that Jackson was the protegee to Max Gawn. The intent was that Luke would just be starting to hit his when Gawn’s peak was gone. It’s now back to the drawing board for the club. They’ve been well compensated with draft picks, and given the club’s recent draft hits, fans should be confident that they’ll be OK long-term. However, it’s now ‘hope’ in a system/process rather than any specific player.

Fantasy Summary

Given the changes we’ve seen this off-season, I cannot see how anyone can enter 2023 with confidence that a ‘set & forget’ strategy is the right approach. Let me break that statement down. I believe you can only pursue that strategy if only the top two premiums in that line are clear and supreme. By clear, I mean little to no disagreement about who the best options are. By supreme, there is a significant scoring gap between the top two and the rest of the pack. If there isn’t a clear and supreme pair, I find it very hard to advocate for ‘set and forget.’

The arrival of Luke Jackson to Fremantle shouldn’t impact his scoring trend. At Melbourne, he was the secondary ruck, and with Sean Darcy on the Dockers side, I don’t see him moving out of the lead ruck role.

Jackson’s scoring is moving upwards of ten points per game over the past few years. He’ll be priced at 71 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, and 84 in SuperCoach, and will retain his RUC/FWD DPP. Unless he moves into the ruck as his lead role, I can’t see his scoring ceiling moving much deeper than a further 10 points per game on his current output.

The only way I see Jackson being of serious relevance in salary cap formats is if one of these two things eventuates. For example, a medium-long-term injury to Sean Darcy forces Luke Jackson to move into the #1 ruck spot. Or the forward division is so skinny of options we are forced into picking players at his range.

Trade Review | Zaine Cordy


Career High SuperCoach Score: 111 Vs Port Adelaide (2021)

Career High AFLFantasy Score: 100 Vs Melbourne (2017)

Career High SuperCoach Average: 64.4 (2017)

Career High AFLFantasy Average: 55.8 (2017)

Impact on new club

The Saints have the key position defensive positions locked up inside the best 22, so barring an injury to Dougal Howard or Callum Wilkie, he’s destined to be depth.

Impact on the old club

The Western Bulldogs had already started to move past Cordy and in the process of relegating him to being depth. It would have been even further enhanced had he stayed with Liam Jones arriving at the club as a free agent

Fantasy Summary

Lockdown key position players are almost exclusively irrelevant to fantasy football, and Zaine Cordy’s move to St Kilda is no exception. Over his career, he’s never averaged more than 56 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam or 65 in SuperCoach. Given he’s also destined for depth, he’s not someone for you to consider in any fantasy game format.

Trade Review | Jacob Hopper


Career High SuperCoach Score: 137 Vs Richmond (2021)

Career High AFLFantasy Score: 133 Vs Gold Coast (2021)

Career High SuperCoach Average: 96.9 (2021)

Career High AFLFantasy Average: 93.5 (2019)

Impact on new club

The Richmond footy club aren’t going away just yet. That’s the largest takeaway from what the Tigers have done this off-season. After hitting the draft heavy last year with five selections inside the top 30, the club have traded away from the next two drafts to secure Jacob Hopper and Tim Taranto. These two boys immediately add some proven talent experience to the Tigers midfield.

With Hopper, Richmond immediately has a player capable of addressing the club’s increasing midfield concerns. He’s a genuine clearance beast who’s tough and clean with his hands at the contest. In addition, his arrival immediately gives some much needed support to the aging Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin and the seemingly always injured Dion Prestia.

His arrival will mean a few things systematically for the club. Firstly, Jayden Short should move back to defence. The need to use him to cover for midfield depth is gone; he can go back to roaming off half-back. Second, it looks to be another year or two away from the next generation getting a real crack at the midfield.

What will be interesting is to see the evolution of the midfield this year. Taranto & Hopper should slide nicely into the side, structure and style. However, it’s the first time they’ve made such significant changes to one portion of the ground in a few seasons. I believe it should be only for the betterment of the team, but nothing is ever certain in footy.

Impact on the old club

GWS didn’t want to lose Jacob Hopper. At his best, he’s a dominant ‘first touch’ insider midfielder who can break open the contested moments in a game. But, as good as he is, losing him (along with Taranto) could be the biggest blessing for the club. This isn’t just because it releases them from significant salary cap pressure and simplifies match committee meetings.

One of the great criticisms of the Giants over the past few seasons is that they are ‘too heavy’ for midfielders. Stephen Coniglio, Josh Kelly, Callan Ward and Tom Green are just midfielders. However, the departure of Hopper now means these four can run heavy rotations through the centre bounce. Throw in Harry Perryman, Lachie Ash, and Finn Callaghan for some variety and all of a sudden, that midfield looks much more compact and allows players to play to their strengths.

With a raft of multiple early selections in the upcoming draft, I expect to see them start to try and genuinely grow the next tier of developing midfielders. Losing the midfield pair in Taranto & Hopper isn’t a disaster. If anything, it could be the forced ‘reset’ this club needs.

Fantasy Summary

There’s a world where Jacob Hopper becomes one of the most fantasy football relevant players to move clubs this off-season. Before last season his last three years of SuperCoach seasonal averages were 95.7, 90.9 & 96.9. He’s not been as formidable in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam over that timeframe, but he is still more than handy, averaging 93.5, 88.8 & an adjusted average of 88 in the shortened quarters of 2020.

We can’t always assume that he will do it here because he did it there. That approach of making scoring assumptions has undone even the most experienced of fantasy coaches. However, at Richmond, he won’t have a significant change in role. If anything, he’ll have positional stability and not have moments in games where he’s played out of position to get others into the midfield mix.

Hopper’s coming off a season where he managed just seven games, so across the formats; he will see a discount on his season. His season consisted of an average of 66 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 57.4 in SuperCoach.

Just note, in AFLFantasy, they award the discount to the season with the highest average of the past two seasons. So while DreamTeam will add the discount on his 66, the gang at AFLFantasy will place it on his 88.8. So please don’t panic, SuperCoach players. He will receive the discount on his 57.4 season this year.

It’s in the format of SC I’m the most excited about his output and possible value upside. Even without a discount added, he’s already verging on 40 points per game of proven upside. Throw in the discount, and he could be priced at around $330,000. If that’s the case, he’s a genuine selection to roll into the upcoming season with. Just temper expectations. He’s never averaged over 100; I cannot see that happening at Richmond. But what he does look likely to be is a very handy stepping stone.

There’s a growing narrative that Hopper is a continual injury risk. And while he missed most of this season, the previous two years have been relatively injury-free. He played every game in 2020 and missed just one match in 2021. So going much beyond that is an irrelevant venture. Last year was bad, but it’s hardly a continual regular narrative.

In drafts, he’ll provide some value given where his average will place him. However, the salary cap hype will determine whether people reach the first dozen rounds for him or not.

Trade Review | Billy Frampton


Career High SuperCoach Score: 124 Vs Western Bulldogs (2022)

Career High AFLFantasy Score: 98 Vs Western Bulldogs (2022)

Career High SuperCoach Average: 82.3 (2022)

Career High AFLFantasy Average: 69.5 (2022)

Impact on new club

I think two scenarios are at play here. And while both have merit, I believe one is more likely than the other.

Scenario one, Billy Frampton, has been acquired as a direct replacement for the retiring Jordan Roughead. In this scenario, he becomes the versatile key tall who can play the lockdown tall role and allow the likes of Jeremy Howe, Darcy Moore and even Nathan Murphy to become the interceptors.

Scenario Two. Frampton has been targeted to the Pies because he offers something that many 201 cm players cannot offer. That is the ”all ground versatility.” He provides squad depth in the key defensive, forward, and ruck posts.

I’m of the firm belief that scenario one is a more likely one. With Murphy, Moore and Howe down back, the Pies have all the defensive height covered, with Jeremy coming in the smallest at 190cm.

With Billy on the squad, he becomes instantly the ”first man up” should an injury or suspension come across any line. I think he’s looked his most comfortable as a defender, but to have the level of versatility he offers would certainly be the most appealing part of his addition to the Magpies squad.

Impact on the old club

In 2022 Billy Frampton played six games for the Crows as a key position/intercepting defender. He spent the remainder of the season in the SANFL. The departure of Billy to the Magpies largely won’t hurt the club’s ‘best 22’ given that Jordan Butts, Nick Murray & Tom Doedee are holding the talls stocks.

What his absence means is a slightly weakened depth for the Crows. His ability to play as a tall across the forward, ruck and backlines makes Billy a valuable commodity over the years. Up front, the Crows forward depth is stacked with Elliot Himmelberg & Lachie Gollant waiting in the wings.

The club might hurt a little because they have a relatively thin depth in the rucks beyond Kieran Strachan. While down back, further pressure lands on the untried James Borlase and Fisher McAsey. So don’t be surprised to see the Crows use at least one of their two draft selections on a tall prospect.

Fantasy Summary

If you play across all fantasy football formats, you’d be familiar with the notion that certain players can perform better or worse depending on several factors. Billy Frampton’s case is more relevant in SuperCoach than either of AFLFantasy/DreamTeam.

The fact that he averaged 82.3 in SC as opposed to 69.5 in AF/DT is a clear indicator of that. The primary reason is that his weapon, intercept marking, is points weighted more favourably in SuperCoach.

Billy has moved to Collingwood on the expectation that he’s more likely to see regular AFL time as a Magpie rather than as an Adelaide Crow. I don’t believe he’s a ‘lock’ inside the best 22, but he should be pressing for regular game time.

For that reason, I’d feel comfortable if you play a drafting format that uses SuperCoach or another customised scoring; he could be a genuine late option. His round six score of 124 last season is a testament to his ability to perform. If it were a sensationally deep pool, I’d only consider him in the other formats for a draft version of the game. Otherwise, I’d wait and see if he’s worth grabbing off the player pool early.

Trade Review | Izak Rankine


Career High SuperCoach Score: 69.1 (2020)

Career High AFLFantasy Score: 59.1 (2022)

Career High SuperCoach Average: 130 Vs North Melbourne (2020)

Career High AFLFantasy Average: 105 Vs West Coast (2022)

Impact on new club

The Crows have traded away a first-round selection for two consecutive seasons. Last year it was Melbourne’s future 1st for Jordan Dawson; this year, it’s pick five for Izak Rankine. The addition of Rankine to the Crows has been downplayed in some portions of the media. But don’t be mistaken; his addition to the Crows is substantial.

As a junior, Izak was rated as one of the most high-impact players ever. He can create space in high traffic situations, impact the scoreboard and use the ball efficiently. Draft guru Cal Twomey described him as the ‘most dominant player in the Under 18 Championships’. That same championship included Sam Walsh, Connor Rozee and Bailey Smith.

At Adelaide, Rankine now joins a forward like that for the next ten years and looks like a handful for opposition defenders. Darcy Fogarty and Riley Thilthope have shown more than just glimpses; they’ll be excellent key forward targets. At the same time, Josh Rachelle didn’t even need one full AFL game to make the league notice that he’s a star.

It’s only been in the final few months of the 2022 season that at the Suns, the “glimpses” of brilliance from Rankine had become normative and consistent for weeks. He became one of the league’s most dynamic and damaging small forwards.

However, it’s not just the forward line that both Rankine and the Crows believe he’ll stay. Izak’s spoken plenty of his desire to move into the midfield. For the Crows, that’s exactly what they need too. They desperately lack some polish and X-Factor in the midfield, and with Rankine rolling through, that issue is immediately addressed.

I expect to see over the coming years an increasing trend of more centre bounce midfield minutes as he builds up his fitness at the Crows.

Impact on the old club

The departure of Izak Rankine will hurt. Despite the club tossing pick seven and Jack Bowes out during the trade period, losing Rankine wasn’t something the club wanted. Not many players in the league possess the raw talent that Izak possesses.

While the Suns might not be able to replace him with another identical piece, they certainly can recreate and recalibrate options within the Suns forward structure. Long-term Ben Ainsworth, Sam Flanders and Elijah Hollands will provide a damaging medium-small trio inside the forward 50. They support the strong marking work of Ben King and the versatility of Mabior Chol. The departure of Rankine immediately opens up opportunities for Darcy Macpherson, Malcolm Rosas and even Alex Sexton to become regular features. The preseason performances of this trio will largely determine who gets the ‘first crack’ at the job.

Fantasy Summary

I found placing the fantasy relevance of Izak Rankine a fascinating challenge. I’llI’ll explain why. On the surface, his scoring averages don’t exactly excite you. The high 50s in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and mid-60s in SuperCoach aren’t something you should consider. However, there are some significant upside trends that even at a new club might be someone to at least monitor for the offseason.

Over an eight-game stretch between rounds 8-16 last year, he posted three SuperCoach tons, the lowest score of 88 and an average of 96.5. While in AFLFantasy, during that same stretch of games, he averaged 72. It’s evident that his skill set and ability to impact a game and it’s outcome is that Rankine is a supreme SuperCoach performer in contrast to other formats.

Alongside this, his average score in victories was up 14.2 points per game in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 17.8 points in SuperCoach. These elements combine to bring me to a conclusion to believe that there’s some significant upside to Rankine. Especially in SuperCoach. Arguably, there’s a proven upside of up to 30 points based on that mid-season stretch of scores.

The unknown element in forecasting his fantasy football prospects in 2023 is all centred around his positional role at the Crows. Just how many midfield minutes will he see in 2023? Will it be a small split? Or closer to a 50/50?

In AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, unless something significant becomes evident in the pre-season around his midfield role, I don’t feel confident that the minimum of 20 points per game of upside is required to select him. However, I’d not be opposed to a late round selection in drafting versions of these scoring formats.

For SuperCoach players, his relevance in all game versions correlates directly to the players available in our forwards. We’ll lose plenty of the top-end options from last year, and if they aren’t replenished, then his relevance of him, especially in drafts, could significantly jump.

Trade Review | Jack Gunston

Career High SuperCoach Score: 165 Vs Carlton (2015)

Career High AFLFantasy Score: 161 Vs Carlton (2015)

Career High SuperCoach Average: 95.5 (2015)

Career High AFLFantasy Average: 92.2 (2015)

Impact on new club

Any potential felt pain the club might have had with the departure of Dan McStay to Collingwood was immediately gone with the arrival of Jack Gunston. ‘Gunners’ is a sniper, and while a different style of tall forward to McStay, he is a significant improvement.

I’ve long viewed Gunston as a ‘gravy’ player. And that’s by no means a negative thing. On the contrary, it’s a good thing. In the premiership dynasty of the Hawks, they had a forward line with names like Roughead, Franklin, Breust & Rioli. What Jack did in this era was become the forward that killed you if the opposition defenders were strong enough to negate some of the others.

At Brisbane, I can foresee a similar role and dynamic level to how and where he played at Hawthorn. Of course, Jack isn’t the daunting key position threat of Eric Hipwood or Joe Daniher, nor is he the dynamic X-Factor forward of Charlie Cameron and Zac Bailey. But what he does is create a constant forward presence and threat.

A genuine case could now be made that he’s the Lions fourth or even fifth most damaging forward prospect, and as a result, there will be games he tears opposition backlines apart.

Impact on the old club

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘sometimes you have to go back to go forwards?’ I think this will be the case for Hawthorn with the departure of Jack Gunston. Last year Gunston was one of only four Hawks to kick 20+ goals. His departure immediately impacts Mitchell Lewis, Chad Wingard, Jacob Koschitzke, Luke Breust and Dylan Moore, the likely only avenues to goal.

I believe his departure will mean that Hawthorn will not progress higher on the ladder; I have them now safely inside the bottom four. That’s because, with Gunston’s departure and some others, I don’t see them being as competitive as they continue striving to get more developmental talent. This won’t necessarily be a bad thing. For a rebuilding club, the two key things they need to invest in are securing high end talent through the draft and exposing young talent to the AFL system.

The departure of Gunston should mean the Hawks can get more games into kids and not leave quality players like Jack squandering in the VFL. While not direct like-for-like replacements, I expect to see more games into Jai Serong and Sam Butler. Additionally, I expect the hawks to be looking into drafting a marking forward with pick six in the draft, potentially Aaron Cadman or Harry Sheezel. If both are gone, they might look to use pick 24 on Isaac Keeler or Brayden George.

Fantasy Summary

When the Hawthorn football club was at the heights of it’s premiership dynasty Jack Gunston was a genuine fantasy football prospect. Between 2014-2018 he averaged between 83-93 in AFLFantasy and 86-96 in SuperCoach.

If he could reach these scoring averages, it might not place him in the top tier of premium forwards, but it would get him in the ballpark. In AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, he’ll be priced at an average of 60 and 65 in SuperCoach. So arguably, there are potentially 20 points per game of upside if you believe he can wind the clock back and match some of these scoring ranges.

While I believe it’s in the realms of possibility, given that it’s a new team, new system, and considerably older, he’s more likely to be in the mid-high 70s range. That might not make him relevant in salary cap formats, but he could be a strong late pick with an upside for drafts.

Trade Review | Darcy Tucker


Career High SuperCoach Score: 119 Vs North Melbourne (2019)

Career High AFLFantasy Score: 111 Vs Gold Coast (2021)

Career High SuperCoach Average: 73.2 (2019)

Career High AFLFantasy Average: 72.4 (2019)

Impact on new club

You can look at the recruitment of Darcy Tucker in multiple ways. One is the slightly more optimistic approach. By adding Tucker to the list, they get themselves a proven midfielder who, at 25 years of age, adds some immediate experience to a very young midfielder core. Beyond Ben Cunnington, the likes of Simpkin, Phillips, Powell & Davies-Uniacke are all under 25.

More pessimistically, you can see Tucker as a player that, while helpful for now, will slow down the development opportunities of more young talent that might have greater long-term upside.

I’m closer to being a pessimist in this scenario. For Tucker to even consider a trade out of Fremantle, it must have been on the promise that the midfield/wing spot is ‘his to lose.’ I don’t mind Darcy as a depth option, but I don’t believe North would ideally want him in their best lineup.

Impact on the old club

Over the past few years, Darcy Tucker has faded into being a depth option on the Fremantle list. So they were happy to let him slide into North Melbourne as part of the Griffin Logue trade.

The Dockers still have yet to hand a debut to Matthew Johnson, while they’ll want to keep getting more game time into Nathan O’Driscoll.

So while his departure might thin out some experience from within their depth, it would significantly impact the Dockers finals aspirations.

Fantasy Summary

A combination of injuries and other talent going past him meant he’s played just 38 games over the past three seasons. In 2022, he played 14 games but was used as a medical substitute in three of those.

He didn’t deliver any scores worth highlighting this year, but in round 13 against the Suns in 2021, he scored 111 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 95 in SuperCoach. So, while good scores are rare for him, they are, at the very least, a possibility.

Last year, Tucker was listed as a DEF/MID and will likely enter the year with similar positional status. If that holds for this DPP AND he receives a discount on his average in the low 40s, we could see Darcy priced marginally above the cash cow range in SuperCoach & DreamTeam.

His relevance will largely be determined by more than just these factors of position and price. But also on the scarcity of viable options with job security in his line and whether or not we have comparable value with greater upside in another line.

Based on these elements, Darcy will become either a valuable commodity to keep an eye on or he’ll become an option not worth considering.