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Why New Club Targeted Him:
Birchall worked with Senior Coach Chris Fagan at Hawthorn when he was a General Manager of Football. He said he is excited to see how Fagan operates as a coach. “He has done some really good things at the Lions over the last few years, and they were really good to watch in 2019,” he said. “I’m looking forward to playing under him and hopefully helping the guys go the next step in 2020.”
General Manager of Football David Noble said Birchall’s addition to the team would strengthen the Lions defensive unit. “Grant’s ability to rebound the ball with his run and carry has been an area we’ve wanted to target this trade period,” he said. “We’re really excited with what he can offer our Club on the field as he has a track record of stepping up and playing well in big games “We believe his want to continue to improve his game is reflective of our culture, so he will be a great fit.“
Impact on the new club:
Luke Hodge out, Grant Birchall in, it’s as simple as that in the Brisbane backline. However, the complexity of it is that it may have an impact on the numbers of Daniel Rich and Alex Witherden. Both are elite ball users and bringing in another rebounding defender (who isn’t as defensively-minded as Hodge) could see some scoring and possession volume drop.
Witherdern had a dip in his fantasy footy output in 2019, and with Hodge moving on many (including me) were excited at the possibility of his scores bouncing back. Sadly with Birchall and to a lesser extent, Ah Chee I don’t hold out much hope for that.
Impact on the old club:
Grant played eight games over the past few seasons. However, it was evident that the Hawks loved getting the ball in his hands rebounding outside of defensive fifty. The club attempted to play him at every chance possible, and when he did play this year, it was impacting the scores of James Sicily. During the three games they played together Sicily played more as a lockdown defender and was used less as the distributor off half-back. The departure of Birchall, the injury to Jarmen Impey plus some crucial other position inclusions for the Hawks should see Sicily return to his fantasy footy best.
Fantasy Summary:
Historically Grant Birchall consistently does two things. One, he gets injured a lot. In the past two seasons, he’s managed a total to play a total of eight of a possible forty-four games. A quick google search for ‘Grant Birchall injury’ brings up thousands of results and highlights the multiple injuries, including knee, hamstring and wrist concerns. The comforting thing is it’s not one continuing injury reoccurring. However, the matter is that it is body over the past 24 months has failed him
The other thing he does is score consistently. Between 2011-2016 his lowest SuperCoach average was 84 with a peak of 94, in AFLFantasy his worst-performing season of 80 but at his best, he went 89.
Coming off a season of average in the mid 70’s he should receive a discount after playing just three games for the season. The question of relevance for Grant in 2020 isn’t about the role or even scoring potential. Instead, it is, can his body enable him enough games to score for us?
