Before rounds 6, 12 and 18, the gang at Champion Data add some new DPP into the game. After round 5 concludes on Monday, the first list of names and positions will be released. Historically, players need a minimum of 35% to be considered for a new allocation in a new position. So, we have in-season DPP additions for the first time in SuperCoach & DreamTeam history. For AFLFantasy coaches, you are an old hand at these. So let’s see which players are locks, close or no chance of getting DPP.

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ADD DEFENDER

Luke McDonald

In the preseason, a popular (and sometimes inaccurate) data narrative is when people remove a game’s score to tell a greater story of what they score. If you did that for Luke McDonald and his 2022 season while removing the round three, 100 points grubbing game from his average, he’d be averaging 109.6 in SuperCoach and 92.6 in AFLFantasy.

The Kangaroos have redeployed him into the backline, where he had his breakout fantasy scoring of 2020. The addition of DEF status is a formality and one of Champion Data’s easiest decisions. The bigger question facing fantasy coaches is where do you rank him amongst the topline defenders? Your answer will determine how quickly or if you prioritise him as a trade target. L-Mac still presents significant value based on his current price vs scoring output.

Brandon Ellis

For years, Brandon Ellis has been a fantasy-relevant player at both Richmond and Gold Coast. He’s also shown he can score well whether he’s on the wing or back to his current role, which is more a rebounder off half-back. Sadly as much as the DPP of DEF/MID should hit, the Sun’s game style isn’t fantasy footy friendly.  

Dayne Zorko

This could be one of the most relevant DPP additions of the entire season. Dayne Zorko has shown his ability to put up 100s and with some serious frequency consistently for multiple years. Coming back from surgery, we’ve seen some of the worst scores and best scores of Zorko. In rounds two and three, he scored 145 & 106 in AFLFanasy and 116 & 105 in SuperCoach. So he’s still got the capacity to go big. The play will be to grab him in a few weeks. By then, last weekends poor score roles out of his price cycle, and he should be nearing full health. Dayne, you are officially on the list!

Angus Brayshaw

The moment Christian Salem went down with an early injury in round one, the Demons deployed Angus Brayshaw as the primary ball mover across halfback. It’s important to note he was already playing in the backline in that game as the Demons had several regular defenders missing. In this role, he’s getting plenty of uncontested marks and possessions. So it’s no surprise that the fantasy points are flowing for him in this role; he’s got history (all be it distant now) of being a genuine proven performer. His DPP addition should be a formality and will add a massive boost to coaches that own him already in drafts.

Jordan Clark

Another good addition for coaches. As a midfielder, only Jordan Clark is only just rosterable for most leagues. However, as a defender, he becomes a genuine on-field option or an emergency in deeper leagues.  

Scott Pendlebury

Two weeks ago the incoming DEF status was a near formality, now I’m not 100% convinced we’ll get him. In the opening two rounds, Scott Pendlebury attended under 40% of centre bounces, but in the previous two games, he’s been at 50% & 43%.

Nick Daicos

Like his skipper, Nick Daicos was a certainty a few weeks ago, but he’s been seen more frequently in the front half of the field over the past two weeks. One of the key DPP criteria Champion Data uses is players’ starting position at the centre bounce. For that reason, I’m optimistic that he should still have done enough over the totality of the year so far to pick it up. He’s often starting at half-back and then pushing up the ground. 

His addition to our backlines couldn’t come fast enough. With low scoring back cows in Sam DeKoning, Mitch Hinge, Paddy McCartin and Sam Skinner all dominating our D6-8, it could be the perfect on-field scoring boost we need.

Josh Battle

Another one for draft coaches to get excited by. While Josh Battle’s relevance is as an FWD listed player, gaining DEF status will add some serious flexibility within your squad. As injuries, suspensions, plus health & safety protocols hit, having the ability to flip players around and not drop quality into the player pool is critical. So having Battle as a DEF/FWD should be a very helpful gain. 

Josh Kennedy

Currently, Josh Kennedy is being eased into and through the season across the Swan’s defensive unit. His average right now makes him irrelevant, even in drafts. BUT, all it takes is a few injuries to the Swans and his relevancy skyrockets. That’s not wishing injuries on anyone but highlighting how quickly a player’s value can change in this game. 

David Swallow

The potential gain of DPP for David Swallow will have more name value than the scoring value in 2022. The former #1 draft pick is currently scoring well below the scores of his past few seasons. The primary factor is the midfielder is spending little to no time through this line. Rather he’s often playing deep inside the defensive 50. If the Suns shake his role up, he could become relevant in drafts. However, in classic, I don’t see him being a viable topline scorer even if he gets his old midfield role back.

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ADD MIDFIELD

Isaac Heeney

The Swans star continues to showcase why he’s one of the best fantasy buys of the year. While Isaac Heeney is still spending a ton of time inside forward 50, he’s getting plenty of time up the ground. At first glance, it might not seem relevant, but as the season goes on, squad versatility is everything and can even be a season winning factor. It’s not an exciting ‘gain’ by name, but my functionality it’s huge!

Zak Butters

Cntrl C & Cntrl V! The exact same sentiment for Zak Butters as it is for Heeney.

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Jack Sinclair

I could almost make it a trio of similar comments, but I won’t. Jack Sinclair is proving to be one of the biggest surprise packets of the fantasy football year. The dashing defender has brought his skills and speed higher up the ground, and as a result, he’s reaping the fantasy scoring rewards. An average of 103 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 116.3 is miles above anyone’s imagination. If he keeps up this scoring trend, he’ll be someone we have to have as a top tier defender. The probable DPP DEF/MID gain is just gravy to what has already been a stunning start to the season.

Nick Martin

In 2022 we’ve been blessed with so many good cash cows. Nick Martin is just one of a handful of players making significant coin for owners. What makes his likely incoming DPP so helpful is it can help activate some other trade moves and squad flexibility. Don’t just look at the CBA data for projecting DPPs; that’s not the whole story. Especially in the case of Martin. His midfield time isn’t at centre bounces but rather on the wing.

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ADD RUCK

Tristan Xerri

An absolute lock for DPP addition. Tristan Xerri is the clear leader of the ruck division attending between 50% – 70% of centre bounces over the past four weeks. This DPP gain will add hugely relevant flexibility to the link between the RUC/FWD division, especially for those who own Jack Hayes, Hugh Dixon or both.

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ADD FORWARD

Rowan Marshall

This will be touch and go DPP gain for Rowan Marshall. In round one, he was playing primarily as a ruck. But over the past three weeks, he’s increasingly played a role more inside forward 50. So it might all come down to a role this weekend. Where and how he plays might tip his percentage of role either over or under the cut off line.

Luke Parker

If Luke Parker does gain MID/FWD status, he’s someone right in the mix for me to consider. On current scoring, he’s not an option, but on history, he could be a beast for us. As it stands, he’s averaging 79 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 89 in SuperCoach, with just his round one ton across the formats his only triple-digit score. As the wetter months begin to hit, the pace of footy can often start to slow, and contested beasts start to shine. 

If that combines with the price of Parker continuing to slide, we could hit a perfect moment that makes him impossible to ignore. Watch his role over the next few weeks because this could be both a bargain premium and the forward putting him midfield numbers.

Tom Liberatore

The squeeze for midfield minutes at the Bulldogs was always resulting in a midfielder being forced to play out of their preferred position. So far, it appears that Tom Liberatore is the player having the biggest loss of midfield minutes. The contested ball beast spends time at CBA, but only in a secondary capacity. He hasn’t played a game in 2022 with over 40% CBA’s. That likely MID/FWD status will be a huge boost for draft owners, but it’ll require a role reversal and a primary CBA role to make him relevant in classic. If that happens, especially in SuperCoach, then he’s a player to target with a trade. 

Noah Balta

The Tigers have started to have an eye to the future, and it’s clear that Noah Balta as a forward is something the club like the look of. His scoring average isn’t horrible, but it won’t be something to celebrate even in a weakened forward line in many draft leagues. However, it could add some handy squad flexibility in the category scoring leagues or deeper dynasty style leagues.

Todd Goldstein

The rebuild of the Kangaroos is well underway. As a result, some club elders are stepping back into the shadows. In the ruck division, the emergence of Tristan Xerri has allowed them to use Todd Goldstein as the relief ruck and more predominantly inside forward 50. The likely DPP gain could become handy later in the year; we never can fully know what’s ahead. He’s only draft relevant at the moment, but should an injury-hit, then it could be all aboard the Gold train.

Tom De Koning

Before last weekend, Tom De Koning had played a split forward and ruck role. Eventually, the Blues see him as the #1 ruck but are happily taking their time in developing him. The addition of RUC/FWD is a certainty and could be relevant in drafts, especially if Pittonet continues to miss games.

Jason Horne-Francis

Before the 2022 season started, the narrative was that Hornet would be a lock to get MID/FWD status at this point of the season. However, in the past three weeks, he’s had 55%, 59%, and 75% centre bounce attendances last week. So you can kiss his DPP chance right now if he has another game as he did at the Swans. However, if the Roos ease off his midfield minutes back to under 30%, then he’s a ripping chance to get it. I think he’s less likely than likely to get DPP at the current percentage. But there’s still one more game of data to go.

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Darcy Fort

The former Cat is plugging along ok with solid scores, and a reasonable RUC/FWD split at Brisbane. His scoring isn’t amazing, but depending on the depth of your draft league, many are struggling to get decent depth in our forward lines. With Darcy Fort, they could be soon getting some versatility and the potential of looping the odd good score. A potentially more helpful DPP gain than we realize.

Connor Macdonald

The Hawks are in rebuild mode, and as a result, some of the future midfield brigades are getting the education of playing multiple roles beyond just centre bounces. The junior ball magnet plays his role both through the midfield and as a small-medium forward. By the time this DPP hits, coaches will probably be considering moving him on, as his low score from last week has probably stunted his cash generation plans for the immediate future.

James Harmes

Last year the Demons had a staple midfield core of Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Jack Viney and James Harmes. However, this year, Tom Sparrow has surpassed Harmes as the fourth option in what’s a tight CBA rotation for the Melbourne Footy Club. As a result, Harmes and Sparrow have almost flipped roles, and James is often playing a heavy pressure forward 50 roles. It’s not a ‘classic’ relevant gain, but depending on the depth of your draft league on-field, it could be a very helpful addition. 

Bailey Smith

Earlier in the article, I spoke about the fact that a player’s starting position at the centre bounce is a primary decision factor in DPP allocation. For Bailey Smith, he’s playing through the midfield. However, when not at a centre bounce, it’s often with him starting at half-forward and then pushing high up the ground. It’s less likely, but if Bevo goes full ‘Bevo’ and plays him as a heavy forward split this weekend, we might get lucky!