Tag: Sam Menegola

Ripe For The Picking | Round 5

One thing that separates good coaches from great coaches is that they aren’t just looking at trades for this week. Rather great coaches are looking multiple weeks ahead to be ready to be traded into their teams. In this new series, we look at players who this week and the following two weeks will have likely bottomed out in price and could be a tasty trade target for your side. Each week we’ll focus on the players in DreamTeam, AFLFantasy and SuperCoach you should be forecasting to bring into your side because they are ripe for the picking.

Priced at $531,900, Steele Sidebottom (MID/FWD) has had an up and down start to the season. As yet, he’s still yet to crack a score over 90. With a breakeven of 181, he’s still got a few weeks before his price flattens out. If he averages 90 over the next 3 weeks, he’ll bottom out at around $480,000, and he ripe for the picking heading into round 8.

Depending on Clayton Oliver’s scoring this week against Hawthorn, ‘Clarry’ is either one or two weeks away from his basement price. Priced at $612,000 and breakeven of 161, his round 3 score of 67 is about to fall out of his three game cycle. If we are lucky, we should be able to pick him up for under $600k, not bad for a guy who has scores of 122, 130 & 133 from three of his four games this year.

Over the past few seasons, Caleb Daniel has been a safe top, 10 defenders. But 2021 has seen some indifference to his scoring. He’s had just the one ton, and his score of 19 on the weekend was infuriating for owners. To compound the pain, he’s missing this week through suspension.

‘The Helmut’ has already dropped almost $80k from his starting price and will be a steal for coaches in three weeks once that suspension and score of 19 rolls through his price cycle. If non-owners get lucky, he’ll be a slight chance of dropping marginally under $400,000.

The wait to trade into Lachie Neale continues, especially given his top score for the year is 89. With a breakeven this week of 168, it could be anything from one to three weeks away before coaches jump on. If he bounces back to his best with a 130+ score this week and passes the ‘eye test’, then it might well be worth picking him up at around $550k. Should he have a quieter fortnight, his price could drop right towards $500k, making him an almost impossible to say no option.

Both of Jake Lloyd and Marcus Bontempelli have breakevens just over 150, but in any game both have shown both historically and in 2021 that a score of that ceiling is right in their wheel house. Both have dropped around $30k from their starting price and don’t really fit the ‘bye low’ tag.

Andrew Brayshaw started like a house on fire with scores of 125 & 132. However, the last 2 weeks of scores have seen him now be priced $30k under his starting price and with a breakeven of 186. This week he plays the Crows, and potentially a Ben Keays stopping job awaits. The following week it might be Kangaroo Kayne Turner who did a job on Rory Laird last week.

If you believe he’s good enough to work through the tag pressure he’s currently copping and that he’ll be able to score 110+ for the remainder of the season, then at potentially him being priced at $457k in 2 weeks, he might be your preferred target.

70% of SuperCoach players own Dustin Martin. After back to back scores in the ’80s, the 30% of coaches without him might consider him their prime target over the coming weeks. This week the $545,900 MID/FWD has a breakeven of 146, so a score of 110 will see him drop less than $15k.

We know Dusty loves the big stage and with big matches against probable top 8 teams Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and Western Bulldogs over the next month. We might see a return to his round 1 & 2 scoring. You’d certainly want to be on the right side of his scoring if he does.

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In AFLFantasy, given the way the prices cycle through and adjust each week it feels like on any given week any premium is just ‘a week away’ from bottoming out. That said, there are a number of guys that we should consider as by low targets.

In 2-3 weeks, Sam Menegola should be right in the coaches sweet spot. Having already dropped $66k, he’s got another $50k to go before being ripe for the picking around $670,000. Andrew Brayshaw will also be at a similar price point in 2 weeks, and after starting the season with a 105 & 127, he’s shown he’s capable of delivering premiums scores.

Last weekends score of 20 was clearly an aberration for Caleb Daniel. After scores of 111, 86 & 89 this season, he’s clearly a top defensive premium. For non-owners, a combination of this poor score + one week suspension means that in two more matches, he’s forecast to drop another $50k and be priced just under $60,000.

One caveat. In round seven, the Bulldogs play Richmond, and opposition defenders have feasted on fantasy points against the Tigers for years. So it might be worth jumping a week early and that even though he could be ‘$20k’ cheaper the following week, you might have also banked yourself a nice ton.

If Lachie Neale continues to show signs that his back injury is playing little to no impact on his movement, then last seasons best midfielder must be considered. With a breakeven this week of 133 and having dropped already almost $200k from his starting price, it’s getting close to time and picking up the Brownlow Medal winner.

Josh Kelly has a breakeven of 131 and has already leaked $85,000. However, the community hopes that AFLFantasy announces him as part of the upcoming DPP changes and award forward status. If he does, then he’s someone that you should consider. Even with this weird role, he’s still scored 3 times over 90. And given his historical ceiling, that’s a tasty forward proposition.

Our ruck twin towers in Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy appear to have hit the basement. Brodie Grundy has only dropped $15k from his starting price and with a breakeven of 120 agasinst West Coast it’s certainly achievable. The fortnight after The Magpies play the ruckless Bombers and Suns. It could be a painful fortnight for over half the comeptition that don’t own him based on that fixture.

While Max Gawn has dropped $78k, his price tag of $886,000 leaves him with a breakeven of 113. Given he’s averaging 125 in his last 3, it’s looking likely this is as cheap as we might get the Demons skipper.

That might not be the same for Andrew Gaff, but if it’s not, he’s certainly close to it. Outside of his 154 a fortnight ago, the Eagles wingman hasn’t shown AFLFantasy coaches much to be excited by. With him now priced at $745k, that a total price change of $86k. His breakeven of 109 has him likely not moving the bank balance much on either side.

If you were considering Gaff, I’d encourage you to lower your gaze a little more as I believe there is a better option cheaper. Adam Treloar is back playing as a centre bounce midfielder and has scored 106 & 127 in the previous fortnight. Having prodded $92,000 from his starting price, you can now pick him up at $720k with a breakeven of 90. If you have confidence that it won’t be him that’s stuck in Luke Beveridge’s weekly game of ‘you won’t get midfield time even though you’re a midfielder, then pick him.

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Last season, coaches loved the scoring consistency of Sam Menegola. However, in 2021 it’s been a slow start due to injuries. With the unachievable breakeven of 192, you’ve got a few weeks of watching his cash leak before considering him. If he averages 80 over the next month, he could drop as much as $150k from his current price and be nearing the $600,000 range.

If the former Docker and Hawk can get himself up to full fitness and the Cats get their game style going, he’s certainly got the history of showing he can match it with some of the best midfielders.

I’ve already highlighted Andrew Brayshaw in the SuperCoach section, but he’s well worth a mention here too. At his best, he could average 100-110. But so far this season, he’s delivered 2 scores worthy of that while a further two have been in the territory of cash cows. In a fortnight, he’ll be about $50-$60k cheaper and a unique upgrade target.

Western Bulldogs pair Marcus Bontempelli and Caleb Daniel are both $50k cheaper than starting price and have breakevens over 150. When they get on a hot streak, both can match it with the top performing players in their line. In 2-3 weeks, and if they show us something, it could be time to jump on.

After his first ton of the season last week, it’s almost time to get Steele Sidebottom. His price of $782,600 probably has another $30,000-$40,000 more to drop given his breakeven of 149. However, after that, there are 2 reasons why I’d be quickly targetting him.

Firstly, the injury to Taylor Adams should see this premiership Magpie increase his midfield presence and responsibility. Second, In round 7 & 8, they play Gold Coast & North Melbourne. Both teams are leaking DreamTeam scoring to opposition sides.

It’d take a role change back into the midfield to make non-owners convinced. Next week, Josh Kelly will be under $700,000 and have dropped almost $100,000 from his starting price. Three of his past four weeks, he’s scored 90-91, and that’s without minimal midfield minutes. If his centre bounce attendances are up this week, then that might be all we need to see to jump on this midfielder who’s proven he can go 110+ over multiple seasons.

Both Dustin Martin and Clayton Oliver look set to be topline selections in their lines of eligibility. With breakevens of 139 & 140, they could each hit their season low prices. It might only be around $50k cheaper than starting prices, but barring an injury, both rarely drop enough poor scores to leak cash.

You can probably throw Tom Mitchell and Jack Crisp into that mix too, but it’s the price of Lachie Neale that coaches must keep an eye on. Last years Brownlow medal winner already dropped over $158,000, and with a breakeven of 122, he’s starting to flatline in price. Over the past 2 weeks, he’s scored 103 and 96, and should he score like that again this week, then at $730k, he’d be ripe for the picking, especially if he continues to look like he’s overcoming his back injury.

AFL Fantasy Hidden Gems | Round 12

Are you looking for a low ownership AFLFantasy player that’s on fire? Lewy and Checkers from Lane Kicking have selected six hidden gems that might help your side.

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Lane Kicking’s Gems #1
Sam Menegola – 0.75% Ownership

We were very hot on this guy late last year and he copped a feature in our pre-season document “The List” with Tim Kelly leaving the Cattery and extra midfield minutes opening up. Unfortunately (probably fortunately) our jets cooked a little as a he battled a knee complaint through the pre-season and saw just 70% TOG in the first 3 games for an average of 54. Since then he has averaged 90.4, including a 95 average over the last 4 weeks where he has taken over a major role in the engine room averaging 25 disposals, 6 marks and 89% TOG.

A little bit of a late bloomer, Menegola is now 28 years old and playing the best footy of his career. He had a red hot start to his fantasy career averaging 98 in his first 50 games and now we are seeing him go at an average of 119 BCV. While we aren’t sure if he can keep up the 95 average, he definitely should finish out the year in that 85-90 bracket which would see him in that top tier of fantasy midfielders. Geelong are also currently averaging the 2nd most disposals of any club and are starting to make a push for another Top 4 finish. In just 0.75% of teams, Menegola could be a real handy POD and help you jump up the rankings as everyone starts to fill out their sides and we see a lot of coaches carrying very similar players and very similar midfields. Plenty of green ticks here ✅

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Lane Kicking’s Gems #2
Luke McDonald – 0.71% Ownership

McDonald will head into Round 12 with a ridiculously low breakeven after a 3 game rolling average of 101. Mopping up plenty in the Kangas back half he is averaging 29 disposals the last few weeks with 82% of them uncontested. The kid-prodigy, Luke McDonald was linked to a high draft pick for a large part of his junior career and spent his draft year playing VFL with Kangaroos affiliate side Werribee and training at the club 1 day a week. Averaged 25 touches in the VFL that year and we all thought he was going to be a bit of a fantasy guru of the future but other than averaging 85 in 2017 he has been a little lack lustre. With the Kangaroos now playing a more fantasy friendly brand of football under Rhyce Shaw, at 25 years of age is this the breakout we have all been waiting for

Just beware his two tons this year have come against Adelaide and Melbourne who are the two bottom ranked sides for efficiency in their forward 50, with McDonald capitalising on the turnovers and rebounds out of defence. Next week he plays Brisbane who are first for efficiency inside 50 so things might be slightly tougher. The big positive to take away is he will head into Round 12 with a very low breakeven meaning if things do start to go pear shaped he will still be making you cash and be very easy to offload to another premium defender

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Lane Kicking’s Gems #3
Alex Witherden – 5.05% Ownership

The young defender who averaged 88 in his first two seasons of AFL fell out of favour at the Lions and spent 7 weeks in the dark during the front end of this season. Some injuries freed up a spot for him in the Lions back 6 just 3 weeks ago and he has taken it with both hands scoring 93, 89 and 91 for a 3 game average of 91 or 114 BCV.

Often tasked with taking the kick ins he will be a popular trade in this week with Daniel Rich set to miss again. There is some obvious fantasy potential in Witho when he is given the right role and while it might mean keeping a very close eye on him and where he is playing week to week, right now he is in red hot form and it would almost be silly not to ride that wave

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Lane Kicking’s Gems #4
Matt Crouch – 1.1% Ownership

A sloppy start to the year averaging just 64 in his first 3 games, Matt was dropped in Round 4 by new coach Matthew Nicks. He seems to have responded to it really well averaging 84 since then and bouncing back to the usual high disposal form we are used to from both the Crouch boys.

There isn’t a whole deal going right for the Crows at the moment so no extraordinary reasons to jump on Crouch, but for a bloke that has averaged 105+ across the last 3 seasons and is currently going at 105 BCV since being dropped in Round 4, you are picking up a very consistent fantasy midfielder who should be in a lot more teams than 1.1%. One that will definitely slide under the radar a little.

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Lane Kicking’s Hidden Gems #5
Nat Fyfe – 6.85% Ownership

Paying $1.01 to be the most traded in player of the next week after the announcement he will see FWD status added to his name at the Round 12 DPP changes. Has had a little bit of an interrupted season but a 95 against the Hawks has shown he is over his hamstring niggles and has Carlton and Sydney in his next 2. Almost a must have this week or next.

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Lane Kicking’s Gems #6
Luke Davies-Uniacke – 0.79% Ownership

Has had his injury troubles but a 78 followed by a 71 (equivalent of 98 and 89 BCV) has sparked our interest as a low 400k forward. A big bodied midfielder who was heavily touted as a potential number 1 Pick, he averaged 24 disposals in the TAC Cup and 21 at the U18 champs but he has struggled to make an impact so far playing just 24 games in his first 3 seasons. Rhyce Shaw’s new gameplan is definitely more fantasy friendly for the Roos and we have seen names like Simpkin, McDonald, Anderson and Dumont become semi-fantasy relevant. Could LDU now running free in the Roos midfield become relevant and join that list as a hidden gem up in our fantasy forward lines

AFLFantasy Preseason Watchlist | Geelong Cats

Lewy & Checkers from Lane Kicking are back with their take on the Geelong Cats. Take a look to see who is on their AFLFantasy watchlist.

BREAKOUT: Charlie Constable – $563,000 (MID)

There is a little bit of James Worpel about this, Constable playing just the 7 games in his debut season at an average of 83, Worpel played the 9 for an average of 68 back in 2018. Constable will be looked at to hopefully fill the midfield role left behind by Tim Kelly. The 191cm midfielder finished his 2019 season with a massive 41 disposals, 14 clearances and 2 goals in the VFL and we only hope he can bring that form into 2020. We reckon his price point is just slightly awkward to start him in your midfield, but big risks can bring big rewards.

TRACK: Sam Menegola – $710,000 (MID)

Starts the year almost as a premium mid so it will take a lot of heart to pick from the start in classic, but Checkers reckons there is something special about this one. We aren’t sure if anyone else has ever matched this stat (maybe Michael Barlow) but in his first 50 games of AFL, Menegola posted a fantasy average of 99.

Struck down by injury last year, Chris Scott will be hoping he can have a big preseason and fill one of the vacant spots in the new-look cats midfield. Will be a big one to track in draft leagues, where he might slip down draft lists and you could grab a bargain a few rounds in due to only averaging 77 in 2019. We honestly wouldn’t rule out a 100+ average if he starts the season fit.

ROOKIE: Cooper Stephens – $240,000 (MID)

Young Cooper spent most of his draft year recovering from a broken leg and didn’t play a whole lot of footy, but it might have also helped Geelong snag a draft bargain similar to Joel Selwood back in 2006 who had doubters after finishing his draft year with a knee injury. There is a lot to like about this young cat, for someone who missed a large chunk of football, he is one of the most athletically prepared blokes to come out of the draft and is in contentions already for a Round 1 debut.

Rocking one of the tidiest rigs in the senior group in only his first year, Stephens is a hard at it inside midfielder, with pace and endurance (finished top in the Draft Combine Beep Test) and could very much be given the chance to fill the void left by Tim Kelly in 2020. In the three games he managed before the leg break, he averaged 19 touches and 4 tackles a game, and after a year in the sidelines he could come out of the blocks hungry.

While most fantasy coaches will be hot on Rowell and Anderson for their 200k+ rookies, Stephens could quite possibly slide under the radar of a few and be an almost unique rookie selection

UNDERDOG: Jack Steven – $653,000 (MID/FWD)

We were a little dubious on the early interest in Jack Steven, but as pre-season gets into swing we are starting to warm to him. He will start the season as the 10th most expensive forward, priced at an average of 88, and while he might be a 30 year old mid who only managed 7 games in 2019, he does come with a decorated fantasy resume including previous season averages of 112 and 104.

He could very much be a little bit of the unknown and cruise through the final few years of his AFL career and we watch his fantasy numbers dwindle, but an optimistic fantasy coach would see some strong upside if everything falls into place.

In probably the worst fitness of his career, coming off no pre-season he still managed to bang out a 105, 93 and 90 in his 7 games last year. From all reports he has slotted straight into the Geelong structure and program and is putting in the work on the track early in the pre-season. The Geelong program that has gained a strong reputation in previous years, especially in recycling the careers Gary Rohan, Luke Dahlhaus and Sam Menegola.

There is also the strong possibility of some midfield spots up for grabs, with the departure of Tim Kelly, the ageing Joel Selwood likely to move to half back, and the early injury concerns surrounding Mitch Duncan. If Geelong choose to use youngsters Cooper Stephens and Charlie Constable in the midfield, they might want to pair it with the experience of a 4x Best and Fairest winner in Steven.

It’s very hard to call it this early in the pre-season but we do see Stuv as such an unknown, he could really go anywhere from a 40 avg playing as a deep forward, all the way to a 100 averaging midfield bull. We will be watching his preseason with interest as he is the sort of player who could make or break a few draft leagues.

Way too early 2020 watchlist

The AFL Trade and Free agency period is well underway, and despite it being months before the prices and positions are revealed at The Coaches Panel we wanted to take a look at a player from each club that we have pencilled onto our 2020 watchlist.

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Adelaide Crows

Ned McHenry | Injuries have stalled any chance of a debut, but the positive means he’ll be basement price for us in 2020. He offers everything the Crows midfield unit lack. High pressure, work rate, skills and is a bundle of excitement.

Brisbane Lions

Alex Witherden | One mans trash is another’s treasure. Sadly Alex has had a drop of about 10 points per game and has burned plenty of fantasy coaches this year. With Luke Hodge hanging up the boots (again), then I think we need to seriously consider the potential value he presents. 

Carlton Blues

Charlie Curnow | I might be on my own here, but two seasons ago he was one of the most excited breakout candidates. This year he scored his lowest seasonal average since his debut. On top of this, he may be eligible for a possible small discount due to missing 11 games, and we could have a considerable value pick on our hands. The severity and impact of his basketball-related knee injury have on his preseason will determine whether or not he stays here for long.

Collingwood Magpies

Taylor Adams | Another frustrating season battling injury resulted in just ten games. The one positive for next year is he should get an injury discount of a minimum of 10%. Throw this on top of a low 90’s average, and he could be one of the best-underpriced premiums of 2020. 

Essendon Bombers

Devon Smith | It’s low hanging fruit in terms of how noticeable a candidate he is, but with many bombers having minimal fantasy footy relevance he is the one to highlight. Last season he played only seven games before injury which guarantees him to get some form of discount. Whether that’s higher than 10% will be determined by each formats creators. The bonus is he was already averaging 25 points below his 2018 season numbers, meaning the possible value could make him one of the most selected players in 2020 mainly if he retains forward eligibility which I believe he will.

Fremantle Dockers

Andrew Brayshaw | With Ed Langdon and Brad Hill both out the door in the trade period and David Mundy in the twilight of his career the time is right for Andy to emerge and take a key midfield role alongside Nat Fyfe. Priced at 70 in all formats he looms as a ripping breakout candidate if given the opportunity.  

Geelong Cats

Sam Menegola | Have you picked up on the theme yet that a lot of this ‘watchlist’ players are premiums from previous seasons but had injury impacted years? Sam’s one of those with injuries limiting him to just nine games, meaning he should qualify for a 10% discount. Added to this he also experienced some inconsistency in midfield minutes which forced his average to drop of 15-20 points. 

Gold Coast Suns

Jack Bowes | A broad view may look at his seasonal average around the mid-’70s this year and not think he offers much. Sometimes as a fantasy coach, we need to look a little deeper into the numbers to see the value. In the opening five games of the year, he was going at an average of 92 in AFLFantasy and  99.8 SuperCoach. To top it off with him playing 14 games it might just qualify for injury discount. Fingers crossed. 

GWS Giants

Stephen Coniglio | An inconsistent year for Cogs when it came to his body. After playing 22 games last year, he could manage just the 15 in 2019. He dropped 7 points per game in terms of average from the previous year, but coaches need to take the time to analyse for the scoring drop. One of the key reasons behind the fall was due to his round 17 game against the Tigers where he got injured on 0 points, causing chaos for the 20%+ of coaches that owned him. Without that game, his averages look much healthier of  111 in AFLFantasy and 108 in SuperCoach. Missing seven games might mean he misses getting an injury impacted discount on his starting price. The reality is we have one already due to that Richmond game. I’m very keen to start him in 2020, arguably priced 10 points under his scoring potential of 110. 

Hawthorn Hawks

Tom Mitchell | He missed 2019 with a broken leg and had he not got injured he would’ve been one of the most selected players in all forms of the game. He’s eligible for a sizeable discount, meaning for many he’s an instant starter. However, I’m more keen to see how he moves and looks through the preseason. With ‘Titch’ even with a hefty discount, he’ll still be among one of the most expensive players in the competition, that’s a lot of money invested in your starting squad, and you must get it right at that price tag. 

Melbourne Demons

Angus Brayshaw | Seven months ago the fantasy footy community was ablaze at his potential after storming home last season. He started 2019 and even ended it OK, but during the majority of the season due to a combination of role change and form, we saw his fantasy scores plummet. Gus dropped over 15 points per game avg across all formats and became a serious burn man for many coaches. The positive for us is as we enter into 2020 he will be priced next year in the mid-’80s.  His scoring potential can be further 20-25 points per game above pricing. The first step in his fantasy footy resurrection will be the Demons can land some wingman with skills and pace. If they do, it’s a piece of the puzzle that’ll see Angus moved back into the midfield role required to score well. 

North Melbourne Kangaroos

Luke Davies-Uniake |  If he gains FWD Status then I’m going to consider him. LDU  presents seriously huge third-year breakout potential, especially as he needs to start getting the midfield opportunities at Arden street. 

Port Adelaide Power

Ryan Burton | Injuries have plagued him over his career, but both at the hawks and now at Port, we’ve seen that a fit Burton holds plenty of fantasy relevance. During a four-week window post-bye, we saw his scoring potential. In SuperCoach he posted scores of 105, 96, 79 & 108 while in AFLFantasy it was 93, 110, 69 & 92. If he can stay fit, then he needs to be on your watchlist. 

Richmond Tigers

Dustin Martin | This all depends on if he gains forward eligibility or not. If He’s a MID/FWD, then I’ll find it very difficult to pass on him. His role in the AFL finals may determine whether or not he qualifies as forward eligible.  

St Kilda Saints

Dan Hannebery | A frustrating year for the former Swan who only managed to play in 5 games this year. The positive of this is two-fold, firstly he will receive an injury impacted discount due to the number of games he missed. Secondly, when he did play scored well with four of his five games seeing him score 90+ including two hundreds and an average in high 90’s across all formats
He may not present the same value as he did this year, but if Dan gets through the preseason unscathed, he is genuine underpriced premium.

Sydney Swans

Oli Florent | Place him as a breakout candidate, because as this year went on, he just got better and better. Florent possesses line-breaking speed, uses the ball well by foot and is one of the shining lights for the Swans both for now and the future. Three of his final four games in AFLFantasy he scored 91, 113 and 98, while in SuperCoach he scored 82, 102 and 106. He’ll be priced at his seasonal average of 69, but I have confidence that he could well be a stepping stone well worth considering.

West Coast Eagles

Nic Naitanui | Are you considering not starting with a set and forget ruck strategy next year? Then for SuperCoach, you need to consider NicNat seriously. Over the past 18 months, injuries have been cruel to NicNat, but we have seen that when he plays, even in the limited game given this year, he can score well. Last year he averaged low 90’s from just three games, meaning he will be discount eligible. In addition to this, his past three years averages are 96, 105, 103 so Nic could well provide excellent value as a stop-gap to a top tier ruck if you’re looking for a different approach.

Western Bulldogs

Josh Dunkley | After a slow start he was one of the most damaging forward options of the season, and with a likely loss of forward eligibility, his ownership numbers could plummet due to him being a midfielder only. However, with 14 of the last 16 games seeing him score 100+ and many of them captaincy capable scores he could be a sneaky point of difference in your starting side.

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JLT Players Of Interest: Essendon Vs Geelong

The Cats and Bombers kicked off the second week of JLT matches under lights at a chilly GMHBA Stadium. For fantasy coaches, this was our last chance to get a look at some very relevant players, and we learnt plenty from the match.

Gary Ablett

Just under 70% game time for the goat, but did some nice things with his limited time on the ball. At times he looked a little lost in the role inside forward 50, but to be fair Gazza was blowing out any preseason cobwebs with the match. Sadly with him playing the majority of game time forward, he’s not a viable starter in your team.

Gyran Miers

I love what he brings to the Cats line up with the potent combination of defensive pressure and XFactor. The departure of Lincoln McCarthy has opened up a small forward role, and right now Miers is doing everything directly to grab it. Keep an eye on this cash cow, he doesn’t have a huge ceiling, but I think he has robust job security.

Patrick Dangerfield

Sigh! Do we really need to do this, he honestly has to be in your side. Five clearances, ten inside ’50s, eight score involvements and 30 disposals all of 3/4 of footy. Just do it… Pick him!

Charlie Constable

Played just 50% game time but look super impressive and played liked he belonged inside the Geelong midfield unit. Five clearances, nine of his 17 possessions were contested, barring something drastic I think we’ve got a big basement priced cash cow capable of playing on the field.

Tim Kelly

Five clearances, five inside ’50s, 28 disposals and the dilemma for fantasy coaches is no to ponder whether or not Tim Kelly is a genuine top 6 averaging forward in 2019. If he maintains the midfield minutes from tonight across the season, then he must be in the conversation.

Jordan Clark

Last week he came onto Fantasy coaches radar with a strong debut performance for the club. He backed it up again tonight with five rebounds 50’s and making good decisions in traffic and space vast beyond his experience. The Cats have a ripper, and even when Zac Tuohy comes back into the side from injury, I can see him maintaining his time in the team.

Joel Selwood

Wound back the clock with a vintage performance. Selwood started on the wing lined up against Dyson Heppell but quickly inserted himself into the centre bounces. 38 disposals, 7 tackles and a huge 11 marks for the Geelong captain reminded fantasy coaches than when he’s given the time and space he can score as well as anyone.

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Zach Merrett

Didn’t play any of the first quarter and ended up playing just 59% of the match. In that time he managed 23 possessions, six clearances and three inside ’50s. I think if you were looking for reasons not to start him you probably found them. Even though he won plenty of the ball his lack of tackle pressure and marks in a very open game could send alarm bells ringing. Equally, if you were already bullish about him, this game would’ve given reason to be optimistic that he’s ready to explode in 2019.

Dyson Heppell

Has been a fantasy scorer historically (all be it pre supplement scandal), but the arrival of Dylan Shiel should allow him to fly even further under the radar. Got plenty of uncontested ball and wouldn’t be the worst unique starting squad option if you want someone with no ownership.

Joe Daniher

Still working his way back to full fitness, took some nice contested grabs but most encouragingly he spent some time as a relief ruckman. Whether that was due to help get some more time into his body or is a genuine role the Whoosha wants to let him grow into we’ll have to wait until the round one side is named. At this stage it’s SuperCoach only he should still be tempting you, but given his preseason I can understand you looking elsewhere.

Devon Smith

Like many Bombers he’s still making his way back to full fitness. I saw nothing this week that would give me the confidence to start him in any format of the game. Make him an upgrade target, based on his preseason you cannot start him.

Jordan Ridley

Has come on in leaps and this preseason and is indeed building a case to be locked into the Dons best 22. Nine of his 17 possessions were contested, five rebound 50’s and a goal to top it all off. As a cash cow, he’s a little pricey as a defender, but he’s certainly showed over the JLT Series that he could score well.

Andrew McGrath

This kid is a future star of the competition. I love the role he has within the side as a wingman and will have some fantasy relevance for many years to come. He’s worthy a sneaky AFLFantasy starting squad spot 😉

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#21 Most Relevant: Sam Menegola

He ended 2018 on fire and starts this year ranked as a top 5 forward. The question is, do others go past him?

PLAYER PROFILE

Name: Sam Menegola
Age: 26
Club: Geelong Cats
Position: Midfield/Forward

2018 Highest Score: 
126 Vs Hawthorn (AFLFantasy)
144 Vs Richmond (SuperCoach)

2018 Average: 
98.6 (AFLFantasy)
100 (SuperCoach)

SuperCoach Price: $543,100
AFLFantasy Price: $716,000
AFLDreamTeam Price: $705,500

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WHY IS HE RELEVANT?

As a player, he compliments the Geelong side perfectly as he’s ferocious tackler who isn’t afraid to get into the think of it and win the contested ball. Menegola is also one of the club’s elite runner has shown across his time at the Cats he can even sneak forward to impact the scoreboard. 

It was a slow start to 2018 for Sam Menegola with scores of 69 & 50 for AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 74 & 57 in SuperCoach opening up his fantasy campaign. At that point, many coaches traded him out of their side fearing that his second season where he averaged 95 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam & 99 for SuperCoach was just a flash in the pan. For those that did move him on they’d have been incredibly frustrated and have learnt the lesson that sometimes it pays to be patient with premiums as the following three matches, he scored 120, 118 & 103 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam & 128, 129 & 121 for SuperCoach.

Across all of 2018, he averaged 98.6 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam scored 12 tons with 5 of those over 120. While for SuperCoach he averaged 100 with 13 tons and 6 scores over 120. These numbers are undoubtedly substantial. However, astute fantasy owners will take of particular note to his final six games of the year. After having games where he’d be midfield only and others barely getting rotations and being based as a forward pocket, the Cats got his mix right, and it delivered in spades. Over the last six matches, he scored 115, 97, 112, 126, 98 & 103 at an average of 108 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam while for SuperCoach he scored 114, 100, 144, 119, 112 & 112 at an average of 116.

These end of year numbers echo how he ended the 2017 season with five consecutive tons and an average of 119 for AFLFantasy/DreamTeam. While in SuperCoach he averaged 117 and posted four scores over 110 in his final five games.

MY TAKE

Everything looks posied that he should once again be a top 6-10 forward in 2019, but one of the big question marks is around whether others cheaper than him can outperform him? Forwards like Josh Dunkley and even a Jack Billings are both more affordable and with the right roles don’t just match but have the potential to outscore him if used in a fantasy-friendly role.

The recruitment of former Bulldog Luke Dahlhaus should only benefit him as he’s stronger suited to a more defensive minded forward role which should all Menegola when he does spend time inside the 50 to have an attacking mindset. Yes, it’s another player with the potential of taking midfield rotations, but given the success, Geelong has had with how they’ve used him for the past two years with a 70% midfield 30% forward split I doubt the Geelong coaching staff would adjust that too much.

I’m looking to target him as one of my first upgrade targets in the forward line, that said he is a worthy starting option and I do still see another 95+ average and a top 10 forward finish to the year.

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DRAFT DECISIONS

He’s one of the few forwards who looks capable of averaging 100 as such he’ll be one of the first forwards off the board. Depending on how coaches in your league like to draft he could be off the board as early as the second round, but indeed will be gone inside the first 4-5 rounds.

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