The first official ‘trade’ of the period went down, with Nathan Kreuger heading to Collingwood. But is the first AFL Trade a SuperCoach or AFLFantasy relevant move?
Career High SuperCoach Score: 56 vs GWS Giants (2021)
Career High SuperCoach Average: 52 (2021)
Career High AFLFantasy Score: 51 vs GWS Giants (2021)
Career High AFLFantasy Average: 45 (2021)
Embed from Getty ImagesImpact on New Club
Collingwood has long been missing a critical forward presence with the departure of Travis Cloke at the end of 2016. Since 2017 the Magpies have trialled a variety of players and forward structures. However, it’s apparent under a new coaching regime that the inclusion of Nathan Kreuger can be a core building block alongside Brody Mihocek, Jamies Elliott and Darcy Cameron. If Kreuger can deliver at the AFL level what he’d done at lower levels, then he’ll be an excellent addition for them. At best, he’s a bargain buy; at worst, he’s a cheap depth option—a win/win scenario for the Magpie faithful.
Impact on Old Club
After being selected at the midseason draft several seasons ago, Nathan Kreuger finally got his AFL opportunity this year. However, at Geelong, he was never much more than a developing and depth tall. The aging Cats still have plenty of key position forward prospects, which is why he was trialled as a defender. However, his departure to Collingwood, along with the retirement of Lachie Henderson, does leave them thin in this line.
Geelong currently has Mark Blicavs, Jack Henry and Tom Stewart as the three ‘talls’ in the backline. Beyond that, they’d need Jake Kolodjashnij or Mark O’Connor to play ‘taller’ should an injury occur. I expect the club to use this offseason to bolster this line both through the draft and trade period.
Fantasy Summary
Key position players rarely are consistent fantasy performers. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, but they are not players we should be targeting for the most part. With Nathan Kreuger set to play forward at Collingwood, we can’t look at his previous scoring as a guide to forecasting his output. He played a key defensive post role in his two AFL games, not the touted tall forward role at Collingwood.
If he were priced as a cash cow at basement price, Kreuger would be a prospect to consider in classic versions of the game. However, deeper draft leagues and daily fantasy genres of the game are likely relevant, if at all.