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THERE are no certainties in NAB AFL Fantasy, but based on his under-18 championships numbers, Christian Petracca is the safest bet of those youngsters set to be picked at Thursday night’s draft on the Gold Coast.
Petracca averaged 99 points across five games in this year’s championships, third among all players and second for aggregate scoring.
With those kinds of numbers, and given he is a certainty to be picked in the top three, expect a hefty price tag around Petracca’s neck when his Fantasy cost is revealed in mid-December.
Following a change to the structure of rookie pricing last year, premium first-year players like Jack Martin, Tom Boyd and Jesse Hogan cost Fantasy coaches a pretty penny but delivered little value in 2014, except as trade-down targets.
Even Rising Star Lewis Taylor and mercurial Bulldog Marcus Bontempelli couldn’t top the 70 points per game average in AFL Fantasy.
However Petracca looks ready-made to give that number a shake in 2015, no matter whether St Kilda or Melbourne reads out his name on Thursday night.
No-one from the four division-one teams got close to his 25-possession average, and although he only averaged a goal a game, his tackling and marking rates bumped up his Fantasy tally nicely.
Pint-sized South Australians Jake Johansen and Caleb Daniel look like worthy selections for your 2015 Fantasy squad if they are handed AFL jumpers on Thursday.
Johansen has already played plenty of senior SANFL football for Port Magpies, captained South Australia to victory in this year’s championships, and had the highest aggregate Fantasy score of any player. Put him high on your watch list.
One for your 2016 scouting report is Queenslander Ben Keays. The 17-year-old Brisbane Lions' Academy player had the highest average Fantasy score for the championships with 110 points from three games, highlighted by four goals against Tasmania in the clash at Bankstown.
While young talls aren’t high on the list of most Fantasy coaches, draft enigma Peter Wright did enough during to suggest he’s worth a bench slot, with an aggregate of 389 points, 10th best of the carnival.
Isaac Heeney is off to the Swans on Thursday as an academy selection but, like Petracca, expect him to chew up plenty of your salary cap next year if you want a piece of his 92-point Fantasy average in the under-18s.
Top 10 Fantasy Scorers (Aggregate) - 2014 Under-18 Championships
1. Jake Johansen (SA): 521 points
2. Christian Petracca (Vic Metro): 495 points
3. Alex Neal-Bullen (SA): 460 points
4. Dean Gore (SA): 457 points
5. Jared Hardisty (WA): 448 points
6. Angus Brayshaw (Vic Metro): 437 points
7. Harrison Wigg (SA): 420 points
8. Tyler Keitel (WA): 409 points
9. Jack Lonie (Vic Country): 396 points
10: Peter Wright (Vic Metro): 389 points
Top 10 Fantasy Scorers (Average) - 2014 Under-18 Championships
1. Ben Keays (Qld): 110 points/game
2. Tim Jones (Tas): 106 points/game
3. Christian Petracca (Vic Metro): 99 points/game
4. Abraham Ankers (NT): 98 points/game
=5. Caleb Daniel (SA): 93 points/game
=5. Erin Wasley-Black (NT): 93 points/game
7. Isaac Heeney (NSW/ACT): 92 points/game
8. Damien Cavka (Vic Metro): 90 points/game
9. Josh McGuinness (Tas): 89 points/game
Petracca averaged 99 points across five games in this year’s championships, third among all players and second for aggregate scoring.
With those kinds of numbers, and given he is a certainty to be picked in the top three, expect a hefty price tag around Petracca’s neck when his Fantasy cost is revealed in mid-December.
Following a change to the structure of rookie pricing last year, premium first-year players like Jack Martin, Tom Boyd and Jesse Hogan cost Fantasy coaches a pretty penny but delivered little value in 2014, except as trade-down targets.
Even Rising Star Lewis Taylor and mercurial Bulldog Marcus Bontempelli couldn’t top the 70 points per game average in AFL Fantasy.
However Petracca looks ready-made to give that number a shake in 2015, no matter whether St Kilda or Melbourne reads out his name on Thursday night.
No-one from the four division-one teams got close to his 25-possession average, and although he only averaged a goal a game, his tackling and marking rates bumped up his Fantasy tally nicely.
Pint-sized South Australians Jake Johansen and Caleb Daniel look like worthy selections for your 2015 Fantasy squad if they are handed AFL jumpers on Thursday.
Johansen has already played plenty of senior SANFL football for Port Magpies, captained South Australia to victory in this year’s championships, and had the highest aggregate Fantasy score of any player. Put him high on your watch list.
One for your 2016 scouting report is Queenslander Ben Keays. The 17-year-old Brisbane Lions' Academy player had the highest average Fantasy score for the championships with 110 points from three games, highlighted by four goals against Tasmania in the clash at Bankstown.
While young talls aren’t high on the list of most Fantasy coaches, draft enigma Peter Wright did enough during to suggest he’s worth a bench slot, with an aggregate of 389 points, 10th best of the carnival.
Isaac Heeney is off to the Swans on Thursday as an academy selection but, like Petracca, expect him to chew up plenty of your salary cap next year if you want a piece of his 92-point Fantasy average in the under-18s.
Top 10 Fantasy Scorers (Aggregate) - 2014 Under-18 Championships
1. Jake Johansen (SA): 521 points
2. Christian Petracca (Vic Metro): 495 points
3. Alex Neal-Bullen (SA): 460 points
4. Dean Gore (SA): 457 points
5. Jared Hardisty (WA): 448 points
6. Angus Brayshaw (Vic Metro): 437 points
7. Harrison Wigg (SA): 420 points
8. Tyler Keitel (WA): 409 points
9. Jack Lonie (Vic Country): 396 points
10: Peter Wright (Vic Metro): 389 points
Top 10 Fantasy Scorers (Average) - 2014 Under-18 Championships
1. Ben Keays (Qld): 110 points/game
2. Tim Jones (Tas): 106 points/game
3. Christian Petracca (Vic Metro): 99 points/game
4. Abraham Ankers (NT): 98 points/game
=5. Caleb Daniel (SA): 93 points/game
=5. Erin Wasley-Black (NT): 93 points/game
7. Isaac Heeney (NSW/ACT): 92 points/game
8. Damien Cavka (Vic Metro): 90 points/game
9. Josh McGuinness (Tas): 89 points/game
