BASED on last season’s numbers, Nat Fyfe (MID, $741,000) is more than 10 Fantasy points per game better than his current teammates. Some coaches will argue that it may be more as we haven’t seen the best of the 2015 Brownlow Medal winner.
Averaging 112 in his first 10 games of last season, Fyfe was on track to have his best year to date. A second-quarter hamstring injury in round 13 on 36 points brought his average down. Fyfe returned in round 22 with 117 against the Cats which was his sixth score of 115 or more; the most he has ever posted in a single season.
If he can avoid stints on the sidelines due to injury, Fyfe is every chance to increase his numbers.
A couple of Fremantle’s defenders are also a chance to see a spike in their Fantasy numbers in the new year.
Luke Ryan (DEF, $558,000) and Nathan Wilson (DEF, $519,000) shared kick-in duties for the Dockers, bringing the ball back into play more than two-thirds of the time. The new rule which means players don’t have to kick to themselves if they wish to ‘play on’ could see some extra kicks for the duo.
Fremantle elected to play on just eight per cent of the time last season while most clubs played on more than 20 per cent of the time following a behind. Ryan is likely to be a benefactor of extra stats that could take his 77 average closer to the 90-plus and among the top bracket of available defenders.
Lachie Neale’s departure could mean big things for Connor Blakely (DEF, $664,000). Boasting defender status going into next year, the Docker is likely to boost his midfield time.
Blakely’s season finished early due to a knee problem and last year he missed the final rounds after sustaining a shoulder injury. He ran well in the first time trial and has been involved in the thick of the skills work at training.
Averaging 92 and 91 in the past two seasons, the 22-year-old has shown he has a ceiling, posting scores of 110 or more in a third of his matches in the past two years. While many of Blakely’s better scores have been racked up when he has played off half-back, the difference with his midfield time moving forward is that he is unlikely to be used as a tagger as he has in the past.
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Missing all of 2018 after playing 13 games in his rookie year, Griffin Logue (DEF, $216,000) is priced cheap enough to call a December lock for your bench or one of the last on-field spots in your backline.
While his average of 42.5 from his debut season didn’t see him earn a lot of money, Logue posted scores of 59, 63, 55 and 64 in his last few games. An extra year in the system should see some natural progression as the 189cm defender appears in outstanding shape after mid-season surgery on the foot problem that had him sidelined.
David Mundy (MID/FWD, $652,000) might be 33 years old, but he has been one of the most consistent Fantasy scorers of the last decade.
With dual-position status, Mundy should find himself among the top group of forwards and can once again average 90 as he did in 2018. While there may not be a lot of upside and his role will be that of a MID/FWD, Mundy should be considered as a second-to-third-tier forward when compiling your Draft rankings.
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Fremantle added a few players during the NAB AFL Trade Period and Jesse Hogan (FWD, $646,000) appears to be the most Fantasy relevant.
The key forward is coming off his personal best season, playing 20 games at an average of 89. In 2018 he scored nine Fantasy tons with six over 110 where he kicked three goals or more. Hogan’s top score of the year was 133 when he booted five goals in Melbourne’s round two victory against the Lions at the Gabba.
Taken with pick No.59 at last month’s NAB AFL Draft, Brett Bewley (MID, $170,000) is already being talked about as a potential round one debutant.
Standing 186cm and boasting a penetrating left boot, the wingman averaged 96 Fantasy points in the VFL. The mature-age Williamstown recruit has elite running power and coach Ross Lyon is impressed with how he has physically adapted to the AFL since being drafted.
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Harley Bennell (MID, $236,000) has managed just two games for the Dockers in his three years on the list. Prior to that, the former Sun produced some noteworthy numbers.
In his second season, Bennell averaged 85 points from 22 games and for the next four seasons his average improved, producing his career best average of 92 in 2015, his final year at Gold Cost.
If - and it is a big if - the 26-year-old is fit and named in round one, he has to be considered for your midfield … even if he comes with some risk.
As many Fantasy Classic coaches look for some value with their second ruckman, Aaron Sandilands (RUC, $554,000) has a price tag that may look enticing, but there is plenty of danger in selecting the big Docker.
It has been more than a decade since the 211cm ruckman played 22 games in a season and at 36 years old, it would be unlikely that Sandilands plays every match. Sean Darcy (RUC, $552,000) will almost certainly add to his games tally as he will take over from Sandilands as the No.1 ruckman at Fremantle very soon.
Player | Position | 2018 | 2018 | 2019 |
Fyfe, Nat | MID | 102.13 | 15 | $741,000 |
Blakely, Connor | DEF | 91.46 | 13 | $664,000 |
Mundy, David | MID/FWD | 89.91 | 22 | $652,000 |
Hogan, Jesse | FWD | 89.05 | 20 | $646,000 |
Langdon, Ed | MID | 88.86 | 21 | $645,000 |
Hill, Bradley | MID | 80.9 | 10 | $587,000 |
Walters, Michael | MID/FWD | 80 | 18 | $581,000 |
Ryan, Luke | DEF | 76.9 | 20 | $558,000 |
Sandilands, Aaron | RUC | 76.36 | 11 | $554,000 |
Darcy, Sean | RUC | 73.43 | 7 | $552,000 |
Conca, Reece | MID | 74.19 | 16 | $538,000 |
Hill, Stephen | DEF | 73 | 13 | $530,000 |
Wilson, Nathan | DEF | 71.57 | 21 | $519,000 |
Taberner, Matt | FWD | 68.89 | 9 | $485,000 |
Brayshaw, Andrew | MID | 66.76 | 17 | $485,000 |
Lobb, Rory | RUC/FWD | 66.76 | 17 | $485,000 |
Banfield, Bailey | MID/FWD | 64.15 | 20 | $466,000 |
Matera, Brandon | FWD | 63.89 | 18 | $464,000 |
Colyer, Travis | MID/FWD | 55.38 | 8 | $464,000 |
Duman, Taylin | DEF | 63.3 | 10 | $459,000 |
Cox, Brennan | FWD | 59.81 | 16 | $434,000 |
Kersten, Shane | DEF | 61.44 | 9 | $433,000 |
Cerra, Adam | FWD | 59.52 | 21 | $432,000 |
Tucker, Darcy | MID | 59.41 | 17 | $431,000 |
Giro, Stefan | FWD | 57.3 | 10 | $416,000 |
Hamling, Joel | DEF | 55.61 | 18 | $404,000 |
Ballantyne, Hayden | FWD | 53.35 | 17 | $387,000 |
Hughes, Ethan | DEF | 51 | 5 | $381,000 |
Nyhuis, Ryan | DEF | 50.13 | 8 | $367,000 |
McCarthy, Cam | FWD | 49.06 | 17 | $356,000 |
Switkowski, Sam | FWD | 63.5 | 2 | $350,000 |
Jones, Scott | RUC/FWD | 51.8 | 5 | $320,000 |
Pearce, Alex | DEF | 41.81 | 21 | $303,000 |
Crowden, Mitchell | FWD | 42.33 | 9 | $298,000 |
Sturt, Sam | FWD | 0 | 0 | $238,000 |
Bennell, Harley | MID | 0 | 0 | $236,000 |
Logue, Griffin | DEF | 0 | 0 | $216,000 |
Valente, Luke | MID | 0 | 0 | $208,000 |
Carter, Jason | DEF/MID | 0 | 0 | $170,000 |
Dixon, Hugh | FWD | 0 | 0 | $170,000 |
Schultz, Lachlan | FWD | 0 | 0 | $170,000 |
North, Tom | MID | 0 | 0 | $170,000 |
Bewley, Brett | MID | 0 | 0 | $170,000 |
Meek, Lloyd | RUC | 0 | 0 | $170,000 |
Watson, Tobe | DEF/MID | 0 | 0 | $170,000 |
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