RICHMOND can be a hard sell in AFL Fantasy with no players making the top-50 averaging players last season.

As a team, the Tigers scored the sixth-fewest Fantasy points in the League. The teams behind them all finished in the bottom six on the ladder. This has been a trend over the past few seasons by the crew from Punt Road despite their premiership success.

Ok, so it has been proven that you don't have to rack up big Fantasy numbers to experience premiership success … but Fantasy coaches also like to select players from winning teams!

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Lock them in

This season appears to be all about finding value in Fantasy Classic and Dion Prestia (MID, $645,000) is a midfielder who ticks a lot of boxes. With just five games to his name in 2020, he receives a 15 per cent discount to price him equivalent to 85. Going back to 2019 where he played 22 games and won the Tigers' best and fairest, Prestia averaged an impressive 99. He started slowly and hit his straps from round 12, averaging 108 which included eight scores of 110 or more.

Track their pre-season

After playing two matches last season, expect Thomson Dow (MID, $192,000) to add to his games tally in 2021. Although his scores were modest – 37 and 16 – being priced at under $200k, he's a must-have cash cow if he's a regular in the team.

Dual-position tempter

You get what you pay for with Dustin Martin (MID/FWD, $713,000) these days. The three-time Norm Smith medallist is super-durable and is likely to be a top-five Fantasy forward averaging in the mid-90s. A tag can be an issue as seen last season against the Dockers where Reece Conca held Martin to 28 (35 adjusted). The midfield-forward mix can mean for sporadic scoring and not always hitting the high numbers of others. They say, however, you are only as good as your last game. Four goals in the Grand Final netted Dusty 98 Fantasy points (123 adjusted).

Bargain basement

Riley Collier-Dawkins (MID, $170,000) is yet to debut, but as soon as he does, the 190cm midfielder should be in your plans. Taken at pick 20 in the 2018 NAB AFL Draft, Collier-Dawkins wasn't a prolific scorer as a junior, however he averaged five tackles a game in the VFL in 2019 boosting his Fantasy numbers. Knocking on the door for selection in the Tigers' senior side last season, expect RCD to get at game at some point of the season.

Draft sleeper

If you're looking at punting your rucks, you may get a bit of value towards the end of your draft by grabbing Toby Nankervis (RUC, $556,000). His adjusted average of 80 ranks him as the 13th-best ruck but there should be some upside considering he's the No.1 option at Richmond with Ivan Soldo's prolonged absence due to his ACL injury. An average similar to the 87 and 89 he managed during his first two seasons at Tigerland would rank him in the top eight for rucks. Last year, Nank scored 118 (148 adjusted) in round five when Soldo was out and 106 (133 adjusted) in the preliminary final following Soldo's knee injury. Over the past two seasons that Nankervis has rucked solo, the 26-year-old averaged 88. Bump him up your Draft rankings and consider him as an under-priced option in Classic.

Custom stat star

One of the big improvers in the backline last year was Jayden Short (DEF, $694,000). He took his 2019 average of 70.4 to an adjusted 90.9. If you're looking to add some of the new custom stats for your Draft league, last season he was top-10 for rebound 50s and was ranked in the top 15 for effective disposals. Coupled with these stats, Short was able to sneak up the ground for three inside 50s per game. There's plenty of opportunity for the 25-year-old to be a great option regardless of the stats.

Buyer beware

Despite his elite Fantasy credentials, Bachar Houli (DEF, $764,000) is the top-priced Tiger and potentially ‘overpriced' to start the season. As he missed a fair chunk of last season, his small discount in Fantasy Classic was applied to his 2019 average of 103.2, his personal-best return. Priced at 100, he's an upgrade target when his value decreases. In Draft, consider a slight bump when adjusting your pre-Draft rankings but keep in mind he's played just 68 per cent of games over the past five seasons and he's still recovering from the calf injury sustained in the Grand Final.

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