AFL FANTASY coaches love a ball magnet. They’re the players who are around the Sherrin, racking up disposals and generally sit at the top of the Fantasy points table at the end of games.
Hawthorn’s Tom Mitchell, Carlton’s Patrick Cripps and Brisbane’s Lachie Neale have a couple of Brownlows, some best-and-fairests and countless other accolades between them, but they are also very popular Fantasy selections as they are Ball Magnets.
Ball Magnets is a venture the trio have got off the ground in the last couple of years. It’s a free AFL training app that features some of the best players in the league offering exclusive insights and training drills to get you set for you upcoming footy season.
Download the free app via Google Play or App Store.
Mitchell, Cripps and Neale are highly selected in Fantasy Classic this season and they are keen to take their AFL Fantasy game to the next level off the field.
They have all played plenty of Fantasy footy in the past. Mitchell recalls finishing second for the week when he was in Year 9, Cripps was obsessed in boarding school and hails from the same town as two-time champion Selby Lee-Steere while Lachie Neale has a serious Draft league that he’s involved in.
Join the Ball Magnets AFL Fantasy Classic league
In their quest to improve their Fantasy game, they offered a challenge to AFL.com.au’s Fantasy experts, Roy, Calvin and Warnie, to partake in a live Fantasy Draft.
Throughout the quick-fire, six-coach league where each team drafted 15 players (three defenders, four midfielders, one ruck, three forwards and four on the interchange), it didn’t go super-deep, however, some insights in the thinking of the coaches could be found.
WATCH the full draft in the player below, scroll down to check out the teams and vote on the best
Cripps backed in three of his team mates, including new recruit George Hewett with his fourth selection to lead his defenders. Mitchell and Neale didn’t select any of their colleagues.
The Ball Magnets kept their cards close to their chest as they drafted and it could be seen that they will be forces to be reckoned with on and off the field this season.
Make sure you download the Ball Magnets app for exclusive Fantasy content from the crew as we follow their season, riding every +6 and trade along the way.
PICK 1 – Calvinator (Coach: Calvin)
DEF: Lachie Whitfield (12), Aaron Hall (24), Luke Ryan (49)
MID: Jack Steele (1), Jarryd Lyons (25), Cameron Guthrie (37), Patrick Dangerfield (61)
RUC: Reilly O’Brien (60)
FWD: Mitch Duncan (13), Tarryn Thomas (36), Isaac Heeney (48)
INT: Ben Keays (72), Jordan Ridley (73), Jaidyn Stephenson (84), Jarrod Witts (85)
PICK 2 – Warne Dawgs (Coach: Warnie)
DEF: Jayden Short (23), Tom Stewart (35), Daniel Rich (38)
MID: Jack Macrae (2), Callum Mills (26), Taylor Adams (47), Hugh McCluggage (59)
RUC: Toby Nankervis (62)
FWD: Tim Taranto (11), Josh Dunkley (14), Chad Wingard (50)
INT: Andrew McGrath (71), Dayne Zorko (74), Jed Anderson (83), Scott Lycett (86)
PICK 3 – Play Your Role (Coach: Tom Mitchell)
DEF: Jake Lloyd (15), Caleb Daniel (39), Jack Lukosius (58)
MID: Touk Miller (3), Clayton Oliver (10), Sam Walsh (27), Darcy Parish (34)
RUC: Sean Darcy (22)
FWD: Steele Sidebottom (46), Jake Stringer (63), Shai Bolton (70)
INT: Andrew Gaff (51), Bailey Dale (75), Todd Goldstein (82), Shaun Higgins (87)
PICK 4 – destROY (Coach: Roy)
DEF: Jack Crisp (9), Sam Docherty (28), Christian Salem (45)
MID: Tom Mitchell (4), Zach Merrett (21), Josh Kelly (33), Adam Cerra (57)
RUC: Rowan Marshall (40)
FWD: Stephen Coniglio (16), Zac Bailey (52), Toby Greene (64)
INT: Caleb Serong (69), Jack Graham (76), Connor Rozee (81), Nic Newman (88)
PICK 5 – Lach’s Lamingtons (Coach: Lachie Neale)
DEF: Jack Ziebell (29), Dyson Heppell (53), James Sicily (56)
MID: Patrick Cripps (8), Marcus Bontempelli (32), Andrew Brayshaw (41), Nat Fyfe (65)
RUC: Brodie Grundy (5)
FWD: Adam Treloar (17), Dustin Martin (20), Jordan De Goey (44)
INT: Travis Boak (68), Lachie Weller (77), Justin McInerney (80), Nick Daicos (89)
PICK 6 – Crippppppptonite (Coach: Patrick Cripps)
DEF: George Hewett (19), Jordan Dawson (42), Zac Williams (55)
MID: Lachie Neale (6), Christian Petracca (18), Ollie Wines (31), Rory Laird (43)
RUC: Max Gawn (7)
FWD: Zak Butters (30), Tim English (54), Zac Fisher (66)
INT: Matt Crouch (67), Liam Baker (78), Luke Parker (79), Will Brodie (90)
