- How to pick a Fantasy defender
- The Traders pick their first Fantasy squad
- 10 reasons to play AFL Fantasy
THE NAB AFL Fantasy season is well underway. Our series of Fantasy Face-offs continues, pitting two similar players against each other to see which one should force their way into your squad.
Today we pit two champions of the game, and former established members of Fantasy royalty, against each other to see who is more likely to give one final yelp of points.
Create and fill your NAB AFL Fantasy Classic league by March 2 to win a free AFL Live pass
| CHRIS JUDD (CARLTON) | MATTHEW PAVLICH (FREMANTLE) | |
| Fantasy position | Midfielder | Forward |
| 2015 starting price | $454,000 | $418,000 |
| Price change from start of 2014 | +$10,200 | +$24,900 |
| 2014 average | 80.2 | 73.9 |
| 2014 high score | 102 | 122 |
| Currently owned by (% of coaches) | 2.32% | 1.15% |
| Age | 31 | 33 |
| Key Fantasy stat | It's been four seasons since 'Juddy' clocked a respectable Fantasy average for a midfielder (indeed, his last Brownlow year) but he still ranked second at the club for disposals when he returned from injury in round 13 last year, and delivered just two scores under 80 from his final 11 games. | 'Pav' clocked just a single five-goal haul in 2014 (against the Hawks in round 21) and only four 100+ point Fantasy scores. Contrast this to his stunning 2011 season where he kicked five or more goals six times and topped the Fantasy century mark every second game. |
| Value for money | No more than middling, given his injury-plagued 2014. At this price, you're banking on an incident-free pre-season for the champ and someone else at Carlton to step up in the trenches. Long odds available on both. | Not the worst, given the dearth of quality Fantasy forwards and the fact that he is the captain of a premiership contender. However Pav's Fantasy output has been steadily declining and the Dockers have a tough start to 2015 so he's unlikely to make you any early money. |
| Job security | He's Ikon Park royalty (and doesn't that just roll off the tongue!), and while Malthouse may choose to 'manage' the champ through what is likely to be Judd's final season, he will play plenty of games if fit, with constant rotations on and off the bench. | Unmatched, given he was recently named skipper for a remarkable ninth season. Can Pavlich drag the Dockers to a flag or is this just the Nat Fyfe-transition year? |
| Where he'll play | Expect a few more resting periods up forward, but the Blues still need Judd's crazed attack on the ball and extracting ability so he'll remain first choice for midfield minutes in the key moments. | Up forward. The days of the Dockers hitting the Pav panic button and throwing him into the midfield are long gone. He's still the main avenue to goal and no one in the AFL, apart from Lance Franklin, has kicked more of them since 2005. |
| Injury concerns | The champ looked cooked early last year after Achilles and hamstring injuries and retirement rumours were floated; but you can't keep a champion down and Judd stormed back in the final 11 rounds and inked a new one-year deal to the relief of Carlton fans. | None to speak of, which is impressive for one of the League’s older players. But there’s certainly no guarantee we’ll be seeing Pav in 2016. |
| The case for | Judd's apparently training 'like a 20-year-old' this pre-season and if Carlton can get some bodies around him and manage his workload, there’s plenty of Fantasy points left in the kitty. Apart from injury-affected matches, Judd topped 20 disposals in all but two games he played last year. | The numbers say Pav wasn't far off his 2013 output last year, even though that particular season was shortened by foot surgery. He kicked bags of four goals twice against Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans in 2014, and remains largely unchallenged for space in the Dockers' forward line. |
| The case against | Picture your face as you take the plunge on Juddy for round one and his hamstring goes ping in less than the six minutes it took against the Bulldogs last year. If he gets past the medicos, you can be sure the Blues will use Judd sparingly, and in even shorter bursts than in 2014. | The midfield minutes are over and the Fantasy points have been steadily drying up. If you think the aging Freo list is on the slide this year, you'll be bypassing Pavlich with barely a thought (and probably Sandi too). |
| The verdict | Matthew Pavlich: The Fremantle skipper gets the nod for two reasons. Firstly, he's a medium-priced forward and quality in that position is hard to come by. Secondly, he's the skipper and primary forward target of a team notionally within striking distance of a flag, rather than an impact player in a team buried in a rebuilding phase, as the Blues are. Either way, there's every chance we'll be saying a fond Fantasy farewell to these champions of the game by September. | |
