Chad Warner and Callum Mills celebrate Sydney's win over Richmond in round 11, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos

FROM veterans, breakout players, cheap rookies and even a ghost, Sydney has it all when it comes to Fantasy in 2023.

Even though Luke Parker (MID, $871,000) turns 31 this year, you won't find many more durable and consistent players than this veteran. He has only missed one game in the last seven seasons and has averaged 95-plus for the last nine years.

As it sits today, Chad Warner (MID, $785,000) is the most selected on-field Sydney player, but only features in eight per cent of teams. He improved his average by 20 points in his third season to 89 and after averaging 96 in his last eight games, maybe he could take his game to a higher level this season and crack the magical 100-plus mark.

So… what else do the Swans have to offer?

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Lock them in

The Swiss Army Knife of Fantasy is Callum Mills (MID, $983,000).

As we saw in 2022, this guy can do it all. From playing on a wing to full-back, being used as a tagger and then to scoring 162 as a full-time midfielder, Mills can do it all. Although the journey was frustrating at times, he still averaged 111 after averaging 110 the year before.

His multiple roles throughout the year did see scores of 54, 76 and 78 along the way, but at the end of the day, Mills is as good as it gets and if you're after a player of difference then Mills is your man and only sits in four per cent of teams.

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Callum Mills handballs during Sydney's clash with Essendon in round 16, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos

Track their pre-season

In AFL Fantasy we are always looking for value and abnormal seasons. When we look over Jake Lloyd's (DEF, $807,000) last five years you can see a number that doesn't match the others. Last year, Lloyd averaged 91 and before that he went 98, 114, 107 and 102.

Lloyd is a defender who will be around the average of 100 once again. He proved this in his last nine games of 2022, when he averaged triple figures.

Last season, Sydney's game style didn't assist Lloyd and the way he likes to score. He is one to watch this pre-season and in particular in any practice games to monitor whether his Fantasy friendly role has returned.

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Jake Lloyd in action during the qualifying final between Sydney and Melbourne at the MCG on September 2, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos

Dual-position tempter

If you love a third-year breakout player then consider Errol Gulden (MID/FWD, $735,000). Gulden increased his average last year to 83 after going at 73 in his debut season.

The writing is on the wall for a breakout after he came home like a steam train, averaging 98 in his last six games, with scores of 82, 103 and 55 during the finals.

Now… if he can get to that 95-plus mark like he did towards the end of last year, then he would rank easily as a top-five forward.

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Errol Gulden tries to break free from Brayden Maynard during the preliminary final between Sydney and Collingwood at the SCG on September 17, 2022. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

Bargain basement

Bargains galore! But will the Sydney coaching staff come to the party?

In the 2021 NAB AFL Draft, the Swans selected Angus Sheldrick (MID/FWD, $200,000) with pick No.18 and Matthew Roberts (MID, $200,000) with No. 4. Both players played one game last season, but spent the majority of their time in the VFL where they averaged 88 and 91 respectively.

Both are at the bargain basement price and have plenty to offer when they finally become regulars in Sydney's best 22.

We can't go a pre-season without mentioning the ghost that is Will Gould (DEF, $200,000). Why is he a ghost? Well… since being drafted in 2019, the Fantasy community has been eagerly waiting for his debut, but it has never happened.

I can tell you that Gould isn't a ghost… and was seen in the VFL last year on 20 occasions where he averaged 79. Hopefully we see him in person in 2023.

Will Gould kicks the ball at Sydney training on September 15, 2022. Picture: Getty Images

Draft sleeper

Only 18 midfielders averaged 100+ last year and in 2023, James Rowbottom (MID, $726,000) could be one of them. Coming off an average of 82, Rowbottom has much more to offer.

After his bye, Rowbottom attended 54 per cent of Sydney's centre bounces and his scoring flourished as he averaged 97 in his last seven games and 107 in his last five.

If you are on the same page as me and believe that Rowbottom is capable of averaging 100, then bump him up your Draft rankings.

Sydney's James Rowbottom gets away from Geelong players in R2, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos

Buyer beware

After scoring 107 in the AAMI Community Series and coming off a wing, 2022 was supposed to be Justin McInerney's (MID, $613,000) year. This was not the case.

Not only did he score 43 in round one, he then missed the next two matches and then bounced back with a nice 107 once everyone had traded him out. He went on to average 69 for the rest of the season and unfortunately, he now sits on many ‘never again lists’. 

Justin McInerney runs with the ball during Sydney's preliminary final against Collingwood on September 17, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos

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Player

Position

2022 Average

2022 Games

2023 Price

Callum Mills

MID

111

22

$983,000

Luke Parker

MID

98.4

22

$871,000

Jake Lloyd

DEF

91.1

21

$807,000

Isaac Heeney

FWD

88.9

22

$787,000

Chad Warner

MID

88.7

21

$785,000

Errol Gulden

MID/FWD

83

22

$735,000

James Rowbottom

MID

82

21

$726,000

Robbie Fox

DEF

76.8

10

$680,000

Nick Blakey

DEF

76.2

21

$675,000

Sam Reid

FWD

73.7

15

$653,000

Lance Franklin

FWD

71.1

20

$630,000

Tom Papley

FWD

71.1

16

$630,000

Justin McInerney

MID

69.2

19

$613,000

Oliver Florent

DEF

68.9

22

$610,000

Tom Hickey

RUC

68

13

$602,000

Peter Ladhams

RUC

67.2

11

$595,000

Harry Cunningham

DEF

52.4

9

$591,000

Will Hayward

FWD

66.5

22

$589,000

Dylan Stephens

MID

66.1

12

$585,000

Paddy McCartin

DEF

55.3

21

$490,000

Sam Wicks

FWD

40.8

9

$489,000

Dane Rampe

DEF

53.5

22

$474,000

Joel Amartey

FWD

40.3

6

$458,000

Hayden McLean

FWD

51.6

8

$458,000

Logan McDonald

FWD

48.7

15

$431,000

Ryan Clarke

FWD

50.6

8

$421,000

Braeden Campbell

DEF

46.4

12

$411,000

Tom McCartin

DEF

40.4

22

$358,000

Aaron Francis

DEF/FWD

40.5

4

$344,000

Lewis Melican

DEF

-

-

$293,000

Jacob Konstanty

FWD

-

-

$262,000

Cooper Vickery

DEF

-

-

$248,000

Caleb Mitchell

DEF/MID

-

-

$222,000

Angus Sheldrick

MID/FWD

28

1

$200,000

Matt Roberts

MID

6

1

$200,000

Corey Warner

MID/FWD

-

-

$200,000

Hugo Hall-Kahan

FWD

-

-

$200,000

Lachlan McAndrew

RUC/FWD

-

-

$200,000

Lachlan Rankin

DEF

-

-

$200,000

Marc Sheather

DEF/FWD

-

-

$200,000

Will Gould

DEF

-

-

$200,000

Cameron Owen

RUC

-

-

$200,000

Jaiden Magor

MID/FWD

-

-

$200,000

William Edwards

DEF

-

-

$200,000