IN ONE week, footy will be back! For real. We've had the match simulation and the practice games, but the real thing will start on March 26 and that means AFL Fantasy will begin too.
Coaches can keep tinkering with their Classic sides, but this weekend ahead of round one is an important one for a number of Fantasy Draft leagues.
FANTASY DRAFT KIT Click here to download your draft bible
It's the most important weekend of the year: Draft day (or night).
To have a successful drafting experience, commissioners (the coach that organises the league and is in charge of the settings) and participating coaches have a few jobs to do in the lead up.
>> It's not too late to sign up! Get a crew of mates organised and set up a Fantasy Draft league from as few as four coaches right through to 20 for a fun, live draft experience.
Tips for commissioners
As the boss of the league, tick these off the to-do list:
Check your settings: Make sure you've got the right number of coaches. The squad size is how you want it. Draft time is scheduled for when you want it. Consider checking out the Pro subscription that allows advanced settings including custom scoring and other commissioners tools.
Add some extra fun to your league: Firstly, plan an event. If you can all get together, do it! If not, hook up a group video call. Don't forget to get a group chat going so the banter can fly around all season. Also think about mixing up your Draft order based on something fun. You can change the draft order by going into Settings > Manage Draft Order. While there might be prizes for the winner, maybe you can consider a punishment for the wooden spoon?
It is important that you get your league members in the league with plenty of time before the scheduled start. Once they're all in, navigate to Settings > Manage Teams and hit 'finalise participants'. This will allow the Draft to commence.
Tips for coaches
It's the big day. Set yourself up for success with some prior preparation.
Download the Draft Kit: This 30-page document provides plenty of information to help you get ready for Draft day … and to use as a companion throughout the draft. It features rankings for each position, a mock draft, draftee stats and sleepers/busts/keepers from each club.
Set your pre-draft rankings: Before the Draft, you can set your ranks. This means you can save yourself some time when you're on the clock by having the players you prefer to be taking at the top of your draft list. Use the Draft Kit to help compile your rankings. Current ADP (average draft pick) data can be handy to see where players have gone in previous drafts this year.
Sort out your technology: Most coaches like to draft on their laptop. There's more screen space and it's easy to quickly hit up AFL.com.au for the latest news. Make sure you have access to power and, more importantly, WiFi. Having your phone with the AFL Fantasy app installed is a handy back up. If your phone is your only device, the drafting experience is just as elite from your hand!
Drafting strategy
Every draft is different, and each pick will see the draft take different twists and turns. However, there is one thing that has been commented on by just about every coach who has finished a draft … "forwards suck".
FANTASY DRAFT KIT Click here to download your draft bible
Whether it's a shallow league with under 150 picks, or something that is pushing out well over 250 players drafted, being across the depth for each position is important.
As you can see in the table below, there is more depth when looking at the top-scoring midfielders and defenders when comparing to the forwards. Those nailing the top forward who will average around 100 or more may have an advantage over those picking forwards later in the draft.
|
SCORE RANGE |
DEF |
MID |
RUC |
FWD |
|
>120 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
110-120 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
100-110 |
2 |
13 |
2 |
1 |
|
90-100 |
12 |
21 |
5 |
3 |
|
80-90 |
15 |
21 |
4 |
13 |
|
70-80 |
21 |
23 |
6 |
28 |
|
60-70 |
34 |
24 |
11 |
37 |
You can always get good midfielders later in the draft. But locking one away early with captains on in your league settings can be beneficial.
Drafting experience this year has shown that punting ruck (ie. Not selecting them until late) works while there have been some defenders taken later in drafts who look to be improvers. Again, locking in forwards – at the right time in your draft – can set you up.
Understanding your league settings and calculating when you should pick certain players based on position is recommended.
Value picks based on ADP
This weekend is the most popular for drafting. It's on the eve of the season meaning we have all the information from the practice matches, mostly up-to-date injury news and a good idea of who is going to be suiting up for their teams in round one.
The ADP is the average draft pick. This data is made up of the thousands of drafts that have already been completed this pre-season. Currently, Rory Laird is No.1 which is no surprise based on his 120-plus average last season. Josh Dunkley is moving up the board. With his MID/FWD status, many are taking him with their first selection and may end up close to No.1 despite being ranked eighth based on 2022 average.
Generally, the players at the top won't win/lose you the draft. Sure, there can be some clangers (Chook in our Bacon Cup league last week went Stephen Coniglio at four, despite his ADP being 19), but barring injury, most are reliable.
Errol Gulden will likely go earlier than his ADP of 65, which ranks him as the ninth best forward after scoring 177 in the practice match.
FANTASY DRAFT KIT Click here to download your draft bible
The true value is finding the diamonds in the rough later in the draft.
Players being taken from pick 100 onwards that you could consider based on their potential upside and pre-season scores include:
DEFENDERS
109 – Elliot Yeo (30th DEF)
137 – Jordan Ridley (39th DEF)
182 – Will Day (49th DEF)
207 – Hunter Clark (54th DEF)
MIDFIELDERS
110 – Jaeger O'Meara (51st MID)
120 – Jacob Hopper (57th MID)
199 – Will Setterfield (83rd MID)
224 – Finn Callaghan (91st MID)
RUCKS
217 – Sam Draper (19th RUC)
218 – Tristan Xerri (20th RUC)
FORWARDS
113 – Ben Cunnington (21st FWD)
130 – Jason Horne-Francis (27th FWD)
180 – Liam Baker (43rd FWD)
192 – Jack Ziebell (49th FWD)
243 – Sam Flanders (69th FWD)
Adjust your ranks based on where you would be happy to take them and get set for a great draft day. Don't sleep on your forwards. Happy drafting!