Patrick Cripps’ injury has left his huge ownership scrambling for trade options so we’ve assessed some of the best picks along with a few big value movers including Nathan O’Driscoll and Hugh Dixon.
We’ve also weighed up trading out Josh Rachele ahead upgrade-downgrade begins in the AFL Fantasy world.
Defenders
Dockers wide man Nathan O’Driscoll (AF $275k D/M, BE -32) was the big mover of the round with his surprise 100+ score catapulting him up $73k and firmly putting him on the radar for Fantasy coaches. O’Driscoll found plenty of footy and hit the scoreboard. That performance firmed up his job security in the short term, although beware Caleb Serong, Darcy Tucker and Nat Fyfe will return to that midfield.
Zac Williams (AF $658k DEF, BE 28) might be on plenty of coaches never-again list but he’s started to mount a case for consideration with scores of 137, 98 and 103 over the past three rounds. It’s still speculative, and risky given his injury history, but he’s moved up $58k with a break-even of 28 so it’s time to strike.
Among the premos on the slide, Aaron Hall (AF $872k DEF, BE 133) tops the list, with his price dropping -$25k for a cumulative season drop of -$42k. Hall has only gone 100+ once this season, especially if Jack Ziebell stays forward, allowing him the bulk of North’s kick-ins.
Jake Lloyd (AF $810k DEF, BE 117) is another to get on your radar after a season-low 82. Lloyd has excellent pedigree and is still getting the bulk of Sydney’s kick-ins over Nick Blakey and has a fantasy-friendly role. His break-even of 117 means he should drop again in Round 5.
Midfielders
Few would’ve missed the likes of Nick Daicos (AF $545k MID, BE -2) and Jason Horne-Francis (AF $455k MID, BE 10), but a curious one is Josh Rachele (AF $467k M/F, BE 19) who many coaches are ready to sell given his early rise and volatile scoring. Rachele’s Round 4 101 was a reminder of his ceiling but if he’s not on your field, you may want to cash him in as part of an early upgrade-downgrade. He should comfortably surpass his break-even of 19 against Richmond.
The Patrick Cripps (AF $803k MID, BE 114) injury will have coaches searching for a player to trade to, with Cameron Guthrie (AF $811k MID, BE 136), Dayne Zorko (AF $804k MID, BE 134), Tom Mitchell (AF $866k MID, BE 129) and Jarryd Lyons (AF $881k MID, BE 123) among the main midfield premos to drop in value so far this season. Touk Miller (AF $934k MID, BE 160) dropped -$47k on the weekend too.
Jack Steele (AF $955k MID, BE 125) has fallen $63k across the season and reminded coaches of his elite quality with 130 in Round 5, so he’s one to consider if you can muster the cash.
Sam Walsh (AF $873k MID, BE 123) hasn’t quite reached his elite levels this season with a 99 average after his pre-season syndesmosis but with some continuity and Cripps out, he could go up a gear. Walsh averaged 109 in 2021, including a run of eight 100+ scores in the final nine rounds.
Rucks
For those targeting Max Gawn (AF $842k RUCK, BE 91), his Round 4 score of 140 saw him climb back up $13k. He has still lost $69k across the season but he has an achievable break-even again.
On the flipside, Sean Darcy (AF $702k RUCK, BE 135) and Rowan Marshall (AF $692k RUCK, BE 121) are sliding hard and need to be corrected. If you own Marshall, you might get some comfort with a better role with Paddy Ryder out for two games with suspension.
Braydon Preuss (AF $467k RUCK, BE 6) surged up another $56k following his second game score of 85. Preuss is up $100k in two games but is suspended for Round 5. Given his value jump, the clock is almost up if you’ve not got Preuss but you could target him straight after his ban, perhaps using Jack Hayes (AF $367k F/R, BE 10) after one more price rice should he get a recall with Ryder out.
Forwards
Will Brodie (AF $595k M/F, BE 14) and Nic Martin (AF $422k FWD, BE -7) have simply been awesome so they deserve mention. Hugh Dixon (AF $278k F/R, BE -12) warrants mention too, after a season-high 75 plus the news that Nic Naitanui is out until the second half of the season, bumping up Dixon’s role and job security. He’s still only a cash cow and not an on-field option.
Isaac Heeney (AF $777k FWD, BE 74) continues to dominate this season, scoring 111 against North despite having no CBAs for the first time this season, moving him up $138k for the season. Heeney has three 100+ scores along with a 95 and, with some position flicking, is an option for a Cripps trade.
Mitch Duncan’s (AF $787k M/F, BE 116) injury history and forward role makes him less attractive but he has dropped -$54k this season, with solid scores of 88, 90 and 80.
Seriously… Writing an entire article about a player who’ll miss one solitary week.
In another statement the club said he could have played this week, and his omission is purely precautionary.
One of the 10 commandments of dt is you don’t trade a premo who’ll miss just one game, so what exactly is the point of this article?
Hey buddy. The article isn’t solely about replacing Cripps. Far from it TBH, it intends to highlight a number of options for different scenarios. Also it was written well before the news came out he’s out for one week.