Round 6 certainly felt like a big turning point in AFL Fantasy 2023, with many coaches holding lots of cash on the bench (Green, Day, Merrett, etc.) and others trading or avoiding, the ranks saw some significant movement.
However with those players back this week it will be interesting to see how things shift in Round 7. So, what did we see that caught the eye in Round 6…?
No stopping English & Serong
Freo back at home did not look any better and The Bont (148) took full advantage of their undersized midfield. Tim English (129) was flagged for having a hard match up against Darcy (112) this week, however just knocked out another big score to be the highest averaging player this year. Caleb Serong (114) continued his excellent break-out season, while popular uber premiums to start the year in Brayshaw and Macrae (99) limped to the line.
VC works vs understrength Eagles
For those who whacked the VC on Connor Rozee (133) you were nicely rewarded as he just did his thing against the understrength Eagles. Unbelievably Jake Waterman (99) kept his great season going and is now a serios draft prospect. Jayden Hunt (90) also proved that he is still one of the mid-pricers of the year and popular trade in target Butters (88) just did enough late to get to a respectable score. Reuben Ginbey (62) was solid again with only 65% TOG, but I am sad to say the JHF (38) is now a must trade for those who have held out hope this year.
Dunkley continues to underwhelm
With no Tom Green in the team Jelly (125) and Cogs (135) went to work and dominated the midfield. Junkley (86) was underwhelming again and is now a failed premo to start the year. Probably the most interesting thing to come out of this game was the injury to Sam Taylor. Keep an eye on whether this means a re-shuffle and if Harry Himmelberg ends up down back, it could pay dividends jumping on early as we know how he can score down there.
Get Danger on the radar?
Geelong absolutely toyed with an injury riddled Sydney, but maintained their spread of fantasy points. Danger (110) seems to have built his way into the season now and for those who were worried about a Ryan Clarke (49) tag on Tom Stewart (100), well it turned out to be a non-issue. As mentioned last week, Sydney’s midfield is going to be a tough one to judge and scoring will be erratic. Unfortunately it looks like the popular Errol Gulden (70) is going to be great when they are up and running, but poor when they are being beaten. One to monitor if Sydney do not improve soon.
It’s now or never to trade in Laird
After a last minute escape by the Crows, it appears that the role for Jai Newcombe (122) is real and he has become a serious option again. I said this last week, but get on Rory Laird (120) now! He has bottomed out in price and has a great run to finish the year. He is my preferred premium upgrade going forward with Dawson (103) now the main man to get attention in there. Sic Dawg (115) continued his rollercoaster, Josh Rachele (102) is proving a great breakout pick and James Worpel (88) has continued to keep his price ticking over which is nice.
Walsh needs to be in your plans
What a weird game of football this was… From a fantasy perspective the Blues dominated! This may be due to Michael Voss being completely outcoached here and the Saints boys just allowing them to rack up useless possessions while they dominated field position. If Sam Walsh (131) was not already on your radar as an upgrade target, he must be there now. The rest of the Blues midfield also did as they pleased, which was mostly going sideways and backwards. Rowan Marshall (100) kept his good year going, and Mitch Owens (99) continued to impress. The big question out of this game is probably how long can Alex Cincotta (76) hold his spot with Saad and Doch to come back? Looks a great cash cow if the JS is there…
Sheezel is human after all
Well the Sheez (47) finally turned out a rookie score after Stewy decided someone had better stand next to him this year. Lachie Weller (133) maintained his great comeback from injury and Darcy McPherson (109) one again proved to be the surprise packet mid-pricer of the year. Noah Anderson (102) stocks have been on the rise and now with Touk Miller (48) out for an extended period, they should only be higher. Apologies to those coaches who had to cop that on the weekend, it was a good pick…
Baker struggles as Short shines
Melbourne took a while to get going, but got there in the end with the 3 big boys, Oliver (103), Petracca (106) and Viney (109) doing the grunt work in the midfield. Timmy Time (138) makes another appearance here and has now gone up over $100k for the year, what a star. The return of Jayden Short (117) however, may have been great for some draft coaches, however the people who jumped on Liam Baker (53) may have to jump back off as the impact was not good…
Daicos is an absolute freak
I have said it once and I will say it again, Nick Daicos (140) could end up being the best fantasy player (and one of the best players) ever in this game. His hunger and desire to continuously get the ball is incredible and watching that last quarter, there is nothing like seeing your player bolt from half back all the way to the goal line, picking up touches and finishing with a goal. FREAK! In other news, his brother (108) is also playing some decent football, as are the rest of the Pies midfield. One I am certainly keeping an eye on is Will Setterfield (86) who seems to be gradually slowing down. May be one that the clever coaches get off early and cash in, or it might turn around, who knows…
Conclusion
Another round in the books and another where I slipped in rank due to holding 2 premos on the bench. Round 7 will be huge for ranks as we begin to see if holding was the correct strategy or not. Good luck all and do not forget to start looking at your bye structures as they are starting to creep up on us.
