Welcome to this week’s ‘Rookie Watch’, where we take a closer look at rookie players who performed well over the weekend and assess their potential for future AFL Fantasy scoring. As we all know, rookies can be a make or break in AFL Fantasy, and finding those hidden gems early can give you a significant advantage over your competitors. So, without further ado, let’s dive into this week’s player in focus

George Wardlaw – North Melbourne

AFL Fantasy Score: 82 Points
Supercoach Score: 85 Points

That was the kind of debut North fans and fantasy players were hoping for from George Wardlaw. He showed the type of combativeness around the ball and courage in the air and at ground level which was a hallmark of his game as a junior. With Wardlaw having a series of soft tissue injuries in his draft year, the Roos took a cautious approach by building him up in the VFL. It’s paid off though, because it doesn’t look like he’ll be spending too much more time in the two’s.

He wasn’t a massive possession winner throughout his juniors, but more of a high impact per possession type whose explosiveness and power were strengths more so than accumulation. However he didn’t have a problem getting his hands on it on debut, recording 16 disposals against an obviously talented Swans midfield. But the stats which stood out to me were his nine tackles and six clearances. That’s Wardlaw to a tee.

Fellow first round draftee Harry Sheezel spent some more time in the midfield in the heart breaking loss to Sydney. It’s early, but I think he ends up playing most of his footy across half-forward, but Wardlaw is a genuine inside midfielder. Tom Powell and Will Phillips are still young and have potential, but Wardlaw is a much more impactful midfielder than both.

Wardlaw should always produce strong tackle numbers and get his hands on the ball in the contest, but I think if he can win some more outside ball, not dissimilar to Matty Rowell, then his fantasy game will grow.

I think we can expect an average of around the 70 mark for the rest of the season from Wardlaw. He’s a star in the making and certainly one to stash away into your keeper league sides as he develops.