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 players in focus
Cooper Harvey
The Kangaroos son-of-a-gun made his senior debut against the Cats in round 17 and looked comfortable from the get-go. Cooper is a small forward, but importantly he’s still got his Dad covered for height. Harvey kicked a goal on debut to go with 10 disposals and three tackles. However, the most interesting stat from the round 17 games was his five contested marks. Those who have watched Harvey through his juniors will know of his aerial prowess and strength overhead for a player of his size. It’s something the Kangaroos will no doubt look to use as a point of difference in their forward line of the future. Increasing his disposal count to 13 against the Hawks, Harvey could well string a number of games together before the end of the season. I think he can push into the midfield as well and provide some speed and burst. I’m a fan of Harvey and there is Fantasy potential there. Would be great to see him with a couple of bigger 70+ scores to finish off the year.
Taj Woewodin
Melbourne introduced a father-son of their own against the Saints in round 17, in the form of Taj Woewodin. Woewodin is capable of playing a range of roles, but we’ve primarily seen him at VFL level across the half-forward line, where he’s managed to put up some quite solid if unspectacular numbers from a Fantasy perspective. Two things that are very noticeable when you look at his output this year are his consistency and improvement from 2022. He’s only had two VFL games under 20 disposals this season, but last year he got to 20 only once. The highlight from the most recent game against the Lions was a sensational running goal from against the boundary line, which highlights his skillset. It’s clearly going to be incredibly difficult to break into the Demons midfield which is brilliant. With Petracca, Oliver and Viney set as the starting centre-bounce midfielders, and the likes of Brayshaw and Sparrow given first look when the trio take a break, midfield minutes look difficult. One to watch because I think there’s a good player here, but role and job security will make it hard for the foreseeable future.
Sam Banks
Richmond blooded Tasmanian Sam Banks against the Swans and he fitted in pretty well. Deployed across half-back, Banks has managed disposal tallies of 13 and 10 for scores of 39 and 36. He’s certainly more of an outside type whose rebounding, skills and running capacity are excellent, but he will rely heavily on disposals and marks. He was a solid junior scorer with the Tasmanian Devils in the Coates Talent League, known then as the NAB League. McIntosh has a couple of years left in him, but there’s a spot in the Richmond line-up for Banks if he’s able to take this opportunity under Andrew McQualter. Will still need time to bulk up, but Richmond has identified him as one of their better users across half-back.
Jack Peris
St. Kilda small forward Jack Peris broke through for a debut against Gold Coast and looked good, gathering 13 disposals, three marks and four tackles. Only had 61% time on ground against the Suns, so his scoring was quite good considering role and TOG. While Peris hasn’t been a major scorer in the VFL, he is a consistent goal scorer and his fantasy scoring has certainly picked up of late. His tackle numbers have been a big reason for this as well. Pressure inside-50 is his go, and coach Ross Lyon would have been a fan of how he performed on debut despite the Saints loss.
