Well the silly season is finally all done, so I thought I’d take a look at some of the winners, the losers and the head scratchers from the Trade Period and see what it all means from a Fantasy perspective.
The Good
Toby McLean
Toby McLean really is the forgotten man of the Bulldogs side. After missing most of the year through an ACL injury, McLean played 6 VFL games late in the season averaging 97 points. He was parachuted into the Dogs Elimination Finals side where he was one of their better players with 21 touches and 100 Points. The departure of Dunkley & Hunter ensures he has an uninterrupted crack at the B22 next season and if you look back to 2018 he was a 94 averaging player. At 26 he can easily wind the clock back in 2023 and return to his 2018 numbers.
Josh Ward & Connor MacDonald
It’s out with the old and in with the new at Hawthorn. Even though both youngsters had excellent first seasons in the AFL, the departure of O’Meara & Mitchell ensures that Ward and MacDonald will both enjoy rare but incredibly beautiful ‘2nd Year Breakouts’. These guys have so much talent and ball winning ability, they are a must for any fantasy side in 2023.
Sam Flanders
Possibly the most unlucky of all the Suns stuck in the VFL in 2022 was Sam Flanders. The former first round draft pick could do no more. He averaged 117 points in the VFL and his three Fantasy scores in the finals series were 157, 151 and 161. It was absurd he didn’t get more opportunity but with the departure of Rankine, he should finally get his chance to shine in their B22 and possibly even rack up some midfield minutes as well.
Tom Green, Finn Callaghan & Lachie Ash
Everyone already knows Tom Green is a jet but he moves to uber premium status in 2023 after the departure of Hopper & Taranto. He’s going to be the main cog in that engine room and his scores could genuinely be off the charts. It’s also great news for the up and coming Callaghan and the ‘lost at times’ Lachie Ash. Throw in the departure of Tanner Bruhn and there is plenty of opportunity for Callaghan and Ash. A new coach is also going to be a massive breath of fresh air for Ash who has been completely screwed over playing as a tagger or wingman over the past couple season. There could be a massive breakout coming for him in particular.
Miles Bergman
I’m pretty bullish on this one. 2023 will be Miles Bergman SZN. The departure of Karl Amon just works out perfectly for Bergman who for some reason could not crack the side at the start of the year. He played a really good back half of the season and now with a juicy role up for grabs, Bergman can take his game to the next level.
Darcy Tucker
I just get the feeling we haven’t seen the best of Darcy Tucker yet. I have genuine interest in picking him up as there is huge scope for improvement. In his best season he played 22 games and averaged 73 in 2019 and with the departures of Jed Anderson and Jason Horne-Francis, there is a ready made midfield spot is his if he wants it. Has battled injuries at key times but with a full pre-season under his belt, he could be a player that improves out of sight.
The Bad
Jarryd Lyons
His aging, injury riddle body and the arrival of Josh Dunkley spells danger signs for Jarryd Lyons. He missed the Lions finals campaign through injury and in those matches we saw the rise of Zac Bailey and Cam Rayner as genuine midfield options. Add in the Dogs Premiership player and it could be a very quick decline for the former Fantasy stud.
Jack Graham & Jack Ross
Neither Jack has really hit their full potential, with Graham especially having a torrid run with injuries over the last few years. The arrival of Hopper and Taranto is bad, bad news for Jack squared, as is the great late season form of Tyler Sonsie. It’s hard to see Ross now in the B22, while Graham may be forced to play the Shane Edwards pressure forward role of this year.
Tom Berry & Ben Long
These two blokes are two of the most Gold Coast acquisitions of all time. Not Best 22 at their old sides and highly likely to be Best 22 at the Suns. Blokes like Jack Bowes, Charlie Constable, Sam Flanders and Rory Atkins (on huge cash) couldn’t even get a game at Gold Coast. These blokes are depth players at best.
The Interesting
Jack Bowes, Tanner Bruhn & Oli Henry
Do I love these three guys as footballers? Yes. But are they also borderline B22 players arriving at the home of the 2022 Premiership winner? Also yes. Bowes is an interesting one as theoretically he could slot straight into Joel Selwood’s role but with Bruhn and Henry, I think patience may be the key. I still wouldn’t be jumping off Bruhn by any stretch but his immediate Fantasy impact is a lot weaker at the Cats then it would have been at the Giants.
Lloyd Meek
Somehow we still have a 3 way go for the #1 ruck spot at the Hawks. I thought Big Boy McEvoy leaving would at least give us more of a chance of finally declaring a winner in the Lynch v Reeves battle but now Meeky Boy joins the Club. For what it’s worth, I think Meek is easily the best ruckman of the three so his stocks should be rising this pre-season.
Lachie Hunter
Hunter could have gone to at least 14 other clubs and probably walked in as one of their better players but he chose the Dees who are not lacking outside ball users. A head scratching decision that looks very familiar to what we saw with Luke Dunstan this time last year. Tough pill to swallow for Hunter owners.
Will Setterfield
The jury is still well & truly out on Will Setterfield for me. He’s at his third club now and has never really got going. I think he’s adequate back-up for a bit of extra midfield depth but I can’t see him pushing Merrett, Parish, Caldwell, McGrath or Perkins out of the middle. He’s also played a bit on the wing at the Blues but I’d much rather Martin, Cox or Durham.
Jason Horne-Francis
Slots onto Robbie Gray’s HFF nicely. Think there is genuine improvement with JHF at Port next season and there will be a lot more consistency with his scores too. Kind of similar to what we saw with Sam Powell-Pepper this year as I think they will play similar roles, possibly swapping at times.
Sam Weideman
As a Dons supporter I love the acquisition of Weideman. I think he can play and has just taken a little longer to develop as a key forward. We are screaming out for a guy of his size and he’ll complement our forward line nicely. His ability to go into the ruck was highlighted in the Demons VFL flag where he led them in the middle averaging 35 hitouts and 16 touches a game. To me it shows he’s built that ball winning side of his game and add some goals to his repertoire, he could be well worth owning in 2023.
Izak Rankine
While he’s a good get for the Crows, from a Fantasy perspective you should temper your expectations. He’ll take a while to find his feet in his new side and even in his career best year in 2022 he only averaged 59. Potentially pushes to around a 70 at best but everything would need to to fall his way.
Jayden Hunt
Really interesting one who might be worth a late flyer in drafts. He averaged 72 in 2017 and since then has struggled to find a regular spot in the Dees side, or at least a Fantasy Friendly one. There is possibly a nice role for him off half back at the Eagles. We saw Yeo & Jones back there late last year and Hunt would give them much needed pace out of defence. This also spells really bad news for Alex Witherden.
