[RELATED: Fantasy - North's prices | Fantasy: Defenders preview | Fantasy: Rucks preview | Fantasy: Midfielders preview | Fantasy: Forwards preview]
AFL Fantasy is back for another season, and the team at Footy Prophet will again be supplying NMFC.com.au with premium fantasy analysis and tips for the 2015 season.
Every good AFL Fantasy team is made up of a mix of experienced, expensive players, and younger plays who won’t break the budget.
When looking for these cheaper players the most recent crop of draftees can be a gold mine. With that in mind, Footy Prophet takes a look at North’s five new faces from the 2014 drafts, and what their fantasy fortunes might be.
National Draft
Pick 16 – Sam Durdin ($252,000)
The 198cm Durdin was something of a surprise arrival at North, tipped to go much earlier in the draft but snapped up by the Kangaroos recruiting gurus when still available at pick 16.
Although the old adage of “big men take time” rings true, Durdin may have some fantasy relevancy in his first year. North have been impressed enough by his first months on the track to offer him a contract extension, and Durdin has said he’s been told by the coaches that he should “expect to play” in 2015.
Durdin is the only player in the AFL Fantasy game to hold the rare dual position eligibility of defender/ruckman. This kind of extra flexibility is always a bonus.
He wouldn’t be a must-have for your fantasy team just yet, but with only so many rookie ruckmen available, he could be a good flexible option for one of your bench ruck spots if he plays games in 2015.
Pick 25 – Daniel Nielson ($224,000)
A dour key defender, Nielson builds his game on beating his man at the contest through marking or spoiling.
This is good news for the future of North Melbourne’s backline, as Nielson will hopefully prove to be a rock in defence in the years to come, but bad news for AFL Fantasy coaches, as this kind of role is almost never conducive to good fantasy performances.
Pick 36 – Ed Vickers-Willis ($189,000)
Described as the ‘Mr. Fix-It’ of the draft, Vickers-Willis spent most of his Under 18 games as a defensive utility, capable of playing on both smalls and talls as required.
In this sense he’s got a fair bit of similarity to North’s Michael Firrito. While Firrito has been a great servant of the club however, he’s never offered much value in AFL Fantasy, being more focused on stopping his opponent than scoring fantasy points.
However, Vickers-Willis has also shown some midfield capabilities which is where true fantasy value could lie for him.
Breaking into either North’s backline or midfield would both be difficult tasks at the moment, so don’t expect too much too soon. But he is definitely one to watch.
Rookie Draft
Pick 15 – Braydon Preuss ($120,000)
The 206cm Queenslander ruckman had a number of clubs interested in the rookie draft, but ultimately was taken by North with their first pick. His ruck numbers are very impressive, but unfortunately for his fantasy prospects he is not the type to win a lot of ball around the ground. Given he is starting well behind the likes of Goldstein and Currie, we wouldn’t expect him to have any immediate fantasy impact.
Pick 33 – Will Fordham ($120,000)
Fordham averaged 20 disposals and 6 marks per game in 2014, playing largely as an outside midfielder. While he shows a fair bit of promise in this role, he’ll probably need some time to develop through the VFL, and would only be an outside chance to debut this year. Keep an eye on him for the future.
Join the official North Melbourne AFL Fantasy league to compete against like-minded fans.
Click here to register (league code: YL9C72HH)
