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.
North Melbourne has made three changes to the team ahead of Brent Harvey’s milestone 400th game at the Gabba on Saturday night.
Aaron Black has been omitted to allow Drew Petrie back into the team. The vice-captain missed last week's victory over Essendon due to a one-match suspension.
Jamie Macmillan and Aaron Mullett will both set to miss due to the hamstring injuries they suffered against the Bombers last week. Mullett was subbed off at half time while Macmillan finished the game on the sidelines.
The absence of the duo gives Lindsay Thomas and Luke McDonald both a chance to return to the seniors and hopefully book permanent spots in North’s best 22.
Thomas has missed the last fortnight, having been dropped to the VFL after North’s Round 14 loss to Gold Coast, but kicked two goals for North Ballarat last week and is back in the side.
McDonald’s time in the VFL has been a bit longer – he hasn’t been sighted at AFL since Round 9 when North lost to Collingwood.
After an impressive debut season - from both an on-field and fantasy perspective - in 2014, McDonald’s form was a little down earlier this year, but hopefully his time at the lower levels has helped him rejuvenate and become ready to tackle what’s left of the 2015 season.
With attacking players Macmillan and Mullett both missing he might get a chance to show off a more attacking side of his game rather than the hard defensive work he’s done in the past – if so his fantasy fortunes will be worth watching.
The real star of the night though will of course be North’s living legend, Brent Harvey.
Enough can’t be said about Boomer’s career as an absolute gun not just on the footy field, but in our fantasy teams as well.
His willingness to battle against the odds with his back to the wall, to put in the hard work and do anything he can to win the game; these are qualities that have made North Melbourne fans and fantasy coaches fall in love with him.
Harvey has now averaged above 80 points per game in the last eleven years running – he’s spent more time at his peak than most players spend in the system.
Over the length of his career, he’s scored no less than 29,649 career fantasy points, the most recorded of any player in VFL/AFL history.
What goes beyond fantasy though is the excitement he generates – anyone who loves their footy will know the excitement of seeing him gather a loose ball running towards goal.
Congratulations to the great man on his milestone this week – and also to Shaun Atley and Sam Wright, both celebrating 100 games this week.
Around the Grounds
For what feels like the first time all year, we’ve got a week where no major fantasy stars are out of their teams. Travis Cloke, Matthew Stokes and Hayden Ballantyne are all senior players who’ll miss this week, but none is likely to be the lynchpin of your side.
On the opposite side of that we’ve got some good news with the inclusions. Rory Sloane is back for Adelaide as it faces the Gold Coast, who will also be buoyed by the return of Harley Bennell.
Joel Selwood will return for Geelong after missing a week’s footy following his sling tackle on Sam Wright in Round 15.
