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.
It was a day for fantasy records and personal bests as North Melbourne thumped the GWS Giants by 56 points.
Todd Goldstein ($557,000) is a tough match up at the best of times, but when you’ve only played two senior games, he must be a nightmare. Rory Lobb battled hard for the Giants but couldn’t contain the best ruckman in the league.
Goldstein pretty much did as he pleased, swatting hit-outs like mosquitoes in air to finish on 80, a new AFL/VFL record.
Goldstein now sits atop the competition for hit-outs, both for the year and per game. He did all this despite copping a cut under his eye, and added 13 disposals and five tackles for a grand total of 137 fantasy points. Considering the ruckman earned 80 of his points just from hit outs, it was an outstanding performance.
He was accompanied at the top of North’s scoring list by Jamie Macmillan ($394,000). It’s always great to welcome new players into the fantasy circle and this week Macmillan took the spotlight with a fantastic 127-point effort, his first ever score in triple figures.
Working in defence but also drifting forward as needed, Macmillan collected 29 disposals, 10 marks and three goals. He could drift further forward again in following weeks.
It’s also great to welcome back Nick Dal Santo ($437,000), who was in excellent touch in his first game since Round 2. Dal Santo was North’s leading accumulator with 34 possessions and finished on a score of 109, a great result for a guy who’s missed so much football.
Hopefully this is the first of many such scores for Dal Santo. It certainly strengthens the argument to bring him into your side soon. The only unfortunate thing about Dal Santo’s good score is that his price went down just marginally.
Shaun Atley ($293,000) also returned to the seniors with vigour. Assigned to Zac Williams, Atley notched up 93 fantasy points, his best score for the year. The speedster was also very effective with his delivery, which will improve his chances of retaining his spot on a more permanent basis. His price is tempting for what he can produce, so he could be a viable downgrade target to earn some cash.
Also having a fantasy day out were Jack Ziebell ($506,000) with 118 points, captain Andrew Swallow ($473,000) on 103, and Brett Harvey ($460,000) with 95.
Around the Grounds
It was a round for upsets, with Melbourne skinning the Cats at home and Carlton edging out Port Adelaide.
Both these wins involved huge personal performances. For Melbourne, Bernie Vince ($533,000) had an absolute blinder as he tried to keep Mark Blicavs honest. Vince ended up scoring 158 on the back of 38 disposals, nine tackles and two goals. He was particularly active in the last quarter when Melbourne put the foot down to take a stranglehold on the game.
For Carlton, it was a rookie’s turn to shine. Patrick Cripps ($416,000) is all of 20 years old, but his influence of the game was far beyond his years. He finished on 128 fantasy points, thanks to 31 disposals and 12 tackles. Whatever the woes of Carlton at the moment, they have a future thanks to players like Cripps. Fantasy coaches also have a future star to pick up.
