Rory Laird – Deck of DT 2022

Name: Rory Laird
Team: Adelaide
Position: MID
Price: $937,000
Bye round: 13
2021 average: 111.7
2021 games played: 22
Predicted average: 115
Draft range: Second round or start of Third

Click here for 2022 Fantasy prices.

Why should I pick him?

Put simply, Laird is in career best form. 2021 was the best average of his career as he finished with 111.7 and this saw him lift his average possessions from 23.3 per game in 2020 up to 32.6 per game in 2021. His output doesn’t look like dropping anytime soon. With Matt Crouch still a big unknown the Crows need a guy that can get the ball and is a good distributor and Rory is the guy.

The Crows line up will be once again a fairly young one in the midfield (apart from Sloane and Laird). This means that he will once again have the weight of the team firmly on his shoulders.  The introduction of Dawson to the lineup shouldn’t see Laird miss any CBA’s nor should his output drop significantly.  It is more likely that Laird will be distributing to Dawson instead of them competing for possessions.

As previously mentioned, 2021 saw Laird post his best average of his career and one of the keys to his score was that he only had 4 games under 100 and just 1 under 90 all season.  He ended the year with 11 scores over 100 in a row which saw an average of 119.5 across those games. This is a level of scoring that we can’t overlook. After the byes there was only 4 players that averaged more than Laird and they were Jack Steele, Tom Mitchell, Touk Miller and Jarryd Lyons.

With Laird you know exactly what you are going to get week in and week out. Remember also that this score came from a Crows team that only won 7 games all season with two of them being against the Kangaroos who finished bottom of the ladder. The Crows are going to improve again in 2022 and with his two biggest scores of the year (140 and 142) coming in wins we should see more of Laird at the top of the scoring charts more often than not this season.

 

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

Whilst the case to pick Laird is a pretty good one, then the reason not to is a fairly easy one too.  He is coming off a career best season and is arguably fully priced.  We all know that this won’t stop Calvin but it is a massive factor and with limited funds it is something you have to consider before selecting him.

Add to that the fact that he is now only selectable as a Midfielder and we have some real issues.  He has been happily sitting in the defence for us now for the entirity of his career but last season he made the permanent switch to the midfield and there is no reason that he will find himself with the defensive eligibility that we have seen in the past.

He did jump just over 9 possessions a game last season but the question is can he sustain this?  As I mentioned above he should be the main man in the Crows midfield and what this means of course is that if anyone is going to be tagged at the Crows then Laird is the prime candidate for it. He is their most damaging midfielder and without him they are relying on the young brigade or Sloane to do all the damage.

Deck of DT Rating.

KING 

Despite losing the Defender status, Laird is still a very selectable player in fantasy in 2022. Many coaches will steer well clear of him as always happens when a player is only a Mid after being a Forward or a Defender in the previous season. Don’t get fooled by that, he will still get you plenty of points and is a big chance to be in the top 8 midfielders at the end of the season. Of those that are rated as Mids in 2022 he had the 7th best average in 2021 so he just can’t be overlooked.

In Draft he should still be sitting there towards the back end of the Second or during the Third round. He is worth your M1 or M2 slot as he should have another fantastic season.

 

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