Jack Graham – Deck of DT 2022

Name: Jack Graham
Team: Richmond
Position: MID/FWD
Price: $657,000
Bye round: 12
2021 average: 78.4
2021 games played: 22
Predicted average: 90+
Draft range: Top 10 forwards

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Over the last couple years, Jack Graham has promised the world and delivered an atlas but I feel 2022 is the year of opportunity for the Tigers’ young gun.

Why should I pick him?

You get the feeling that there is a genuine changing of the guard occurring at Tigerland this year and Jack Graham is at the forefront of the new movement.

Bachar Houli retired last year, Shane Edwards and Trent Cotchin are likely to be in the final year of their careers, Jack Riewoldt is 33, Dustin Martin will be 31 this year and even Dion Prestia is 29.

Graham has been patient and bided his time playing his role in multiple premiership winning sides but with some of these older guys slowing down, we are about to see a rejuvenation of that Tigers line-up. Graham himself has also been flagged as a future captain and is a player who should be able to cash in on this newfound responsibility.

If you look at the Tigers depth chart, apart from Shai Bolton, there are no young midfielders who look likely to make an immediate impact in the middle. Yes, there are guys like Jack Ross, Thomson Dow and Riley Collier-Dawkins but they are not quite at the level of a player like Graham.

Throughout his career, Graham has had stints in the midfield but for most of it he’s been used on the wing due his elite running ability or up forward (hence the status this year).

Graham averaged 78.4 last year and was playing a variety of roles for the Tigers. If you look at his last 3 games, he averaged 99.3 and the main reason for that increase was that he was getting more time in the midfield and attending more centre bounces.

He attended more centre bounces in his last three games than he did for the rest of the year. Throughout the season he averaged around 26% CBA’s but in the last three games he averaged 56%. This end of season trend really excites me as maybe the Tigers have realised that they really need to start getting some new blood in the centre square mix.

While more time in the centre square can often equate to more disposals, I think the upside in scoring for Graham can come from more opportunities to tackle. Graham is one of the top 20 tacklers in the competition, averaging 5.5 tackles a game and with greater exposure to more stoppages in the midfield, these tackle numbers could easily rise by a couple a game.

The other thing I love about Jack Graham is his ceiling. Twice in his career he’s registered scores of 146 and on his day can win you a game off his own back.

With more responsibility and opportunity in the centre square, I believe he can easily average around 95 this season.

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

We all know that Richmond players historically aren’t great fantasy scorers. Last year their leading scorer was Jayden Short who only averaged 93.4. But will we see a change in their game plan this year as guys like Riewoldt, Cotchin and Edwards enter the twilight of their career? They’ve relied on a lot of the same guys for many years and could we see a more free flowing fantasy friendly game style? Time will tell but that’s probably the only concern for me this year regarding Jack Graham.

For those playing keeper leagues, I think he is more than likely to lose forward status next year after a big year in the midfield. However, this would not deter me from drafting or trading for Graham in a keeper league as I believe he’s good enough to be held as a midfielder only in the future.

Deck of DT Rating.

KING

Graham is a must have in Fantasy Classic and single season drafts as I genuinely believe he can be a Top 10 Forward this year. He looks set to be a main cog in the new Richmond midfield and with greater responsibility, we will see some big fantasy numbers.

 

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