Will Brodie – Deck of DT 2022

Name: Will Brodie
Team: Fremantle
Position: MID/FWD
Price: $387,000
Bye round: 14
2021 average: 51.3
2021 games played: 4
Predicted average: 70
Draft range: Late

Click here for 2022 Fantasy prices.

Why should I pick him?

Things never quite clicked for Will Brodie at Gold Coast. The former top 10 draft pick was in and out (mostly out) of the team and only managed 24 games in five seasons up north. He averaged 87.8 points in 2019, which included a monster 142, but was only selected five times across 2020 and 2021.

Now at Fremantle, however, the 23-year-old might be given time in the midfield and a chance to finally shine. Especially considering that Cerra has left the Dockers, Fyfe is constantly battling injury troubles, and Mundy is turning 37.

In fact, when Brodie joined the club in November, coach Justin Longmuir said: “We’re really bullish on him, we’ll give him an opportunity primarily as an inside mid… He has all the qualities there to be a good inside mid for us… We feel like there is a spot there if he has a good pre-season.”

And the midfield is exactly where Brodie’s been playing in their intraclub games. There are plenty of articles about him impressing during match sim but none more exciting than Fremantle Dockers recruit Will Brodie on track for early midfield opportunity after impressive match sim in The West Australian.

At the end of the day, Brodie has FWD status and is priced at just 46.1. If he can replicate his 2019 season, he’s more than 40 points underpriced and easily worth picking as a stepping stone to a premium.

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

Our eyes light up when we see a player with FWD status attending centre bounces but Brodie actually averaged 33% CBAs last year. And how did he convert that midfield time into points? Poorly. He averaged just 51.3 points.

To break down those four games, he scored 50 points from 38% CBAs, then 58 from 50%, then 30 from 28%, and finally 76 from 17%. We might have to stay away unless he’s in Fremantle’s main midfield rotation at 70+% CBAs with the likes of Brayshaw and Serong.

And then there’s also the news that Brodie has suffered a pre-season injury in the last few days. Although we don’t have clarity about the nature or severity of his setback, he didn’t finish the training session on Monday. Uninterrupted preseasons are the gold standard in fantasy footy but this is a warning bell.

Deck of DT Rating.

JACK 

There’s a believable narrative where Brodie averages 90+ this year and bolsters the Brayshaw-Serong duo but there’s a lot that can go wrong.

He’s a definite preseason watch but the safest play is to pay up for one of the many premium forwards on offer or save $200,000 and pick a solid cash cow.

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