Weekend Forecast – Round 1

***Live stream of the Weekend Forecast will be on my YouTube channel. Make sure to tune in as I will be answering your questions during the live stream. Also, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel and leave a like on the video. Would be very much appreciated.***

We are back and rolling for AFL Fantasy in season 2022, and oh it is bloody good to have the footy back. And you know what else is back? The weekly Weekend Forecast which will come out weekly as an article, along with the livestream on my YouTube so make sure you check that out at 3pm Adelaide time (normally 4pm but I need to do some things before i can sit down and watch Friday night footy). I will also be live this season straight after the final Sunday game reviewing everything that has happened in the round so be sure to tune in for that as well.

We have already had 2 great games to kick us off so lets go and review some of the key things out of those games:

Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs @ MCG

Bailey Smith (154) – Massive score from Bazlenka. Congrats if you have him in draft, doubt many had him in classic but if you did, kudos to you.

Christian Petracca (142) – The Trac picked up exactly where he left off in the GF last year against the same opponent. He could honestly tear the game apart this year, my early pick for the Brownlow and a great pick in Fantasy.

Jack Macrae (120) – If you spent up, Jack paid you back. A 120 first up is a great score, probably not enough to justify getting a red dot to take him as VC, but if you straight up captained him, well done.

Tim English (106) – If you took the punt on Speakno with no Stef Martin, well played. Should be a solid R2 if he is the main ruck, and an even better forward pick if he is the solo ruck, could avergae 95+ and be amongst the top 6 forwards.

Josh Dunkley (103) – Played a lot through the midfield and looked like the guy from the first half of last year that averaged around 110. Dropped 3 or 4 marks in the first quarter so could have been even better, but regardless great start to the year from Dunks.

Clayton Oliver (100) – Was great to see the late score update go from 96 to the magical 100. Gave away 7 FREE KICKS so could have easily been a 120.

Marcus Bontempelli (100) – A bit of an injury scare for the Bont, but played out the game. Looked proppy at times so keep an eye to see if he is on the injury, but I assume he is okay but keep an eye on the news.

Adam Treloar (95) – Looked really good to the eye test, no tackles though which could have boosted him over 100. As a forward though, a 95 is also good to start of the year.

Max Gawn (79) – Not the exact score to start the year from Big Max, but DON’T PANIC! He gave away 6 free kicks and dropped a few marks so easily would have been over 110 on another night.

Christian Salem (3) – An knee injury meant Salem’s night ended early. If he was a unique pick for you in Classic, not the way you want to start the season and could be a delete your team and make a new team already.

Carlton vs Richmond @ MCG

Matt Kennedy (122) – Followed up his massive AAMI performance with another 122. I don’t think you can do it in Classic with Walsh coming back and he is the best player from the midfield to go forward, but could be a bargain in draft based on last night.

Patrick Cripps (112) – Crippa another who followed on from the AAMI peformance, not quite the 140+ but a 112 from a guy priced at 82, brilliant!

Adam Cerra (110) – Great start to the season if he was one of your unique picks. Potentially could average around 105-110, especially as he won’t be tagged with Crippa and Walsh in the team. One to watch.

Sam Docherty (95) – One of my biggest highlights already (if you follow me on Twitter and or Instagram you would know). I love Doc and to see him back was great, but he also looked really good as well. Will be a top 6 defender and one I will be trying to get into my team ASAP.

George Hewett (91) – Much like the rest of the Carlton midfield, got plenty of the ball and scored well. Best part about Hewett is he is a lot cheaper than the other 3, and he is available as a defender which is why many of us have jumped on. If you haven’t, one you could grab next week.

Dustin Martin (71) – Unfortunately this is what you will get from Dusty. Unless he gets 30+ disposals, he will score you 60-80 points. Spent a fair bit of time forward as will in the 2nd half and only attended just over 50% of the CBA’s.

Jayden Short (68) – Not the start you want when you pick a premium. Had a fair few kick ins as well which probably saved him from scoring a 50. Didn’t notice him much after half time, which showed with scoring just 27 points in the 2nd half.

Corey Durdin (59) – Looked really good for his 59, and if you had him, you would be happy with this start. As Jeppa said on Twiiter, his workrate was amazing throughout the whole game and should be in the team long term and make us a decent amount of coin.

Daniel Rioli (56) – I saw a few people jumped on him as their D5 or D6. And being priced at 56, not what you wanted to see. I woul d say that no Richmond player scored well last night, but Richmond have never been a high scoring team so maybe Rioli will be a fix up trade next week for many.

Josh Gibcus (35) – I hope you didn’t have him on your field last night. Scored 27 of his 35 points in the 2nd quarter so based on that, might not even crack 300k.

So, after looking at those 2 games, we have another 7 games left for the round. Let’s get into the rest of the Weekend Forecast.

St Kilda vs Collingwood @ Marvel Stadium

Weather Forecast

***Roof Closed***

Players to Watch

Jordan De Goey

Named at full forward. Watch his role to see how much midfield time he plays.

Nick Daicos

Probably the biggest must have in fantasy this year, needs to be in everyone’s team. Looking forward to seeing how he goes on the big stage.

Jack Steele

Should score really well against the Pies who give up plenty of points. One of the top captain options.

Brodie Grundy

Should score well with only Marshall and no Ryder. Plays well at Marvel and has averaged 124 against the Saints in his last 4 so could be another good captain option.

Pat Lipinksi

Named on the ball. If he plays heavy midfield minutes, he will score well and he is really cheap for what he could do.

Other players to watch: Ben Paton, Brad Hill, Jade Gresham, Taylor Adams, Scott Pendlebury, Rowan Marshall, Jack Crisp, Mitch Ownes, Jack Hayes.

Geelong vs Essendon @ MCG

Weather Forecast

Around 29°C, partly cloudy

Players to Watch

Sam De Koning

The only 190k defender rookie that has been named, and looks to have the Lachie Henderson role. Should be in the team for a while.

Kaine Baldwin

Probably won’t have too many scores over 60, but his job security looks pretty good so a good bench option in our forward line.

Zach Merrett

If he is one of your premo mids, should be really good. Had a 142 against the Cats last year and looked good in preseason.

Nick Martin

The SSP signing had a brilliant 2nd half against St Kilda in the AAMI series, scoring 57 points from only 42% game time. As a 190k forward, great option that you could play on field. I only worry about his job security with Stringer and Snelling not playing.

Jye Caldwell

With no Stringer in the team and Jye playing so well in the 2nd half of the AAMI game, it will be interesting to see how much midfield time he plays.

Other players to watch: Tom Stewart, Andrew McGrath, Tyson Stengle, Patrick Dangerfield, Darcy Parish, Zach Guthrie.

GWS vs Sydney @ Accor Stadium

Weather Forecast

Around 26°C, partly cloudy

Players to Watch

Lachie Whitfield

Many peoples D1 or D2. Should get back to averaging over 100 and hopefully starts well against Sydney.

Isaac Heeney

Named at centre half forward. Watch to see how much mid time he gets. No Papley or Ladhams.

Justin McInerney

No Jake Lloyd in this game could mean even better things for McInerney. Should have a great role on the wing and across half back (maybe some CBA’s as well).

Stephen Coniglio

In many peoples teams after a great preseason, but rumours of a 50/50 split between midfield and forward. Interested to see what his role looks like during the game.

Josh Kelly

Great pick as an M1 or M2 (M3 if you are going big in midfield). Priced around 103 but could go 115 this season.

Other players to watch: Lance Franklin (can he get to goal number 1000?), Tim Taranto, Paddy McCartin, Callum Mills, Angus Sheldrick.

Brisbane vs Port Adelaide @ The Gabba

Weather Forecast

Around 23°C, clear skies

Players to Watch

Zak Butters

Should get plenty of midfield time this season. Great pick as a forward and I have him as a top 6 forward.

Ollie Wines

The reigning Brownlow medallist should be good for another 110 average season. If he is in your team, a nice POD.

Cam Rayner

Unfortunately we didn’t get to see him in the AAMI which would have been great to see how much midfield he played and if he could score well with it. A watch for round 1.

Lachie Neale

Underpriced and many peoples M2 or M3. Should be back to the 105+ Lachie Neale we normally see.

Jackson Mead

The Mead for Speed has been named to play round 1. I am not sure on his job security long term but the only midfield option at 190k that is playing so might be your M10 if you need the cash.

Other players to watch: Daniel Rich, Callum Ah Chee/Noah Answorth, Connor Rozee, Jarryd Lyons, Lachie Jones.

Hawthorn vs North Melbourne @ MCG

Weather Forecast

Around 27°C, partly cloudy

Players to Watch

Jason Horne-Francis

Similar to Nick Daicos, should be in everyone’s team. Might not score as well as Nick Daicos, but will still score great to be on our fields and make a heap of cash.

Tristan Xerri

Interested to see how much time in the ruck he plays. At 280k, if he can play at least 40% ruck time, will be a great option for us in the forward line as our F5 or F6.

James Sicily

Great option in defence that is underpriced for what he can do after not playing for 18 months. Should average around the 85 mark this season.

Josh Ward

Many peoples M8, named on a wing. Won’t get as many CBA’s as he did in the AAMI series, but should still score well regardless.

Aaron Hall

I didn’t think Hall would play round 1, but he is and I expect him to score well like he did last season. Maybe not as big, but still over 100 average. Too expensive to start with in Classic, unless you want to be really ballsy.

Other players to watch: Jai Newcombe, Jy Simpkin, Connor Macdonald, Max Lynch (if Reeves is not named), Tom Mitchell, Tarryn Thomas.

Adelaide vs Fremantle @ Adelaide Oval

Weather Forecast

Around 31°C, sunshine and partly cloudy at times

Players to Watch

Jordan Dawson

Will be an interesting watch to see exactly what role he plays after not seeing him in the AAMI. Risky pick to start with after not seeing him, but I still think he will be good.

Will Brodie

No Nathn Fyfe should mean plenty of midfield time for Brodie, like we have seen all preseason. Priced at 387k and as a forward, really good pick.

Josh Rachele

Really excited to see what he can do as an Adelaide Crows fan. Probably the must have forward rookie, will be more up and down with scoring compared to JHF and Daicos, but should still average around 70 and make us cash.

Matt Crouch

Excited to see Matt back fit and healthy. Hopefully he can stay on the pack for the whole season. Massive value and a must have based on his price, but injury history is a small flag to be aware of.

Wayne Milera

Junior is back! He has been out for so long and even though he hasn’t played any games in the preseason (besides Magoos) I think you can still pick him as your D5 or D6 as he is only 378k.

Other players to watch: Liam Henry, Andrew Brayshaw, Heath Chapman, Reilly O’Brien, Caleb Serong, Jake Soligo, Darcy Tucker, Neil Erasmus (if named).

West Coast vs Gold Coast @ Optus Stadium

Weather Forecast

Around 27°C, partly cloudy

Players to Watch

Touk Miller

The most expensive player in the game, should begin right where he left off last season against a depleted West Coast. Great captain option in the last game of the round.

Andrew Gaff

My (and Calvin’s boy) Gaffy is one of the last men standing in the Eagles midfield along with Jack Redden. Underpriced for what he has done in the past, but can you trust him?

Matt Rowell

Looked great against Geelong in the AAMI series, and is serious value on what he could do this season. A lock for many at M5 (M6 or maybe even M4 for some coaches).

Brady Hough

Gets and early debut with all the injuries at the Eagles. Maybe not a guy to start on your field, but if you are happy to spend the extra cash on your bench, he should be in the team for a bit.

Patrick Naish

After only signing for the Eagles a couple of weeks ago, the former Tiger gets his club debut straight away with the Eagles injuries. Should be on a wing, but maybe acoss half forward or half back. Priced at 314k and a mid/fwd, not a bad option as he could be in the team even when they have everyone back.

Other players to watch: Hugh Dixon, Willie Rioli, Lachie Weller, Jarrod Witts, Noah Anderson, Isiah Winder.

Anyway, thanks again everyone for reading the Weekend Forecast. If you have any questions about your starting teams, or anything else, leave your questions in the comments section below or hit me up at my Twitter or Instagram (links provided below).

Good luck for round 1 and the 2022 season!

Instagram: @baileyirrgang

Twitter: @baileyirrgang