14 down, 10 to go!

We’ve nearly made it. 12 trades and a lot of headaches later, the bye rounds are almost finished and a testing Round 15 is all that separates us from our best 22 players returning to the field. Coming out of the byes, most coaches would’ve traded all the mainstream cash cows when they hit the $400K-$500K mark and upgrading these rookies when you get the chance is still a wise tactic. The race to get your rookies off the field is well and truly on and it’s important to note there are less than 20 trades left this season to help you complete that feat.

Rookie/cash cows are defined as players who started the season priced at roughly $300,000 or less

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Mooooving On

Part of our weekly trade focus is to remove the rookie-priced players who are no longer making money. When a cash cow sees their average fall in line with their breakeven or they find themselves on the outside looking in for multiple weeks at a time, that’s a good time to give them the axe.

Fattened cash cows

1. Samson Ryan, Tigers ($401K, AVG 48, BE 77)
2. Will Ashcroft, Lions ($702K, AVG 81, BE 108)
3. Alex Cincotta, Blues ($396K, AVG 55, BE 57)
4. George Wardlaw, Kangaroos ($469K, AVG 65, BE 51)
5. Harry Sheezel, Kangaroos ($758K, AVG 98, BE 97)

Injured/non-playing rookies

1. Blake Drury, Kangaroos ($234K, AVG 31, BE 31)
2. Lachlan Cowan, Blues ($327K, AVG 41, BE 29)
3. Alwyn Davey Jr, Bombers ($300K, AVG 40, BE 44)
4. Harry Sharp, Lions ($332K, AVG 59, BE 5)
5. Fergus Greene, Hawks ($361K, AVG 42, BE 71)

Cash Cow King – Round 14

This stat doesn’t sound accurate but for the first time since Round 8, Harry Sheezel (98) was the top rookie scorer after he flirted with a fantasy century against the Bulldogs. Earlier that same day, Bailey Humphrey (75) maintained his cash generation with a strong score and the ever-popular Will Ashcroft (71) again features in the top-5 after his 23 disposals on Friday night. Angus Sheldrick (82) produced the best fantasy numbers of his young career against Ashcroft’s Lions while Dylan Williams (76) commenced proceedings in Round 14 with a noteworthy 76 points.

Round 14 Power Rankings

After 14 weeks of action, these are the top 10 cash cow performers in season 2023!

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Making Moves

Money makers

There are three rookies that stand out as practical options from a downgrade perspective this week. They aren’t all created equally though, with Angus Sheldrick ($275K, 82, BE -21) the obvious standout for coaches who haven’t yet acquired the Sydney youngster. Sheldrick only played in 55% of the game against Brisbane last Friday, recording just 57% TOG the week prior in a loss to the Saints. That hasn’t stopped him from scoring in big doses, kicking a pair of snags in his most recent outing to go with 19 touches. The other two cash cows worth a look featured in the same game of Round 14, with debutant Jaspa Fletcher ($296K, 56, BE 20) and returning Lion Kai Lohmann ($233K, 57, BE 6) showing flashes of potential. The job security for both Fletcher and Lohmann gives me reason for pause, although the first gamer in particular showed enough to suggest he’ll feature a few more times this season.

I’ve been hot and cold when it comes to Dylan Wiliams ($557K, 76, BE 58) all season, but he deserves a ton of praise. Port Adelaide’s ascending defender is now 3rd for price increase across the entire season and his scoring has been consistent with an average of 72 points in the last two months of football. I wouldn’t consider Williams as a long-term keeper and about 1,000 coaches have already ditched him now that the Power has hit their bye. If you don’t move the Port cash cow this week, it’s time to start planning for his departure and you can lump Bailey Humphrey ($553K, 75, BE 51) into the same category. Producing at an eerily similar rate to Williams, the Suns’ rookie managed a career-best TOG percentage against Carlton, although it’s clear Humphrey has almost reached his peak.

Keep the faith

There’s nothing wrong with trading Harry Sheezel ($758K, 98, BE 97) however, I still think the stellar first-year Roo can produce a few more fantasy centuries to close the 2023 campaign. Sheezel hasn’t posted 100+ points since Round 10 although a week off should freshen him up for the back half of the year. Coaches who may have kept Darcy Wilmot ($461K, 61, BE 44) as a warm body through the byes would’ve been happy with his pair of 60’s and a matchup against the Saints may see him keep the streak alive. As soon as a discounted defensive rook makes themselves known (a Fahey reemergence would be convenient) those leftover Wilmot owners among us can give confidently him the chop. Mattaes Phillipou ($481K, 68, BE 51) could also step up with a handy bye-round score in Round 15, coming off a strong performance against the Tigers with 18 disposals.

Last week saw a great deal of Seamus Mitchell ($538K, DNP, BE 47) and Josh Weddle ($508K, DNP, BE 43) owners offload the Hawthorn pair now that they’ve played their role as cash cows – making a combined $580K on the season so far! It’s worth noting, Changkuoth Jiath is no certainty to return to the Hawks lineup and the suspension of James Sicily opens the door for both Mitchell and Weddle to pump out big numbers against Gold Coast. A trade in the near future is wise, but holding them as a member of your best 18 for one more round is definitely acceptable. There are still no assurances we’ll see Harvey Harrison ($256K, DNP, BE -2) run out for Collingwood this weekend, with over 20,000 teams hoping the Magpies teen holds his place in the side. If he does, then Harrison is a viable downgrade pick, although I’m not convinced we’ll see him feature for long.

Cut them loose

The final bye round is a great time to offload any of the rookies you’ve been playing who have maxed out in price and are scheduled to put their feet up this weekend. Alex Cincotta ($396K, 40, BE 57) is a prime example and coaches have acted quickly with the Blues backman the 3rd most traded-out player. Anyone holding onto Roos midfielder Will Phillips ($526K, 63, BE 52) could also give him the flick and thanks to his recent scores he’s priced well enough to find a decent upgrade. Speaking of Will’s, it’s becoming clear that Will Ashcroft ($702K, 71, BE 108) has reached his ceiling and if you can replace him with a top-tier MID then that’ll be an ideal trade. Keeping it succinct, I expect the coaches who invested in Kade Chandler ($493K, DNP, BE 51), Reuben Ginbey ($504K, DNP, BE 57) and Luke Pedlar ($480K, DNP, BE 59) to have moved them on by now and if you need to make up a full 18 this week, they’re a priority at the trade table in Round 16.

GameDay Squad – Create. Coach. Compete.

Thin Ice

A week can be a long time in the fantasy world and after their heroics in Round 14 both Matthew Johnson ($434K, 37, BE 36) and George Wardlaw ($469K, 31, BE 51) are now in the bad books for coaches. Their crappy scores could see some swing the axe this week and it’s going to be hard to field either rookie when we need 22 scores from our squad instead of 18. things return to normal at the end of this weekend’s worth of games. Johnson may still get a run in Freo’s midfield after being cleared of any injury concerns following the GWS match, although the return of Jaeger O’Meara could see him squeezed out of the rotation. The role that Wardlaw plays for North Melbourne now seems pretty set in stone, but the impending return of Luke Davies-Uniacke is bound to have an impact on the scoring potential of the first-year MID.

One of the most traded out players a week ago, Jacob van Rooyen ($429K, DNP, BE 41) may have been given another life by coaches, with the chance he can still make a few extra bucks. Key forwards don’t tend to be huge performers in the bye rounds and there wasn’t a great amount of optimism for the Dees tall after he scored less than 50 in three of his last four matches. The cheaper Sam Sturt ($284K, 68, BE 12) has tempted a small number of coaches and I think the smart decision is to stay away from the Dockers small forward. While Sturt was able to kick two snags in their loss to the Giants, he did score just 40 points the week before against Richmond. Best to steer clear. Lastly, with Oisin Mullin ($244K, DNP, BE 9) not listed on Geelong’s injury list, nearly 23% of coaches have their fingers crossed that he can earn an instant recall and contribute before returning to D7 or D8.

Sub status

Subbed On – Ryan Angwin, Miller Bergman

Subbed Off – Josh Sinn, Jack Buller, Matthew Johnson, Thomas Berry, Phoenix Spicer

A lot of familiar names found themselves on either side of the vest in Round 14 and it’s no surprise to learn none of them finished with more than 40 points. The biggest bummer was Josh Sinn ($211K, 14, BE 37) failing to fire in 50% of game time, registering just five touches and possibly set for a demotion. A single-digit score from Ryan Angwin ($304K, 2, BE 56) makes him a must-trade for anyone still clinging onto the GWS cash cow and now that he’s been given the all-clear from the doctors, let’s hope Matthew Johnson avoids the vest in the next few weeks.

Reserves Watch

All eyes were on Josh Fahey as he returned to the VFL with the Giants prospect back to business with a standard score of 96. Responding to his omission with 22 touches (19 kicks) and 7 marks in GWS’ big win could see Fahey in the mix for a role as the substitute once again. I know I’m not the only one who would much rather see Fahey bide his time in the two’s if it meant Adam Kingsley would give him a proper run, but there are no guarantees he’ll get that chance again this season. The other popular name coaches have been monitoring for a few weeks is Jaxon Binns and of course, Carlton’s untried MID/FWD put up another impressive score of 112 fuelled by 32 disposals and 7 marks.

In the WAFL, Corey Wagner maintained his strong form for Peel Thunder by scoring 80 points from 19 touches, but a recall isn’t likely given the relative health across Fremanlte’s roster. We could see the return of James O’Donnell given the injury crisis facing the Bulldogs’ defensive stocks. The first-year backmen scored a mediocre 61 last weekend thanks to 12 disposals and 6 marks which isn’t enough to entice if he does get called up. His teammate Arthur Jones probably won’t get another immediate crack at the top level following his 5-touch effort against Williamstown. Residing on nearly 6% of benches it seems as though Harry Sharp has a similar fate and will spend the foreseeable future playing for Brisbane’s VFL side. Last weekend he scored a healthy 101 points with a full stat sheet including 23 disposals, 5 tackles and 6 marks.

Geelong duo Mitch Knevitt and Mitch Hardie had near identical stat lines to keep themselves in the selection mix for the Cats last weekend. Mid-season draftee Hardlie helped himself to 21 disposals in a win over Frankston, finishing with 101 points while a game-high 9 tackles for Knevitt enhanced his score of 96 nicely. Another potential cash cow from Geelong Ollie Dempsey is still scoring at will in the state league, recording 25 disposals, 7 marks and 3 goals for a very respectable 107 points. Swans big man Lachlan McAndrew muscled his 63 points thanks in large part to his 47 hitouts and Tigers DEF/MID Sam Banks remains one to watch after chalking up 27 disposals that saw him end with a score of 93.

Remember the Name

In no particular order, here are some of the other rookie-priced players to consider throughout the season.

DEFENDERS

Jake Stein (Suns, $288K)
Rhett Montgomerie (Bombers, $200K)
Jakob Ryan (Magpies, $246K)
Sam Banks (Tigers, $200K)
Karl Worner (Freo, $200K)
Sam Durdin (Blues, $213K)
Darragh Joyce (Lions, $241K)

MIDFIELDERS

Connor Blakely (Suns, $235K)
Billy Dowling (Crows, $216K)
Elijah Tsatas (Bombers, $292K)
Ed Allen (Magpies, $264K)
Hugh Bond (Crows, $202K)
Mitch Hardie (Cats, $200K)
Jack Peris (Saints, $200K)
Henry Hustwaite (Hawks, $228K)

RUCKMEN

Jacob Edwards (Kangaroos, $200K)
Alex Mirkov (Blues, $200K)
Hamish Free (Kangaroos, $200K)
Harry Barnett (Eagles, $256K)
Max Heath (Saints, $200K)
Dante Visentini (Power, $200K)

FORWARDS

Jaxon Binns (Blues, $238K)
Joe Richards (Magpies, $206K)
Finlay Macrae (Magpies, $290K)
Hugh Jackson (Power, $200K)
James Willis (Cats, $200K)
Jaiden Hunter (Bombers, $200K)
Patrick Voss (Bombers, $200K)

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