Friday Fantasy Fill Up – Rd. 20

Welcome to a Friday arvo column that hopefully helps you get set for the weekend ahead. I’ll be looking at the key points/questions that have popped up during the week with some quick fire opinions, plus a look at how the mighty Warne Dawgs are looking ahead of the coming round.

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Late mail

News is dropping all of the time in the world of AFL and Fantasy coaches need to be on top of it. Old mate Pete from AFL Ratings is across it and often discusses getting info from the appropriate places.

Today we’ve recieved news that Jayden Short (injured) was withdrawn from the Tigers’ extended squad. He has been replaced by Hugo Ralphsmith. Their 22 for Sunday will be announced at 5pm AEST today. Ed Richards (illness) won’t be playing on Saturday in Ballarat. Luke Cleary comes in from the emergency list while James O’Donnell gets added to the emergencies.

Stay across all the news via the official channels … but for other news (that clubs don’t communicate), I’ll usually get that out on my Twitter feed. There are some pretty good track watchers out there looking after us…

Don’t worry Rowan Marshall owners. He’s the only ruck in the AFL squad training today #supercoach #AFLFantasy

— Brooke (@chookie94) July 28, 2023

The Rowan Marshall ‘shadow’ … should we jump?

Brooke’s tweet saw a big sigh of relief breathed out for plenty of coaches. But let’s rewind.

Pre-game on Saturday, Rowan Marshall underwent a fitness test and by all reports, Tom Campbell thought he was in. Ross Lyon said RoMa played through duress. It didn’t affect his Fantasy scoring, racking up 123 points. It is worth noting that Marshall played some time forward, especially later in the game, and shared the ruck duties more than usual.

For example. While he had the most CBAs for the Saints on the weekend, the ruck contests attended were down on the previous two weeks as shown in the table below. Marshall got some extra support in R20, most likely because of how he was feeling.

	R19	R18	R17
Marshall	59%	71%	82%
Caminiti	20%	24%	12%
Owens	14%	5%	6%
Battle	7%	0%	0%

It sounds like Marshall is sweet to go this week and there won’t be a second ruck in (Campbell or Hayes, who wasn’t named as emergency). But check on final teams at 5pm.

The tough thing with Marshall is the fact the Saints play on Sunday and if there’s a late change, options are limited. Well, not really, Max Gawn plays after … but it would mean you might be limited with your move on the other side. That is, you’re holding a trade just in case the Marshall to Gawn move is on, who the heck are you then moving on?

We’re left with making the move now – which is an aggresive one of dumping RoMa for the newly solo and inform Gawn. It’s a great move, but there is every chance they bring Grundy back in at some point. Hopefully not, but know that’s a chance … and it would make Gawn less of a knockout pick that he currently is.

You can also consider Luke Jackson as a cheaper option who has the No.1 ruck role for Freo now that Darcy has been put on ice for the rest of the season. At this stage of the season, I think I would be paying for the premium in Gawn, though.

Alternatively, you migth downgrade to Dante Visentini on the bench to provide some cover. He only scored 9 from 41% TOG in his debut in R16 when he was a super late in for Lycett. At least he knows now … and can possibly hit a 50 as cover. Better than a donut. Visentini’s last 3 SANFL scores were 39, 84, 132.

Simple answer – I think he plays, but there is some risk of a rest or at some stage playing tandem. If you want to have a crack at differentiating your team, the Gawn move works … especially as it might help your other trade.

Warne Dawgs – Round 20

I had strongly considered the Marshall to Gawn move this week and I need to put some cash on Ashcroft’s head. I was taking in $55k, so needed a bit more to get to a preferred move. With Lycett managed, Visentini as a basement ruck, I thought I would hold Marshall and have an emergency there instead of the ‘shadow’ jumping and moving him straight on.

I have started to make a ‘trade priority’ list … but it changes, especially with match ups. I don’t love having Callum Mills. He was playing outside and needed goals to get to his 98 last week. Fingers crossed he can still go alright against the Dons under the roof. Harry Himmelberg is my F6 (or is it Marcus Windhager?). I would like to change this, but with HH having the Dogs match up – we’ve spoken about what the Dons did against them last week – I have to hold. I am playing the loop game there as seen in the pic below. Will Day is also on borrowed time. Trades over these last few weeks will be interesting. I’m calling my team ‘no rookies on field’ but there are a couple who need to be moved on … cash is a little bit of an issue for me now! Hopefully I can still win my league flags… oh, and beat Calvin overall.

ROUND 20 TRADES

Will Ashcroft > Luke Davies-Uniacke
Lachlan McAndrew > Dante Visentini
Cash left: $7k

ROUND 20 CAPTAINS

Sam Docherty VC
Zach Merrett C

Click here to watch the YouTube video.

Lockout times

Friday, July 28	STADIUM (NETWORK)	EST	LOCAL
Collingwood vs. Carlton	MCG (SEVEN)	7:50pm	7:50pm
Saturday, July 29	STADIUM (NETWORK)	EST	LOCAL
Geelong Cats vs. Fremantle	GMHBA Stadium (FOX)	1:45pm	1:45pm
Western Bulldogs vs. GWS GIANTS	Mars Stadium (FOX)	1:45pm	1:45pm
Gold Coast SUNS vs. Brisbane Lions	Heritage Bank Stadium (FOX)	4:35pm	4:35pm
Essendon vs. Sydney Swans	Marvel Stadium (SEVEN)	7:25pm	7:25pm
Adelaide Crows vs. Port Adelaide	Adelaide Oval (FOX)	7:40pm	7:10pm
Sunday, July 30	STADIUM (NETWORK)	EST	LOCAL
Hawthorn vs. St Kilda	Marvel Stadium (FOX)	1:10pm	1:10pm
Richmond vs. Melbourne	MCG (SEVEN)	3:20pm	3:20pm
West Coast Eagles vs. North Melbourne	Optus Stadium (FOX)	4:40pm	2:40pm

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