Caleb Daniel – Deck of DT 2025

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Craig – coach of Top Me Up Buttercup – was the 2019 AFL Fantasy Classic champion. He joins us today as a special guest for Winners Week where a former No.1 comes on to chat about a player for the Deck of DT.

Why should I pick him?

In many ways, this appears to be one of the easiest decisions we fantasy coaches have to make in 2025.

Caleb Daniel (aka the little helmet, as he’s affectionately known in the fantasy community) averaged in the high 80s each of the previous 3 seasons before his 2024 nose dive, predominantly brought about by a greatly diminished time on ground (thanks to 7 green vests and one red vest, and Bevo living up to his billing as one of the more frustrating coaches from a fantasy perspective).

In bounded the Roos, with a pitch that clearly got Caleb’s attention, and signature. In an interview soon after joining the Roos, when referring to Clarko’s view of his role in team, Caleb said: “[Clarko’s] talked around sort of positioning, whether or not I’ll be playing in sort of, half back position or around the midfield through there, um you know, it’s exciting to be able to do a few things.” This suggests he’ll be on the correct side of centre from a fantasy perspective, given midfield and half back are two areas of the footy field with the greatest probability of fantasy goodness.

The forward line barely screams any clear top 6 options this season, and Daniel could well find himself in that conversation sooner rather than later, if Clarko employs him in a similar style to his 2021-2023 usage at the Dogs. He did play the last 6 games of the 2024 season in the Dogs’ AFL side, and in the last 3 (when not used as the sub), he scored 87, 88 and finally 94 in the Elimination Final v Hawthorn, at an average clip of roughly 0.87 PPM. He still knows how to get it done, and now goes to a younger side desperate for more experienced heads to bring the younger guys along.

Under Clarko, we’ve recently seen the likes of Sheezel, McKercher and Fisher thrive on the North half back line, and famously before them, in 2021 Ziebell and Hall had career years taking kick-ins and getting a bunch of cheeky +6s in the Roos defence (admittedly not under Clarko’s watch). I can see Caleb Daniel slotting into the half back line and being given permission to roam up the ground at times, becoming part of possession chains out of defence and even driving the Roos inside forward 50 on occasion. His precise short to medium kick should help them in both facets.

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

Caleb had 3 separate stints in the VFL throughout 2024, in his words due to a combination of issues with form and a lack of confidence (in himself and from some former coaches). He’ll turn 29 during the season, and is fitting into a new club for the first time after a decade with the Dogs.

Really grasping at straws here, but there’s no guarantee that the role Clarko has pegged for him will be a fantasy friendly one – he could be seen as more of a mentor and to bring the younger guys along more quickly, than an accumulator of the pill. The Roos don’t play in Round 0, so aside from a pre-season hit-out (and to a lesser extent internal scratch matches), we won’t have a strong picture of the role he’ll play when we finalise our squads.

Don’t think that picking Caleb Daniel will be a never-ending bed of roses though – every now and then his floor scores rival those of the most defensive-minded key defenders, and subs who’ve come on for the last 10 minutes of the game, even when he’s played the whole game! I can still recall the shock of Daniel dropping a 20 in a full game in Ballarat back in 2021, and more recently a 39 at the same venue toward the end of 2023 (not counting sub affected games from 2024 here). Being a member of the Roos means he will get a look at some of the more exotic and obscure grounds around the country, which is somewhat of a cause for concern given his history… but fortunately Ballarat isn’t among his destinations this season!

Deck of DT Rating.

ACE

If Caleb Daniel gets a consistent role either across half back, or in the middle, or a combination of the two, then there’s no reason why he can’t push back toward the high 80s average he enjoyed the previous 3 seasons…. and given the Kangaroos’ recent history of fantasy gold in the backline, he could even push for a new career high (93.8 set in 2019, from 17 H&A games). Surely having the man-mountain-fantasy-beast Tristan Xerri as a helmeted partner-in-crime will also give Daniel a morale and therefore fantasy boost, worth at least a handful of points per game I’m sure!

Either way, priced at a fraction over 50 with a recent history of high 80s suggests that there is extremely low risk in picking Daniel, provided he is named in the Round 1 squad and is playing anywhere other than a forward pocket!

TopMeUpButtercup