Rowan Marshall – Deck of DT 2025

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Why should I pick him?

Initially I had a fair bit to include her, but with the news that Rowan Marshall suffered a pelvis stress fracture, it does make it harder to start RoMar in 2025, but Ross Lyon did say yesterday that he will ‘definitely play Round 1’. So, after hearing that news, if he plays in a preseason game or two, can we start him? Potentially.

Last season, Marshall was fantastic as the no.1 scoring and averaging player in 2024, with an average of 117.1 from 23 games. He also had an average of 126.7 post his Round 15 bye. He had some massive scores throughout last season, including 136, 138, 164, 171, 150, 135, 131, 140 and 131. Couple that with only 3 scores below 85, and you have a top tier fantasy player. One of those games was also injury affected against Port Adelaide, where he injured his knee in the first quarter. If you were to remove that score from his average (which we can ahaha), his average bumps up to 119.1. So there is a world where he knocks on the door of a 120 average.

The big appeal of starting Rowan Marshall in 2025 is if you want to go ‘set and forget’. For me, it is dependent year to year, but I tend to lean towards set and forget, and have been on the set and forget train all preseason. Last season was very different. We had all of Max Gawn, Brodie Grundy and Tristan Xerri presenting big upside and value, however I don’t feel as confident with the value rucks this season. By starting a Rowan Marshall and Tristan Xerri this season, barring injury or suspension, you won’t have to use multiple trades in your rucks like we do most seasons.

The final thing I want to touch on for Marshall is his early fixtures, which look really good on paper:

Round 1: Adelaide – Reilly O’Brien (150 vs Crows last season)

Round 2: Geelong – Rhys Stanley/Toby Conway/SDK/Blicavs (118 & 131 vs Geelong last season)

Round 3: Richmond – Toby Nankervis (136 & 140 vs St Kilda last season)

Round 4: Port Adelaide – Jordon Sweet/Ivan Soldo (73* & 119 vs Port Adelaide last season)

Round 5: GWS – Kieren Briggs (138 vs GWS last season)

Not only are they great matchups, but based on the scores against those opponents, he averaged 125.6 against them (133.1 if you remove the injured game).

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

The massive issue I have with starting Rowan Marshall is the injury. A stress fracture in the pelvis doesn’t sound pleasant, and he hasn’t/won’t be able to run for a couple of more weeks, which is an issue as the players are ramping up towards practice games that start in less than two weeks. Particularly when I am picking an uber premium, I want to be 100% confident on the player in terms of their role and scoring, plus not having an injury impacted preseason, which unfortunately RoMar has. Not sure about paying $1.201m for a player who will miss a crucial part of preseason.

The injury is not the only concern. The Saints went out and signed Harry Boyd, who tore apart the SANFL last year, being the best player in the comp with an average over 110. Now has he just come in to replace Tom Campbell, or will St Kilda look to deploy a duel ruck setup? Ross Lyon has mentioned they do like the look of Marshall forward, which does raise a flag or two. And particularly if Marshall is carrying an injury and or not fully match fit heading into Round 1, that would give St Kilda more incentive to give a Round 1 debut to Harry Boyd.

Couple both of these, and the fact that he is so expensive at $1.201m, its an expensive price to pay for a player that now has a question or two heading into the season.

Deck of DT Rating.

QUEEN

Pre his injury, I probably would have given him a king rating, potentially even ace, but with the injury, coupled with the signing of Harry Boyd and his expensive price tag, I had to bump him down to a Queen. I still think Marshall is in for a big season, and I don’t believe Harry Boyd will be in the team all season, but I unfortunately as a pro set and forget coach this season, just don’t think you can start Marshall at a $1.201m price tag with this many question marks heading into the season.

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Bails

I am a lover of all sports, especially the AFL. Some of the teams I support include the Adelaide Crows, Manchester United, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Rams just to name a few. I am also a big fan of fantasy sports, particularly AFL Fantasy and NFL Fantasy.