The Stream Team – Round 6

Gather Round, you bested me. I don’t think this will be sharpest article, I’ll be honest. One of the highlights of making a fool of myself all weekend in Gatherlaide was bumping in the boys! Yes, after following Warnie, Roy and Calvin for deadset about 20 years now (and writing on their site for 5 weeks lolol), I was lucky enough to bump into them (somewhere) and have a chat. What did we talk about? I hope they remember…

Anyway, the purpose of this article is to suggest one-week streaming options for draft leagues. Each week, I compile a team of lowly owned players (<40% ownership) that are worthy of a one-week pick-up-and-play, helping you fill any gaps you may have in your starting squads.

But first, let’s see how I went last round:

HITS

Jaxon Prior (89 AF/81 SC) – that chippy-chippy game down back for the Dons looks pretty lucrative right now…

Darcy Byrne-Jones (80 AF/83 SC) – he’s a must hold while he’s in a half-back role.

Jake Stringer (88 AF/91 SC) – 84% game time and a swing midfield role? He’s must own right now.

MISSES

Caleb Windsor (45 AF/30 SC) – how? Just how?

Ryan Angwin (48 AF/58 SC) – he scored this with 2 goals? C’mon, buddy. So is the hit and miss game of the AFL winger.

There’s a noticable lack of BOOM from last week’s tips and I’m sorry about that. Ollie Dempsey only scored in the 70s as my Shoe-in of the Week which was a bit of a drag as well. Let’s see if I can shake this Gather Round hangover and bring some BOOM this round.

Here are the lowly owned players that I like as stream targets for Round 6 (ownership % taken from AFL Fantasy):

DEFENDERS

Dan Rioli (22%) vs. Essendon – having an indifferent year so far, Rioli seems to have slid into fantasy irrelevance. He scored a 90 AF against the Cats in Round 1, so he’s still got it in him. Despite the Bombers’ win last week, players of Rioli’s ilk are still likely to see a bump in their scoring, so don’t be fooled by last week’s scores from the Dees’ backs.

Zac Guthrie (15%) vs. Western Bulldogs – his ceiling scores haven’t been there this year, but the Dogs are more than happy to let teams possess the ball in the backline and the Cats have the skills to produce bulk marks back there. He’s been a favourite of mine to stream in the past and I can’t see him hurting you this week.

Oli Florent (34%) vs. Collingwood – he’s got a great matchup for wingers/running defenders and you can loop him from your bench on Thursday night. It’s a shallow league play given his ownership, but still, it’s only him and Newman who can score back there in my eyes, so consider playing him over a questionable D2/3 you may have.

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MIDFIELDERS

Levi Ashcroft (38%) vs. Melbourne – a shallow league play here, but he’s worth getting on field against a Demons team who were found out last week (I never believed in their decent start to the season). It’s a sweet matchup for outside ball-getters and you have to imagine that the Zorko out will open up some access to points (Levi loves floating back for a kick).

Angus Anderson (21%) vs. Carlton – I love this play this week. You may have heard this guy’s name mentioned on a fantasy podcast or 20 this week, so I won’t go on here. Sidey and De Goey are out, and Ned Long seems to be getting the snub with only 13% CBAs last week – Anderson had 50%. You can loop him from your bench, which is well worth a spin.

George Wardlaw (28%) vs. Richmond – he’s not getting huge TOG% numbers yet, but he’s still averaging 70+ AF and has one of the best matchups for inside mids. He’s fine as an M5-7 this week.

Elijah Tsatas (18%) vs. Gold Coast – the Suns have become a team to target for inside mids, and Tsatas scored a bunch of CBAs (61%) last week after making his 2026 debut. You have to assume that the Dons stick with their ‘winning’ formula, and if Tsatas can get back and score some of those mark/kick points in defence, he will have BOOM potential this week. He’s my Shoe-in of the Week.

RUCK

Nick Madden (38%) vs. Sydney – he scrapes into eligibility here, and I reckon his ownership would have jumped 37% after his big AF ton last round. He looks like a ruckman suited to the ‘modern game’, but don’t expect a ton against Grundy.

FORWARDS

Nick Larkey (17%) vs. Richmond – his only pop score has been a 93 AF against the Eagles earlier in the year, but at least we know he has it in him. Richmond are a basketcase and North will want to try and show their fans they’re a finals hope by punching down this week, so expect them to go full bore.

Matt Phillipou (23%) vs. Adelaide – don’t ask me why, but general forwards against the Crows are a dark green matchup right now. The Pou is coming off his highest score of the year (78 AF) playing on Adelaide Oval, where he finds himself playing again this week. His TOG is still somewhat of an issue, but with his fantasy chops, I still see him being worth the risk.

Lincoln McCarthy (2%) vs. Melbourne – he hasn’t shown anything in the way of fantasy scoring this year, but he has a dark green matchup for general forwards in the Dees and I just reckon he’s due. This is a real roughie of a tip aimed at people in deep leagues that are desperate for an F4/5.

It’s Thursday and I still don’t think my brain has returned to homeostasis yet… cheers, Gather Round. All the best with your streaming this week and get me on Twitter for any queries/questions you may have.

Peace.

Matty Faz

I like draft-style fantasy footy, frisbees and the Simpsons.