The Stream Team – Round 12

It’s bye time, which is essentially ‘Christmas’ for anyone who just loves to stream… I say this because a reputable podcaster in the fantasy community called the bye period ‘Christmas’ on his podcast and I laughed, lots. But honestly, how boring is it when our draft squads are settled? You simply don’t get to play the game as hard! I embrace the chaos. Combing the FA list for hidden gems, checking form and scoring trends, rolling out an unwanted asset in the hope they pull one out against your mates… Honestly, there is nothing more satisfying than hitting a well researched stream and that’s something we all need to do at some point during the byes.

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

So about that…

MISSES

Bruce Reville (43 AF/39 SC) – feel free to revile (lol) both me and Bruce for this effort. I guess it’s hard when your team is thoroughly humiliated…

Dear me… my comeback week went about as well as Brisbane’s third quarter on the weekend. This may be the first time I’ve never had a hit, and I’d need both your hands and mine to count how many players I had score in the 60s/low 70s last week. In summary, no hits, one miss and a bunch of indifferent scoring means I need to pull my socks up for round 12.

Here are the lowly owned players that I like as stream targets for Round 12 (ownership % taken from AFL Fantasy):

DEFENDERS

Jacob Farrow (23%) vs. West Coast – the rookie is putting together a fine first season, and with West Coast on deck, he has a chance to further showcase his wears. The Bombers could be revitalised after the Brad Scott axing this week, and with McGrath down, there could be some more ball back there for Farrow. Ridley might be back, but I’m not too concerned about that.

Josh Lindsay (13%) vs. Essendon – another rookie with an auspicious fantasy game, Lindsay gets the gravy matchup against the Dons this week. He’s growing in confidence and his teammates like to get it in his hands, so this one feels very safe.

Harry Himmelberg (9%) vs. Melbourne – we like steraming defenders against the Dees, with the potential added bonus here being Whitfield’s absence. Gone are the days of Harry’s BOOM scoring, but his floor is high and you could do worse in deep leagues.

MIDFIELDERS

Cam McKenenzie (23%) vs. St. Kilda – I like this one because it’s an easy loop on a Thursday night and he’s been in scoring form (2 90+ AF scores in his last 4 games). Will Day is set to return, but you’d imagine his minutes will be managed.

James Worpel (26%) vs. Carlton – it’s a neutral matchup for inside mids, but I liked what I saw Worpel do against the Pies a couple of weeks back. I’d say a score in the 90s is his ceiling, but I can assure you he won’t cost you a matchup. Even in the Geelong system, he only plays one role if he’s in the side and that’s inside mid. Check on this one when teams drop Thursday, because he killed it in the 2’s last weekend.

Elijah Tsatas (19%) vs. West Coast – another player who needs to get a call up from the VFL, Tstatas’ chances for a recall have opened up thanks to injuries to some key mids (Sharp, Caldwell and Durham) and a brand new coach who may be looking to try something different with the Bomber’s midfield mix. He’s worth going early on, and then you just have to hope he gets named on Thursday.

James Rowbottom (36%) vs. Richmond – obviously we are targetting the matchup here, but there is a reality where the Swans smack Richmond and the likes of Heeney and Warner get some rest towards the end of the game, leading to a BOOM score from someone of Rowby’s ilk…

RUCK

Nick Bryan (14%) vs. West Coast – we love the rucks versus West Coast matchup, and I’ll pretty much be filling this section of the article with N. Bryan until his ownership goes above 40% because there ain’t much else going on in terms of unowned rucks.

FORWARDS

Jake Lloyd (27%) vs. Richmond – the old dog has learnt some new tricks out on the Sydney wing, and you have to say that Matt Roberts’ unavailabillity has only been of benefit to Lloyd. A bruise-free, home-game against some league minnows should be just what we need to see a nice score from LLLLLoyd (remember when that was funny?). Anyway, I liked how he looked in the loss last week and with a big, easy win on the cards this weekend, Lloyd is an absolute Shoe-in.

Jake Waterman (23%) vs. Essendon – will Essendon get the new-coach-hit and actually do something on the weekend? With the 23 they’re set to run out, I don’t think so.

Archie Perkins (4%) vs. West Coast – alright deep league players, this one is for you. His last 3 games include an 81 and a 94 and with a slew of cavalry down and out for Essendon, the door is open for the Perk. The Eagles are still a plus matchup for general forwards, so there is nothing to say that Perkins won’t get at least a half-way useful score for your forward line this week.

It’s Christmas! Get streaming!

Matty Faz

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