The Stream Team – Round 15

You know those bye weeks where you can’t even try and be competitive? You’ve just got so many bye players that you don’t stream, or loop, or even check your matchup really. Well I’m coming off that week in my main 2 draft leagues, so it’s nice to have a need to pay attention this week.

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

Dylan Stephens (92) – he’s a certain hold with Richmond to come next up.

Ollie Dempsey (85) – you might hold him for the bye, but you’re well within your rights to drop him if you like.

Xavier Duursma (92) – he’s playing a wing role, so this was more about his matchup than anything else. He’s on his bye, so you can flip him without second thought.

Logan Morris (75) – you’re taking that in your forward line. You can drop him as he’s on the bye though.

MISSES

Nick Bryan (46) – he was up against Gawn, but 46 for a solo ruckman playing 81% TOG is still pretty bad. He’s on the bye, so I can’t recommend him again this week, thank Christ.

Cooper Trembath (30) – all swing, no ding on this roughie.

A pretty average week, all things considered, as the Shoe-in (Conor Idun) didn’t exaclty do amazingly either. The real question is, with Nick Bryan being bad/on his bye, who will I recommend to stream for rucks!

Here are the lowly owned players that I like as stream targets for Round 15 (ownership % taken from AFL Fantasy):

DEFENDERS

Hugo Hall-Kahan (5%) vs. Melbourne – is there a stronger hyphen in the game right now? The matchup for rebounding defenders is fruitful here, and I really liked what I saw from HHK last week. There are many mouths to feed down back for the Crows, but against the Dees, I can still see HHK getting some.

Tom Blamires (6%) vs. Richmond – I’ll stick with the theme of Classic-relevant rookies here. Blamires came back into the squad last week in lieu of Hardeman, and put up a sturdy 80 in a role we like to see in the backline. He has an even more auspicious matchup this week, so a repeat of last week’s scoring is certainly in line here.

Joe Fonti (21%) vs. Carlton – Carlton are a nice matchup for general defenders, and Fonti is coming off of a very handsome ton. I don’t know how he finds it with Ash and Whitfield back there, but he does. I like Fonti as a future fantasy prospect in general, as I reckon he has the chops.

MIDFIELDERS

Josh Ward (~37%) vs. Gold Coast – the Suns are a stream target when it comes to inside midfielders, and before his bye, Ward scored a delightful little 99 playing in that role. Could Will Day’s return bolster Ward’s scoring? The sample size is too small to tell so far, but an inside maestro like a fit Day could free up Ward to get more ball on the exterior.

Blake Acres (28%) vs. GWS – the matchup is neutral here, but you can’t ignore that 87.5 avergae (and triple figure score in his last game). The winds of change are blowing at the Blues, and although there are no assurances here, Acres is still worth a punt.

George Wardlaw (25%) vs. Richmond – with his TOG% stuck in the 60s, this stream feels about exciting as a common cold. However, he’s playing Richmond, so a 90+ score can still be achieved here.

Joel Fitzgerald (14%) vs. Adelaide – the Crows aren’t the juicy matchup for inside mids that they once were, but that doesn’t mean we should be overlooking this guy. Considering Fitzgerald’s ball magnetism in the 2s, he’s well worth a look as not only a stream, but a permanent pick up.

RUCK

Marc Pittonet (~36%) vs. GWS – his ownership is pretty high, so this one feels a little easy if I’m being honest, but he just qualifies as being ‘lowly owned.’ He has a great matchup, and will be fresh off his bye. Grundy owners, go see if he’s available in your league.

FORWARDS

Nick Larkey (~10%) vs. Richmond – the matchup is obvious, but Larkey is also coming off a nice 4 goal haul so his tail should be wagging at the moment. His highest score(s) this year have been 2 93s, which tells me the BOOM potential is low here. Then again, it is Richmond…

Mitch Owens (4%) vs. Western Bulldogs – I’ve always thought that this guy had the chops, but the fast start he had in his first season hasn’t really evolved into anything fantasy relevant. General forwards like it against the Dogs and Owens can score on his day, making this a worthwhile stream for deep league players who need a forward.

Ben Ainsworth (14%) vs. GWS – he has a neutral matchup for players of his ilk, but that’s not what this stream is about. Ainsworth has a 5 round average of ~80, and seems to be benefiting from the rejuvenation happening at the Blues. Aside fro a 59 against Port (an unfavourable matchup for general forwards), Ainsworth’s last 6 scores have been useful. After seeing what the likes of Sharman, Ryan and Hall did against the Giants last week, I’m calling Ainsworth my Shoe-in of the week. 

Alright, we are almost into the final tri-mester of the season. Yahoooo! Hit me up on X for any streaming queries you may have.

Adios!

Matty Faz

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