The Stream Team – Round 16

If anyone else had Jack Sinclair as captain in a league, just know I’m feeling your pain at a visceral level. Getting a total of 4 from a captain is the lowest C score I’ve ever had; you can only laugh (or whinge in the group chat but that ain’t my style). But what was a heartbreaking end to a round can’t be lamented on, and the bounce back is something I pride myself on, even when we are managing fake sports teams that are largely out of our control.

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

Hugo Hall-Kahan (104) – BOOM, baby! At 5%, this stream was probably a game winner for anyone who went there. You have to hold here to see what this guy is about.

Joe Fonti (81) – no BOOM here, but an 81 at your D4/5 slot is fine. Please keep your eye on this guy in coming years – he certainly has the chops.

Josh Ward (85) – his ownership was relatively high, so I’m not going to high five myself too hard here, but a hit is a hit. He should be owned in all leagues IMO.

Blake Acres (100) – BOOM! His average moves into the 90s now and he’s a must hold given what we’ve seen from him under the new Blues regime.

MISSES

Joel Fitzgerald (48) – yuck. Playing the Crows in SA is no easy feat, so we can let him off for this one. You should be dropping him due to his poor score/bye week combo, however.

I’d call that a fairly tidy week, with a couple of BOOM scores and only one real blunder. Ben Ainsworth didn’t do anything particularly bad as my Shoe-in, but he didn’t hit either, so shame on me.

Here are the lowly owned players that I like as stream targets for Round 16 (ownership % taken from AFL Fantasy):

DEFENDERS

Nick Haynes (14%) vs. West Coast – Haynes has always had a fantasy game and long-time readers of this article will know that when we have a plus matchup for general defenders on hand, he’s one of my go-to streamers. There is some BOOM potential here, with a 90+ score well within the realms of possiblity, so I’m going with Haynes as my Shoe-in of the week!

Tom Brown (<2%) vs. Collingwood – my boy! With Richmond favouring the growth of their younger players, Short is being relied on less down back and guys like Brown and Banks (who should be owned everywhere) seem to be the beneficiaries. If he starts taking kick-ins, he could be a great late-season pickup. Oh yeah, and the Collingwood matchup is also favourable here.

Jeremy Howe (23%) vs. Richmond – he scored a very handy 93 last week and comes up against the Tigers. ‘Nuff said.

MIDFIELDERS

George Wardlaw (25%) vs. Essendon – he hasn’t eclipsed 80 since round 6, but that just makes him due for a pop score, right? If he’s ever going to do it, it’s this week. He’ll probably just score another circa 75 score, which is fine for your D5-7.

Steele Sidebottom (12%) vs. Richmond – we all know his best is way behind him, but he scored a 96 last week and has the Tigers on deck – it’s simple sometimes, this streaming caper.

Neil Erasmus (12%) vs. Gold Coast – it’s a neutral matchup for wingers, but we must acknowledge Erasmus’ last 2 scores of 83 and 114. He’s playing on his home deck, which is nice and wide, allowing for wingers to do their thing. Erasmus is a highly touted junior so I’ll be watching him over the next season or 2 to see if he’s actually got the chops.

Dylan Stephens (34%) vs. Essendon – Stephens gets a guernsey 2 weeks in a row for the Stream Team. Let’s just hope he can better capitalise on the easy kill this week…

RUCK

Nick Bryan (18%) vs. North Melbourne – back to the Bryan well I go… he is coming off a bye and will face a Kangas team missing Tristan Xerri, so I’m as hopeful as I’ve ever been in spite of all the poor scores he’s put up for the Stream Team so far this season.

FORWARDS

Dan McStay (1%) vs. Richmond – the matchup requires no explanation here, and this stream is for deep league players only. The only caveat here is that McStay’s highest score this season has been an 80.

Will Hayward (24%) vs. West Coast – aside from an aberration of a score against Essendon, Hayward has been more than serviceable as a fantasy forward. His low ownership upsets, so make me feel better and get him above my 40% ownership threshold.

Pat Voss (12%) vs. Gold Coast – the Suns have been leaking points to general forwards in recent times, and have been stinking things up while they were at it. This one is probably more about the fun of it than the assurance, so take a ride on the prancing pony if you’re feeling a bit silly or whatever.

Well, that’s all from me this week. Stream your guts out!

Matty Faz

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