GameDay Squad – Round 8 Trading Targets

• There are no weekly trade restrictions, which means that you can take your MRO frustrations out stress-free.
• In GDS the cards you use to play are virtual player cards which you can collect from player card packs, with that, there is a fully functioning peer-to-peer transfer market in which you can trade, auction and sell player cards that you own. Yes, this means that you can not only rage trade but rage sell all of your Jacob Hopper cards!

It’s also essential to keep in mind that GameDay Squad is a dynasty fantasy football platform and that will be heavily taken into consideration in this article.

GameDay Squad – Create. Coach. Compete.

BUY!

Luke Jackson

Fremantle Dockers – Ruckman (RUCK)

Now… before you scroll straight down to the comments section to give me a piece of your mind, just hear me out a second. At the time of writing, Freo’s number one ruck Sean Darcy is in serious doubt for their match-up against the Hawks at Optus Stadium on Saturday night. With a little bit of quick maths, means that Jackson should see a boost in centre-bounce-attendances in the outing, a stat that Darcy has dominated over Jackson to this point in the season (Darcy 84% CBA %, Jackson 21% CBA %). The Gawn and Grundy pairing gave us a first-hand look at what one or the other can do when an injury occurs. Grundy averaged 115 GDS points in rounds 3-5 while Gawn was nursing a knee injury. It goes to show that it’s worth holding on to a card or two of these dual-ruck stars because if one goes down, the other gets thrown straight into must-start conversations.

That exact equation is what many coaches will have to deal with this week. We only have an extremely small sample size of what Luke Jackson can do when he has the keys to the ruck contest. Before switching to Freo out west, Jackson was paired with ruck superstar Max Gawn and was often starved of opportunity. In 2022 however, Jackson played one game without Gawn and went ballistic for 138 GDS fantasy points.

Given GameDay Squad is a dynasty fantasy sports platform, Luke Jackson is a player card you should want a piece of the pie of anyway, but as soon as Sean Darcy misses time, Jackson needs to be viewed as startable, especially seeing as though Jackson is listed as a forward in GameDay Squad Aussie Rules. He needs the opportunity to match his immense talent and he’ll be off to the races!

Jason Johannisen

Western Bulldogs – Forward (FWD)

Jason Johannisen is a player I know will hurt me and I know I shouldn’t be interested in but I just can’t help but fall into his trap. Johannisen is actually probably the opposite of what fantasy coaches should be looking for, he’s extremely injury prone, known to have major dips in form, prone to a sudden role change, and just for a cherry on top, he’s getting on in age. So now that we ripped the bad off like a bandaid, let’s get into some good, shall we?

First I would argue that the role we see Johannisen in today is probably his most fantasy friendly since maybe their premiership year in 2016? His role over the past three rounds where he has averaged 102 GDS fantasy points has reverted to his deeper defensive role of old, where he’s able to use his damaging kicking ability and run and carry out of defence. We have even seen him mimic Nick Daicos’ trick where he takes a kick out and then runs in behind for the easy receive for yet another kick. His kick-out numbers are his most enticing numbers in my opinion. Through six games Johannisen is averaging 6 kick-ins per game but what’s more is he is gaining, on average, 17 GDS fantasy points in easy kick/marks after his kick-ins. Easy, sweat-free points are just what fantasy coaches love most!

For champion competition coaches, if you have a platinum or diamond Jason Johannisen card, I’d give it a think about starting him, if not, watch him over the next week or so to see if he gains your trust at all.

SELL!

Brad Crouch

St Kilda Saints – Midfielder (MID)

Going a little rogue this week but there’s method to the madness. Brad Crouch is an insanely good footballer and we just saw how great he can be for fantasy when Jack Steele isn’t available for selection, averaging 143 GDS fantasy points (146, 140, 143 points) with Jack Steele recovering from injury from rounds 3 to 5. Elite production from an elite player, but is it time now to cash in? It’s a bit icky… But I’m thinking yes.

Brad Crouch, who is now 29 years old is coming off some of the hottest fantasy form in the league and now it’s time to sell him while he’s still hot. Jack Steele affects his scoring, whether we like it or not, the proof is in the numbers. Crouch is averaging just 84 points per game with Steele back in the side. He is still more than capable of scoring well enough, but in GameDay Squad Aussie Rules, you only have 5 midfielder slots to select from, there are options far safer and much better as dynasty options than Brad Crouch.

For AFL Fantasy, Crouch has an ownership of 2.21%… which isn’t a lot… but for those 2.21% of owners, please jump ship before he loses more cash! If you have the means of course. He’s got a BE of 147 AFL Fantasy points, which he has in his locker for sure… but best be safe at this point.

Will Setterfield

Essendon Bombers – Midfielder (MID)

I like Will Setterfield… The Will Setterfield experience was fun! But the Will Setterfield experience is over… As mentioned above, in GameDay Squad Aussie Rules, you have just five midfield slots to fill, you can find and trade for much better than Will Setterfield at the moment. Now is the time to do it as well, some are still high but the numbers don’t lie. Essendon has started to experiment, Jake Stringer led the team in centre-bounce-attendances in round 7, Dylan Shiel’s numbers have been creeping up, and exciting draftee Elijah Tsatas is expected to play a role soon so we can expect to see Setterfield’s midfield minutes diminish drastically as the season goes on I think. His scoring power is down at the moment as well, scoring just 96 and 62 GDS fantasy points in his last two outings. I’d be trading up while I still can, shopping around for value or setting him in your reserves until he, hopefully, finds that form again.

For AFL Fantasy the ship is sinking, he’s still being held onto by around 18% of coaches but leaked -34k in round 7… the time is now to get rid, otherwise it could be too late.

HOLD…

Luke Davies-Uniake

North Melbourne Kangaroos – Midfielder (MID)

Another Kangaroo to feature as a hold option and this time it’s Luke Davies-Uniake who has suffered some injury-related problems and it has to be said, some form-related problems as well. Are the two related? Maybe, probably, but one thing is for certain and it’s that the guy is an absolute jet! LDU is a test to play this week but nevertheless, he’s a hold through thick and thin. The 23-year-old is one of the best dynasty options in the league and I’m not liking the look of how many LDU cards I’m seeing on the transfer market as of late!

LDU’s last three-round average of 91 GDS fantasy points is not a reflection of his scoring power, I’d even consider LDU one of the best buy low options league-wide on the transfer market right now. In LDU’s first two outings of the season, he posted up scores of 123 and 143 GDS fantasy points, much more like himself so if you don’t have him, go and get him. If you do, do not sell him.

For AFL Fantasy I think it all leans on whether he plays this weekend or not. Most will be able to hold for a week, but two starts to become a problem. The decision is up to the coaches, but it should be unanimous for whichever platform you play that LDU is a star.

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera

St Kilda Saints – Midfielder (MID)

Granted, this is a stash… but do not go including any Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera cards in your trade bundles just yet! Wanganeen-Milera has shown glimpses on a semi-consistent basis of how good he might prove to be as a fantasy scorer, maybe sooner than we think. He’s one of the best field kicks in the league, averaging a 75% disposal efficiency percentage on 16 kicks per game which ranks him 14th league-wide for total kicks.

He’s listed as a midfielder for 2023, but he could very well be in line for a position change to defender status in 2024, which could very well catapult him into starter conversations. His GDS average of 96 points per game is elite for his age, at still just 20 years old, I feel he’s getting slept on pretty heavily considering his kick-to-handball ratio, role and how much Ross seems to love the ball in his hands. If he starts piecing some games together, expect his value to skyrocket, he may not be slept on for much longer. So, keep an eye on him, hold his player cards tightly and try and get your hands on as many as possible.

For AFL Fantasy, old mate has DPP defender status, he is a massive watch over the next few weeks to see if he builds on his fairly consistent base scoring. He’s another player-of-difference option, like Hayden Young last week, that could be an awesome upgrade option. If you play in a keeper league, it’s definitely worth kicking the tires on seeing if this guy is available… 20 years old….

The information contained in the article is not intended and should not be understood or construed as financial advice. As always please do your own research, my placing history suggests you should absolutely do your own research!