Rory Laird – Deck of DT 2024

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Why should I pick him?

It should not come as a surprise to many that I am once again keen to start Rory Laird in 2024. Last season, Lairdy started as the most expensive player in the game after a massive 2022 that saw him average a massive 120.4 with 12 scores over 120 from his 20 games, while he also averaged 128.7 after his bye. He did not have a great start to 2023 however, as he scored 57 against GWS but that was an extremely hot game and from reports was sick also heading into the game. He then followed up with a season high score of 142 against Richmond, but then back to back tag affected scores of 83 vs Port Adelaide (Drew tag) and 84 vs Fremantle (Aish tag). This saw his price plummet and really costed coaches that paid the expensive price tag for him. From that point on though, Lairdy was able to get back into his groove, where he averaged 113.2 from the remaining 18 games and only went under 100 on two occasions, 81 in Round 12 vs Gold Coast (David Swallow tag) and 85 in Round 16 vs North Melbourne. From this alone, if he does what he did from round 5 onwards (plus he sat out the last quarter vs St Kilda), you already have about 4-5 points of upside and it could even be more.

I say it could be more because Lairdy dealt with a couple of niggling injuries throughout 2023, which was surprising as he has been very durable over his career. He firstly dealt with a calf niggle for a fair portion of the season where he was wearing some strapping on his calf from round 7 till probably about 6 weeks left of the season. He then copped a massive hit against St Kilda in Round 9 where he was on track for a monster score (101 early stages of the last quarter). The biggest injury Lairdy dealt with was a shoulder injury he suffered vs GWS in Round 18 (just a casual 131 points in that game by the way). He was forced to miss the game against Melbourne the following week, but returned and finished out the season strongly with five 100+ scores (four of them 110+). I have discussed his injuries because if he can average 109.2 while carrying injuries throughout 2023, what can a fit and firing Rory Laird do in 2024? I believe he can return to a 115 average, and we know he can average 120.

My final point as to why Lairdy is a good starting option is he is as safe a captain option as you will find. As I said before, Lairdy only went under 100 on five occasions last season (the Rnd 1 GWS hot game and 3 of them tags). He won’t cop much or any of the tags in 2024 because  I see Dawson copping more attention than he did in 2023. Another crazy stat is since Laird moved into the midfield in Round 9 vs North Melbourne in 2020, he has only gone under 80 on two occasions, 75 in Round 11 2021 vs Richmond and the 57 vs GWS last season.

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

There are only two small flags that could maybe make you think about not starting Rory Laird in 2024. Firstly, Adelaide are a much improved side from where he averaged 120 in 2022. There are more mouths to feed like Jordan Dawson, Matt Crouch, then the likes of Luke Pedlar, Josh Rachele, Jake Soligo, Rory Sloane and even a Ben Keays all ran through their last season (I don’t see Keays or Sloane having many CBA’s in 2024). So can Lairdy continue to be that high averaging player with more mouths to feed?

The other flag is that it pains me to say, but Lairdy turned 30 just before the new year. A lot of people have the “no players over 30 rule”, but I don’t think it will factor in as much as what it would for a guy that played midfield his whole career, because Lairdy has only been a mid for three and a half seasons so he doesn’t have as much of that wear and tear of being an inside mid for 10+ years.

A couple of small flags here that have to be considered, but I don’t personally see them as big issues that would sway you away from selecting Rory Laird in your team.

Deck of DT Rating.

KING

He’s an ace pick for me personally (shock horror), but in all seriousness, Rory Laird I believe is a king in the Deck of DT, and a fantastic option in 2024. There isn’t much not to like about him. He is a captain option every week, has potentially 5+ points of upside which isn’t easy to find with the higher priced players and he doesn’t play in Opening Round, meaning he will be available for every game of the 2024 season. This is why he is a great option to start as your M1 or M2 if you want a couple of big guns in the midfield. I see him returning to a 115 average, realistically I don’t think he goes 120 like he did in 2022 but it wouldn’t shock me if he pushed it that marker. Could even be a shout for finishing as the M1 in 2024.

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Bails

I am a lover of all sports, especially the AFL. Some of the teams I support include the Adelaide Crows, Manchester United, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Rams just to name a few. I am also a big fan of fantasy sports, particularly AFL Fantasy and NFL Fantasy.