One of the most important set of choices you’re going to make all year with your salary cap fantasy team is what to do with the rookies in your team this week and next week. This is especially true given the 70 minutes of madness last week meant that many, many coaches weren’t able to get the right set of rookies into their squad of 30 in the first place. Here’s a guide to the decisions you’ll no doubt be making.
Backs. Big problems here during round 1, which was a surprise given the pre-season performances of many hot young prospects. Instead of the plethora that we all expected to be able to choose from, the only rookie defenders who ended up pulling on a guernsey were Scott D. Thompson, Jake Edwards, Nathan J. Brown and Adam Hartlett. This week many coaches sighed with relief to see the names of Albert Proud, Lachie Hansen, Harry Taylor and Garrick Ibbotson on AFL team sheets, removing the need to trade out those players. However, Hartlett has been suspended and now Scott DT has been dropped!
Who to start in Dream Team (in order): Hansen, Edwards, Proud, Ibbotson, Brown, Taylor.
Who to start in Super Coach (in order): Brown, Hansen, Taylor, Proud, Edwards, Ibbotson.
Midfielders. A fair few were caught out by surprise non-selections during the madness, though Rhys Palmer, Chris Masten and Clint Bartram are among the rookies who were named this week to escape the fantasy chopping block. Some excellent performers here in round 1 but also some duds, most notably the very popular Craig Bird. None of the centre rookies got dropped this week despite rumblings about several players in the weeks ahead, like Travis Tuck and Sam Lonergan.
Who to start in Dream Team (in order): Jarryn Geary, Keiran Jack, Bartram, Cale Morton, Courtenay Dempsey, Tuck, Masten, Palmer, Bird, Brad Ebert, Lonergan.
Who to start in Super Coach (in order): Jack, Geary, Morton, Dempsey, Bartram, Palmer, Masten, Tuck, Bird, Lonergan, Ebert.
Forwards. I went into the season thinking that Kurt Tippett and Cyril Rioli were the two standout forward rookies, and I didn’t even like Tippett yet I put him in my side due to lack of choice. Turns out the forwards are where the action is at with rookies this year: Josh Hill, Colin Garland, Paul Stewart, Ryan Gamble and even Cameron Stokes all delivered decent scores in round 1, and don’t forget the double eligibility of Edwards, Hartlett and Brown from the backs. This week we’ve got Lachlan Henderson, Ben Ross and Chris Mayne joining the party.
Who to start in Dream Team (in order): Garland, Hill, Gamble, Edwards, Rioli, Tippett, Stewart, Henderson, Brown, Stokes, Mayne, Isaac Weetra, Heath Grundy, Ross.
Who to start in Super Coach (in order): Hill, Garland, Gamble, Tippett, Henderson, Stewart, Rioli, Brown, Edwards, Mayne, Stokes, Ross, Weetra, Grundy.
