Every club has its stars and it’s… guys who are good to have in the locker room.
But as fantasy coaches those are the important guys to us. It’s not the 10, 15 or 19 guys we know are locks for the team; it’s the last one that we agonise over, and in hind sight makes us wonder what-if we’d selected differently. Be it age, role, job security, injury history or just not liking the player, there are plenty of reasons why we may hold or fold on a player when we shouldn’t.
So without further ado, here’s a very unqualified opinion on that last keeper of each team who may have raised the eyebrows (or at least caught the interest) of other coaches:
Jack Billings (Puttenesca Chiefs) – Struggled with injury last year, and with a new coach at St Kilda, he may even struggle to be on the team. On the flip side he could get forward status this year and be a hand forward option even elite if he gets sufficient midfield rotations. However on a keeper list that has 10 midfielders and 3 forwards, maybe a Kyle Langford’s forward status would’ve been a better option 😉 (glad to see the league finally shake their fixation on this man).
Eligible Suitors: Kyle Langford, Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Hawkins
Last Seasons Contentious Call: Lochie Fogarty
Shannon Hurn (Defenestrators) – He’s 35 going on 50 and his injury history is well documented. Will he be able to raise the cup at the end of the season or will he rapidly deteriorate like his ageing hamstrings? Either way, he certainly can’t be kept beyond this year.
Eligible Suitors: Matt Crouch, Jesse Hogan, Hugh Greenwood
Last Seasons Contentious Call: Deven Robertson
James Worpel (Soloman’s Soldiers) – He’s drinking the kool aid and bought a ticket on the hype train. A revamped Hawthorn midfield has everyone excited about what Worpel can do. But was his former scoring prowess a flash in the pan or is he for real? Coach Alex’s contentious keepers have worked out well for him in the past. Time will tell if Worpel does as well.
Eligible Suitors: Toby Greene, Blake Acres, Scott Pendlebury
Last Seasons Contentious Call: Daniel Rioli
Joshua Goater (Roughnecks) – Goater played only one game last year, and that’s becoming a pre-requisite to make the backend of the Roughnecks keeper list now days. A new coach at North, do we know what he will do with Goater, where he will play or if he will play at all? I don’t think coach Adam really cares as I feel there’s a bit of a ‘throw it all against the wall and see what sticks’ mind set in this team’s now full on rebuild.
Eligible Suitors: Harrison Himmelberg, Jeremy Cameron, Tom De Koning
Last Seasons Contentious Call: Jake Bowey
Jack Graham (Love Sparkles) – Graham found the going tough in 2022. He was pushed out of the midfield and was hunting for a new club before sticking with what he knew. Now with two new additions to the Richmond midfield, where does he find his spot in the side? A lot to play out with plenty of possibilities for Graham. Probably a more interesting pick given the fact that a number of high-70’s to low-80s mids and defenders were put back to the pool from this list. Goes to show that these type of aging players don’t cut it for a keeper list anymore.
Eligible Suitors: Dylan Shiel, Jaeger O’Meara, Tom Atkins
Last Seasons Contentious Call: James Jordan
Josh Fahey (MaherShalalHashBaz) – I don’t know who this guy is. Enough said.
Eligible Suitors: Jack Silvagni, Wayne Milera, Robbie Fox
Last Seasons Contentious Call: Thomas Highmore
Ed Langdon (Te Puke Pukekos) – Hard to fault this keeper list. All the picks made sense to me, however with Hunter coming in and the downward trend of wingers fantasy scoring league-wide, I’ll be interested to see if Langdon regains any of his former glory or drops further off the radar.
Eligible Suitors: Lance Franklin, Darcy Tucker, Jack Gunston
Last Seasons Contentious Call: Sam Menegola
Tarryn Thomas (Lethal Vipers) – I feel like this keeper list has gotten significantly stronger than when they kept Rory Atkins 2 years ago (those were the days!). And honestly there is a bit of talent that had to get cut from this list, further indicating their strength. However Tarryn is a bit of an enigma. Off field incidents, of which nobody wants me to go into the details here, have meant that Tarryn may be biding his time a while before he plays any footy, and some may question what the mental scars might do to his future output. That high end talent is still there, but it might be some pain and soul searching for both the player and coach Nathan to work through.
Eligible Suitors: Sebastian Ross, Darcy Byrne-Jones, Riley Thilthorpe
Last Seasons Contentious Call: Matthew Flynn
Noah Cumberland (Taxmanian Devils) – Is Noah Cumberland the Riley Bonner or Will Snelling of 2023? Harsh given that Bonner and Snelling have had some success in the past, but coach Max certainly hopes Cumberland can give his team more than they did. While the team will be buoyed by what looks like a sure thing for break out seasons for the likes of Rozee, Butters and Luke Jackson, how this contingent of 2nd, 3rd or 4th year players performs on this list will determine if they can finally make the jump to finals. Cumberland may be indicative of this teams 2023 prospects.
Eligible Suitors: James Harmes, Nick Hind, Bradley Hill
Last Seasons Contentious Call: Riley Bonner
Callum Wilkie (Threat Level Midnight) – A new coach at St Kilda, so it will be interesting to see how Wilkie is deployed (I feel like this is a theme of this article. Or maybe there just are a lot of new coaches in the AFL). Should be fine, may not outperform the likes of Boak and Ward but at least he’s not about to retire like these guys. Does feel like coach Rowan needed an extra defender to round out his keeper list and Wilkie had the highest average. Although he should be a better pick than Tommy Cutler though 😉.
Eligible Suitors: Travis Boak, Callan Ward, Chad Wingard
Last Seasons Contentious Call: Tom Cutler