Was the Gold Coast Suns' win in round 17 the win of the year? Is Josh Kennedy the best West Coast Eagle ever after he slotted his 700th goal for the club? Can Cam Guthrie turn water into wine after his biblical effort from the construction site at GMHBA stadium? There are so many questions coming out of round 17. But let's turn our attention back to fantasy footy for a second and identify some risers in form and some others who should be falling out of favour with all fantasy coaches. Let us know your thoughts on who we have down below on all of our socials - twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
RISERS
Tom Atkins
Not only is he perfect for the old-school collared jersey, but he’s perfect for the Geelong midfield as well. After being overlooked in two drafts and only making his debut in 2019, the 26-year-old is repaying the faith Chris Scott instilled in him by enjoying a breakout year and becoming a key cog in the Geelong machine that now sits atop the AFL ladder. Since being moved from the backline into the guts of Geelong’s midfield, Atkins has seen 6 scores over 90 GDS points. Atkins is currently a defender in GDS, and with that kind of output and time spent around the footy, he’s definitely one to consider starting going forward.
Daniel Rioli
Another player who is currently killing it after a bit of a role change is Daniel Rioli. Listed as a forward in GameDay Squad fantasy, he’s now playing a hybrid back-flank, winger role and he is thriving! He can still push up and impact the scoreboard like the old Daniel Rioli but this new role down back has seen his disposal averages from last year to this year sky-rocket from 13 disposals to 20.6 disposals, marks from 2.8 to 5.1 and kicks specifically from 6.3 to 12.3. The new Daniel Rioli is also averaging 112 GDS fantasy points in his last 3 games and coming off a career-high 31 disposals in round 17. Definitely on the rise!
Riley O'Brien
In a season where no ruckman is safe, Riley O’Brien is standing true. Don’t get me wrong, O’Brien had some up and down form early on and missed a couple of weeks through injury but he’s really standing true now. Averaging 119 GDS fantasy points in his last 3 games, O’Brien might be the most startable ruckman right now. Max Gawn and Luke Jackson are figuring it out, Sean Darcy is very up and down, Tim English can’t stay on the park, and Jarrod Witts can burn you. I think at the moment, if you own a Riley O’Brien card at even silver or above, you should be counting yourself pretty lucky!
Fallers
Toby Greene
Ever since his behemoth round 14 performance against the Western Bulldogs where he had 21 disposals and 7 goals, Toby Greene has since miserably failed to kick on and put up some good scores. His last 3 game average of 74 GDS fantasy points leaves a lot to be desired from a player like Toby Greene which is even more worrying when you discover that his time-on-ground average over that period was 93%! Players of Greene’s ability should be giving you more than just 74 GDS fantasy points, especially when they spend that amount of time on ground.
Mitch Robinson
Brisbane Lion Mitch Robinson found some hint of form as he and the Lions took a gruelling loss to the chin at the hands of the Bombers. While he had a good game scoring 91 GDS fantasy points, it got me thinking, where has Mitch Robinson been in season 2022? Unfortunately for Mitch and Mitch Robinson's owners, he’s mostly been on the sidelines. At 33 years of age, struggling to stay on the park and having some other ventures outside of footy take off, have we seen the best of Mitch Robinson? I think so.
Michael Walters
Sadly, I think we know what Michael Walters is now for fantasy and it’s irrelevant. He’s been great for Fremantle and fantasy footy in the past but this season he’s regressed to a point where I believe him to be unusable. When Micky Walters was at his best, he was running through the midfield, impacting the scoreboard, and often winning the game off his own boot, that’s no longer the case. Since the bye round in round 14 for Freo, Walters is averaging a rotten 48 GDS fantasy points per game and while I think he can give you a boom game here and there, I think you’ll find that the bust games are much more frequent.
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