The 2022 AFL regular season has ended, and with that, so has the most challenging fantasy season in recent times. Big name injuries, covid-19 protocols and an entire positional group decimated. That didn't kill the spirits of all the fantasy coaches around the world who stuck it out for the entire season! Now that the season is over for another year, it's time to hand out some online hardware. We will be reviewing every team's fantasy season and awarding those who stood out. To kick us off we have the North Melbourne Kangaroos! Let us know your thoughts on who we have included below on all of our socials -twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
GRADE
D- It was another sad year for the blue and white, finishing cold hard last on the ladder. Not everything went to plan with the hyped-up inclusion of star rookie Jason Horne-Francis, he played 17 games and averaged a healthy score in GDS fantasy, but he failed to impact the game in ways that we may have initially hoped going into the season and constantly being over shadowed by fellow draft class star Nick Daicos, it was easy for the footy community to get on his case very early on. Roo's stars Tarryn Thomas and Aaron Hall struggled for fitness throughout the year, hampering the ball winning and ball-use ability all year. Another season to forget for the Roos, but as we will touch on later, there is a lot to be excited about.
Most Valuable Player
Jy Simpkin
Engine room stud Jy Simpkin is our North Melbourne Kangaroos fantasy MVP for season 2022. Jy finished the season averaging a team-high 114 GDS fantasy points which helped him to end the year as the 33rd highest averaging player in the game this past season. To go with Simpkin's healthy average, he was also one of the most consistent players this year, scoring over 100 GDS fantasy points on 17 occasions. Jy Simpkin is a stud and is more than deserving of MVP for the Kangaroos in 2022.
Performance of the Year
Jed Anderson - 170 GDS points
Jed Anderson had the biggest score for the Kangaroos in 2022. His big day against Collingwood in round 17 included :
19 Kicks
14 Handballs
9 Marks
7 Tackles
2 Free Kicks For
170 GDS fantasy points!
Rookie of the Year
Jason Horne-Francis
The number one draft pick in 2021 had incredibly high expectations going into the 2022 season. There's no doubting that Jason Horne-Francis is supremely talented and will have an amazing footy career, however - I do think that his rookie year was somewhat of a letdown. That's not to say he played bad! He averaged 75 GDS fantasy points per game this season, but when compared to some other rookies such as Nick Daicos and Jai Newcombe, it feels like we needed more from JHF. He still remains to be one of the best dynasty fantasy assets in the game and I'm willing to bet he'll have a big year next year!
Surprise of the Year
Luke McDonald
It's a surprise in itself to be writing about Luke McDonald in 2022. No one would have picked this but he had a fantastic year off the half-back flank for the Roos, averaging 93 GDS fantasy points per game on the year. This is likely due to the fact that Aaron Hall spent a good portion of the season on the pine, but we can't take this away from McDonald. He filled the gap superbly, averaging 20 disposals, 5.4 marks and 2.5 tackles a game, which all rated as above average for defenders this season. The resurrection of Luke McDonald!
Most Impoved
Luke Davies-Uniacke
I say LDU's season is a surprise with a little bit of creative license here. I think most knew that Davies-Uniacke had a season like this in him, just maybe not this soon in 2022. He was so good all year, averaging 108 GDS fantasy points with some big scores to boot, namely his monstor169 score in round 17. The way LDU finished the year with seven 100+ GDs fantasy point games after the bye round in round 14 means he's a big watch over the off-season and pre-season games.
Disappointment of the Year
Jack Ziebell
This one is a bit of an obvious one and that's Jack Ziebell being our disappointment of the year for the North Melbourne Kangaroos. Ziebell finished as the second highest ranked defender in 2021 averaging 100 GDS fantasy points in that season. Fast forward to the end of 2022 where you bust your scroller to find him in the rankings and he only averaged 73 GDS fantasy points. That discrepancy alone is enough to unfortunately label Jack Ziebell as our 2022 disappoint of the year.
As funny as it may sound, it's not all doom and gloom for the Kangaroos going into 2023. The hiring of coach Alastair Clarkson is one of the biggest coups of the off-season already, they have incredibly young budding talent on their list and the allure in Clarkson to land some good free-agent talent. Next year will be the year to keep a close eye on the Roos!
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