With the 2022 AFL H&A season set to begin on March 16, @aflratingsPete provides a fantasy outlook for Nth Melbourne.
Coach/Game Style
The Kangaroos enter their second season under senior coach David Noble, it was a rough start last year for a playing list in a heavy transition period but by the end of 2021 the team started to settle becoming quite competitive.
There are no shortcuts to a big rebuild, the 2022 season for Nth Melbourne will be used as a strong development period.
The young core group have already impacted at AFL level, plenty of high end talent were selected in the 2021 AFL Draft including Jason Horne-Francis.
The road won’t always be smooth in 2022, in-season positional changes and future development could be a focus which may present opportunities from a fantasy perspective.
Nth Melbourne averaged 356.2 disposals in 2021 (Rank 13).
Aaron Hall (27.9), Jy Simpkin (26.9), Ben Cunnington (26.8) and Jack Ziebell (25.2) averaged 25 disposals or more in 2021.
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Premium
Aaron Hall ($914K DEF) has injury concerns heading into the 2022 season, a hamstring injury in match simulation has interrupted his pre-season.
Last year Hall had significant influence from a fantasy perspective, the Kangaroos spent the early part of the season defending from inside their own D50 which resulted in multiple scoring opportunities.
Despite a couple of early setbacks in his 2021 season Hall averaged 119.4pts from his final 16 games of the season.
He scored 120pts or more in an elite 60.0% of games.
Ownership will be low once he returns, it may be an opportunity to jump over to a high scoring player at some stage throughout the 2022 season.
Jy Simpkin ($801K MID) continues to develop well as a midfielder at the Kangaroos, he was used at 78.9% of centre bounces last season and is expected to see strong usage through the midfield again in 2022.
He scored 100pts or more in 50.0% of games last season, he finished with a season average of 95.5pts.
An increase in scoring output could be possible this season, he is entering his prime at 24 years of age.
Ownership could be light to moderate to begin the season, there is upside scoring potential based on his starting salary.
Value
It is year 2 for Tom Powell ($574K MID/FWD) in the AFL system, the prolific ball winner at junior level has developed nicely over pre-season and should see increased opportunities through the midfield this season.
Powell averaged 68.5pts from 13 games in 2021, injury forced him to miss the final 9 games of the season.
He recorded a season high 104pts against Melbourne in Round 7.
Powell could provide a strong scoring output in 2022, he has the ability to accumulate disposals at a high rate. His tackle numbers are likely to solid this season.
Ownership could be light to begin the season.
Ruck
The Nth Melbourne ruck situation could be very fluid in 2022, Todd Goldstein ($720K RUCK) enters the season as the No.1 ruck but there is a strong push by the coaching staff to play a dual ruck setup along with developing for the future.
Callum Coleman-Jones ($456K RUCK/FWD) came across from Richmond in the off-season, he will be part of the ruck structure at stages throughout the year, Tristan Xerri was denied a move to St Kilda in the off-season which emphasis his importance to the Kangaroos future.
This is likely a situation to avoid for Goldstein, Tristan Xerri ($281K FWD) offers excellent value but his role isn’t guaranteed within the best 22 as yet.
It will be just a matter of when for Xerri, it’s a situation to monitor throughout the year.
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2021 AFL Draft
1.Jason Horne-Francis (Nth Melbourne) Fantasy
22. Josh Goater (Nth Melbourne) Fantasy
35. Paul Curtis (Nth Melbourne) Fantasy
38. Miller Bergman (Nth Melbourne) Fantasy
59. Jackson Archer (Nth Melbourne) Fantasy
Don’t Forget About
Certainly one not to forget is Tarryn Thomas ($681K MID/FWD), he’ll be used at a strong rate through the Nth Melbourne midfield in 2022.
Thomas averaged 81.2pts last season from 21 games, this included an average of 101.3pts from his final 7 games.
He was used at 38.9% of centre bounces across the season, that should increase in 2022.
Ownership may be light to moderate to begin the season, there is value based on his starting salary.
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Article by: @aflratingsPete
Player Salaries: AFL Fantasy
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