2023 AFL Fantasy: Five Players (Pre-season 1)

Five Players is a weekly article to help you make informed decisions for season long AFL Fantasy.

You can request a player each week by following @aflratingsPete on Twitter.

Bailey Smith

Smith averaged a whopping 118.4pts from his first 9 games last season. He finished the season averaging 29.1 disposals and averaged 104.4pts from 17 games.

The departure of Josh Dunkley to Brisbane opens up premium centre bounce opportunities. Smith was used at 53.7% of centre bounces last season and could be in for a spike this season.

A full season in the middle of the ground could provide a platform to consistently produce strong fantasy scores this season.

A healthy Smith is one to consider.

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Nick Daicos

Daicos was outrageous in his first season for the Magpies averaging 25.8 disposals. There is a possibility he could improve that average this year threatening to average 30 disposals per game.

To do that he likely needs to see an increase in midfield usage and that is exactly what is happening over pre-season at Collingwood. His fitness will have improved increasing his ability to be released running from half-back through the midfield being utilised heavily. A sprinkling of centre bounce work at a minimum will provide extra fantasy scoring opportunities.

Senior coach Craig McRae talked frequently about the want to hold Daicos back and find balance in his first year at Collingwood and jokingly acknowledged they weren’t able to accomplish that. There is no holding back in his second year.

There is upside scoring potential this season.

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Hayden Young

Young recorded 8 marks or more in 11 of his 22 games averaging 89.6pts last season. He will be feature of the Fremantle defence in 2023.

Senior coach Justin Longmuir hasn’t implemented a fast/speed type game plan at the Dockers and recently provided an update on the outlook for the upcoming season with a want to move the ball faster “at times”. This likely provides a similar and friendly landscape for Fremantle defenders to take advantage of from a fantasy perspective.

This is a decent spot for Young in 2023 with his intercept marking game, he should be highly utilised in ball transition and slow ball movement situations.

A strong season average is likely.

Jy Simpkin

Simpkin will be a major part of the North Melbourne midfield which will include centre bounces and stoppages in 2023. He was used at 83.4% of centre bounces in 2022 averaging 26.6 disposals per game.

He finished with an average of 95.5pts in 2022 including an average of 102.2pts from his final 9 games post-bye.

New senior coach Alastair Clarkson will likely utilise Simpkin at a high rate through the North Melbourne midfield.

There is upside scoring potential this season.

Will Setterfield

Setterfield moved over to Essendon in the off-season and is competing for a spot as an inside midfielder. He actually hasn’t been in a settled situation over his career after being selected at pick 5 in the 2016 AFL Draft.

He managed 2 games in his first year at the Giants then unfortunately injured his knee missing the 2018 season. He moved to Carlton and was unable to secure a spot in the engine room but take into consideration he was under 3 senior coaches in 4 years at the Blues.

There is arguably strong evidence already that he may not be a strong fantasy performer but given the right opportunity Setterfield may prove that he is. Under new Essendon senior coach Brad Scott he may have found his opening finally but there is certainly strong competition for spots in the midfield which doesn’t provide any guarantee.

He is one to consider only if that inside midfield role is secure.

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Article by @aflratingsPete

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