RICHMOND
HOME BRAND VALUE
SHAUN GRIGG – MID
I want to talk about value. Where players are drafted determines their value. And we always hear about ‘ceiling’ and ‘risk/reward’, but very rarely do we talk about players who have low ceilings but high floors who are drafted at a good value. Such a player is Shaun Grigg. He is simply a great add for any fantasy team, especially when compared to other mids who average similar numbers. He’s played 64 out of 66 home and away matches in the last 3 seasons and has averaged 93.3 DT points in that time. Let’s compare that to his skipper at Richmond, Trent Cotchin. Cotchin has only played one less game in the same time frame and has averaged slightly more at 94.6 DT points. In 2017, Cotchin averaged 95.5 DT points, Grigg 95.4. Here’s the thing: according to ADP on our mock draft site, Cotchin is going at pick 88, Grigg is being drafted 62 spots behind him at 150. He’s in the range of Dom Tyson, Brayden Fiorini, Jaeger O’Meara and Jack Ziebell. I’m not saying he has the upside of these other players, but he’s shown he’s such a safe pick and great value. If you’ve drafted a Dayne Beams/Tom Rockliff/GAJ earlier, Grigg is certainly a player you should consider late in your draft as a safety net.
THE JET
DUSTIN MARTIN – MID
Locked and loaded, the superstar took his fantasy game to another level in 2017, winning the Brownlow along the way. Will no doubt be a top 5 pick in most drafts, although we have seen him slip in some, including on the recent Fantasy Hour Pod mock draft where he went to 6. Is as durable as players come, and it’s really hard to see him falling below a 110 average in either format. Interesting to note, whilst Martin’s average rose 6 DT points and 11 SC points more per game from 2016 to 2017, his disposals, marks and tackles all dropped, which goes against the norm when we’re talking ways to build score. His goal tally went up by over a goal per game, so Martin looks like he’s getting that perfect balance of forward and mid worked out. One point I haven’t seen mentioned about Martin is that Richmond play 3 Thursday and 5 Friday games. If you’re in a league with partial lockout, that’s golden, especially with 2 of those Friday games coming in rounds 20 and 22 – fantasy finals. This ‘loophole’ may help break a tie between Martin and other players you’re considering in that pick 3-6 range, or maybe even as a trade in a keeper league.
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
BACHAR HOULI – DEF
Sometimes, a player is ‘just’ good. Houli fits that mould. He’s not gathered any steam over the offseason and according to ADP at https://mock.thedraftdoctors.com.au/home, he’s going off the board as the 6th defender in AFL Fantasy and 7th in SC formats. That puts Houli squarely in the fourth round, which is a fine spot if you’re drafting your first defender after drafting other positions early, or maybe you want to square away two defenders early with a positional shortage. Either way it feels like great value. Kick ins, intercepts and a weapon Richmond look to use make him a very safe player. Is reliable for games played, racking up 20+ almost every year. Last year was obviously an out of character suspension rather than injury. With not a lot of surprises coming from Richmond, a 90 averaging defender is a pretty handy inclusion to your draft team – even if no-one’s going to call it a league winner.