Hello, fellow drafters! Matty here, bringing you an article that aims to assist in filling any gaps your weekly lineups may have – whether it be a sneaky loophole option for your benches or a genuine plug and play. These are one week prospects for mostly redraft leagues; patch and play suggestions for those loose ends that need some tying off. 

Each week I will list a team of possible stream players with low ownership, that may (or may not) be available in your leagues. I will fill a team in the 5-7-1-5 structure that many leagues run with, catering to AF/DT/UF scoring, as well as Supercoach, in certain cases. Could my Stream Team outscore your firsts? Probably not, but I’ll tally up the team’s score each week to see how my tips went, you know, for accountability purposes. 

A quick sidenote – A lot of leagues are coming off played bye rounds where some coaches may have dropped players of value in order to fill their squads during rounds 12, 13 and 14. So be sure to thoroughly scour your waiver wires this week. Case in point, I scooped up Michael Walters off the wire this week (who also has a nice match up against the pies coming up this round). 

Okay, let’s get to the meat of the article here…

DEFENDERS

Nathan Broad – with a nice match up for defenders against the saints this week, and two scores of 90+ in his last 3 (four +70 scores in his last 5), Broad is a sturdy option. He also has some friendly match ups to follow and is floating around wires at the moment. Richmond play Friday evening, so bench loopholes are conveniently in play here too. 

Ryan Burton – he’s a bit of a JAG, but he’s usually good for a safe 70 and due to his injury woes, is often dropped, and thus, available on wires. The Swans aren’t known for leaking points to defenders but Burton has a nice floor that won’t hurt your chances in a matchup.

Noah Balta – back to the Tigers theme here (and probably more of an SC prospect), Balta is generally available and can go big on his weeks. Fresh of his bye, and with a 5 round average of 75 (SC), and a friendly match up against the Saints, Balta is one I’d highly recommend for SC leagues this week. 

Nathan Wilson – ‘defenders against Collingwood’ has become somewhat of a cliche in fantasy circles, but for good reason. Does the new Collingwood coach change that? I’m willing to stay on the side of recent history here and run out Freo defenders this week, namely Wilson because the Dockers do like the ball in his hands and they have some key defensive stocks back. Wilson scored an 80 in his last game and should be safe for this type of score or more this week.

Robbie Tarrant – more of an SC play here. Tarrant has missed a large portion of the year, playing only rounds 13 and 14. With a nice match up against the Suns this week, Tarrant may just start to find his feet again and is capable of dropping fantasy tons on his day. 

MIDFIELDERS

Trent Cotchin – with a role in his team that doesn’t vary, and a tasty matchup against the leaky Saints, Cotchin is a relatively safe stream that should be obtainable in most leagues. The only caveat here is his low playing time in recent games, but coming off the bye, I’m hoping his body is freshened up and ready for more gametime. 

Blake Acres – coming off a nice 107 against the Suns in his last game, and with a date against the hapless magpies (a team just giving it up for free this season, in case you came down in the last shower) at Marvel early Saturday, I’m predicting another fieldable score from a guy who has never quite met his fantasy potential. Nat Fyfe is under an injury cloud as well, which may result in an increased role for Acres and another bloke I’ll mention soon. 

Matt De Boer – in round 13, De Boer was stuck in a forward tag role, yielding a forgettable fantasy performance. Fast forward to round 14, and he was back in the guts and wearing Sam Walsh like a glove for the bulk of the match, leading to a fantasy ton (built from 12 tackles). With a match up against Tom Mitchell and the Hawks upcoming, De Boer deserves consideration as he has shown in the past that he can score. 

Darcy Tucker – since returning from injury, Tucker hasn’t put up any noteworthy scores outside of his last 2 games (78 & 111 AF/ 80 & 95 SC). He has shown scoring ability in the past and could be ready to get his season rolling in a team looking to develop young players. Nat Fyfe’s injury could also benefit Tucker’s scoring and to top it all off, Freo play the Magpies this week. 

Brayden Fiorini – if you’ve followed the Draft Doctors for a while, this guy needs no introduction. Having been somewhat brought out of the fantasy wilderness last round, ‘Goatirini’ scored nicely after coming into the game as the medical sub (70 AF in 66% game time). That’s impressive enough, considering the Suns were decimated by Port last round. With David Swallow likely to miss due to concussion protocols, pick up Fiorini and just hope he is named in the team proper this week. 

Tom Powell – a name that hasn’t been mentioned too much in redraft league conversations, however, Powell has shown us that even as a rookie, he’s got fantasy ton capabilities. A nice basement, coupled with a matchup against the Suns this week, means Powell could be a handy 80+ at your M7 slot for a week. 

James Jordon – sticking with an #offbrand rookie flavour here, pretty much take what I said about Tom Powell and plonk it here. Jordan can ton up, has a high basement, and takes on Essendon who aren’t exactly negating many opposition midfielders. A caveat: Viney should be returning this week, which may take some of Jordon’s scoring potential away. 

RUCK

Marc Pittonet – I don’t know about your leagues, but in mine, this guy is owned and disowned and owned and disowned and owned and… well, you get it. He plays the Crows this week and Carlton need a win badly. If you need a safe ruckmen, he’s probably there for you to grab for nothing. 

FORWARDS

Caleb Poulter – yep, another rookie with a 60ish type of floor and an ability to ton up. The Pies should be in full rebuild mode moving ahead, so guys like this will be given chances. Poulter plays the Dockers next and should net you a 70ish score (minimum) in your forward line this week.

Will Hoskin-Elliot – has a 5 round average of 83.8 (AF) and plays Freo, who he has scored 90+ against (SC) in two of his last 3 games. He’s only gone under 88 (AF) once in his last 5 games, so if he’s on your wire, he’s certainly worth a stream

Curtis Taylor – not a household name, not even a backstreet alley name in the fantasy sphere, but the 21 year old has scored 70+ in his last 2 starts (one against the formidable Lions) and faces the points sieve that is the Suns this week. One I’m not overly confident on, but the Roos play early enough in the round that you could try and loophole a score here. 

Harry Himmelberg – he seemed to be a bit of a swing man against the blues last round, and has a 5 round average of roughly 75 in AF. With the Hawks to come this round, Double H has the pedigree (did you used to love WWE too?) to net you a solid forward line score.

Mabior Chol – Chol had 90+ scores in all formats in round 12 as Richmond’s first ruck, before getting Nic Nat-ed in round 13 for a 60 odd score. He may have been let go and forgotten in your league and with the Tigers’ ruck stocks still depleted, getting a first ruck in your forward line can be valuable. Chol’s upcoming opposition, the Saints, have given it up to most ruckmen this year as well, so I feel pretty good about playing him. 

So there you go, 18 low-ownership guys who could help you fill any gaps in your lineup this week. I’ll tally up the team’s score at the conclusion of Round 15, which will give some indication of how qualified I am to even be writing this article. 

Catch me on Twitter (I barely post and have a lowly following): @lionelhutz4prez 

May your streams flow golden with power… ugghh, yeah, that’ll do for a finisher.