Six more years for Angus Brayshaw at Melbourne! What should we expect from this former number one pick going forward? Any danger of this ruckman getting a decent run of games? These are some of the questions that will be answered in the round 20 preview of buy, sell and hold. It’s essential to keep in mind that GameDay Squad is a dynasty fantasy football platform and that will be heavily taken into consideration in this article. Let us know your thoughts on who we have included below on all of our socials -twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
BUY!
Angus Brayshaw (Defender - Melbourne Demons)
Fresh off signing a 6-year contract extension I’m willing to label Angus Brayshaw a buy option going forward. He’s not the premo his brother is… Ouch, but people are quick to forget that in the season Angus played in the midfield for the Demons, he finished third in Brownlow voting and averaged 105 AFL fantasy points that year. His current high-volume kick/mark play style down back makes him still more than startable in fantasy, especially if you have a gold or platinum + Angus Brayshaw player card. His ceiling is what I'm really interested in though, with a new 6-year contract extension at the age of 26, do we see him roll through the midfield for at least a couple of those 6 years? I won’t wait to find out!
Brayden Preuss (Ruck - Greater Western Sydney Giants)
When Braydon Preuss plays he’s an option that should always be considered. This season hasn’t exactly been ideal for him, only playing 8 out of an available 18 games so far this season. Falling out of favour for selection in a battle with youngster Matt Flynn, and also some injury trouble sprinkled in there, it’s been hard for Preuss to nail down a consistent role. However, that hasn’t hindered his fantasy production when he does play. Last week Preuss won back the ruck battle as Matt Flynn was listed as omitted, and boy did Preuss take the opportunity with both hands. He had 19 disposals, 5 marks and 36 hit-outs for 123 GDS fantasy points, which makes it his sixth 100+ fantasy day on the year out of his 8 games. I’m actively on the hunt for a Braydon Preuss player card myself, my advice would be to go shopping for him, just have a backup plan for if he loses the starting spot again.
SELL...
Michael Walters (Forward - Fremantle Dockers)
The Fremantle Dockers are currently enjoying their best season since 2015 when they won 17 games and won the minor premiership. But one man that isn’t enjoying anywhere near his best season is Michael Walters. Walters, at the time of writing, has only managed to crack into triple digits twice this year and is currently averaging 71 GDS fantasy points per game. At 31 years old and sitting deeper and deeper into the forward line for the Dockers at times, I think we know who Michael Walters is as a fantasy option going forward. Without any midfield time, no consistency and doubtfully owning a time machine, Walters is unstartable and should be on every owner's trade block.
Cam Rayner (Forward - Brisbane Lions)
I’m ready to turn my notifications off for this one… But hear me out! We are at the busy end of Rayner's 4th season in the league, he’s already had one major injury, and whatever is left of his “midfield” role could be in major jeopardy. Everyone wants Cam Rayner to succeed, including myself! The former number 1 pick has shown glimpses that draw comparisons to goalscoring, damaging midfielders like Dusty Martin and Christian Petracca, but those glimpses are few and far between. So few and far between that his seasonal fantasy average has failed to exceed even the 70 GDS fantasy score mark to this point in his career. Rayner’s score last round against the Gold Coast Suns of 42 GDS fantasy points further highlights how untrustworthy he is right now. It could even get worse. Will Ashcroft, who is tipped to be one of the best footballing prospects since Sam Walsh is expected to be wearing maroon, blue and gold colours next year as he is eligible for the father-son rule. Will Ashcroft could demand a midfield role as early as his rookie year and dominate, just as Walsh did back in 2019. If this is the case and a midfield makeup of Lachie Neale, Hugh McCluggage, Jarryd Lyons, Jarrod Berry, Rhys Mathieson and then potentially even Will Ashcroft is turned from speculation into reality. Then maybe the wait for Cam Rayner to become the Dusty-Esque type player we’ve all eagerly waited for continues on for some time.
HOLD
Justin McInerney (Defender - Sydney Swans)
Justin McInerney has all the attributes and talent in the world to make the half-back line his for the Swans, and like Rayner above, has shown glimpses of how good his ball usage and swing off half-back can be. McInerney is still just 21 years old and is a part of the young pack of studs coming through the Swannies system right now, joining the likes of Chad Warner, James Rowbottom, Nick Blakey, Dylan Stephens, Errol Gulden and Logan McDonald. There’s a lot to like about Sydney and a lot to like about McInerney. Earlier on in the season from rounds 4-6, McInerney put up scores of 130, 107 and 144 GDS fantasy points, proving that the ability to score well is there. Since then, he’s failed to crack the three-digit benchmark again… that was until the last round, where McInerney had 25 disposals, 8 marks and a GDS fantasy score of 102, giving everyone a little reminder of what he can do. He’s a big watch for me over the next off-season and pre-season to see if he can take his game to the next level.
Mark Blicavs (Defender - Geelong Cats)
My adoration for Mark Blicavs was well documented through the middle part of the season when Rhys Stanley was out and Blicavs had the ruck role to himself. Stanley has been ruled out for approximately four weeks with internal damage to his knee, but this time it’s speculated that Geelong could bring in one of Esava Ratugolea, Shannon Neale or Jonathon Ceglar to fill that ruck void, instead of plugging Blicavs in there again. Blicavs is enjoying one of his best seasons yet, but in a fantasy sense, just chuck him in the ruck! When Blicavs has more than 15 hit-outs in a game, he averages 112 GDS fantasy points, including some big outings highlighted by his 150 GDS fantasy point day in round 11 playing against the Crows. You have to hold and see what happens because if he gets that ruck role, he becomes a must-start!
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