St Kilda… Well, that was very St Kilda. 8-3 halfway through the season with Ratts signed on for a further two seasons, only to miss finals and sack the the guy you labelled “our man” some 100 days later! Believe it or not, the mighty Sainters took pole position on the Fantasy ladder without me tampering with the numbers…

In these reviews, we will take a closer look at each club’s Fantasy snapshot for season 2022, whilst I nominate players for MVP, best rookie and biggest flop. I will also provide my two cents on what to look out for in 2023!

*For the purposes of these articles, Fantasy numbers are from the H&A season only.

Most Valuable Player (MVP)

As the top scoring Fantasy side of 2022, the Saints naturally had a number of guys put out great fantasy seasons. Three blokes managed to average over 100, those being Jack Steele (110.4), Brad Crouch (106.4) and Jack ‘Gastroc God‘ Sinclair (102.9). You could make an argument for all three given Steele did miss a month with a shoulder injury, however, based purely on the numbers, he’s the undisputed MVP. Steele’s ability to be an all-round Fantasy scorer is what sets him apart from the pack! You know exactly what you are going to get week-in, week-out, something that as Fantasy coaches we crave. A deserved selection in the Fantasy Fanatic’s 2022 All-Australian team.

Best Rookie

From a rookie perspective, it was big Jack Hayes who burst onto the scene for the Saints, posting a huge 111 vs Collingwood in R1… Unfortunately, we all know how that ended – big Hayesy had done his ACL in R5 and that was curtains for the season. Elsewhere, we got a glimpse of the likes of impressive Marcus Windhager and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. In terms of best rookie, Nas gets the nod here despite playing one less game than Windy. He managed to post 12 more points (on average) over his 16 games to finish with a solid average of 62.7. As a Sainters man, these three guys excite me looking ahead to 2023 and beyond!

Biggest Flop

Biggest flop happens to go to the guy with the least amount of hair and shittest tattoos on the list… Zac Jones! 2022 was a monumental drop-off for the hothead as he shed 23 points from his 2021 average. For a guy who was recruited to be a consistent performer, he found himself in and out of the side farrrrr too often. In case you haven’t picked it up yet, yes it frustrates me! His mate from Sydney (D.Hannebery) gave him a run for his money, avoiding playing footy like the plague since being recruited many moons ago… In all seriousness Hanners, I wish you well in retirement but Jonesy, lets hope Ross the Boss can get the best out of your hairless melon!

2023 Watchlist

Incredibly, after the events of 2022, it is undoubtedly the changing of hands to ‘Ross the Boss’ that will be the talk of the town! F*ck me, I’m looking forward to winning games 33-31 again! From a fantasy perspective, nothing really to crow about with the acquisition of Zaine Cordy in the trade period (nice pick up for Sandy Dragons)… But a couple of picks inside the first two rounds may yield some fresh meat for coaches early on. In the midfield, I am expecting more of the same from Steele and Crouch. I will be interested to watch Sinclair’s role in the preseason as I see him as a guy that could make that transition into the midfield. Does ‘Ross the Boss’ see it the same way? He’s a bit of a loose cannon so we’ll wait and see! I expect Hunter Clark will get more midfield minutes while Nick Coffield will return from a ACL injury that kept him out for the whole of 2022 at a heavily discounted price. As an aside, hopefully Maxxy King learns to kick it through the big sticks rather than continuing as a points machine.

So there you have it folks, the fifteenth of the Fantasy Fanatic’s 2022 Reviews! Stay tuned for more new content, Sydney are up next.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Feedback, comments and banter welcome.

Cheers legends,

Fantasy Fanatic #70