The past decade has provided us with a whole host of fantasy footy stars from the national draft.
The young guns who fill the top-10 draft spots, who have dominated in the under-18 TAC Cup competition, are suddenly thrust into the limelight and become household names before the first bounce of their fledgling seasons. While these young players have the weight of expectation around their neck, there is another breed of draftee – the mature-age recruit.
The "mature-agers" are certainly not a new phenomenon, but with the average age of drafted players rising almost two years between 2008 and 2013, recruiters are obviously realising that there is a wealth of untapped talent in the state leagues, and their entry into AFL footy can be a huge benefit to clubs and also fantasy footy coaches.
The undoubted king of the mature-age recruits is fantasy superstar Michael Barlow, whose path to the AFL was a little different. The Fremantle midfielder didn't excel in the TAC Cup, in fact he didn't even play in it, instead plying his trade for Shepparton in the Goulburn Valley League. After transferring to VFL side Werribee, he was named in the VFL team of the year for two years on the bounce before the Dockers picked him up in the 2010 rookie draft. Since playing senior football, Barlow has averaged more than 100 fantasy points per game and marked himself as one of the game's elite players.
Despite the amazing return that Barlow has provide over the years, his last two fantasy scores of 55 and 44 certainly have a few coaches worried, but his fellow mature-agers certainly didn't disappoint. Essendon's Michael Hibberd (104) and Mark Baguley (103) not only cracked the ton, but confirmed themselves as two of the best fantasy backs in the business, while the Hawks' Isaac Smith took top honours with an astounding 151 - the highest score of the round. While these established mature-age recruits continue to dazzle, it was a new "kid" on the block that perhaps flew under the radar on Friday night.
While most people were reeling from the shock that Melbourne had just toppled favourites Richmond, what was more astonishing was that Aaron Vandenberg was only playing his fourth AFL game at the age of 23. The Canberra product has impressed for Ainslie in the NEAFL for a number of seasons, but he has only just been given a chance in the big leagues.
Starting as a forward in round one, an injury to midfielder Jack Viney has given Vandenberg the chance to play in the midfield. His pressure around the ground earned him 13 contested possessions, a huge 12 tackles and a fantasy total of 106.
Vandenberg's fantasy credentials were established in the NEAFL and this is the thin end of the wedge for what Vandenberg can do. After moving from the forward line to the midfield, the youngster's output skyrocketed, and in 2014 he averaged 32 disposals, six inside 50s, six tackles and more than a goal game to average a huge 121 fantasy points for the year. One talent scout compared him to Richmond's Anthony Miles, and if he were to follow a similar progression, then he would be a very tempting Ultimate Footy prospect indeed.
Only time will tell, but for the moment Vandenberg looks like doing the mature-agers proud, and he could prove to be both a rookie draft and a fantasy free agent steal.
Article supplied by Footy Prophet – football analysis with a fantasy focus. Footy Prophet is fantasy football.
