THERE WAS a lot of talk about the loss of Dylan Shiel through the NAB AFL Trade Period but his departure does nothing but create opportunity from a Fantasy perspective. Despite losing star calibre players every year, the young Giants still have plenty of talent, itching to get their chance and more importantly, force their way into our teams.

Lachie Whitfield (DEF, $726,000) had a rollercoaster season that started with a bang, going 114 and 123 in the first two rounds. Unfortunately, that attracted they eye of opposition coaches who deployed a forward tagger on the attacking half-back and a steep learning curve followed with scores of 65, 66 and 67. Slowly but surely however, Whitfield learned to play through the negative attention and dominated the back-end of the season with eight out of 10 hundreds to finish the year. A lock for me.

PAY UP Top-priced players revealed

Josh Kelly (MID, $787,000) had an injury interrupted season, missing seven games in total and he was hampered in a number of games which kept him below his best. If he appears to be fully fit leading into round one, he is a bargain based on his 2017 average of 113 compared to last year's 108. At his best, he is as good as anyone with four scores over 150 in the last two years including a high of 116.

Tim Taranto (MID, $660,000) is unfortunately a pure midfielder this year, but with no relevant dual-position options at the Giants, I want to flag a big year from Taranto. The young star is my pick to be the biggest winner following Shiel’s departure given his impressive scoring when filling in as a full-time mid on occasions last year. He scored seven hundreds in 2018 and has the potential to almost double that and average triple figures. May slide in Draft due to the loss of forward status.

DOUBLE DELIGHT Check out the full DPP list

Shane Mumford (RUC, $429,000) is returning to the side following a year of premature retirement. If the former premium wasn’t already an intriguing option in both formats, the fact he is suspended for the first two rounds adds additional question marks. After averaging 92, 94, 86 and 84 in his last four seasons, he stands to be a bargain slider in Draft and a heavily discounted safety blanket in Classic for coaches who select an under-performing ruck to start the season.

'The Mummy' has returned. Picture: AFL Photos

Jackson Hately (MID, $244,000) is ready made to fill the void left by Shiel and Tom Scully and has already demonstrated an ability to play against the bigger bodies in the SANFL. He does a bit of everything with the ability to impact games both on the inside and outside, which has him nicely poised to force his way into the team early in the season. Priced at the equivalent of a 37 average.

BIGGEST BARGAINS Check out Warnie's early picks

Stephen Coniglio (MID, $801,000) is one of the most disrespected players last season both from a Fantasy point of view and also by missing the Virgin Australia AFL All Australian squad. He quietly goes about his business with undeniable consistency, dropping below 90 on just two occasions last year on his way to averaging an elite 110. He comes at a price but certainly presents as a viable unique option.

Zac Williams (DEF, $421,000) is an absolute bargain after missing the entire 2018 regular season and is a 'must have' to start the season. The attacking defender returned from injury in the first round of the finals to remind us what he is capable of with 23 possessions and nine marks for 107.

Toby Greene (FWD, $604,000) looks an absolute steal following a horrific season, managing just seven games for an average of 67. Having said that, he is not yet training with the main group and poses as an under-priced upgrade during the season once he hits his straps.

Player

Position

2018 Average

2018 Games

2019 Price

Coniglio, Stephen

MID

110.38

21

$801,000

Kelly, Josh

MID

108.4

15

$787,000

Whitfield, Lachie

DEF

100.09

22

$726,000

Ward, Callan

MID

96.91

22

$703,000

Taranto, Tim

MID

90.9

21

$660,000

Shaw, Heath

DEF

86.35

20

$627,000

Greene, Toby

FWD

67.43

7

$604,000

de Boer, Matt

FWD

78.38

13

$569,000

Hopper, Jacob

MID

78.32

19

$568,000

Cameron, Jeremy

FWD

77.94

16

$566,000

Deledio, Brett

MID

79.44

9

$559,000

Simpson, Dawson

RUC

67.22

9

$553,000

Tomlinson, Adam

MID

74.27

22

$539,000

Haynes, Nick

DEF

72.32

22

$525,000

Sheridan, Tommy

MID

71.15

13

$516,000

Patton, Jonathon

RUC/FWD

70.42

12

$511,000

Kennedy, Adam

DEF

70.57

7

$466,000

Davis, Phil

DEF

61.05

20

$443,000

Mumford, Shane

RUC

0

0

$429,000

Lloyd, Daniel

FWD

58.29

14

$423,000

Himmelberg, Harry

FWD

58.05

22

$421,000

Williams, Zac

DEF

0

0

$421,000

Finlayson, Jeremy

DEF

57.71

14

$419,000

Perryman, Harry

DEF

55.5

8

$379,000

Langdon, Zac

FWD

50.79

19

$369,000

Bonar, Aiden

MID/FWD

59

4

$351,000

Reid, Sam J.

DEF/FWD

46.47

19

$337,000

Corr, Aidan

DEF

43.56

16

$316,000

Buntine, Matt

DEF

44.71

7

$300,000

Daniels, Brent

FWD

41.86

7

$276,000

Keeffe, Lachlan

DEF

40.43

7

$267,000

Taylor, Sam

DEF

38.38

8

$262,000

Caldwell, Jye

MID

0

0

$250,000

Hately, Jackson

MID

0

0

$244,000

O'Halloran, Xavier

MID

0

0

$228,000

Hill, Ian

MID/FWD

0

0

$224,000

Cumming, Isaac

DEF

37

2

$204,000

Briggs, Kieren

RUC

0

0

$204,000

Buckley, Dylan

FWD

34

2

$188,000

Shipley, Nick

MID

21.5

2

$170,000

Brown, Callum M.

DEF

0

0

$170,000

Stein, Jake

DEF

0

0

$170,000

Idun, Connor

DEF/FWD

0

0

$170,000

Buckley, Jack

MID/FWD

0

0

$170,000

Sproule, Zachary

MID/FWD

0

0

$170,000

Flynn, Matthew

RUC

0

0

$170,000

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