IN THE absence of Tom Mitchell, second-year player James Worpel (MID, $718,000) took his opportunity in the midfield on the way to Hawthorn's best and fairest as well as being one of the breakout Fantasy stars of 2019.

Worpel averaged 96.7 and was a must-have MID/FWD selection last year. In 2020 he is only available as a midfielder which will make for some interesting decisions and projections for Fantasy Draft coaches.

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As will whether we see further improvement from Jaeger O'Meara (MID, $739,000) who has averaged 95.7 and 99.6 while only missing three games in the past two seasons.

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Lock them in

One of the most selected players in Fantasy Classic is set to be Tom Mitchell (MID, $671,000). In 2017, his first year as a Hawk, Mitchell broke the record for most Fantasy points scored in a season, averaging 127.2. He backed it up the following year with an average of 129.2. In January last year, as most coaches were debating whether to pay the big bucks for the Fantasy Pig, Mitchell broke his leg at training and subsequently missed the 2019 season. With a 30 per cent discount applied to his price due to missing a full season, Mitchell is priced equivalent to 90.5 points and appears to be one of the premium value picks of the year.

Track their pre-season

James Sicily (DEF, $620,000) may have his name blacklisted by some Fantasy coaches, but there are a few good reasons as to why he could be gold this season. Up until the bye, he was averaging 94 with five tons to his name and looking likely to back up the 95.6 he averaged in 2018. Following the week off, Sicily failed to score more than 64 on six occasions while being thrown forward at times. The 25-year-old's numbers should be boosted by the inclusion of Sam Frost (DEF, $390,000) as he is freed up to be the rebounding defender that saw Sicily score his career-high points in 2018.

Dual-position tempter

Injury interrupted Chad Wingard's (MID/FWD, $582,000) first season at Hawthorn. While his season average of 78.4 from his 14 games was a disappointing return, he averaged more than 90 in the last seven matches including scores of 105, 128 and 106 in the Fantasy finals where he pushed into the midfield.

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Draft sleeper

Jack Gunston (FWD, $565,000) has been a consistent Fantasy player over his career. He rarely misses games and prior to last year, posted averages of 92, 88, 85 and 87, His 2019 return of 76 was his worst since 2012. The addition of Jonathon Patton and the continued development of Mitch Lewis as their tall timber up forward may see Gunston roam up the ground an increase his mark count. He will, however, need to be monitored in the lead-up to round one after ankle surgery late last year.

Bargain basement

Father-son selection Finn Maginness (MID, $214,000) was one of the top Fantasy performers at the NAB Under 18 Championships last year. He finished with 30 tackles across the four games to help him average 89 Fantasy points for the series. Maginness may get an opportunity to pull on the guernsey early in 2020.

Also, keep an eye on Harrison Jones (MID, $170,000) who impressed for Box Hill where he averaged 87 from his 13 games in the VFL.

Forgotten warrior

Picked up in the Telstra AFL Trade Period, Jonathon Patton (FWD, $366,000) is heavily discounted due to being out of action for the past 17 months with an ACL injury. Priced at under 50 points per game, the former Giant hasn't missed a beat this pre-season, starting ahead of schedule and looking visibly lighter. If Patton can average more than 70 points per game as he did in his last two seasons, he could be a mid-priced stepping stone for your forward line.

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Buyer beware

Ben McEvoy (RUC, $618,000) has been a solid Fantasy Draft performer for coaches picking him mid-draft. His past three seasons has returned averages of 91, 87 and 83. As Hawthorn's No.1 ruckman, he would once again produce solid numbers when drafted at the appropriate time. McEvoy, however, played in defence in the last two rounds of 2019 for scores of 57 and 17. From all reports the move to the backline wasn't just an experiment with the Hawks looking to play Jonathon Ceglar (RUC/FWD, $562,000) as the main ruck.

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