Tom Rockliff broke all sorts of records when the boys played Fremantle in Perth last weekend.
Not only did he collect a Club record 45 possessions, but his 172 AFL Fantasy points – made up from all those touches and 12 tackles – were also the most ever achieved by a Lions player.
Lucky for me I had him as my Captain, netting me a lazy 344 points.
It was a mammoth effort from Rocky, particularly when you think that he scored 17 more points than Jonathan Brown did on that day he slotted 10 goals and took 14 marks against the Blues back in 2007.
It will be interesting to see how Rocky’s performance is viewed on Brownlow night, given he was so good, yet the team got badly beaten.
His 172 AFL Fantasy points is also the most of any player in the AFL so far this season – with Bernie Vince’s 169 points for Melbourne in last Sunday’s loss to the Roos ranking second.
Again, those efforts top both Josh Kennedy and Jack Riewoldt’s respective 11-goal hauls against the Giants.
It’s interesting though to see how AFL Fantasy points compare with the AFL’s official player ratings, which are based on a completely different formula.
From what I understand, as well as all the regular stats (kicks, marks, goals etc) the AFL player ratings also take into account a lot of those ‘one-percenters’ – things like intercepts, spoils, goal assists, smothers, chasing, corralling, and so on.
I guess that way it’s a bit fairer for the defenders who probably don’t get the same weight of ball as the midfielders.
Although Rocky’s performance against the Dockers was enormous, Pearce Hanley actually holds the record at the Lions for most AFL Ratings Points in a single match so far this season.
And that was only achieved a couple of weeks ago against Greater Western Sydney, when Pearce had 28 touches, three intercept marks, and three goal assists at the Gabba.
I think this disparity between AFL Fantasy and AFL Player Ratings shows that there’s no exact science for rating or ranking a player’s performance.
And when it comes to awarding Merrett-Murray Medal votes, I’m sure our coaches rate things differently as well, mainly because they know whether a player has performed his role or not.
TIP OF THE WEEK
If you’re looking to save a bit of cash by making some downgrades, look no further than Geelong forward Shane Kersten.
Kersten scored 85 points on debut against the SUNS last weekend, and will probably get more chances in the back half of the season.
You can pick him up for only $133,785, and you’d expect he would make you a bit of coin in the coming weeks.
I’d also keep an eye on Matthew Leuenberger in the coming weeks.
Leuey is set to play in the NEAFL this weekend, which means senior footy isn’t far away.
Because he was injured so early in the Port Adelaide game, he has a massive breakeven score. So once he does eventually return to senior level, you can give him a couple weeks’ grace and then pick him up dirt cheap!
LIONS TOP 10 (AFL FANTASY AVERAGES)
1. Tom Rockliff – 124.4
2. Jack Redden – 104.3
3. Stefan Martin – 103.3
4. Pearce Hanley – 90
5. Ryan Lester – 82
6. Dayne Zorko – 80.3
7. Brent Moloney – 74.2
8. James Aish – 70.2
9. Jed Adcock – 70
10. Sam Mayes – 68
