In 2015, the Cats are thrilled to be partnering with fantasy experts footyprophet.com to bring you all the insight you need about AFL Fantasy and the Cats’ fantasy value. Every week Footy Prophet will rank their ‘Footy Prophet Fantasy Five’, ranking the top 5 players predicted to score the highest and then will review the results in the review!

THE WRAP UP

It was a crucial matchup on Saturday when Geelong took on Richmond. Geelong were languishing with just the one win from their first four games and Richmond had just the two and were coming off a devastating loss to Melbourne. The expectation was that Richmond would come out firing and take the contest away from Geelong. Thankfully for the hordes of Geelong faithful that made their way to the MCG, that wasn't the case and Geelong hung on to run out eventual 9 point victors.

Geelong got off to a good start with Tom Hawkins ($354,000 FWD) finding the big sticks twice in the opening quarter. Even better was the defensive effort by the team, Richmond were kept goalless in the first term, not helped by their own inaccuracy in front of goal.

Geelong kicked away in the second quarter and took a 28 point lead into the main break. Unable to put the game away however, Richmond clawed their way back in to the match. Again it was strong and courageous efforts from Geelong's veteran defenders; Harry Taylor, Jared Rivers and Corey Enright ($456,000 DEF) that held the team in good stead.

Young gun Jackson Thurlow ($290,000 DEF), who is widely regarded as the replacement for Corey Enright, was again excellent in his disposal when Richmond made their charge late in the final term. That charge was stemming from the Tigers defense; Bachar Houli ($480,000 DEF) had a game to remember on Saturday. He set up the Richmond attack, whether it be with run and carry or bullet like kicks out of defense.

THE STANDOUTS

Mitch Duncan ($432,000 MID) has been criticised of late for the role he has played. In recent weeks he has been given a more defensive matchup but has been unable to contain his opponent and unable to find the football himself. This week, Chris Scott flagged pre-match that he would like to play Duncan more through permanently in the midfield, and he did. Duncan found plenty of the football and had 5 clearances, 4 inside 50s and kicked 2 goals in what was a best on ground performance. An AFL Fantasy score of 133 is a great return for his price but more importantly, a welcome return to form for those coaches who hold Duncan in draft formats.

Geelong's defence was strong all game. Harry Taylor ($416,000 DEF) was allowed to play as the loose man in defense for the first half and not only did he rack up the marks from loose entries, he was the driving force behind a lot of Geelong's attack. When David Astbury manned him up he was slightly subdued, managing only 5 marks in the second half. An AFL Fantasy score of 103 stems directly from his 13 marks, 25 touches and four inside 50s.

Jared Rivers ($320,000 DEF) has thrived since joining the Cats at the end of the 2012 season. The defender regularly flies under the radar externally but his contribution is not missed by his teammates. Rivers currently leads Geelong this season for one percenters and has only played three of their five games. On Saturday, Rivers had the better of Tyrone Vickery, he had 14 marks, six one percenters and 21 disposals for an unusual 96 AFL Fantasy points.

WHO FELL SHORT

Due to the recruitment of Mitch Clark and Rhys Stanley, Shane Kersten ($223,000 FWD) has been pushed further down the pecking order of Geelong’s tall forwards but with injuries to both big men, he was handed his chance. Kersten needed to make an impact on the game, it was his chance to impress. While he did a few nice things, he didn't take advantage of his opportunities, kicking 1 goal, 3 behinds for the match resulting in an underwhelming AFL Fantasy score of 41.

For the third week in a row Steve Johnson ($458,000 MID) has fallen short of fantasy coaches expectations. Spending more time forward of center this season is not doing his AFL Fantasy scores any favours. Johnson still looks to be lacking a bit of touch and was not his prolific self on Saturday. He lost another $39,000 this week and looks set to become even cheaper in the next. It's not all bad though, Johnson got on the end of a brilliant bit of play from Joel Selwood and Mitch Duncan to kick what was to be Geelong's final goal of the game.

Josh Caddy ($386,000 MID) seems to have an on again, off again relationship with his form. Although we wasn't the worst performed on the day, his AFL Fantasy score of 60 fell short of his potential. 21 disposals and five clearances is decent performance from the young midfielder but he would be disappointed to have only made one tackle and one inside 50, down on his usual output.

FOOTY PROPHET'S FANTASY FIVE

Last week we predicted who Geelong's top 5 AFL Fantasy players would be. We were somewhat on the ball this week, but were let down by only Steve Johnson. The others were just about on the mark.

  • Joel Selwood (6th) was well held by Shaun Grigg in the first half but found some freedom in the second after Anthony Miles was switched to him. Six early touches in the final quarter set up a couple of goals and allowed his team some breathing room. Strong effort to remain involved in the game.
  • Mitch Duncan (1st) bounced back in to form with 133 AFL Fantasy points. Allowed to play primarily through the middle he had 29 disposals, 12 marks, five clearances and a couple of goals. One of the best on ground.
  • Mark Blicavs (4th) was good again in his 50th game. Third man up at stoppages a lot and again played all over the ground.
  • Steve Johnson (11th) got a full game this week but was out of sorts. He had a few fumbles and got caught with a ball a couple of times. One goal and a goal assist helped him post an AFL Fantasy total of 67.
  • Steven Motlop (7th) led Geelong for inside 50s and worked well both ways against Richmond. Little scoreboard impact kept his AFL Fantasy score below his usual standard though.

NEXT WEEK

Friday night footy is undoubtedly the most exciting match of the round to play in. Geelong will take on Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night in front of what is expected to be a large crowd. Geelong coming off a narrow win over Richmond and a six day break will need to recover quickly to take on Collingwood who have an extra day’s preparation. The Pies young stars are firing and are coming off a dominant 75-point win over Carlton. Geelong will need to be on top of its game in what is shaping up as a quality match up.