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The News
- As noted in a previous edition of the Fantasy Preview, two of the Wanderers fixtures (in Round 10 and 11) needed to be moved to accommodate their participation in the FIFA Club World Cup. These changes have been made and the Wanderers v Melbourne City game from Round 10 will now be played on the 11th of March, while the Roar v Wanderers game from Round 11 will now be played on the 25th of March. At the time of writing these changes have not been made in the Fox Sports Fantasy A-League fixture so it is uncertain whether they will be incorporated into Round 20 or 21 and 22 or 23.
- Sydney FC's young gun Corey Gameiro has sadly been ruled out of the rest of the season after rupturing his ACL while on Olyroos duty.
- While he is yet to be officially released, it appears Malick Mane's time with the Mariners is over. He did not play a part in either of the Mariners' games last round and I would be looking to offload him if you have him.
Talking Points
- After a disappointing outing against Sydney, Besart Berisha now faces his former team. No doubt he'll be looking to make a point, but that could well result in a hat trick or a red card. Regardless, I'm sure he'll be a popular captaincy choice this week. His teammate Fahid Ben Khalfallah has shown his quality in the last couple of weeks, and remains temptingly priced at just $202k. The only question is whether he will hang onto his starting spot.
- Are Brisbane back, or was it a matter of playing a terrible Newcastle side? That question will no doubt be in the minds of fantasy coaches as they do their transfer(s) this week. A tough test away against Victory and former friend Berisha should give us some answers. Thomas Broich returned to the 'false nine' role where he had some success last season, though he still only returned 6 points. Mensur Kurtishi managed an assist in 8 minutes, though it's clear he's out of favour and should be offloaded. Henrique was the rounds's top scorer, claiming a hat trick off the bench no less. Regular fantasy players will know he can't be trusted long term though.
- After dispatching a second-string Wanderers side Perth remain top of the table and now have another home game against Wellington. While they aren't providing us with strong fantasy options at the moment, there is some value in their defenders (two of whom scored against the Wanderers) and Nebojsa Marinkovic is finally showing he can be a good cheap option in midfield. Now only if Andy Keogh could find his early season scoring form...
- Despite losing in the final minute of stoppage time, Wellington were not overly impressive from a fantasy standpoint against Adelaide. Roly Bonevacia made the most of a tactical change to false nine, scoring a great goal on the counter. While he's cheap, it's not likely he will be locked into that role so do not expect decent returns on a regular basis if you have him.
- The Wanderers continued their poor start to the A-League season with a loss in Perth and a dull draw at home to the Mariners. It's clear their players can't be trusted in fantasy either, as Popavich made nine changes between the games and according to journo Ray Gatt we can expect the likes of Tomi Juric, Seyi Adeleke, Matthew Spiranovic and Nikita Rukavytsya to be eased into the season - meaning limited game time early on. As we saw this week, playing two fixtures in one round is not a massive boon to point scoring when the Wanderers make so many changes.
- Nonetheless, this week looms as the one where the Wanderers will get their first win, coming up against the also winless Jets. The Jets were absolutely insipid against the Roar, especially in the second half - so expect Stubbins to make some changes. In training this week, Ben Kantarovski has been trialled in central defence (perhaps a concern for those who jumped on Adrian Madaschi, though his game wasn't as bad as Taylor Regan's) while Ben Kennedy took over in goal, Joel Griffiths lead the line with David Carney and Jeronimo as wingers and Marcos Flores played at #10. While I would not be chasing Jets players currently, Griffiths will improve his scoring if played centrally, and Flores - who has played just 6 minutes in the last 3 rounds - is worth a look if he actually gets on the field.
- It seems City can't take a trick, blowing a 2 goal lead late against the Mariners at home. They now face a Sydney side that has kept 4 clean sheets in a row so I would not be making any City players captain this round. Mate Dugandzic has scored in his last two starts, but as we have seen in previous seasons he will not likely continue to score regularly.
- Kudos to those who stuck with their Sydney defenders, as I certainly would not have anticipated their fine run of point scoring. As someone who does not like to spend big on defenders (save for those playing out of position) none of Sasa Ognenovski, Seb Ryall and Nikola Petkovic really fit into my team structure, however if Sydney continue to build success on their defence I may need a rethink. With Gamiero out for the season Sydney don't really provide us with great attacking options, though at least Shane Smeltz and Marc Janko are cheap.
- A visit from Adelaide United may have been a tough proposition a week ago for the Mariners, but they'll no doubt have gained some confidence from 2 away draws against City and the Wanderers last round, as well as a strong 2nd half showing the FFA Cup loss away to the Reds. Interestingly the Mariners made no changes to their side for the two games last week, and even more interesting was the omission of Eddy Bosnar from the starting line-up. If you have Bosnar, it might be wise to offload him, perhaps for the cheaper Jacob Poscoliero. Jason Trifiro was pivotal off the bench against City, scoring one of the goals and assisting the other; surely he will be in the mix for a start soon.
- United may be flying high but a trip to Gosford has been a bridge too far for the Reds in recent years. Adelaide have lost their last 7 away to the Mariners, and haven't won on the Central Coast since January 2009. So consider this when contemplating any Reds for the captaincy this week. At least Marcelo Carrusca is expected to play despite injuring his ankle against the Phoenix.