Another round is in the books – and it was another weekend where defenders showed their value in Official A-League Men Fantasy.
These are the key fantasy takeaways from Round 2 in the Isuzu UTE A-League Men.
Midfielders lack scoring output predicted in pre-season
When player prices first dropped ahead of the 2022-23 Isuzu UTE A-League season, the five most expensive players were all midfielders. Just two forwards featured in the top ten, along with three defenders and no goalkeepers.
Two rounds into the season, the points-scoring hierarchy is following a different trend. Five of the top 10 players (total points) are defenders; the other five are either forwards (three) or keepers (two). Only three of the top 20 players are midfielders: Patrick Yazbek (11th), Josh Brillante (19th) and Neil Kilkenny (20th).
Here is the top 20 after Round 2:
- Jamie Maclaren (FWD): 35 points
- Tomislav Mrcela (DEF): 35 points
- Tomislav Uskok (DEF): 28 points
- Filip Kurto (GKP): 28 points
- Gabriel Cleur (DEF): 28 points
- Daniel Arzani (FWD): 24 points
- Jonathan Aspropotamitis (DEF): 24 points
- Robert Mak (FWD): 23 points
- Marcelo (DEF): 23 points
- Lawrence Thomas (GKP): 23 points
- Ivan Vujica (DEF): 23 points
- Adama Traore (DEF): 22 points
- Patrick Yazbek (MID): 22 points
- Joe Lolley (FWD): 22 points
- Josh Risdon (DEF): 21 points
- Lachie Rose (FWD): 21 points
- Ben Waine (FWD): 21 points
- Mathew Leckie (FWD): 20 points
- Joshua Brillante (MID): 20 points
- Neil Kilkenny (MID): 19 points
Team of the Week reflecting early-season trends
The Round 2 Fantasy Team of the Week is laid out in the same formation as Round 1 – with just two midfielders making the cut in the strongest XI from the weekend just gone.
For the second round in a row, a Western Sydney Wanderers defender topped the charts. In Round 1 it was Gabriel Cleur with 18 points – this time Tomislav Mrcela’s 24 put the Wanderers centre-back in a league of his own.
It was a game to remember for Mrcela on Saturday night, with his first-half strike off a marauding run from defence settling a stunning 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory on the road, in front of a packed house at AAMI Park.
Macarthur FC’s Lachie Rose was the only other player to crack the 20-point mark; his 21 points came in his first start of the season, with a goal and assist crucial to the Bulls’ 2-0 win over Adelaide United at Campbelltown Stadium.
Daniel Arzani rewarded 13.1% of managers who backed him to perform in Round 2 after a very quiet start to life at Macarthur FC; the Socceroos contender got a goal and assist, cannoned the crossbar with a free-kick and came away from his side’s win over Adelaide as the star of the show. Owning the 23-year-old in fantasy seems not only a decision that will reward you with point hauls, but an exciting story for you to follow as the season progresses. Should his Socceroos stock soar, your fantasy numbers will follow suit.
Is Jamie Maclaren the first absolute must-own in fantasy for 2022-23?
Rounding out the top three scorers for Round 2 was Melbourne City’s Jamie Maclaren, who racked up 19 points thanks to a brace in a 2-0 win over the Roar.
Maclaren was way down on his scoring numbers last season, bagging 16 goals in 27 games. But he’s started the new campaign with three goals in two games to sit equal-top with Mrcela on the fantasy leaderboard with 35 points. At this early stage in the season, Maclaren is looming as a genuine must-have in your fantasy squad.
Apropotamitis and Uskok partnership earning Bulls points and fantasy hauls
They’re two of the top-scoring defenders after two rounds – and together make up the heart of a Macarthur FC backline showing excellent fantasy value.
The Bulls and Wanderers are the only two clubs yet to concede a goal after two rounds. On Sunday afternoon Macarthur hosted Adelaide United, and the Reds put 21 shots on goal to the Bulls’ 10 – but failed to put the ball in the back of the net.
Time and again Macarthur’s goal was protected by one of either Johnathan Aspropotamitis or Tomislav Uskok; the latter earned eight of his 16 points in Round 2 for tackles (two points), clearances (one point), blocked shots (three points) and interceptions (two points). Aspropotamitis earned five of his 14 points for contributions in the same defensive categories.
Bulls keeper Filip Kurto was the highest-scoring gloveman of the round with 15, whilst Ivan Vujica’s 11 points earned from left-back saw the cut-price defender ($155k) end the round as the 11th-best fantasy scorer this season to date.
And keep an eye on Matt Millar. The defender replaced Jake McGing at right-back at half-time of Macarthur’s Round 1 clash with Brisbane, and continued in McGing’s place from the start against Adelaide.
