Catch up with the latest Official A-Leagues Fantasy talking points from a riveting Round 3 in the Isuzu UTE A-League and Liberty A-League, brought to you by Liberty.
Three rounds of Isuzu UTE and Liberty A-League action are in the books and the Official A-Leagues Fantasy season is in full flight.
The end of the third round of both the men’s and women’s competitions means a major milestone in the fantasy season, with player prices beginning to rise and fall.
Catch up with all the biggest risers and fallers as aleagues.com.au runs you through the key takeaways from the third round of fantasy football in the A-Leagues, thanks to Liberty.
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Maclaren price drop impacts 35% of managers
Round 3 of both the Isuzu UTE A-league and Liberty A-League are in the books – and that means the first price alterations of the season.
This is the moment fantasy managers can begin to significantly enhance their squads as in-form players earn a mark-up on their starting price; conversely, those who have not delivered through the opening three rounds will begin to drain value from squads around the competition.
In Isuzu UTE A-League fantasy, Melbourne Victory striker Bruno Fornaroli is the biggest beneficiary of the Round 3 price increase, soaring in value by $138k. Fornaroli was the only player in Isuzu UTE A-League Fantasy to rise in value by more than $100k, with Adelaide United attacker Bernardo Oliveira seeing his price increase by $98k as the second-highest in the game.
Jamie Maclaren posted 12 points in Round 3 after scoring his first goal of the season – but it wasn’t enough to stop the Melbourne City striker from taking a massive price hit. Maclaren is owned by 35% of all fantasy managers, who have all felt the pinch after Round 3 as his price dipped by $103k.
In the Liberty A-League, Perth Glory’s Susan Phonsongkham is the big mover with a $72k price rise coming as a result of goals in both Round 1 and 2. Jenna McCormick’s price rose by $64k, while Vesna Milivojevic’s $49k price jump makes the Canberra United star the most expensive player in the game.
Western United signing Grace Maher has suffered the biggest price hit after three rounds, dropping by $72k. She’s joined by Newcastle’s Lauren Allan ($65k) and last season’s Golden Boot winner Hannah Keane ($64k) as the three players suffering the greatest drop in value.
TOP FIVE PRICE RISES – ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE
- Bruno Fornaroli (FWD – $440k) Price rise of $138k
- Bernardo (FWD – $263k) Price rise of $98k
- Nick Ansell (DEF – $288k) Price rise of $92k
- Joe Gauci (GKP – $353k) Price rise of $90k
- Nicolas Milanovic (FWD – $281k) Price rise of $90k
TOP FIVE PRICE DECREASES – ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE
- Jamie Maclaren (FWD – $475k) Price drop of $103k
- Daniel Penha (MID – $376k) Price drop of $98k
- Marco Tulio (FWD – $348k) Price drop of $80k
- Alou Kuol (FWD – $269k) Price drop of $78k
- Lachlan Rose (FWD – $240k) Price drop of $76k
TOP FIVE PRICE INCREASES – LIBERTY A-LEAGUE
- Susan Phonsongkham (MID – $242k) Price rise of $72k
- Jenna McCormick (DEF – $229k) Price rise of $64.6k
- Chelsea Blissett (DEF – $226k) Price rise of $61k
- Manaia Elliott (MID – $203k) Price rise of $52k
- Alana Jancevski (FWD – $226k) Price rise of ($52k)
TOP FIVE PRICE DECREASES – LIBERTY A-LEAGUE
- Grace Maher (MID – $383k) Price drop of $72k
- Lauren Allan (FWD – $285k) Price drop of $65k
- Hannah Keane (FWD – $431k) Price drop of $64k
- Jenna Holtz (DEF – $192k) Price drop of $64k
- Maria Rojas (FWD – $275k) Price drop of $57k
Wellington’s hat-trick hero the star of Round 3
A 29-point haul for Oskar Zawada came from the Polish striker’s first Isuzu UTE A-League hat-trick scored in a 5-2 win over Brisbane Roar on Saturday afternoon.
The towering Phoenix striker was the highest individual scorer of the week, with teammates Bozhidar Kraev and Tim Payne joining him among the best XI league-wide.
Payne’s 22-point total was the second-highest of the weekend, with a brace to Apostolos Stamatelopoulos in Newcastle Jets’ 2-2 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers earning him 19 points. Adam Taggart bagged 20 points in Perth Glory’s win over Central Coast Mariners with a goal and an assist.
Victory captain back with a bang
After scoring just three points across the opening two rounds, Melbourne Victory captain Kayla Morrison’s fantasy value was predicted to drop significantly by the end of Round 3 – but the damage was mitigated by her 22-point haul, the equal-best of the weekend.
Morrison’s value only dropped by $21k thanks to a goal and a clean sheet to the Victory skipper which helped her overall points total climb to 25 after three rounds. Morrison’s 22 points came at just the right time for the 14% of managers with her in their teams.
Western Sydney defender Vicky Bruce equalled Morrison’s 22-point total, scoring the opening goal in her side’s 1-1 draw with the Jets. Vesna Milivojevic, meanwhile, continued her simply superb start to the campaign with a 16-point total that took the Canberra star to a total of 58, and an avergae of 19.3 through three rounds.
How did the A-Leagues Fantasy Podcast team fare this weekend?
The A-Leagues Fantasy Show was back for another episode last Thursday night in the lead-up to Round 3 in both the A-League Men and Women – and first thing on the to-do list was stem the bleeding of an horrendous 13-point haul from the podcast-run fantasy squad in Round 2 of the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Here’s how they fared across both leagues:
A-League Men
Just 13 points in Round 2 – but a much-improved showing in Round 3, with the podcast team using one of five “trade boosts” to great effect.
Each fantasy manager has a total of five trade boosts which can be activated at any time throughout the season; a trade boost allows a manager to make three transfers that week, as opposed to the usual maximum of two.
The podcast team elected to trade out Callum Talbot, Fabio Gomes and Jamie Maclaren ahead of Round 3, bringing in Bruno Fornaroli, Tate Russell and Oskar Zawada. The three newcomers combined for 45 points in Round 3, with Talbot, Gomes and Maclaren combining for just 22. Importantly Zawada, Russell and Fornaroli all increased in value whereas all three players traded out experienced a price drop.
Podcast’s fantasy team scoring: A-League Men, Round 3
93 points
- GKP: Alex Paulsen: 3 points
- DEF: Mikael Doka: 1 point
- DEF: Ivan Vujica: 1 point
- DEF: Tate Russell: 1 point
- MID: Lachie Wales: 4 points
- MID: Uli Davila: 3 points
- MID: Tolgay Arslan: 12 points
- MID: Jay O’Shea (captain): 18 points
- FWD: Angel Torres: -1 point
- FWD: Oskar Zawada: 29 points
- FWD: Bruno Fornaroli: 12 points
Join the podcast team’s A-League Men fantasy public league!
In the Liberty A-League, the podcast team’s decision to trade out Cortnee Vine for Melina Ayres reaped no reward, with the Jets striker not included in Newcastle’s matchday squad against Western Sydney Wanderers.
The ever-reliable Vesna Milivojevic did plenty of the heavy lifting with 16 points doubled to 32; Alana Murphy, Jessika Nash and Kurea Okino contributed 35 of the team’s 116 points for Round 3.
Podcast’s fantasy team scoring: A-League Women, Round 3
116 points
- GKP: Lysianne Prouxl: 1 point
- DEF: Rebekah Stott: 12 points
- DEF: Jessika Nash: 14 points
- MID: Vesna Milivojevic (captain) 32 points
- MID: Grace Jale: 16 points
- MID: Daniela Galic: 4 points
- MID: Alana Murphy: 15 points
- MID: Keiwa Hieda: 9 points
- FWD: Melina Ayres: DNP
- FWD: Rhianna Pollicina: 7 points
- FWD: Kurea Okino: 6 points
Join the podcast team’s A-League Women fantasy public league!
