To buy, to hold or to sell? That is the question facing managers ahead of a new round of Official A-Leagues Fantasy football!
The A-Leagues Fantasy Show debated long and hard on this week’s episode over which players to transfer in and out ahead of the weekend’s action – with Wellington Phoenix striker Oskar Zawada one of the big outs for managers to consider either keeping on the bench, or selling for funds heading into Round 5 of the Isuzu UTE A-League season.
Read on as aleagues.com.au takes you through the players to consider buying, holding or selling in both the Liberty A-League and Isuzu UTE A-League this weekend.
Isuzu UTE A-League Ins & Outs: Red-hot striker sidelined by injury as a Jets favourite returns
Liberty A-League Ins & Outs: Star Reds signing ready for return, Jets spearhead back in the mix
MOST TRADED OUT & IN: ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE
| TRADED OUT | TRADED IN |
| Bruno Fornaroli (Melbourne Victory) | Joe Lolley (Sydney FC) |
| Nick Ansell (Adelaide United) | Ulises Davila (Macarthur FC) |
| Henry Hore (Brisbane Roar) | Tate Russell (Western Sydney) |
| Tolgay Arslan (Melbourne City) | Ryan Teague (Melbourne Victory) |
| Adama Traore (Melbourne Victory) | Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City) |
| Adam Taggart (Perth Glory) | Jason Geria (Melbourne Victory) |
| Max Burgess (Sydney FC) | Zach Clough (Adelaide United) |
| Brandon Borrello (Western Sydney) | Florin Berenguer (Brisbane Roar) |
| Alexandar Popovic (Adelaide United) | Fabio Gomes (Sydney FC) |
| Lachlan Wales (Western United) | Apostolos Stamatelopoulos (Newcastle Jets) |
MOST TRADED OUT & IN: LIBERTY A-LEAGUE
| TRADED OUT | TRADED IN |
| Holly McNamara (Melbourne City) | Fiona Worts (Sydney FC) |
| Chelsea Blissett (Brisbane Roar) | Rachel Lowe (Melbourne Victory) |
| Rhianna Pollicina (Melbourne City) | Emily van Egmond (Newcastle Jets) |
| Alana Jancevski (Adelaide United) | Tori Tumeth (Sydney FC) |
| Hannah Wilkinson (Melbourne City) | Rhianna Pollicina (Melbourne City) |
| Emma Checker (Melbourne Victory) | Hannah Blake (Adelaide United) |
| Beattie Goad (Melbourne Victory) | Annabel Martin (Central Coast) |
| Alana Murphy (Melbourne Victory) | Michelle Heyman (Canberra United) |
| Cortnee Vine (Sydney FC) | Taren King (Central Coast) |
| Alyssa Dall’Oste (Western United | Hana Lowry (Perth Glory |
BUY
Fiona Worts (Sydney FC)
- Position: FWD
- Price: $224.5K
- Ownership: 10.7%
The Sydney FC striker was back with a bang in Round 5, scoring two goals against her former side Adelaide United. Worts has scored a brace in three of her last four appearances for Sydney FC in all competitions, and has come back from Uzbekistan and the AFC Women’s Club Championship ready to soar up the Golden Boot rankings in the Liberty A-League.
Lara Gooch (Newcastle Jets)
- Position: MID
- Price: $181.6K
- Ownership: 0.9%
A very exciting fantasy pick considering her price, ownership and positional status. Lara Gooch is classed as a midfielder but plays high up the field for the Jets, and in last weekend’s 3-2 loss to Melbourne City, showed her most damaging traits as a fast finisher, linking up with Emily van Egmond who, through her four-game guest contract in Newcastle, should create plenty of chances for Gooch to convert.
Zach Clough (Adelaide United)
- Position: MID
- Price: $425.3K
- Ownership: 11.9%
The third-highest points scorer in Official Isuzu UTE A-League Fantasy, Adelaide creator Zach Clough has not yet dipped below 10 points in a single round. Clough is on penalties since Craig Goodwin’s off-season departure, slotting one away in a 5-1 loss to Sydney FC last time out that earned him 18 points in a dour loss for Adelaide.
Jaiden Kucharski (Sydney FC)
- Position: FWD
- Price: $221.8K
- Ownership: 0.6%
Two goals in his first league start for Sydney FC, young striker Jaiden Kucharski could be a revelation under new head coach Ufuk Talay, who unleashed the 21-year-old sharpshooter in his first game at the helm of the Sky Blues.
Up next comes a Sydney Derby which Kucharski is odds on to start after his goalscoring exploits against Adelaide last time out. Priced at $221k and owned by less than 1% of managers, Kucharski is a fantasy gamble that could pay off big time should he back up his high-scoring performance in Round 4.
HOLD
Jenna McCormick (Adelaide United)
- Position: DEF
- Price: $164.6K
- Ownership: 32.6%
A highly-owned, highly-rated fantasy defender who has failed to deliver on her early-season form could come back into the mix for a big score in Round 6.
McCormick began the season scoring 22 points, then 10 more in Round 2 as Brisbane got off to a flying start. Hosting Adelaide United at home could open the door for an improved defensive display from Brisbane against a team on a four-game losing streak.
Beattie Goad (Melbourne Victory)
- Position: MID
- Price: $349.9K
- Ownership: 14.2%
Beattie Goad is back after a one-week absence and the consistent performer is worth holding on to if you’re one of the 14% of owners with the Victory star in your fantasy team.
Goad is averaging 10.3 points a match with her lowest score of seven coming in Round 1. Against the Mariners at home, expect Goad to contribute strongly to Victory’s best attacking play.
Joe Gauci (Adelaide United)
- Position: GK
- Price: $354K
- Ownership: 23.9%
Shipping five goals in a crazy defeat to Sydney FC in Round 4, Joe Gauci comes back from international duty with the Socceroos with a point to prove with the Reds. Gauci’s -1 score in Round 4 went completely against the grain of what has been a superb start to the season so far for the Adelaide shot-stopper, with 17 and 20-point hauls the highlight of his fantasy form.
This weekend, Adelaide come up against Western United who are without a goal in the three games since Round 1.
Tolgay Arslan (Melbourne City)
- Position: MID
- Price: $368.5K
- Ownership: 22%
There are injury concerns surrounding Tolgay Arslan – but when he’s on the pitch for Melbourne City, boy does he make his impact felt.
The classy off-season signing has shown his international class through the opening months of his City career, and is included in head coach Aurelio Vidmar’s travelling squad to face Wellington Phoenix. One to hold – but also one to monitor once the squads drop on Saturday afternoon.
SELL
Holly McNamara (Melbourne City)
- Position: FWD
- Price: $563.9K
- Ownership: 20.7%
News of Holly McNamara’s devastating, season-ending knee injury rocked the Liberty A-League this week. The Melbourne City superstar suffered a third ACL tear in the process of scoring the winning goal against Newcastle Jets on Sunday afternoon, sadly ruling her out for the rest of the campaign. For fantasy managers, McNamara has been far and away the top performer over the last three weeks, and tops the overall scoring charts heading into the first week of her injury absence.
MCNAMARA: A story ‘we need to talk about’ told by someone who has lived it & bounced back THREE times
Cortnee Vine (Sydney FC)
- Position: FWD
- Price: $478.7K
- Ownership: 36.2%
Cortnee Vine’s stint on the sidelines is set to extend through Round 6, confirmed by Sydney FC head coach Ante Juric. The Matildas star hasn’t been sighted in the Liberty A-League since Round 2, with a hamstring injury suffered on international duty keeping the winger at home while the Sky Blues ventured to Asia for the AFC Women’s Club Championship.
Now, she’s set to miss the second came in succession since Sydney’s return to league action.
Oskar Zawada (Wellington Phoenix)
- Position: FWD
- Price: $525.9K
- Ownership: 7.2%
The big headline coming out of the team news submitted before Round 5 is a groin injury to Wellington Phoenix star Oskar Zawada, set to rule the big Polish striker out of his side’s game against Melbourne City this weekend.
Zawada soared into fantasy consideration with a hat-trick and 29 points in Round 3 and has seen his value soar to $525k as a result of his great form in the league – but will miss at least one week due to injury.
With Zawada occupying a key role in the squad run by A-Leagues Fantasy Show, find out below what approach the podcast crew took to mitigate the damage of Zawada’s absence.
Nuno Reis (Melbourne City)
- Position: DEF
- Price: $152.8K
- Ownership: 12.8%
A Melbourne City defender with strong ownership numbers is set to miss this weekend’s trip to New Zealand. Nuno Reis (12.8% owned) has a quad injury, City confirmed.
