Catch up with the latest talking points from the weekend’s action in both A-League Men’s and Women’s Fantasy.
Calem Nieuwenhof continues to go from strength from strength this season.
The Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder maintained his incredible first campaign at Wanderland in their 2-0 win over Central Coast Mariners, teeing up Roman Amalfitano for their second goal of the contest.
As of late, Nieuwenhof has added another dimension to his game, by amalgamating his tremendous defensive efforts with output in the attacking end – scoring twice and getting two assists in his last three appearances.
And it’s no surprise this happened after the inclusion of Morgan Schneiderlin, whose addition to the starting XI has given Nieuwenhof more license to get forward.
This recent burst of form has translated into some incredible scores in A-League Men’s Fantasy averaging the equal-most points in the last three rounds (17.0) alongside team-mate Brandon Borrello.
Nieuwenhof’s price, as a result, has gone from $192.5K to $419.2K over the last three weeks – an incredible $226.7K hike.
Should coaches be looking for another midfield option, Nieuwenhof may be the perfect inclusion and now is the time to strike before his price sky-rockets again.
In-form Wanderers forward leads TOTW attack
Speaking of Borrello, the Wanderers attacker just can’t stop scoring.
The fringe Socceroo furthered his case for a recall by firing home his eighth goal of the season and his fourth in three consecutive games on Saturday afternoon. His recent burst of form has now made him the second-highest scoring attacker in A-League Men’s Fantasy, overtaking Jason Cummings and sitting only behind Golden Boot leader Jamie Maclaren.
Incredibly, Borrello is only owned by 3.6% of players, compared to Maclaren’s 46.4% and Cummings’ 28.3% – making him a real point of difference option for coaches – but is now the most expensive attacker at $543.2K.
His 16 points was the equal-highest among attackers this weekend, alongside Melbourne City’s Marco Tilio and Brisbane Roar winger Jez Lofthouse.
Meanwhile, Adelaide United midfield duo Craig Goodwin and Louis D’Arrigo led the scorers this weekend, scoring 22 apiece off the back of their performances in the Reds’ 4-2 win over league leaders Melbourne City.
Other standouts included Western United’s Tongo Doumbia (19), who has now hit the scoreboard in back-to-back games, while Jake McGing’s late winner for Macarthur FC on Sunday afternoon helped him to 19 points too – remarkably, a total that is one less point than he had scored for the entire season heading into the weekend (20 in eight games).
Lowe seizes her chance in the starting XI, hits the scoreboard again
What a fortnight it’s been for Sydney FC’s Rachel Lowe.
After struggling for opportunities throughout the season, Lowe has put together an incredible couple of weeks since getting her chance at the pointy-end of attack – making the most of a number of key absentees to stamp her claim in the Sky Blues starting XI.
With Madison Haley missing, Lowe was drafted into the XI ahead of Rola Badawiya after coming off the bench, and scoring the winner against Wellington Phoenix last weekend and backed it up by firing home a brace in their 3-0 win in the top of the table clash with Western United.
The 22-year-old was the highest scoring midfielder in A-League Women’s Fantasy and the second highest from the weekend – tallying 27 points – only two behind the weekend’s top scorer Michelle Heyman (29).
Her 41 points over the last fortnight dwarves her scores from the opening seven games, where she scored 11 points – showcasing just how good Lowe’s form has been during this period.
At $272.9K, Lowe is a tantalising option for coaches looking to bolster their midfield heading into the final stretch, particularly given the departure of Alex Chidiac in recent times and that most players would be priced out of her team-mate Mackenzie Hawkesby ($576.8K).
Among the other notable scorers this week was Perth Glory’s Natasha Rigby, who scored 20 points off the back of firing her first ever goal in the Liberty A-League – while Wellington defender Marisa Van der Meer also tallied 20 of her own.
But the title of most in-form at the moment falls to Heyman, who is now averaging 22 points in her last three games and has surged to the top of the Golden Boot standings after scoring a double in Canberra United’s 4-2 win over Adelaide.
