Catch up with the latest Official A-Leagues Fantasy talking points from the weekend, brought to you by Liberty.
Another brilliant weekend of Official A-Leagues Fantasy action has been and gone and several high-scorers caught the eye, creating the big talking points at the end of Round 20 in the Liberty A-League and Round 21 of the Isuzu UTE A-League.
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Western’s double act shines to dominate Team of the Week
Combining for 55 fantasy points against Melbourne Victory, Ben Garuccio and Daniel Penha were the ultimate double act for Western United in Round 21.
Both the full-back and creative midfielder assisted and scored in the 2-2 draw, setting up one another to notch respectively big fantasy hauls – the top two of any players in the Isuzu UTE A-League across the weekend’s action.
Penha scored 25 points and Garuccio 30; the two Western have the sixth and fourth-highest three-round scoring averages respectively as the league’s bottom-placed side begins to put together a solid run of form.
After scoring his fourth goal in five games, Penha spoke to Paramount+ about the on-field partnership developing between himself and Garuccio in the final third for Western.
“I’m so happy to score again. I’m so happy to get one more assist for Benny,” he said.
“I have a good double with him; he gave me (an) assist and I thought: ‘I need to give back to him!'”
Penha and Garuccio led the way in the Round 21 Fantasy Team of the Week, and Penha was joined by a strong midfield contingent in the 3-4-3 formation that would have yielded the highest fantasy score.
Adelaide United’s rare clean sheet – just their second of the season – in a 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets saw keeper James Delianov and fullback Javi Lopez both make the cut, with goalscoring macarthur defender Tomislav Uskok joining the Spaniard and Garuccio in a bck three.
Up front, Kosta Barbarouses earned his place in a three-pronged attack after scoring the 91st Isuzu UTE A-League goal of his career, joined by Robert Mak and Raphael Borges Rodrigues up top.
Isuzu UTE A-League Fantasy Team of the Week – Round 21
GKP: James Delianov (13)
DEF: Ben Garuccio (30), Tomislav Uskok (20), Javi Lopez (15)
MID: Daniel Penha (25), Florin Berenguer (15), Anthony Caceres (14), Giordano Colli (14)
FWD: Kosta Barbarouses (16), Robert Mak (15), Raphael Borges Rodrigues (14)
Can Socceroo’s first goal of the season inspire a late-season scoring fest?
A drought-snapping goal for a player slowly but surely returning to his best form after an extended injury layoff; Round 21 was a good one for Brandon Borrello – and for so many reasons.
The Socceroos forward’s first goal of the campaign came in his side’s much-needed 2-1 win over Perth Glory on Saturday night and the headed finish helped Borrello to 13 fantasy points for the second week running.
Borrello has scored 26 of his 69 points for the season across the last two rounds and with just a $250k price tag, is a tempting prospect for fantasy managers to consider bringing into their squads for the resumption of the competition after the international break.
Borrello was the third-highest scoring fantasy player last season, raising his starting value of $264k to $664k by the end of the season off the back of a phenomenal late-season run which featured three-consecutive weeks of 20+ scoring.
Matildas star dominates with best haul of the season
Sydney FC have taken top spot on the Liberty A-League table and have done so with Matildas gun Cortnee Vine putting together her best form streak of the season, culminating in Sunday’s masterclass in a 4-2 win over Wellington Phoenix.
Vine scored two goals and notched one assist to help the Sky Blues down Wellington and jump Western United onto top spot on the table; a 33-point fantasy haul eclipsed her previous best of 29 this season as the winger heats up just in time for a push for the Premiers Plate, and then finals.
Vine is the current leading fantasy scorer from the weekend’s action but there’s still one game to play in the active fantasy gameweek: Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United at Porirua Park on Wednesday, March 20 (3pm AEDT kick-off).
It would take a special effort for a player from either side to trump Vine’s fantasy score for Round 20; Phoenix striker Mariana Speckmaier is best placed to challenge the total after bagging 14 points of her own in a goalscoring display against Sydney.
