Catch up with the latest Official A-Leagues Fantasy talking points from Round 23, 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 23 in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
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R23 TALKING POINTS: ‘10/10 kid’ compared to Aussie great as ‘best team’ dig ignites Sydney Derby
Vintage Stefan Mauk performance rewards just nine fantasy managers
Stefan Mauk has taken time to settle back into life at Adelaide United but now, the Reds’ former captain is starting to fire on all cylinders – and he’s rewarding his low-fantasy ownership as a result.
Just nine – yes, nine – fantasy managers have taken a punt on Mauk at this stage in the season but after failing to score more than eight points in a single game through his first six appearances of the season, Mauk has exploded into form with one goal and three assists in his last two games.
A 24-point fantasy haul in Adelaide’s 4-2 win over Perth Glory in Round 23 was Mauk’s best of the season to date; priced at $373k, Mauk is an affordable option for fantasy managers looking for a differential player to bring into their squads for the final three rounds of the campaign.
Mauk’s mere 0.1% ownership is expected to spike off the back of 42 points scored in his last two rounds; getting in quick to Mauk’s low ownership base could help fantasy managers make a late but swift climb up the scoring leaderboard.
Big week for forwards but a young midfielder tops league-wide scoring
Clayton Taylor had a Sunday afternoon to remember at McDonald Jones Stadium in Round 23, with his goal and assist in Newcastle Jets’ surprise 3-1 win over Sydney FC sending the 20-year-old midfielder to the top of the fantasy scoring charts for Round 23.
Taylor (MID – $319k) eclipsed Mauk (24 points) as the weekend’s highest scorer with 28 but below the two midfielders came a deluge of high-scoring strikers.
Adam Taggart (23), Hiroshi Ibusuki (23), Apostolos Stamatelopoulos (22), Nestory Irankunda, Ángel Torres and Michael Ruhs (all 20) scored big on a weekend where goals flowed freely but there could only be three attackers in the Round 23 Fantasy Team of the Week.
Perth Glory’s Taggart took his goals tally to 17 for the season with a brace against Adelaide but Reds forward Ibusuki followed suit as both strikers made the Team of the Week alongside Apostolos Stamatelopoulos who scored and assisted in Newcastle’s win over Sydney FC.
A special mention goes to Brisbane Roar goalkeeper Macklin Freke whose 14-point haul came thanks to a stoppage-time penalty save which earned his side a 2-1 win over Western Sydney Wanderers and kept their finals hopes alive.
Fantasy Team of the Week – Isuzu UTE A-League
Player (Points)
GKP: Macklin Freke (14)
DEF: Mikael Doka (18), Damien Da Silva (17)
MID: Clayton Taylor (28), Stefan Mauk (24), Ulises Dávila (19), Henry Hore (18), Riku Danzaki (17)
FWD: Adam Taggart (23), Hiroshi Ibusuki (23), Apostolos Stamatelopoulos (22)
Ridiculous three-game average highlights City star’s immense A-Leagues impact
Tolgay Arslan is in frightening form for Melbourne City – and his fantasy numbers are exploding as a result.
The 33-year-old attacking midfielder has either scored or assisted in his last five games, and has bagged three assists and six goals in his last eight appearances for City.
Arslan’s three-round scoring average of 27.3 points is the best in the league by some distance, with Samuel Souprayen’s 21.7 the second-highest heading into Round 24. City’s number 10 scored early in the Melbourne Derby on Saturday and could have added to his 15-point fantasy haul late in the piece when he was presented with a chance that a player of his calibre
But Arslan could – and perhaps should – have added to his Round 23 total, as well as his three-round scoring average, when presented with a glorious chance to score his brace which he sent over the bar.
