Catch up with the latest Official A-Leagues Fantasy talking points from Round 24, 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 24 in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
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Lolley v Arslan: Who wins from here?
Sydney FC’s Joe Lolley has led the league in fantasy scoring since Round 15 – but with just two rounds to play, Melbourne City star Tolgay Arslan is closing in on the Sky Blues winger at a rate of knots.
Arslan’s late-season blitz has included two single-round scores of 40+ notched in the last five weeks, with a hat-trick in City’s 8-0 thumping of Perth Glory resulting in 48 points in Round 24.
Five rounds ago, the German trailed Lolley by 99 points and sat 16th on the overall scoring leaderboard. That lead has been cut to 40 in five games; Arslan would need a miracle but whether or not he manages to catch Lolley by the season’s end will do little to take the shine off a run of fantasy form for the ages.
Arslan’s 48-point haul in Round 24 is the highest of the season to date.
‘Hiro’ scores big as Reds, City dominate Team of the Week
Despite Adelaide United’s struggles, Hiroshi Ibusuki is having a season to remember.
The Japanese striker scored a brace against Western United on Tuesday night to take his season tally to 13 – the third-highest total of any player for a single season in Adelaide’s history – and an assist for Nestory Irankunda helped the veteran forward post a 40-point fantasy tally.
Adelaide players were aided by a double gameweek in which they faced Western on Tuesday and Macarthur FC the Friday night prior; Irankunda scored one goal in both games and missed a penalty against the Bulls, racking up 27 fantasy points to join teammate Ibusuki in the Team of the Week.
Melbourne City’s record-shattering 8-0 win over Perth Glory saw four of their star players make the Team of the Week; Arslan led the way with 48 but Leo Natel wasn’t far behind; his 36-point haul was the third-highest of Round 24.
Fantasy Team of the Week – Round 24
Player (points)
GKP: Filip Kurto (18)
DEF: Tommy Smith (19), Mikael Doka (20), Vincente Fernandez (17)
MID: Tolgay Arslan (48), Steven Ugarkovic (22), Matt Grimaldi (19), Max Balard (17)
FWD: Hiroshi Ibusuki (40,), Leo Natel (36), Nestory Irankunda (27)
Mariners, Reds to sit out Round 25 after fixture postponement
There’ll be one last double fantasy gameweek this season and all Central Coast and Adelaide players will be hot commodities for fantasy managers looking to find an edge over their rivals in the final round of the season.
The Mariners’ return voyage from a midweek AFC Cup tie in Kyrgyzstan has been delayed by flight cancellations and adverse weather conditions; as a result the decision has been made to postpone their Round 25 clash with Adelaide to a later date (TBC), meaning neither Adelaide or Mariners players will be available for the weekend’s fantasy action.
If fantasy managers have trades left up their sleeves, they could consider removing their Mariners and Adelaide fantasy assets and use a trade boost to bring three of those players back into the mix for the final round of the season.
FULL DETAILS: Central Coast v Adelaide Round 25 Isuzu UTE A-League fixture postponed
