With nine Isuzu UTE A-League Men players now carrying a price tag of more than $400K in Official A-League Men Fantasy, now more than ever it is important to find players outside the premium price bracket to bring value to your fantasy squad heading toward the new year.
Consider these five fantasy assets priced under $350K ahead of Round 9, brought to you by neds.
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Marco Tulio – Central Coast Mariners
Price: $321K
Average: 7.6 points
Owned: 3%
Goals in consecutive games have Mariners forward Marco Tulio in red-hot form heading toward 2023.
The Brazilian went goalless through his first six league appearances for Nick Montgomery’s side, but scored in back-to-back games against Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets – including a sensational lob from just inside his attacking half in the Mariners’ 3-0 F3 Derby win over Newcastle Jets on Wednesday night.
Should Tulio continue his rich vein of form, both he and Jason Cummings could emulate the kind of damaging partnership the latter crafted with Marco Ureña at the Mariners last season.
Ben Garuccio – Western United
- Price: $308K
- Average: 5.4 points
- Owned: 6%
Ben Garuccio’s fantasy price has plummeted by $138K since Round 1 – but Western United’s defensive display against Western Sydney in Round 8 should be encouraging to the 6% of fantasy managers who have the attacking full-back in their squads heading toward the new year.
In last weekend’s 1-0 win over the Wanderers, John Aloisi’s Western displayed glimpses of the defensive solidity which helped them to the 2021-22 championship. It was the club’s first clean sheet of the season; a continuation of that form will see Garuccio’s cut-price of $308K rise.
Richard van der Venne – Melbourne City
- Price: $306K
- Average: 7.2 points
- Owned: 2%
Is Melbourne City’s number eight headed toward a purple patch of form?
The Dutch midfielder bagged his first goal of the season in Round 6 prior to the World Cup break, and put an assist on the board in last week’s abandoned Melbourne Derby with an audacious assist to fellow City midfielder Aiden O’Neill.
City were purring in attack throughout the opening of last weekend’s derby. Up next is a meeting with the Mariners at AAMI Park on December 27.
Keegan Jelacic – Perth Glory
- Price: $192K
- Average: 7.0
- Owned: 1%
Keegan Jelacic has impressed in successive starts for Perth Glory. The 20-year-old has operated in a creative forward role which Glory boss Ruben Zadkovich has often called on Giordano Colli to perform in recent times; Colli is in Perth’s squad for Friday night’s Distance Derby, and it will be interesting to see if Jelacic retains a starting role in front of the set piece wizard.
Priced at under $200K, Jelacic could bring considerable value to your squad with a run of starts – especially if he adds goals and assists to his game after teeing up Jack Clisby’s sumptuous curling strike against Western United in Round 7.
Oskar Zawada – Wellington Phoenix
- Price: $263K
- Average: 4.9 points
- Owned: 0%
Two goals in three games for Oskar Zawada have the Polish striker in good form heading out West for Friday night’s Distance Derby against Perth Glory.
Zawada has fought off fierce competition in a seven-player battle for one of four attacking positions in Ufuk Talay’s ‘Nix squad of late, and with Ben Old and Ben Waine both missing Wellington’s trip to Perth, the 192cm spearhead is likely to retain starting duties on Friday night. Zawada scored a second-minute goal in last weekend’s impressive 3-1 win over Adelaide United.
