THERE WAS a lot of talk about the loss of Dylan Shiel through the NAB AFL Trade Period but his departure does nothing but create opportunity from a Fantasy perspective. Despite losing star calibre players every year, the young Giants still have plenty of talent, itching to get their chance and more importantly, force their way into our teams.

Lachie Whitfield (DEF, $726,000) had a rollercoaster season that started with a bang, going 114 and 123 in the first two rounds. Unfortunately, that attracted they eye of opposition coaches who deployed a forward tagger on the attacking half-back and a steep learning curve followed with scores of 65, 66 and 67. Slowly but surely however, Whitfield learned to play through the negative attention and dominated the back-end of the season with eight out of 10 hundreds to finish the year. A lock for me.

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Josh Kelly (MID, $787,000) had an injury interrupted season, missing seven games in total and he was hampered in a number of games which kept him below his best. If he appears to be fully fit leading into round one, he is a bargain based on his 2017 average of 113 compared to last year's 108. At his best, he is as good as anyone with four scores over 150 in the last two years including a high of 116.

Tim Taranto (MID, $660,000) is unfortunately a pure midfielder this year, but with no relevant dual-position options at the Giants, I want to flag a big year from Taranto. The young star is my pick to be the biggest winner following Shiel’s departure given his impressive scoring when filling in as a full-time mid on occasions last year. He scored seven hundreds in 2018 and has the potential to almost double that and average triple figures. May slide in Draft due to the loss of forward status.

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Shane Mumford (RUC, $429,000) is returning to the side following a year of premature retirement. If the former premium wasn’t already an intriguing option in both formats, the fact he is suspended for the first two rounds adds additional question marks. After averaging 92, 94, 86 and 84 in his last four seasons, he stands to be a bargain slider in Draft and a heavily discounted safety blanket in Classic for coaches who select an under-performing ruck to start the season.

'The Mummy' has returned. Picture: AFL Photos

Jackson Hately (MID, $244,000) is ready made to fill the void left by Shiel and Tom Scully and has already demonstrated an ability to play against the bigger bodies in the SANFL. He does a bit of everything with the ability to impact games both on the inside and outside, which has him nicely poised to force his way into the team early in the season. Priced at the equivalent of a 37 average.

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Stephen Coniglio (MID, $801,000) is one of the most disrespected players last season both from a Fantasy point of view and also by missing the Virgin Australia AFL All Australian squad. He quietly goes about his business with undeniable consistency, dropping below 90 on just two occasions last year on his way to averaging an elite 110. He comes at a price but certainly presents as a viable unique option.

Zac Williams (DEF, $421,000) is an absolute bargain after missing the entire 2018 regular season and is a 'must have' to start the season. The attacking defender returned from injury in the first round of the finals to remind us what he is capable of with 23 possessions and nine marks for 107.

Toby Greene (FWD, $604,000) looks an absolute steal following a horrific season, managing just seven games for an average of 67. Having said that, he is not yet training with the main group and poses as an under-priced upgrade during the season once he hits his straps.

Player Position 2018 Average 2018 Games 2019 Price Coniglio, Stephen MID 110.38 21 $801,000 Kelly, Josh MID 108.4 15 $787,000 Whitfield, Lachie DEF 100.09 22 $726,000 Ward, Callan MID 96.91 22 $703,000 Taranto, Tim MID 90.9 21 $660,000 Shaw, Heath DEF 86.35 20 $627,000 Greene, Toby FWD 67.43 7 $604,000 de Boer, Matt FWD 78.38 13 $569,000 Hopper, Jacob MID 78.32 19 $568,000 Cameron, Jeremy FWD 77.94 16 $566,000 Deledio, Brett MID 79.44 9 $559,000 Simpson, Dawson RUC 67.22 9 $553,000 Tomlinson, Adam MID 74.27 22 $539,000 Haynes, Nick DEF 72.32 22 $525,000 Sheridan, Tommy MID 71.15 13 $516,000 Patton, Jonathon RUC/FWD 70.42 12 $511,000 Kennedy, Adam DEF 70.57 7 $466,000 Davis, Phil DEF 61.05 20 $443,000 Mumford, Shane RUC 0 0 $429,000 Lloyd, Daniel FWD 58.29 14 $423,000 Himmelberg, Harry FWD 58.05 22 $421,000 Williams, Zac DEF 0 0 $421,000 Finlayson, Jeremy DEF 57.71 14 $419,000 Perryman, Harry DEF 55.5 8 $379,000 Langdon, Zac FWD 50.79 19 $369,000 Bonar, Aiden MID/FWD 59 4 $351,000 Reid, Sam J. DEF/FWD 46.47 19 $337,000 Corr, Aidan DEF 43.56 16 $316,000 Buntine, Matt DEF 44.71 7 $300,000 Daniels, Brent FWD 41.86 7 $276,000 Keeffe, Lachlan DEF 40.43 7 $267,000 Taylor, Sam DEF 38.38 8 $262,000 Caldwell, Jye MID 0 0 $250,000 Hately, Jackson MID 0 0 $244,000 O'Halloran, Xavier MID 0 0 $228,000 Hill, Ian MID/FWD 0 0 $224,000 Cumming, Isaac DEF 37 2 $204,000 Briggs, Kieren RUC 0 0 $204,000 Buckley, Dylan FWD 34 2 $188,000 Shipley, Nick MID 21.5 2 $170,000 Brown, Callum M. DEF 0 0 $170,000 Stein, Jake DEF 0 0 $170,000 Idun, Connor DEF/FWD 0 0 $170,000 Buckley, Jack MID/FWD 0 0 $170,000 Sproule, Zachary MID/FWD 0 0 $170,000 Flynn, Matthew RUC 0 0 $170,000

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