Aaron Francis has come into the Sydney side in the last few weeks as the back up to the injured Joel Amartey to play full forward, but his form in the past fortnight has raised questions over who exactly is the best tall forward structure at the Swans. Hayden McLean is quietly in the best form of his life, and with the Tom McCartin experiment reverting to defence after an unsuccessful stint forward, McLean needs some help in that front six in the absence of Logan McDonald. Amartey's form had been poor anyway, making Francis an interesting short-term fantasy asset.
Aaron Francis has come into the Sydney side in the last few weeks as the back up to the injured Joel Amartey to play full forward, but his form in the past fortnight has raised questions over who exactly is the best tall forward structure at the Swans. Hayden McLean is quietly in the best form of his life, and with the Tom McCartin experiment reverting to defence after an unsuccessful stint forward, McLean needs some help in that front six in the absence of Logan McDonald. Amartey's form had been poor anyway, making Francis an interesting short-term fantasy asset.
Aaron Francis is one of five late in tonight for Essendon due to illness, and not all of the ins are like for like. Francis could be used as a third tall either in defence or attack, but perhaps tonight he is more likely to line up at CHB to replace Jake Kelly than his more customary role. There was a lot of chaos going on at Bomberland even before this game's selection dramas, so there's no telling how they will structure up and it's hard to rely on any of their players from a fantasy perspective.
Bank Aaron to take grabs
Despite some impressive form in August 2018 as an intercepting defender, Aaron Francis was dropped after round 3 in favour of Cale Hooker then returned to play a terribly unsuited forward role in the middle of last season, before returning to the back line from round 15 and building some better form into September. His fantasy scoring is highly reliant on marks, as he doesn't get involved much in other kinds of plays. The delisting of Michael Hartley is probably the best news that Francis could have for his job security, a move that might have been occasioned by some circling vultures from Francis' home state of South Australia in the off season. Intercept marking is a fine one wood to have in the modern game, though his lack of other clubs in the bag tends to limit his fantasy value. He should go undrafted, though a spot start is not a silly idea.
Hope Francis goes on
After five anonymous senior games at half forward in the two previous years, Aaron Francis was tried at half back for the last five games of 2018 and gradually built confidence and stat totals, so much that he reached double figures in marks in the round 23 win over Port, making pundits think we might have a new Brendon Goddard. He doesn't get involved much outside marking in this new role however. 11 marks per game is not sustainable but seven or eight might be for Francis, which would put a nice floor on his stats. The problem for use in fantasy draft leagues is that his ceiling would not be particularly high given that he seems to be a bit of a one-trick pony, which makes him a reliable if underwhelming low-end starter worthy of a late pick.
Aaron still a babe
A failed request for a trade back to South Australia was a poor end to a disappointing 2017 for Aaron Francis, as he played VFL for most of it with only glimpses of form both forward and back. His reserves fantasy average of 58 was not much better than his sub-50 senior rate. Going into his third season, Francis will struggle to make the senior side and his scoring to date suggests his fitness base and third tall role do not allow him to accumulate nearly enough to interest fantasy coaches at this stage.
