Brad Sheppard was part of a West Coast team that got torn apart away to Geelong last week, prevented from playing their natural game of ball retention on a smaller, narrower ground where kicking across the backline is much harder than on the wide flanks of Perth. They return home this week to face a revitalised Fremantle, and while derbies can be hardfought affairs at times, the Eagles will certainly seek to re-establish their high-possession, low-speed game by sharing the ball between defenders. This is where a player like Sheppard can rack them up.
Brad Sheppard was part of a West Coast team that got torn apart away to Geelong last week, prevented from playing their natural game of ball retention on a smaller, narrower ground where kicking across the backline is much harder than on the wide flanks of Perth. They return home this week to face a revitalised Fremantle, and while derbies can be hardfought affairs at times, the Eagles will certainly seek to re-establish their high-possession, low-speed game by sharing the ball between defenders. This is where a player like Sheppard can rack them up.
Brad Sheppard has given up the captaincy this year and may have to give up on his happy practice of recent years of playing kick to kick across the half back line. At the age of 33, it's time for him an a host of other ageing Eagles to hand over the reins to younger models. His role is likely to be more of a back pocket, and while this may mean less +6s on the rebound it will ensure he still enjoys the easy stats on play-ons from kick ins. Temper your expectations for his production in what looms as his valedictory year.
Brad Sheppard was one of the success stories of fantasy last season, jumping out of relative obscurity to join the conversation as one of the top six fantasy backs. This mainly happened due to the Eagles' increasing propensity to slow play out of defence, with Sheppard and Shannon Hurn often waxing the footy while the rest of the team set up their next attack. This year, West Coast's gameplan has been shot to the shizen in a few games already, overwhelmed by surprisingly dominant opposition midfields and starving the likes of Sheppard of cheap stats. His value lies in team restoration.
Fresh meat for Sheppard
With a well-earned reputation as a tough nut defender in the mould of teammate Shannon Hurn with a brief to be hard at the contest, Brad Sheppard followed the lead of his captain last season by adding a lot of uncontested possessions, so much so that he hit the top five for marks in the league. His contested rate dropped by five points to under 20%, and his tackle average dropped below two for the second time in his ten-year career. It is not as if Sheppard has turned himself into Patrick Bowden, as he is still more than capable of marking opponents of most sizes. The Eagles gameplan just involves him more with ball in hand, supporting Hurn and Lewis Jetta with more responsibility for rebounding as other defenders stay deep. He lacks the weapons of other two, so his continued fantasy value is reliant on Adam Simpson. Worth a middle-round pick.
Brad Sheppard was one of the hard luck stories of last year's premiership run by the West Coast Eagles, missing the grand final through a minor injury after being one of the key parts of an elite defence all season. He has bounced back better than ever this campaign, lifting his mark average to an outstanding eight per game and his disposals by three to a very respectable 20 as he participates fully in the Eagles' ball retention plan on the rebound. With the club heading for another deep September tilt, only further bad luck will see him miss out.
Brad Sheppard is one of the players that fantasy coaches have a keen eye on in preseason with a view to how their statistical production improves with the new kick in rule. He basically shared the kick in duties last year with Shannon Hurn, and while he doesn't have the length off the boot of his captain he does have the wheels that he should be able to use for extra metreage when playing on from defensive goalsquare. No one knows exactly how many points this will add per game, but his value in fantasy comes with added upside in 2019.
Appalling luck for Sheppard
There's always a sob story in a premiership, and for the Eagles it was Brad Sheppard who just about sums up the hard-nosed, hard-working Eagles ethic as a key part of the best defence in the land. A hamstring tendon injury denied him all but one quarter of September action after suiting up for 95 games straight, this coming on the back of his best statistical year where his mark average jumped from four to almost seven, with his fantasy scores jumping by 10 after the bye well into startable range. Good backline groups know how to control the footy, and Sheppard enjoyed himself as the Eagles defenders played kick to kick at times while the think music was playing. This sort of scoring pattern can be ephemeral from one year to the next, let alone week to week, so it would be folly to assume that this is his new normal. Adam Simpson doesn't really want the ball in his hands on the rebound because other half backs have better weapons. He's a solid citizen, but would spend a lot of time on your bench.
Sheppard shorn of value
Now one of the veterans of the Eagle backline, Brad Sheppard has gradually drifted out of what little fantasy relevance he had with a greater concentration on defensive efforts than rebound, with a ratio that used to be 12:5 regressing to 7:8. The departure of Sharrod Wellingham does not mean Sheppard is going to turn into a rebounding back flanker, as the club will try other options in there to leave him doing his job as almost a back pocket.
