Chad Warner had a scintillating middle third of the 2024 season, taking the spotlight off early Brownlow Medal favourite Isaac Heeney with a string of dynamic contributions to Swans victories. The post-bye period has gotten worse and worse for the Bloods, however, and the elder Warner brother's inability to shake a tagger has been a big part of that.
Chad Warner had a scintillating middle third of the 2024 season, taking the spotlight off early Brownlow Medal favourite Isaac Heeney with a string of dynamic contributions to Swans victories. The post-bye period has gotten worse and worse for the Bloods, however, and the elder Warner brother's inability to shake a tagger has been a big part of that.
Chad Warner has a role that is perhaps underrated in the Sydney midfield at the moment, rotating from the centre to the forward line and contributing meaningfully in both thirds to Sydney's ladder-topping start to 2024. Isaac Heeney has grabbed the headlines and Brownlow Medal favouritism, but his move to full-time mids left a bit of a hole in attack that Warner has helped to fill, becoming quite a prolific goalscorer himself. While his fantasy stocks have not risen in comparison with Heeney's, once he gains forward eligibility he will rise in status.
Chad Warner is probably going to be forgotten in this fantasy preseason, with many coaches looking to Nick Daicos if they want to keep the saddle on a young bloke on his way up. Warner was even more dominant than Daicos at times last season, and still has a way to go in the eyes of the wider footy public in proving he is one of the best players in the league. His scoring ceiling is as high as anyone's, the perfect mix of inside-outside speed from the contest to fit the modern game. You are paying a lot to get him, but he's a top eight keeper prospect.
Chad Warner is one of the hottest midfielders in the league at the moment, in a rich vein of form as part of an engine room that has been reborn with younger models post the era of Josh P. Kennedy. Warner is not a Kennedy clone by any means, more of an inside-out sprinter who can break lines from stoppages by himself and either score or set up scores with some decent disposal skills. He is showing us a new fantasy scoring ceiling, but his floor is still not high enough for him to be considered a premium as evidenced by two sub-100 scores in his last two outings.
Chad Warner has lasted in the Sydney senior squad while a lot of his fellow youngsters have dropped off, including Errol Gulden this week. Warner has more than one preseason under his belt, though, and his role in central midfield is more conducive to consistent scoring. While most fantasy trading activity this week has understandably centred on Gulden, it would be wise to also plan for offloading Warner in future weeks as he may last the longest of the current crop of Swan kids but there's no guarantee he'll last the full 22 rounds, let alone until the byes.
Warner hits cow corner
Half of Chad Warner's average of 18 disposals representing WA at the Championships were contested, with three clearances and seven tackles. At Colts level, the pack horse clocked up 27 touches, seven tackles and three inside 50s. What he lacks speed and kicking penetration, he makes up for with strength in the contest and accumulation. Warner has the talent and history of finding the footy in his junior days to become a fantasy asset in years to come. John Longmire loves to blood the youth, so a debut is likely. He won't be a mainstay anytime soon; wait until he proves himself at senior level before consideration.
