Dan Houston was a weapon drifting into midfield off half back at Port Adelaide, turning games off his own boot with devastating accuracy when allowed to kick inside 50. His debut season after transferring to Collingwood has been less stellar. Is he having trouble finding his best positioning in the Magpie system under Craig McRae? Or is he fulfilling Fly's coaching KPIs with more work off the ball. Either way, his previous status as a fantasy premium defender is in question as other players in hotter form have gone past him. Perhaps a second half bounceback is in his future.
Dan Houston was a weapon drifting into midfield off half back at Port Adelaide, turning games off his own boot with devastating accuracy when allowed to kick inside 50. His debut season after transferring to Collingwood has been less stellar. Is he having trouble finding his best positioning in the Magpie system under Craig McRae? Or is he fulfilling Fly's coaching KPIs with more work off the ball. Either way, his previous status as a fantasy premium defender is in question as other players in hotter form have gone past him. Perhaps a second half bounceback is in his future.
Dan Houston is a prime example of a type of player that almost every AFL team has these days: the spitter. He starts at half back and joins the gaggles of flankers who zone up to the contest, in his case staying a kick behind the play to clean up and redirect. This role can produce some of the best fantasy scoring in the sport, especially if the coaches are trying to play zones instead of man-on-man, as players like Houston can dance between the raindrops to cause maximum damage on the counter. He looms as a must-have top six fantasy defender again this year.
Dan Houston has been a fantasy favourite since his debut in the AFL, classified as a defender and sometimes playing there, but moved to midfield and playing there now more often than not. 2021 may be the least year that is true, and his many fantasy owners are trusting that Port have enough flankers and need his hardness at the footy to play defensive midfielder duties. The only possible blip on the radar would be injuries to defenders, like that which claimed Hamish Hartlett from today's starting 22. The Power have plenty more, though.
Problem solved, Houston
There was a logjam in the depth chart for general defenders last season for the Power, and one solution that worked a treat was converting Dan Houston to an accountable inside mid. This transition started with a job following Tim Kelly in round 14 which resulted in a low total of 17 touches for the Cat. A run of poor scores followed as he adjusted to his new surroundings, then things clicked in round 19 against the Giants and he averaged a fantasy ton from there on. The most important aspect of Houston's fantasy value is that he retains BAC eligilibity due to spending more time in defence in 2019 than in his new starting position. Even if his scores drop away from that purple patch last August, he's still going to be ranked among the elite fantasy backs due to being misclassified. As such, he's going to be very popular in all fantasy formats, making him an early round league draft pick with the possibility that someone would reach for him in the first two rounds.
Space walk from Houston
Despite starting last season on the rookie list, Dan Houston extended his senior playing streak to 26 and was rewarded with a new contract. His fantasy scoring was highly variable, with eight above 80 but six below 60. His better games featured more marks on the outside. Houston's stat line most resembles new Port recruit Ryan Burton, and it may very well come down to a positional battle between the two for the seventh defender role. Houston had better form in 2018, but Burton has the higher upside. He is draftable late if it looks like he's still best 22.
We have lift off, Houston
Port coaches decided last preseason to settle Dan Houston in defence after he had spent some time in attack in 2016 SANFL action, and he joined Matthew Broadbent on the top line of rebounders at the club with an impressive 82% efficiency, even playing through a shoulder dislocation in round 22. However, he had the least metres gained of anyone in the top 50 rebounders apart from Tom Barrass. The looming problem for Houston as a fantasy asset is the fact that Port decided not to upgrade him from the rookie list, as the club don't go into 2018 with an LTI to provide a pretext for an upgrade. If Houston is not available to be picked for round 1 then his draft value will plummet, with only those who have faith that he would appear later prepared to burn a selection on him.
