Dion Prestia signed on for another year at Richmond this week, raising some eyebrows. The traditional knock on Prestia, especially in the twilight of his career, has been that his hamstrings and calves just aren't up to anywhere near 22 home & away games, making his contract not really worth the headline amount. He missed the first 11 rounds this season but played the past nine straight, albeit he copped some flak for not going hard enough at the contest at times in last week's loss to Gold Coast. He is a vestige of a golden era, hanging on for one last contract to help the kids come through.
Dion Prestia signed on for another year at Richmond this week, raising some eyebrows. The traditional knock on Prestia, especially in the twilight of his career, has been that his hamstrings and calves just aren't up to anywhere near 22 home & away games, making his contract not really worth the headline amount. He missed the first 11 rounds this season but played the past nine straight, albeit he copped some flak for not going hard enough at the contest at times in last week's loss to Gold Coast. He is a vestige of a golden era, hanging on for one last contract to help the kids come through.
Dion Prestia has been one of a large number of Richmond players who have missed significant parts of the shortened 2020 AFL season but have returned for finals with mixed results. In Prestia's case it was injury, for others it was personal issues and still others some form problems. Going underdone into finals is extremely suboptimal, though you can't fault Prestia's personal output in disposals even though you may quibble with his ratio which was even more pronounced towards handball than usual last week. A tune up against the Saints may be what he and the team needs.
Meatball feast at Vlado's
For the first time since crossing from Gold Coast three years ago, Dion Prestia had a full preseason and hit his personal statistical ceiling. While he was not in the top 20 for clearances in the league he had more metres gained than anyone above him in that ranking, save for Marcus Bontempelli. His stat line was most similar to that of Luke Shuey, playing the same role on the flag run for Richmond as Shuey did for the 2018 Eagles... and was unlucky to not also win the Norm Smith Medal. The Tigers inside midfield is not the best in the land, but Prestia is probably their best weapon in there and spends the entire game there, unlike many of his more flexible teammates. This puts a pleasingly high floor on his output, and the fact that the taggers never go near him is also a valuable aspect of his game for fantasy owners. He is not going to win your fantasy match up single-handed like his more famous peers, but he'll never let you down either. Draft him in middle rounds with glee.
Dion Prestia took a while to get fit after his move from Gold Coast to Richmond, and anyone expecting a big jump in his numbers in the new environment would have been disappointed because it appears he had already hit his ceiling. Not that that is a bad thing, it means he's still a valuable asset in draft leagues if you can get him in middle rounds. One has to question if he has any upside, but at certain points in fantasy drafts you just want a dependable producer with a high floor, and Dion's your man.
Seeking best of Prestia
A hamstring problem interrupted Dion Prestia's last preseason, leading to further soft tissue problems during the year including a calf injury. He managed to post slightly better numbers than his flag campaign from 10 games, but was still 15 points off his 2014 peak at Gold Coast of a fantasy ton per week. We haven't yet seen top gear for a full season from Prestia in his two years at Tigerland, and they will be hoping the Human Meatball gets a better preparation this time. He's not going to turn into Tom Mitchell, but there is significant upside to reward a middle-round pick if he can avoid injury.
Dion goes on and on
Moving to Richmond from the Gold Coast was the best thing Dion Prestia did for his trophy collection, though his stat sheet looked a little barer with a kick, two handballs and a tackle dropping off his 2016 numbers. His August and September were much more impressive though, as he lifted a full 30 fantasy points after overcoming a few knocks from earlier in the season. Prestia is an inside beast and also a bit on the titchy side, so he is prone to burrowing a bit too hard under the packs and picking up those little niggles that affect his continuity from week to week. When he's on, as he was at the back end of the year, he can peel off some big tons. Can we trust that late form line? He showed at the Suns that he has 20 points of upside left in him, so yes.
