Many were surprised when Hayden Ballantyne was offered a new one-year contract. The Dockers are few and far between in the small forward department, so Balla's skills are still needed. In his heyday, the pestering forward produced four consecutive 70+ seasons. Ballantyne is well past his prime and 2019 may be his final year in purple. His scores have been in the 50s for three of the past four seasons, so fantasy coaches should look away now. Not to be drafted.
Boiled lollies for Balla
Many were surprised when Hayden Ballantyne was offered a new one-year contract. The Dockers are few and far between in the small forward department, so Balla's skills are still needed. In his heyday, the pestering forward produced four consecutive 70+ seasons. Ballantyne is well past his prime and 2019 may be his final year in purple. His scores have been in the 50s for three of the past four seasons, so fantasy coaches should look away now. Not to be drafted.
Balla has no rhythm
Hamstring problems prevented Hayden Ballantyne from making the senior side until round 14 last year. Balla barely reached a goal a game, the same dwindling form line he has suffered through since his 2014 peak. He ended up with a personal low disposal rate of 10.4, albeit his last two were somewhere near his best. Now past the age of 30, the question has to be whether Ballantyne can ever find his best form. Fremantle signed him on for one more year, and me may finish his career in the WAFL if the team starts as poorly as they have in recent years. It would take a brave coach to use a flier pick on him, as he has too many red flags.
Ballantyne looks sweet
Hayden Ballantyne is one of the hottest properties in fantasy football on the verge of his senior debut for Fremantle, having spent the first half of 2009 nursing an injured wrist and eventually building up fitness in the WAFL.
The hype over Ballantyne started before the 2008 National Draft when the Dockers announced their interest in the Peel Thunder product, as he ticked a lot of boxes for a fantasy rookie.
He is mature age, at almost 22 years of age when he debuts, plus he is a small forward, a type of player who often starts fast.
He has a spot in the Fremantle structure waiting for him, as the anointed replacement for Jeff Farmer in the small forward role with both lead up and crumbing capabilities.
Most importantly, he comes with big numbers in lower ranks, specifically 75 goals for Peel in the WAFL in 2008 to be second in the league goalkicking.
This early long-term injury is worrying for those looking to pick him up for the rest of the season, but his fundamentals are so good that most fantasy coaches will buy him some time over the split round to provide vital forward bench cover.
