Liam Stocker can be accused of being Just A Guy, especially in fantasy terms, but the value of this kind of versatile player is not lost on real AFL coaches. A defender who can play on talls or smalls, holds his own in every contest, and doesn't let the team down with ball in hand is worth a game every week. More importantly for fantasy purposes, his presence is key to unlocking the best games of others around him who have serious scoring potential: Jack Sinclair and Callum Wilkie come to mind. Experienced fantasy coaches know to track every player in the 23, not just the stars.
Liam Stocker can be accused of being Just A Guy, especially in fantasy terms, but the value of this kind of versatile player is not lost on real AFL coaches. A defender who can play on talls or smalls, holds his own in every contest, and doesn't let the team down with ball in hand is worth a game every week. More importantly for fantasy purposes, his presence is key to unlocking the best games of others around him who have serious scoring potential: Jack Sinclair and Callum Wilkie come to mind. Experienced fantasy coaches know to track every player in the 23, not just the stars.
Liam Stocker may not be the first choice of St Kilda coach Ross Lyon to follow Kysaiah Pickett around today - that would probably be Jimmy Webster - but he is going to have to deal at stages with one of the most dynamic small forwards in the game, including when Pickett attends forward stoppages when starting in midfield. The Saints may not be contending for finals this year but their fans could do with a win against a team on the downward slide as Melbourne is at the moment, to reward the playing group as well. Stopping Kozzie is a tough job, and Stocker is the man to do it.
Liam Stocker has had a very long apprenticeship at Carlton despite being a high draft pick, spending a lot of time in the magoos as the coaching staff figured out what sort of player they wanted to mould him into. Rather than being a half back flanker it appears that his fate is going to be as a third tall defender, or somewhere between the two like Jake Kolodjashnij or Tom Jonas. His body shape is big enough to match it in the air with strong bodies, but at 184cm he just doesn't have the reach to go with the beanpoles. Is midfield his final destination? Dynasty league owners hope so.
Flat graph from Stocker
A strong run of VFL form landed the dual-footed Liam Stocker a mid-season streak in the seniors before a foot injury derailed his progress. Once back fighting for the Northern Blues, his finesse delivering by foot from half back was praised. Stocker now sits in the pack of a developing midfield group that will fight for positions to support the veterans. While he hasn't looked out of sorts on the main stage, we're yet to affirm any job security or desirable scoring potential in the big leagues.
Stock rises in Liam
Though he missed the Championships with a broken jaw, Liam Stocker built enough of a CV in two seasons of TAC Cup action to merit a first-rounder last draft, going at rates of 22 touches and 85 fantasy points for Sandringham with around half contested, earning him the Morrish Medal. The Blues showed last season that Brendon Bolton is quite prepared to play the kids from round 1 so Stocker will be quite popular in salary cap formats. In draft leagues, he won't reach the midfielder baseline much at all which makes it hard to justify burning a draft pick on him.
