Oleg Markov has shot out of nowhere (well, Richmond actually) to cement a best 22 spot at Gold Coast providing the line-breaking run off half back that is so sorely needed in today's oft-stodgy AFL. He and Brandon Ellis wax the footy in open spaces with their superior dash, and both players are now entering the conversation to be considered in the best 18 for fantasy by the end of 2021. We know that Ellis has the endurance to run out a season in this vein of form, but can Markov pole vault over the bar of a 22-week grind? Some fantasy coaches will roll the dice.
Oleg Markov has shot out of nowhere (well, Richmond actually) to cement a best 22 spot at Gold Coast providing the line-breaking run off half back that is so sorely needed in today's oft-stodgy AFL. He and Brandon Ellis wax the footy in open spaces with their superior dash, and both players are now entering the conversation to be considered in the best 18 for fantasy by the end of 2021. We know that Ellis has the endurance to run out a season in this vein of form, but can Markov pole vault over the bar of a 22-week grind? Some fantasy coaches will roll the dice.
Markov is no Flash Gordon
Blessed with the blinding pace off the mark that saw his father Dimitri become a champion pole vaulter, Oleg Markov had another injury-interrupted preseason with various minor problems that robbed his momentum. He was shifted forward in the VFL in June, which produced five bags of multiple goals at rates of ten disposals, five marks and one tackle. If Markov is to continue in that role and challenge for a best 22 spot, it's hard to see where he slots in when everyone is fit. If you don't apply frontal pressure, you don't usually get a ticket to the Richmond rave party. Perhaps the four tackles he produced in the VFL final are where his future efforts lie. As it is, he might be looking for a new club at season's end.
Chain of bad luck for Markov
Coming into 2018 off a shoulder reconstruction, Oleg Markov struggled with soft tissue problems and then injured a knee in September to complete a highly interrupted campaign. He broke the back baseline once in 10 VFL games. Markov has less players in his age range to compete with now, which is one positive he can take out of a wasted third season. If the Tigers's best 22 continue to have a charmed run with injury, he's not going to get a chance to establish himself in the seniors.
High bar for Markov
It wasn't a case of second-year syndrome for Oleg Markov as he played out the season with no questions about his body, it was his mind that saw him dropped three times, the last in round 23. He could not reproduce his middling VFL form at senior level. Richmond have arguably the best defence in the league with two excellent HBFs, and while Markov might get a game elsewhere he is going to find it very difficult to break back into the side at his current rate of production.
