Orazio Fantasia is a cream player: the sort who often bobs up with big performances in big finals, and the type that a good team needs to capitalise on its hard work and put it over the line for a victory in a tightly-fought September tussle. Carlton is not a team in that strong of a spot right now and, like Jade Gresham at Essendon and Tyler Brockman at West Coast, has become a punching bag for fans frustrated at a lack of results. Today he returns to a team despite many calls for the club to move on from his talents. He gets a few more chances to prove doubters wrong.
Orazio Fantasia is a cream player: the sort who often bobs up with big performances in big finals, and the type that a good team needs to capitalise on its hard work and put it over the line for a victory in a tightly-fought September tussle. Carlton is not a team in that strong of a spot right now and, like Jade Gresham at Essendon and Tyler Brockman at West Coast, has become a punching bag for fans frustrated at a lack of results. Today he returns to a team despite many calls for the club to move on from his talents. He gets a few more chances to prove doubters wrong.
Orazio Fantasia was a point of difference player in some fantasy teams to start the year, pulling on teal instead of the bad sash for the first time and benefiting for better supply in a flag-contending team. He has had some good days, it's true, but last week's poor one in a big loss away to Brisbane underlines how low his scoring floor is, and today in the Showdown may very well be another outing where the pickings are a bit light on in a tightly contested tussle. The time to step off this stepping stone might have already passed.
Orazio Fantasia has recovered from injuries that plagued him after his move from Hawthorn to Port Adelaide and is putting together a decent start to 2021, but the Power is not a side which has traditionally produced top six fantasy backs and in Burton we have another whose quality is not quite matched by quantity. The ball is shared around too much between the likes of Burton, Byrne-Jones and Hartlett, not to mention Dan Houston dropping back from midfield. The current defensive structure at Port works for them, but not as much for fantasy coaches.
Orazio Fantasia presented in preseason as an interesting point of difference player for fantasy coaches, and he delivered with four goals and a very respectable fantasy score in the rout of North Melbourne in round 1. Given that he had eight scoring shots, however, the fact that he had only six more disposals that didn't score suggests he may not be a hot trade-in target, as Port Adelaide aren't going to enjoy opposition as weak as North every week. The Power give a lot of supply to the forwards, it's true, but Orazio's scores are likely to fluctuate too much to be of much service.
There are more things, Orazio
Joe Daniher wasn't the only Bomber denied a trade request over the off season, with Orazio Fantasia also wanting out after a poor 2019 beset by lack of continuity through a string of soft tissue injuries to hamstring, quad and hip, the last of which required a post-season arthroscope. His ceiling for a spot start is above a fantasy ton, though he goes 15 points better in wins and his scoring is somewhat dependent on events upfield for quality supply. The change rooms at Bomberland have been a hubbub of chuntering from the likes of Fantasia, unhappy with how things are going at the club and with their personal form. A new year means new hope, and like Daniher and the team in general he is capable of a lot more than he has shown lately, if he can get mind and body aligned to produce on the park. As a fantasy asset, he's not an every-week starter unless in a hot vein of form, making him a late pick.
Fantasia is a teaser
Continuity was the problem for Orazio Fantasia last season, as he missed four separate chunks of games during the year with various soft tissue issues including the start and finish. He found some form in his last five games, with bags of four and five goals plus a rare excursion past the 20 disposal mark, setting a pleasing floor on a small sample size through increased production from marks and tackles. For Essendon to make finals, they need Fantasia fit and firing as he makes a lot of their other forward structures work a lot better. He can score with or without Joe Daniher in the side, as he showed in that late run. His mercurial nature means he is going to deliver some poor scores at times, with an average hovering just far enough the baseline to keep him in your squad. If those types annoy you, avoid.
Hard reality for Fantasia
Brian Taylor has taken a liking to him, but Bomber fans might have wanted a bit more from Orazio Fantasia last season. He trod water statistically in comparison with his breakout 2016, with seven bags of three or more goals and also five goalless outings. Half of his games produced scores below baseline for a forward, and he did not break 20 disposals all year despite five such games in the previous campaign. Fantasia is a true half forward flanker, which means as an outside receiver he's reliant to a large extent on quality of supply. With Essendon's midfield suffering some losses in the off season, as well as more targets to Joe Daniher, the arrival of Jake Stringer probably won't help either as his targets may dwindle. If you have faith that the Dons are top four material in 2018, you can pick him up late.
