Robbie Gray has traditionally been the player that Port Adelaide wanted forward for his dangerous finishing skills but could swing into the middle at key points of the game to add that extra little something to turn the contest. That has been tried at times this year, as it was last week, but Father Time is undefeated and it is definitely catching up with Gray. Who is the new Robbie Gray? Perhaps it will end up being one of Connor Rozee or Zak Butters, but for now he is still there and will need to deliver if Port are to do something this year.
Robbie Gray has traditionally been the player that Port Adelaide wanted forward for his dangerous finishing skills but could swing into the middle at key points of the game to add that extra little something to turn the contest. That has been tried at times this year, as it was last week, but Father Time is undefeated and it is definitely catching up with Gray. Who is the new Robbie Gray? Perhaps it will end up being one of Connor Rozee or Zak Butters, but for now he is still there and will need to deliver if Port are to do something this year.
Robbie Gray was best afield in last round's win over the Bulldogs, starting in his customary forward pocket position but roaming up the field at times and also attending centre bounces at crucial stages. He is capable of startable fantasy scores, with four of those in his ten starts this season, but his floor is also very low as the coach can sometimes leave him deep to get chilblains while the ball is in other areas. He is not reliable enough for use at this stage in anything other than daily fantasy formats, where his ceiling is much higher than his price.
Robbie Gray made all the headlines last week for his post-siren winner to defeat the gallant Blues, but for fantasy coaches he has been one of the more disappointing stories over the past couple of years. Once touted as belonging among the ranks of the most damaging midfielders in the league, he has been wasting away in the forward line more and more as his career has gone on, and now scores for fantasy purposes like a regular forward pocket. If you still own him in keeper leagues, you'd get cents on the dollar at this point.
Whatever happened to R. Gray?
The departure of Chad Wingard in the off season and the injection of a couple of kids meant a lot of change of personnel in the Port forward line last year, but Robbie Gray delivered the same sort of stat line he has for the past three years: starting deep in attack, then rotating through the centre. He managed to overcome an interrupted preparation after some minor knee surgery, and his start to the 2020 preseason was much better in comparison. The problems for those hoping for a return to Gray's All-Australian form when playing almost exclusively in midfield are that the club is at the top of the clearance ladder without him, plus they have a distinct lack of reliable forward pocket alternatives, especially after the departure of Sam Gray. He is most likely going to continue in his current role, which puts a hard ceiling on his output. The only thing keeping him in early round consideration is the lack of premium forward alternatives.
Forward fade by Gray
Fantasy coaches who picked up Robbie Gray in middle rounds of their draft last season would have thought it was Christmas when he delivered five tons in his first seven games. The last of those was a six-goal medal-winning performance in the first Showdown, however, and he spent more time over the course of the rest of the year deep forward to drop his average by a calamitous 33 points. Eight of his 13 games following that point produced scores below the forward baseline. This situation will not improve after the departure of Chad Wingard, as instead of interchanging with him in midfield Gray might be left to moulder in attack even more often. The Power made many trades in the off season, none of which involved bringing in a specialist small forward. Their list contains too many midfielders, and it's likely that Gray will play the late-career Leigh Matthews role. This puts too low a floor on his scores. He will be drafted too early on name recognition; don't be that coach.
Robbie Gray is obviously the best player Port Adelaide has, but it's not always obvious where he should play to get the most out of him for the team. He started 2018 mostly in midfield with Chad Wingard in a forward pocket, but those roles have reversed in the last month or so leading to five sub-70 scores in basic fantasy formats in his last seven. His tendency to be a Supercoach specialist has become even more pronounced this season, with the gap between his averages extending well into double figures. Will the trend revert again for finals!
Robbie Gray has done a good impersonation of a pumpkin in 2018 in fantasy terms. His midfield role last season has dissipated like magic, leaving him scrubbing floors in a forward pocket for most of the time. The fitness of Robbie Gray certainly had something to do with that in the first couple of months, though Gray has been spending more time forward with Chad's numbers creeping up slightly. However, it seems that his club coaches want him to stay deep around the goalface, which is terrible news for those who picked him in AFL Fantasy, AFL Supercoach or AFL Dream Team.
Little Gray of sunshine
After spending three years in central midfield at an elite level, Robbie Gray was left in attack for much longer stints in 2017 and it showed in his stats, not least the 47.28 goal tally. 65% of his disposals came forward of centre and his disposal mix was way more outside with a ratio going from 12:14 to 10:9, exchanging marks for tackles. He and Toby Greene were the only non-talls to make the top 20 for marks inside 50. He went for surgery and precautionary chemotherapy for testicular cancer early in the off season, but returned to training well before Christmas. This is the sort of move that pleases real coaches but is hated by fantasy coaches. Gray was obviously a huge success in his more attacking role, almost making All-Australian if it hadn't been for a quiet period before the byes. With Tom Rockliff traded in from Brisbane there isn't a huge need for him to return to the engine room, though theoretically he could be released by Steven Motlop. Hopefully the cancer scare can be put behind him like Jarryd Roughead did last year, justifying at least a middle-round pick with a possible bounce back if he returns to midfield.
Gray can't string them together
Robbie Gray was one of the most talked about players in the pre-season. Many coaches pencilled him in as a keeper or, at the very least, a good upgrade player as he was likened to a Gary Ablett jnr type: a hard running, X-factor small forward pushing for a permanent midfield position.
Unfortunately, Robbie's hamstrings and back have not just disappointed Dream Team and Supercoach fans but the Port Adelaide Football Club too. He has managed only five games this year, his standout game coming against Adelaide where he pushed out scores of 120/127. Port knows he has potential and talent, the problem lies with his body, so he will be put on ice this season. Once bitten, twice shy.
Don't be surprised if he gets his body right and breaks out next season. Have you been bitten or will you be riding the Gray-vie train next year?
