Rory Sloane

2020 Draft Kit • R16 19 AD v PA • 2019 Draft Kit • 2018 Draft Kit

Sloane not slowing down

In an age where tagging is a lot less prevalent, Rory Sloane gets more attention than just about anyone in the clinches, and he responds with a lot of tackling pressure of his own. He is among the elite for all important inside mid stats, and but for some in-game injuries would have lifted his fantasy average above 100 for the fourth time in 11 seasons. His mark numbers lifted slightly in 2019, matching a slowdown in Adelaide's game plan, but he was otherwise the same old Rory.
Sloane is the sort of player who can win your weekly fantasy match up when he is allowed to play his natural game, but he can also be barely startable when up against a fearsome tagging opponent. Not that he sucks when he is tagged, but he couldn't beat the midfield baseline in three of five such games last campaign. You probably have to start him every week because you won't have a better option on your bench, which makes him an early pick but not too early.

Sloane not slowing down

In an age where tagging is a lot less prevalent, Rory Sloane gets more attention than just about anyone in the clinches, and he responds with a lot of tackling pressure of his own. He is among the elite for all important inside mid stats, and but for some in-game injuries would have lifted his fantasy average above 100 for the fourth time in 11 seasons. His mark numbers lifted slightly in 2019, matching a slowdown in Adelaide's game plan, but he was otherwise the same old Rory.
Sloane is the sort of player who can win your weekly fantasy match up when he is allowed to play his natural game, but he can also be barely startable when up against a fearsome tagging opponent. Not that he sucks when he is tagged, but he couldn't beat the midfield baseline in three of five such games last campaign. You probably have to start him every week because you won't have a better option on your bench, which makes him an early pick but not too early.

Rory Sloane is the sort of star player who is the primary target of opposition analysts in shutting down a club's creativity, especially forward of centre and coming out of stoppages. He has shown some susceptibility to the tag in previous years, though he can rise above it on other occasions and has the Showdown silverware to prove it. Port has been using Dan Houston as its midfield tagger recently with some success, and you'd expect Sloane to report that he has a problem with the defender-turned-stopper. That matchup may decide the Showdown.

Sloane will never walk alone

A Lisfranc strain in a foot picked up in round 2 eventually put Rory Sloane out for the middle half of the season. On his return in round 15 he took a while to fire up, and couldn't shake off some of the inevitable tags. He topped 30 disposals only once for the season, after doing so eight times in the previous campaign. Then he and his partner lost their first baby.
It was an annus horribilis for all concerned. Sloane and the rest of the playing group will want a fresh start for 2019, and he started preseason with no physical concerns. He is usually going to cop the tag because he lowers his colours so often, but when he can rise above it his scores can skyrocket. He should be picked in early rounds, if not the first as his ceiling is limited by the attention paid to him.

Rory the lionheart

Despite copping a lot more tags in 2017 and dropping his disposal average by one, Rory Sloane managed to lift his fantasy scores by a point on the back of a shift in kick-to-handball ratio of 12:14 to 13:11. He had six sub-20-touch games and also nine games of 130 fantasy points or more, including five of the first six, with a top five tackling rate and top 15 for score involvements.
Sloane can have his off days, and he can go very large too. This is not always a great pattern for your fantasy team in draft leagues, where consistency is prized to maximise head-to-head win probability. This pushes his draft value well below the first round. The addition of Bryce Gibbs as a teammate shouldn't affect him much as he will still get the tags and the supply.