Sam Menegola is one of a number of Cats whose responsibilities should see an upgrade in the wake of the long-term injury to Patrick Dangerfield's ankle. His usual role is switching from half forward to midfield in the manner of Paul Chapman in days of yore, and of Kane Lambert at Richmond in the current day. With Bradley Close on one HFF and Zach Tuohy on the other, Menegola is probably the primary beneficiary of the shortfall in centre bounce attendances left by the absence of Danger. He has a very high ceiling for fantasy, so his popularity should skyrocket.
Sam Menegola is one of a number of Cats whose responsibilities should see an upgrade in the wake of the long-term injury to Patrick Dangerfield's ankle. His usual role is switching from half forward to midfield in the manner of Paul Chapman in days of yore, and of Kane Lambert at Richmond in the current day. With Bradley Close on one HFF and Zach Tuohy on the other, Menegola is probably the primary beneficiary of the shortfall in centre bounce attendances left by the absence of Danger. He has a very high ceiling for fantasy, so his popularity should skyrocket.
Sam Menegola appears to be one of the big winners from Tim Kelly's off-season departure from the Cattery, although it took him a while to fight his way back into the senior team. He plays the same sort of HFF role rotating in the centre, often enjoying the relative lack of pressure as attention is paid to the more high profile stars of the Geelong midfield. He is still underpriced in all fantasy formats and should be anchoring a lot of squads in daily fantasy for weeks to come, as they will rely on him heavily during the cram period as the stars get rested.
Sam Menegola had a quiet round 1 game against the star-studded Giants midfield, but he is one of the Cats who are going to have to progress several levels this year if his club are to again challenge for the flag. Along with Brandan Parfitt and a host of other fringe mids, he will be vying to replace the quality workrate of the departed Tim Kelly in the engine room and resting forward. Fantasy coaches will be tempted to take a chance on him with a post-lockdown reset, as he will be given every chance to lift his ratings.
Sam suffers Mene-pause
Suffered in round 7 against the Bombers, what was expected to be a two-week minor knee injury required surgery and sidelined Sam Menegola for 10. That made 2019 his most disappointing outing to date, averaging career lows in all areas while spending more time across the half forward line. With a near-identical role to Brandan Parfitt, Menegola isn't the same walk-up selection he once was. He'll still provide more-than-serviceable scores when on the pitch but needs to be approached with caution. A preseason watchlist candidate who would earn a middle-round pick if favoured by the coaching staff.
Sam Menegola has been one of the biggest fantasy busts of the 2019 AFL season, not just because he missed the middle half of the campaign after a knee cartilage injury in round 7. Even before that, his elite form of the previous two years had started wavering, not even reaching 15 disposals in the round 4 loss to the Giants. His return to the seniors last week as a late replacement for Luke Dahlhaus was understandably quiet, and this week he has Dahlhaus, Quinton Narkle, Brandan Parfitt and Gary Ablett jnr alongside him. Too many small forwards? His role may now change.
Menegola the rock & roller
In Sam Menegola’s three seasons at Geelong, he’s consistently finished in the top handful of fantasy-scoring forwards. The half forward flanker often rotates through the midfield to combine stat accumulation with scoreboard impact, dropping below 20 touches and 88 fantasy points in only two games after round 2 last season. The tough Cat did have a surgery to clean out his knee in the off season, but should be unaffected come round 1, and will pump out midfield-quality numbers at a forward’s price tag. The mature-age recruit should be one of, if not the, first selected fantasy forwards and is deserving of an early pick.
Sam Menegola has played more as a HFF in 2018, not unexpectedly as Gary Ablett jnr has taken more of his centre rotations. After a few poor ones to start the season, when Geelong as a team hadn't gelled yet, he has been much more productive for his fantasy owners lately, filling his boots in some big wins against minnows. He has justified a high pick in draft leagues, and he should rise in calculations in salary cap competitions post-byes as he is a strong contender to finish in the top six forwards.
Menegola through big sticks
2016 was no fluke. Even though he was an emergency for round 1 and 2, Sam Menegola backed up his seven-game stretch after round 18 in the previous campaign with 19 very solid games to stamp himself as a valid part of the always-purring Cat engine room. He added another string by resting forward more starting in August, with four multiple-goal games out of six stretching into September. The return of Gary Ablett jnr is the only fly in the ointment. Does it mean GAJ pushes Menegola more to a permanent forward flank role, a la Toby Greene? Could Menegola emulate Greene by becoming a fantasy stud in that position anyway? Or does it not affect him, as he's not the low man on the totem pole? The JLT should sort this out to set his draft value between early and middle rounds.
