Tim Taranto has had a quiet start to 2024 as have many of his Tiger teammates, and the debate now is whether the decision to burn a bunch of draft capital to bring him and Jacob Hopper across from GWS will end up being the right move for the club's list management. Perhaps securing a good young midfielder of the future would have been the better choice, as Hopper is B0grade at best and Taranto can go in and out of A-grade form across a season, as he did in 2023 where he trailed off after the byes. For fantasy, he's a decent draft league starter but no more.
Tim Taranto has had a quiet start to 2024 as have many of his Tiger teammates, and the debate now is whether the decision to burn a bunch of draft capital to bring him and Jacob Hopper across from GWS will end up being the right move for the club's list management. Perhaps securing a good young midfielder of the future would have been the better choice, as Hopper is B0grade at best and Taranto can go in and out of A-grade form across a season, as he did in 2023 where he trailed off after the byes. For fantasy, he's a decent draft league starter but no more.
Tim Taranto was shaping up as an excellent premium choice for fantasy coaches heading towards the end of the 2021 season, but a couple of poor scores while starting out of the centre put a stop to any triumphalism by his owners. Perhaps it was tactical, perhaps he was being carried due to an in-game shoulder knock, but he has now returned to the pivot and resumed his premium scoring ways. Is this a red flag on him going forward, or can we put it down to a temporary blip? Either way, he's probably not going to figure as prominently in fantasy plans for 2022.
Tim Taranto has become the GWS midfielder you most want in your fantasy teams, even above higher-rated stars like Josh Kelly, Lachie Whitfield and Toby Greene. While those names take the headlines, Taranto turns up every week and accumulates like no one else in the team with a very high floor, and a nice ceiling on his day too. Today might be one of those big days, as he comes up against a Hawthorn outfit that tends to let mids off the chain. He looms as an interesting captaincy option for salary cap comps, and a strong play for daily fantasy.
Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper carried a heavy load last year for the GWS Giants in a depleted midfield, and while this year they have had more soldiers slotting in beside them the midfield's production has arguably been more spotty. Taranto's personal scoring has still been at premium levels albeit not in the top six fantasy conversation like he was in 2019, and this is probably more his level in a fully stacked orange outfit. He will still provide more than enough for draft league startability, though on the second rung behind the matchwinners of the league.
Trumpets for Taranto
Forced to take his game to the next level after teammates fell to injury, Tim Taranto emerged as a fully-fledged fantasy star in jumping 22 points and becoming club champion in his third year. Leon Cameron wouldn't be thrilled that he ranked first and second across the league for total clangers and turnovers, but fantasy coaches couldn't care less. He proved the only shining light in the grand final thumping, the last of his twelve 30+ possession outings. With Callan Ward and Stephen Coniglio reinjected into the lineup after injury-riddled seasons, Taranto will have some of the weight lifted off of his shoulders. He'll be the last midfielder to cop a tag due to his inefficiency, so don't hesitate to take him early in the draft and watch him accumulate, week in and week out.
Tim Taranto is currently undergoing the same sort of scrutiny that many of his teammates at the Giants have gone through as the team develops and matures: speculation that they will leave the farflung footy wasteland of Western Sydney to return to his home in Victoria, specifically the western district. Many GWS draftees before him have made the journey south, with mixed results. As a fantasy prospect, he's always been a mixed bag as he can often run lots of miles without getting the footy much. Perhaps a new club with a different system would be better?
Tim Taranto is one of a number of younger Giants jostling for position to replace the midfield minutes previously given to Dylan Shiel, and he did his chances no harm with 14 disposals, five tackles and two goals from just 62% gametime in the first JLT game of the 2019 preseason. He will attract intense interest in salary cap leagues off the back of that performance, and might even creep his way into some draft league squads as the GWS midfield can be a lucrative place for budding stars.
Taranto sweeter than Tarax
Having battled significant ankle injuries in his first campaign, Tim Taranto enjoyed large improvements in disposals, marks and tackles, finishing top 20 for tackles across the league. Winning just under half his possessions within the contest, Taranto’s 62% disposal efficiency is sure to improve as he develops his running capacity. The early indicators are positive, finishing second in the club's 2km time trial. The Dylan Shiel departure may increase opportunity in the heart of the midfield for Taranto, a role he performed strongly at junior level. He had more scoreboard impact in his junior days, another element he may add to his game for the upcoming year. Entering his third season on the Giants list, there is still upside in his game from natural improvement. Selecting Taranto in middle rounds will be warranted.
Tim Taranto has made it back-to-back seasons where injuries around him have vaulted him into fantasy relevance. If you can avoid the doctor's rooms at the Giants then opportunities open themselves up for you, and so it has proven for Taranto as he has become one of the more reliable conveyances in their inside midfield, with less forward rotations than last year. Average rises of 32 and 25 in basic and exotic formats has seen his ownership rise past 32% in AFL Dream Team, 27% in AFL Fantasy and 13% in AFL Supercoach.
