When Tom T. Lynch is firing as the prototypical modern half forward link man, Adelaide functions as a team a whole lot better, and his struggles with injury over the past two years have been a factor in the team's demise. Last year it was a calf tendon injury that saw him miss a chunk of games in the middle of the season, with his numbers returning to their regularly superlative levels until a poor August during fantasy finals. If you drafted Lynch in middle rounds you might have ridden the storm post the byes only to see him let you down again when the whips were cracking. At this point of his career, with the dreaded 30th birthday looming next September, you have to factor in some soft tissue injuries into his projection which means his fantasy draft value should be set below where his rolling average implies.
Lever Lynch's value down
When Tom T. Lynch is firing as the prototypical modern half forward link man, Adelaide functions as a team a whole lot better, and his struggles with injury over the past two years have been a factor in the team's demise. Last year it was a calf tendon injury that saw him miss a chunk of games in the middle of the season, with his numbers returning to their regularly superlative levels until a poor August during fantasy finals. If you drafted Lynch in middle rounds you might have ridden the storm post the byes only to see him let you down again when the whips were cracking. At this point of his career, with the dreaded 30th birthday looming next September, you have to factor in some soft tissue injuries into his projection which means his fantasy draft value should be set below where his rolling average implies.
Tom T. Lynch is one of, if not the most important players at the Adelaide Crows, if not the best. He is vital to their structure delivering the ball forward of centre and running forward to receive himself for a a few scores per game, a role that many other teams wish they could fill with a player of his calibre. The Crows have gone 6-4 with him and 3-3 without him including last week's walkover versus the Suns. As a fantasy player he has a high floor without often venturing into premium scoring territory, making him a decent draft league starter.
Redhead redemption?
When even a solid contributor like Tom T. Lynch is less than dependable, you know your team is having a bad year. He suffered viral meningitis briefly during 2017 and copped another virus to delay his 2018 start by two weeks, plus a concussion and two separate side strains which slowed him down before the bye and led to a drop of 11 fantasy points over the standard set in the previous three years. When he returned from a spell in round 16, his scoring recovered almost completely. It is a bit of a worry that Lynch has reported two years in a row with viral complaints, though neither of them put him out for more than a fortnight. When fit, he is as reliable a conveyance as you can find in the fantasy forwards. His ranking suffers due to the likelihood of him missing a few more games, putting him deeper in middle rounds than his average suggests. Nevertheless, he is a strong candidate to bounce back in 2019, as is his team.
Rangy Lynch is a peach
Three years running, Tom T. Lynch has averaged about 20 touches, seven marks, a couple of tackles and a goal or two from almost every game. His linking role running high up the ground off a HFF means he rarely has a close-checking man on him, and his tank is too good for most prospective opponents anyway. Lynch may not have a lot of upside as he seems to have found his perfect role and reached his full potential as a player already, but sometimes in a fantasy draft you feel the need for a solid, dependable piece who will not let you down. If his name bobs up around the fifth round, draft him with serene confidence.
