Wayne Milera is the quality disposer of the football off the Adelaide half back line, with Rory Laird as the quantity merchant. Laird tends to sit behind stoppages cleaning up while Milera stays deeper, a combination that makes Laird a fantasy play in formats with basic scoring and Milera more of a specialist in exotic scoring formats. The problem with Milera is always that his accumulation skills are far behind his disposal skills, so his scoring floor tends to be too low for him to be a rolled gold fantasy premium. Today's opponent features forwards who play high, a challenge for him.
Wayne Milera is the quality disposer of the football off the Adelaide half back line, with Rory Laird as the quantity merchant. Laird tends to sit behind stoppages cleaning up while Milera stays deeper, a combination that makes Laird a fantasy play in formats with basic scoring and Milera more of a specialist in exotic scoring formats. The problem with Milera is always that his accumulation skills are far behind his disposal skills, so his scoring floor tends to be too low for him to be a rolled gold fantasy premium. Today's opponent features forwards who play high, a challenge for him.
And I would want 100, Milera
Averaging 91 across the first four games of 2019, it looked like Wayne Milera might break out but then Pearce Hanley dislocated his shoulder with a bump and he wasn't seen again until round 10, where he spent time in midfield and up forward without regaining that consistency. This makes it hard to draw a line through his season averages, though most notable was his disposal efficiency staying above 75% in a team where most suffered trying to find targets in a dysfunctional attack. With Tom Doedee returning from injury to hopefully bring the Crow defence back to full strength, it is hard to look at Milera and not think that he is best suited to a more permanent half forward role as they are desperate for quality delivery inside 50. In that role he would be somewhat dependent on supply from midfield and rebounders, of which there is plenty of class assets on the park, if they can hit form together. Picking him for fantasy is a bet that the Crows can bounce back as a team.
Wayne Milera made a name for himself in the Crow back line last season covering for the absence of Brodie Smith. With the return of Smith in 2019, Milera retains his spot and deserves to, as his quality is obvious to anyone who has watched him. The question mark is over his role, which may be rotating through half back, wing, half forward or some combination of the three. Adelaide obviously don't want to be without him, fantasy coaches will perhaps be more circumspect about his statistical output.
Clearer air for Milera
The absence of Brodie Smith last season was the making of Wayne Milera, as he drifted back from his previous wing/HFF role to be highly productive at times across half back. The shape of his stat line looked much like that of David Mackay, with a disposal efficiency over ten points higher. His fantasy scoring increased across the last two months to break past the midfield baseline and push towards 90. It is Mackay's spot that Milera will be aiming at when Smith returns to the senior team, with Rory Atkins secure on the opposite wing. It would be bad list management if he didn't get it, but we're talking about the Crows here who gave the perpetually mediocre Mackay 200 games so there are no guarantees. Milera is worth a late pick on upside, with the proviso that his job security is not quite 100% just yet.
Hard yards for Milera
As in his first year, Wayne Milera dropped out of the senior side on the run into finals last season. After reaching 20 disposals for the third time in his career in round 8, he couldn't manage more than 16 for the remainder and spent September as an emergency. Perhaps another preseason will build Milera's tank to handle the rigours of AFL level, So far, he hasn't shown it. With Charlie Cameron gone, there's a spot for him on a HFF if he's fit enough. Drafting him is fraught with risk given his job security issues. Worth a flier only.
