Bayley Fritsch has talents that few others in the league possess for positioning and finishing quality. As a key forward most often starting out of the goalsquare or a forward pocket, he is called upon to contest against fellow talls for marks every game, even though he does not have the bulk of many who play his role. This combination of high skill and medium levels of grunt have seen him fall out of favour at Melbourne, a club whose forward set up had been failing for a long while now. His recent VFL visit may have kickstarted a reversal in fortunes for him and the Dees front six.
Bayley Fritsch has talents that few others in the league possess for positioning and finishing quality. As a key forward most often starting out of the goalsquare or a forward pocket, he is called upon to contest against fellow talls for marks every game, even though he does not have the bulk of many who play his role. This combination of high skill and medium levels of grunt have seen him fall out of favour at Melbourne, a club whose forward set up had been failing for a long while now. His recent VFL visit may have kickstarted a reversal in fortunes for him and the Dees front six.
Fritsch flits hither, yon
Dropped from the 2018 preliminary final team, Bayley Fritsch was a consistent performer in year two as he maintained disposal output and increased his scoreboard impact in a variety of roles. His best performance came against the Eagles in round 18, kicking four goals from 22 touches and 14 grabs. Expect coach Simon Goodwin to continue using Fritsch in a multitude of positions throughout the upcoming season. A quality distributor, the Dee has shown a propensity to pile up stats when fielded as a third tall forward. If available in latter rounds, select with little downside given his dual position status.
Fritsch enjoys riches
After a first month interrupted by a knee to the ribs by Darcy Gardiner that saw him dropped for round 5, Bayley Fritsch roared back with 12 startable scores in a row as the Demons challenged for the top four. He was mostly starting from half forward to wing, but he switched to defence mid-game a couple of times late in the season to add intercept power. This trend culminated in him starting behind the ball in round 23 and staying there through finals. The problem in valuing Fritsch as a fantasy asset is that in those three games to end Melbourne's season, he couldn't reach the forward or back baselines. The opposition were all finals-quality teams playing September footy, but the Demons' top six finish means their fixture features more of those teams in 2019 so it's not going to be easy. He is one player who should be on every draft fantasy coach's radar in preseason to gauge his role, even if he loses interest for salary cap comps.
Putting on the Fritsch
Nine bags of three goals or more highlighted Bayley Fritsch's year in the VFL, never being held goalless across 19 games to boot a very accurate 42.13. Melbourne picked him up from their Casey affiliate after he caught the eye with some speccy skills, averaging 12 disposals and five grabs for a fantasy rate of 83. Fritsch missed his last junior year, and he still has some physical development to go. We should be a little cautious in placing faith in stars from lower leagues, with Brett Eddy a case in point, though Fritsch has a lot more upside at his age. Watch him in the JLT and if he looks like firming for round 1, a late flier is on the cards.
