Jake Lloyd has had a long and successful career at the Sydney Swans, and also in a lot of fantasy teams over the years when he was at the peak of his powers of accumulation on the outside. His best games off half back were all about hurting you with volume, not the silkiest user of the football but he's got it then your mob ain't got it, and he can command it at will on his day. In his twilight he is more of a roleplayer off a wing, a position where some teams stash experienced players who have lost a yard. He is unlikely to have much influence in this game.
Jake Lloyd has had a long and successful career at the Sydney Swans, and also in a lot of fantasy teams over the years when he was at the peak of his powers of accumulation on the outside. His best games off half back were all about hurting you with volume, not the silkiest user of the football but he's got it then your mob ain't got it, and he can command it at will on his day. In his twilight he is more of a roleplayer off a wing, a position where some teams stash experienced players who have lost a yard. He is unlikely to have much influence in this game.
Jake Lloyd has started the year mostly starting off a wing, after a career mostly spent as a loose half back. He has supreme ability to find the footy in space, we know that, and he can defend when he wants to, or at least know where to stand to block leading lanes. Does he have the energy to find the footy enough on the outside when it's not coming at him? Early signs point to no, and his fantasy value even in draft leagues is dropping away as a consequence. If you owned him in a draft league, you would be looking at other options for starting this week.
Jake Lloyd has for many years been one of the most sought-after premium midfielders in fantasy defences, playing a sweeping role in the Sydney backline and zoning up the ground for seemingly endless cheap kicks and marks on the rebound and behind the play. This has not been a good year for him though, putting up his worst average since 2016 with double-digit drops in both major competitions. Tonight he comes up against a Richmond side lacking a true CHF with Lynch and Balta out, which means he might put up a big score to reward his owners.
Jake Lloyd is the sort of fantasy asset that you want to have in your team by the end of the season, as he is a lock to be in the top six backs for fantasy with his supreme accumulation skills mopping the spillage at half back for the Bloods. He started 2021 with some middling scores but has roared back since then with every score 90 or above, including three past the 110 mark. Some fantasy defenders can be up and down according to the style of game being played that week, and you can catch them on a slight trough in price. No such luck for Lloyd, who is top dollar.
Jake Lloyd has been part of the surprise packet of the season, a Sydney side full to the brim with classy youngsters but also carrying old workhorses like him around in one last bid for finals glory. Their new gameplan is based on playing on from defence at pace, which can sometimes lead to a lot of possessions to a player like Lloyd who loves to run to receive on the outside. On a small sample size, his value is enhanced by Sydney's new fast attacking style, though once teams figure out how to beat it that may change
Pretty boy Lloyd
Unquestionably, Jake Lloyd was the best pure fantasy defender of 2019. He averaged a career-high possession count of 31, and finished with the most metres gained and effective disposals across the league. This pushed his fantasy average up five and a half points, often benefiting from the newly-enforced kick-in rule. He finished with eight 120+ scores and only dropped below 80 twice, scoring 100 or more in 63.6% of games. Moreover, he's missed just a single game in the past four years. Lloyd is a lock to continue his domination, plain and simple. Some clubs with new coaches have been making noises in preseason about implementing a quicker game plan, but at the Bloods they still do it Horse's way, which means lots of clean up work on slow counters for the moustachioed mop-up merchant. Scoring ability juxtaposed with durability is hard to come by in the defensive lines, so secure him with a first-round pick and reap the rewards.
Loving Lloyd's latitude
Jake Lloyd was a revelation in 2018, finishing the year as the best fantasy defender. He ranked first across the league for kicks and second behind Heath Shaw for rebound 50s. His durability is as sound as they come, having only missed three games since 2014, and his tendency to kick instead of handball is a delight for fantasy owners, as is his ability to drift up into an outside midfield role. The rebounding king will, much like last season, be given the role as Sydney’s loose defender to kickstart attacking play.. Even if he is paid closer attention in 2019 and tagged like he was by Matthew de Boer in the elimination final, Lloyd will still deliver an impressive line of stats and will lead any fantasy defence. Lloyd’s statistics as a defender match even the best of midfielders and therefore warrants a pick in the early rounds.
Plenty to mop up for Lloyd
It’s four consecutive seasons now that Jake Lloyd has improved his numbers. He slid between the wing and half back with an occasional stint as a loose man, with 77% of his ball in the back half. His big scores came when he ran to mark on the outside, though his run of eight fantasy tons in 12 matches dried up towards the second half of the season. Remove the outlier from a very early round 10 concussion and you’re left with remarkable consistency and a fantasy output greater that what the trailing average indicates. Lloyd still has room for improvement if he can run out a full season at the pace with which he began last season and, with his defender eligibility, is worth a pick in the early rounds.
