Jayden Short was moved to midfield last week for Richmond with instant results, putting up big numbers with bulk centre bounce attendances making his existing fantasy owners very happy. The question is how long this positional change will last; the absence of Dion Prestia means he will likely stay there today against Collingwood even with the return of Dustin Martin. There are a few young blokes who could probably use some blooding at the coalface, so it might not last all season. Could he be the new Rory Laird? Some will gamble on that outcome.
Jayden Short was moved to midfield last week for Richmond with instant results, putting up big numbers with bulk centre bounce attendances making his existing fantasy owners very happy. The question is how long this positional change will last; the absence of Dion Prestia means he will likely stay there today against Collingwood even with the return of Dustin Martin. There are a few young blokes who could probably use some blooding at the coalface, so it might not last all season. Could he be the new Rory Laird? Some will gamble on that outcome.
Jayden Short is carrying a lot of fantasy hopes this season as a bona fide premium. He has already shown over the last season or two that he can produce at a very high quality, and last year he added quantity to that as well. The early injury and gradual ageing of Bachar Houli only adds to the hype over Short, as it is hoped he can deliver even larger output in the absence of his older teammate. You don't see many tags on half backs these days, so he's a pretty solid bet to finish well inside the top six backs and maybe jostle for top spot by season's end.
Intermission in Short film
A nasty elbow dislocation threatened to halt Jayden Short's rapid career rise in round 3, but he returned in round 15 and largely carried on as before. His best stat is metres gained, in which he topped the league averages in 2018 and would have gone close again last year if you took that injury game out. His tackle numbers are minimal, but he loves a goal from outside 50m. Short is never going to be a fantasy premium as his natural game is based on something other than pure stat accumulation, but he is most definitely best 22 at Richmond, even more so with Brandon Ellis leaving. He has a handful of points of upside in his rolling average at worst, and maybe he can learn a few things about adding volume to his stat sheet. A mid-range pick with limited upside.
Short goes the longest
The emergence of Jayden Short from also-ran to elite was one of the most unlikely stories of 2018. He managed the feat of topping the metres gained stat for the league from only 20 touches per game, displacing Brandon Ellis from a HBF. Crucially, his third-ranked metreage per disposal wasn't that much different to his previous year, just with five more possessions per game. Ellis will fight to get his job back, but he might be better served aiming at a wing instead as Short isn't going anywhere. Exotic stats like metres gained matter a lot in exotic formats but in basic scoring he's still a middle-round pick based purely on trailing average. He started scoring a lot more consistently around the bye pushing beyond 80s, and there is upside to justify a reach.
Jayden comes up Short
One of a number of sob stories in the 2017 flag, Jayden Short was dropped last August after playing 16 senior games in a row and made it back to the team sheet in the grand final as an emergency. Short may have to think of some other role to play if he wants to return to the senior side, as the defence is filled with more accomplished players now. He is undraftable.
