Matt Guelfi continues to be picked for Essendon despite the club not looking anywhere near like making finals, let alone winning one for the first time in more than two decades. This selection policy favouring journeymen and roleplayers over youth can frustrate supporters and fantasy coaches, as Guelfi's role of defensive forward can tend to result in rather desolate basic stat sheets and no goals when the Bombers midfield is getting pumped week after week. His thankless task is to prevent opposition half backs from running riot on rebound, which good coaches value.
Matt Guelfi continues to be picked for Essendon despite the club not looking anywhere near like making finals, let alone winning one for the first time in more than two decades. This selection policy favouring journeymen and roleplayers over youth can frustrate supporters and fantasy coaches, as Guelfi's role of defensive forward can tend to result in rather desolate basic stat sheets and no goals when the Bombers midfield is getting pumped week after week. His thankless task is to prevent opposition half backs from running riot on rebound, which good coaches value.
Stealthy Guelfi stays quiet
A knee meniscus injury ended Matt Guelfi's second listed season, where he played more games for even less return in standard scoring formats. His worth to the team is built on one percenters, pressure acts and other exotic stats that club coaches love. Fantasy coaches in basic scoring leagues couldn't give a tinkers about that, meaning that Guelfi will be left in the free agent pool and will be overlooked every time you comb through the list of players looking for a spot start, as his ceiling is too low.
Guelfi on a shelf
As a mature-ager, Essendon fans were expecting more out of Matt Guelfi than the average draftee. He delivered much the same sort of numbers off a wing as he had for Claremont in 2017 WAFL action at a rate of around 15 touches. His production fell away after the bye though, with his last four fantasy scores below 50. Classified as a pure midfielder, Guelfi does not appear to have a floor high enough to justify picking him in a preseason fantasy draft, as he will no doubt put in further poor days and be at risk of getting dropped as he was multiple times last year. Leave him to others, if they want to take the risk.
Guelfi luckier than Legolas
Recruited as a mature-ager from the WAFL, Matt Guelfi averaged 15 disposals, one goal and 70 fantasy points for Claremont last season, in a wide variety of roles at all parts of the ground. Claremont's coach might have different ideas as to how to best use Guelfi than does John Worsfold, so the most likely scenario is some VFL time to start him off on whatever role the Bombers want him for.
