A-Leagues Fantasy handbook: Prepare your squad to compete for cash prizes and free tickets

It’s time to unleash your inner mastermind A-Leagues manager.

Here’s how…

READ: A-LEAGUES FANTASY AND TIPPING LAUNCHED

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THE ROSTER

Your 15-player roster will be split into the following positions:

Two goalkeepers
Five defenders
Five midfielders
Three forwards

THE TRANSFERS

You are free to make unlimited changes to your team in pre-season. However, after the first deadline has passed, you will be allocated 35 for the remainder of the season. Only two of those 35 are free to make every round.

With 26 rounds in the A-League Men’s season and only 35 transfers to make, if you were to use your two weekly transfers every week from the beginning of the campaign, you would run out by Round 18.

Although two transfers are free to make each round, you realistically have nine opportunities to make double trades if your 35 transfers are to last you until the end of the season.

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THE BUDGET

You are provided with a budget of $4,000,000 to shape your 15-player roster.

The most expensive players are those predicted to score the highest on average this season.

Craig Goodwin’s deadly set piece ability and knack of setting up goals has him as the game’s No. 1 player, priced at $545,100.

No player would have earned more points for successful crosses than Macarthur’s Craig Noone last season; the silky winger comes into the game at a cool $519,400. Then there’s Melbourne Victory creative midfielder Jake Brimmer, reigning Johnny Warren Medalist and dead ball specialist priced at $490,800.

If you were to put all three of those players in your team, it would cost you more than $1,500,000 – almost half of your budget.

There’s plenty of value to be found below the top shelf, however. Assisting you in your squad selection is the ability to rank all players by last season’s statistics in the “players” tab on the fantasy website. This useful tool will help inform your decision-making process and to select a competitive squad.

Players will rise and fall in value

A player’s value will either increase or decrease depending on their form. This will have an effect on the overall value of your squad over the season.

A player’s price is impacted by projection – or their projected score, which is determined by trends spotted in their performances aligned with the points scoring system.

Whether a player exceeds or falls short of their projection will impact their value.

For example, let’s say you purchase Stefan Colakovski for his starting price of $165,300 and he continually outscores his projection throughout the start of the season for Perth Glory. Suddenly, Colakovski could be worth, for example, $185,300 – if you then elect to “sell” the Glory winger, you will have around $15,000 more to play with in your salary.

Conversely, if a player you own scores under their projected total on a consistent basis, their value will fall. Should players in your squad decrease in value, it will leave you with a lower budget to spend when trying to make transfers to improve your squad.

READ: THE 10 MOST EXPENSIVE PLAYERS IN OFFICIAL A-LEAGUE MEN’S FANTASY

Adelaide United’s Craig Goodwin is the most expensive player in A-League Men’s fantasy.

THE SCORING SYSTEM

You’ve selected your team, and you’re ready for the first game of the season. Here’s how your players will earn points:

Each individual player earns points based on their real performance in each game. They will receive points for statistics such as:

goals scored
goals assisted
clean sheets
goalkeeper save
penalty saves
key passes
completed crosses
dribbles,
tackles
clearances
blocked shots
minutes played on the pitch
interceptions

Your players will lose points for intercepted passes, yellow cards, red cards, conceding goals and more.

A-LEAGUES FANTASY SCORING SYSTEM

Clean sheets

Goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders all receive points for a clean sheet kept by their team (goalkeepers earn eight points; defenders six and midfielders two). To earn a clean sheet, a player must play at least 60 minutes. If your player is substituted in the 59^th minute and their team keeps a clean sheet, that player receives zero clean sheet points. However, if your player is substituted after the 60-minute mark with their team’s clean sheet intact, that player will receive clean sheet points regardless of whether their team concedes a goal once they’re off the pitch.

Clean sheets are a key source of points for goalkeepers and defenders in the game. Goals, assists and key passes will be the main source of points for your midfielders and forwards, with a number of other statistics helping to fill out each player’s points total for the round.

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SELECTING YOUR WEEKLY TEAM

From your 15-player roster, you will select a starting 11 each weekend. You will be able to choose from the following formations:

Defenders-Midfielders-Forwards

4-4-2 (default)
2-5-3
3-4-3
3-5-2
4-3-3
4-5-1
5-2-3
5-3-2
5-4-1

This allows you to load up your starting 11 with midfielders, forwards or defenders – or retain a healthy balance of all three – depending on the areas of strengths in your squad.

With 11 players on the field, you’ll have four players on your bench. If a player in the starting 11 doesn’t play, they will be replaced by a player on the bench of the same position. If there are two players from the same position capable of replacing a player in your starting 11 who doesn’t play, the lowest-scoring player will be selected.

For example: You put Craig Noone in your midfield, and he withdraws late through injury. You have a three-player midfield, which leaves two on your bench: Marco Tilio, who scores four points, and Brandon O’Neill, who scores eight. Tilio would then come on to replace Noone in your team.

Weekly team lockouts

You can modify your line-ups at any time while a round is NOT in progress – but each of your 11 starters will be “locked” the minute their respective game for the weekend begins.

READ: SEVEN BIG NAMES WHO COULD BE FANTASY BARGAINS – AND DIFFERENCE MAKERS – IN YOUR SQUAD

CAPTAINS AND VICE CAPTAINS

Once you have your squad of 15, and your starting 11 for the weekend, you will need to select a captain and vice-captain. Your captain will earn double the amount of points for the round.

You will also select a vice-captain; if your captain does not play, your vice-captain is the next player in line to receive double points for the weekend.

For example: you set Katrina Gorry as your captain, and she scores 10 points. All those who have Gorry in their team for the weekend will receive 10 points – but you, and all others who captained her, will receive 20.

If you set Gorry as your captain and Mackenzie Hawkesby as your vice-captain, and Gorry doesn’t play, Hawkesby will then become your captain for the weekend.

COMPETE FOR WEEKLY AND END-OF-SEASON PRIZES

Fantasy and tipping is available to play for both the A-League Men and A-League Women in 2022-23 – and there will be weekly and end-of season prizes up for grabs in all four competitions (tipping and fantasy for ALM + tipping and fantasy for ALW).

Fantasy and tipping for both leagues offer the following prizes:

End of season

Major prize: $4,000
Runner-up (second place): $600
Consolation (third) $400

Weekly prizes

The top five weekly performers in tipping and fantasy (both A-League Men and A-League Women) get a double pass to a game of their choosing (2x GA tickets to an A-Leagues match).