We now have one week of PLL Player Royale under our belts and the league’s new fantasy game is an absolute delight. While certain features are still a work in progress, mainly the challenge system, the game itself is a fun way to engage with the league and the best fantasy lacrosse experience we’ve seen to date.
Week one tested some theories on how to set your lineups, but we now have a fairly good idea of what positions put up the most points and a rekey to your success every week. Heading into week two of the PLL season, let’s look at a few fantasy matchups that could decide your success this weekend.
TD Ierlan vs. Connor Farrell
The faceoff position is not a huge point-getter in Player Royale (with one Trevor Baptiste-sized exception) but getting a positive output in that spot could be the difference between a close win and close loss.
TD Ierlan had a phenomenal rookie season for Redwoods in 2021 but struggled against Baptiste to start this year. Things get a little easier for college lacrosse’s all-time winningest faceoff specialist, as he faces off against Chrome’s Connor Farrell.
Farrell had a strong season opener, winning over 60% of his draws against rookie Justin Inacio and Archers. This week is a much tougher test for the Milk Man and the Chrome faceoff unit.
Last season, these two only faced off once, with Ierlan winning just over 50% of the draws, though it was only his second professional game and he had only one day of rest heading into the matchup.
Will Farrell have another strong showing and finally prove he’s a top faceoff guy in the PLL or can TD get back on track with a motivated performance? Ierlan is also ranked as a tier three player this week, so he could be a fantastic value play.
Atlas Attack vs. Cannons
Everybody eats in the Atlas’ family style offense, and that definitely applies to fantasy score lines. Jeff Teat and Eric Law finished first and third in scoring for week one, while midfielder Bryan Costabile and rookie Chris Gray also finished in the top 25. It’s hard to go wrong picking an Atlas offensive starter in your lineup, and that’s especially true this week.
Despite a six-goal victory, Cannons allowed the second most shots league-wide and needed a ridiculous performance from Nick Marrocco to hold off the Waterdogs. With Atlas’s ability to put the ball in the back of the net and move the ball around the offense, the Bulls could really light up the Cannons back end.
Add in Trevor Baptiste at the faceoff stripe, and we could see another family style feast for Atlas’s offensive weapons.
Archers and Chaos Defense
The Archers vs. Chaos game looks set to be a defensive battle, and while that should make for a fun and intense game, it won’t be great for fantasy lacrosse stats. Will either offense be able to break through tough defenses, or will either team’s defenders be able to put up some stats?
Graeme Hossack, Scott Ratliff and Jarrod Neumann are all potential plays this weekend in fantasy, boasting the ability to strip the ball and make plays on the run. Will any of them be able to make a big enough impact on the stat sheet to be worth a play?
This game likely projects as a fairly slow matchup as well, which makes Blaze Riorden an interesting play. The reigning goalie of the year is a steal as a tier two player, but how many saves will he be asked to make? There’s a lot of lingering questions on this game, which makes it all the more interesting.
Those are our thoughts on week two in the PLL from a fantasy lacrosse perspective. Let us know your thoughts and share your week one lineups with us in the comments or on social media by tagging @FantasyLacrosse on Twitter. Also, be sure to tune into the relaunch of The Fantasy Lacrosse Podcast!
