GV Fantasy is the Supercoach of bowls
As thousands prepare to launch into AFL Supercoach, the Victorian bowls’ version is coming to an end for the season.
Yes, fantasy bowls is a thing – and has been running successfully for the past two years in the Goulburn Valley.
It’s the brainchild of Nagambie pennant bowler Daniel Nichols, who came up with the idea to help boost the profile of the sport in the area and give those involved with bowls in the region an extra interest in the lead-up to the weekend’s pennant matches.
“If people are doing it for the AFL and other sports, why shouldn’t we do it for bowls?” says Daniel, who is also a presenter on Shepparton radio station ONE FM’s Saturday morning bowls program.
Daniel set up the game called GV Fantasy similarly to how fantasy football is constructed. Prices are set for each of the skips of the rinks in the Goulburn Valley’s top league – the Allan Matheson Shield. You use your salary cap of $4 million to purchase 10 skips, who gain points according to their performances in each week’s matches.
Every two weeks, the prices of skips rise or fall depending on their performances in that fortnight.
Currently the Ablett, Dangerfield and Fyfe of GV Fantasy are East Shepparton’s Josh Thornton, David Cartwright (Kyabram) and Brad Orr (Shepparton Golf).
If you’d bought into Thornton at the start of the season, you shopped well. He started the season priced at $375,000 and finished the Allan Matheson Shield at a whopping $520,000 after a terrific season for East Shepparton, guiding them into this season’s Pennant finals.
GV Fantasy is run through Daniel’s website Everything Bowls and his bowls Facebook page, which put a lens on all things to do with Goulburn Valley bowls with photos, results, stats and news.
The game has become a talking point off the green all around the Goulburn Valley, with skips being in and out of form taking on a whole new meaning when there are price rises and fantasy teams on the line.
For Daniel, it’s become such a big part of his bowls season that he may be taking on some help next year. Daniel’s co-presenter at ONE FM’s bowls show and Nagambie teammate Brian Nisbet is likely to help with GV Fantasy.
It’s a great, fun concept that has won plenty of admirers in the Goulburn Valley.
And the concept can be applied to any region’s pennant competition, so it will be interesting to see if any others decide to follow suit for the 2017-18 season.
