FIRSTLY off the bat, I want to say sorry for the lack of articles at the moment. Mum and Dad are visiting me in Toronto and I haven’t had downtime to get many pieces out. Things will be back to normal next week. Now…
THINGS are starting to get SERIOUS now. In all leagues, just four teams remain and we are only left with the same amount of trades for the 2018 season. If you are lucky enough to still be in the hunt this week’s trades might be used to patch up some holes as popular names were bitten by the injury bug. Fingers crossed you can put another strong 22 on the field this week as the grand final is just around the corner!
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My Team
2366 – One point off my point total from Round 19 actually.
AT this time of year even scoring over 2350 seems like a bit of a failure. Once again everyone was solid but there was a lot of 80’s/90’s littering my field. Ahern, Simpson and Shuey are probably all on the block…
Looking Ahead
THERE isn’t a lot to report from the tribunal apart from the news around Tex Walker. The Crows forward will miss the rest of the regular season with a two-game banning coming his way for his tackle of Josh Kelly. The Giants midfielder was knocked out and is probably under an injury cloud for next week’s matchup.
GWS was bitten HARD by the injury bug once again with another mainstream name in Heath Shaw now done for 2018. A PCL tear means his year is done even if his side goes all the way. Essendon suffered a plethora of injuries too but Brendan Goddard is really the only player who might be in a few teams. There were a ton of other relevant players who have been put on ice. Micheal Walters (hamstring), Matthew Kreuzer (heart), Charlie Dixon (ankle) and heartbreakingly Alex Johnson (ACL) are all done for the year.
A lot of coaches will be sweating on the availability of some stars as well. Patrick Ryder (hip flexor) could be sidelined against Collingwood this week, meaning food things for Brodie Grundy. Jesse Hogan is done for the year for Melbourne, but lumbering big man Max Gawn is apparently still pretty sore. Watch his status even though Goodwin said Gawn will make the trip West to face the Eagles.
FROM the two’s Adelaide’s Pat Wilson (28 touches, 13 marks) keeps pushing for more senior game time and he will probably get it now their season is cooked. With the injuries piling up expect the Giants to call Daniel Lloyd (six goals, 37 disposals) and Harry Perryman (43 disposals) back into the 22, while youngster Darcy Cameron (30 disposals, 72 hitouts) will also press for a recall.
Image from twitter.com
Fry’s Favourite Five
Honourable mentions: P.Dangerfield (126), T.Mitchell (130), D.Heppell (132)
+5. Jack Riewoldt, Tigers (FWD, $604K – 192)
ALMOST two years ago to the day we were treated to an epic Reiwoldt game during the Fantasy finals. On the weekend Jack tried his best to replicate his cousin Nick’s 200 point game and he wasn’t far off. What a treat for those who own the big Tiger.
+4. Lachie Whitfield, Giants (MID/DEF, $770K – 135)
SERIOUSLY, Lachie Whitfield might be the most consistent player in the league right now. Pencil him in for 25-30 touches and 115-130 points every weekend. A lot of coaches weren’t expecting such a big score against the Swans, making his big numbers even more impressive.
+3. Gary Ablett, Cats (MID, $698K – 154)
WE all knew Gaz was going to go bonkers against the Hawks. I was trepidatious about trading him in, but now that Geelong needs to keep winning to back the finals he won’t be allowed to rest, making the Gold Coast/Freo fixtures very appealing for his fantasy scores.
+2. Seb Ross, Saints (MID, $734K – 143)
WHAT a legend. Seb Ross is still going unnoticed and putting up points like it’s nobodies business. His monster against the Bombers helped bump his average to over 130 for the last four weeks. Gun.
Image from mailtimes.com.au
+1. Lachie Hunter, Bulldogs (MID, $693K – 142)
HUNTER has been building to a game like this for weeks now. His sixth straight 100 marked the first time he has topped 120 and with Carlton on the horizon expect another triple figure outing on Sunday.
Fry’s Frustrating Five
Dishonourable Mentions: S.Martin (84), M.Duncan (79), B.Grundy (89)
-5. Dayne Zorko, Lions (MID, $694K – 61)
IN traditional Zorko fashion he followed his massive score from last week by scoring almost 100 points less. Yes, I know you got your foot stomped on, but that didn’t mean you had to stop touching the footy! Sigh.
-4. Kade Simpson, Blues (DEF, $588K – 72)
FATHER time might finally be catching the rebounding Blue. After another subpar effort, we could see Simmo given a week off and to be honest, even if he plays he suits up you might be better off without him.
-3. Max Gawn, Demons (RUC, $693K – 78)
ALL three of the popular ruckman failed to fire on the weekend, but Gawn was by far the worst. While his score wasn’t too far off the rest of his ruck peers, the fact that Gawn wasn’t tackling or doing a lot of the follow-up work that he has become famous for raises a lot of eyebrows.
Image from sportingnews.com
-2. Stephen Coniglio, Giants (MID, $712K – 74)
CONIGLIO has looked like a top-8 midfielder all season long. However, he showcased on the weekend why some don’t trust him as an ‘elite’ premium just yet. All the potential signs are there, but Cogs just lacks a bit of consistency to really be considered a superstar.
-1. Scott Pendlebury, Magpies (MID, $648K – 74)
SO much for Mr. Consistency. Pendlebury looks like a shell of himself at the moment with three scores in the 70’s over his last five weeks. Port Adelaide probably won’t sacrifice a ton of points either meaning Pendles scores will suffer again.
MVP Leaders
KADE Simpson (-9) could find himself in trouble if he keeps failing to fire, sitting just three votes behind Robbie Gray (-12) for the worst player honours. Tom Mitchell (19) now has one hand on the trophy and he could all but secure it with another positive outing.
Noteworthy Numbers
THERE were a few players who had big quarters in Round 21. The likes of Gary Ablett and Lance Franklin both managed to score 55 in the third quarter of their games and Jack Billings (56 in the 1st qtr) balled out as well. To no one’s surprise, Riewoldt’s first quarter was the best of the weekend though with his 73 points in the first frame including 4.3 and 10 touches. Riewoldt wasn’t done their becoming the only players to score triple figures in a half a few days ago. His 105 points in the first half against Gold Coast beat the next best efforts of 85 in a half from Ablett, Tom Mitchell and surprisingly Rory Lobb.
BREAKEVEN’S aren’t super important at this time of year with coaches trading in match-winners regardless of their potential price increase/decrease. Still, it’s worth noting that Tom Mitchell (154) and Max Gawn (134) are at the top of the list. If you want to make some money by shuffling rooks then Saints duo Lewis Pierce (-12) and Nathan Freeman (-6) are the pick of the bunch.
Quickfire Trade Thoughts
IN – IF you need a ruck upgrade this is a perfect week to chase Brodie Grundy (RUC, $775K – 89). If Ryder misses for the Power it could be a happy hunting ground for Grundy, who then finishes the season with Fremantle. Jack Macrae (MID, $724K – 118), Gary Ablett (MID, $698K – 152) and Clayton Oliver (MID, $786K – 127) are among the most traded in players this week, along with Sam Menegola (MID/FWD, $678K – 126) up forward and Alex Witherden (DEF, $654K – 123) down back. Young duo Conor Nash (DEF, $175K – 36) and Sam Switkowski (MID, $181K – 47) are being traded in for those desperate to generate some coin.
OUT – UNFORTUNATELY for over a quarter of the league a forced trade might be on their hands. The health of Josh Kelly (MID, $744K – 67) remains up in the air after he suffered a concussion against Adelaide. He’s a must trade if he misses any time. Other popular names being axed include Tom Rockliff (MID/FWD, $601K – 85) and the injured pair Michael Walters (MID/FWD, $507K – 69) and Heath Shaw (RUC, $561K – 78). Rookies like Joel Smith (DEF/MID, $319K – DNP), Brayden Sier (MID, $389K – 98) and Paul Ahern (FWD/MID, $437K – 39) are the cash cows being traded out this week too.
My Trades
I’M thinking of getting fancy this week with some of my final trades. I’m out of my league finals now and I still want to rise in rank, so I need to move on dead weight like Paul Ahern. I have a hunch Kade Simpson is going to ruin my master plans on Thursday night, but at this stage, I like the looks of this.
Trades
Shuey → Bont
Ahern → Heeney
Good luck in Round 22!
Peace ✌