THERE were a lot of bullets to be dodged last round, with none bigger than the ruck department, in what I have called a ‘Ruckin’ Nightmare’.
The withdrawal of Tom Hickey [RUC, $344,290] caused a Friday scramble, where the obvious replacement was in-form big man Shane Mumford [RUC, $494,429], who has been dominating the competition.
Then, the final teams came through for the Giants, only to reveal that 'Mummy' was a late withdrawal. And to rub salt into the wound, popular emergency Daniel Currie [RUC, $141,853] was also withdrawn by North Melbourne.
Owners of Matthew Leuenberger [RUC, $365,189] would also be feeling the pain after the big man went down while on just 10 points against Port Adelaide.
All of a sudden, 69 points from Dean Cox [RUC, $476,352] isn’t looking so bad...
RUCK RESPONSE
The man you are looking for to fill the ruck void is Adelaide's Sam Jacobs [RUC, $456,538].
The talented big man has made a sensational start to the year, with scores of over 100 in three of the first four weeks, including 108, 109 and an impressive 125 against St Kilda on Sunday.
What excites me most about Jacobs is how he can dominate this week against a Mummy-less’ Giants, followed by the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne to complete a month that looks to be very Fantasy friendly. He currently has a break-even of 49, so his price will not be this low again for a long time. Lock and load.
CHOPPING BLOCK
Although Tom Mitchell [FWD/MID, 432,762] is in his third year in the AFL system, it is his second year of senior footy, and after round two he seem to have contracted a serious bout of the ‘second-year blues’.
After a standout preseason, where John Longmire touted him as a contender to take his game to ‘elite’ status, Mitchell started the season proper in promising fashion with scores of 93 and 95 before losing the plot for scores of 41 and 67 in his last two games.
He is owned by over 20 per cent of the competition and has dropped a whopping $55,938 in value so far. With a break-even of 144 points, his current form suggests that a further drop is inevitable.
At some stage this season Mitchell will kick into gear and he will be a bargain for prospective coaches, but at this stage, his current owners have a big call to make.
ROOKIE WATCH
Sam Lloyd [FWD, $165,962] burst onto the scene in a fantastic debut for the Tigers with 19 touches, three marks, five tackles and an impressive three goals to score an equal team-high 107 Fantasy points.
Despite his price rise of $30,462 he still provides great value as he is carrying the league's best break even of -28, guaranteeing a nice price rise for this cash cow.
UNDER THE RADAR
Many coaches discounted Dyson Heppell [MID, $572,810] as soon as he lost dual-position status, but the young gun is proving his worth as a straight midfielder with the fourth best average in the competition of 125.5 points, including three huge scores of 120, 144 and 150 for the high possession Bombers.
He is currently owned by only five per cent of coaches and has a break-even of 77, so if you are looking for a unique star to set you apart from the opposition, Heppell is well worth considering.
WHAT ARE THE TRADERS' PLANS THIS WEEK?
Warnie
In: Sam Lloyd, Matt Crouch (Tom Langdon to the backline via DPP)
Out: Josh Caddy, Alexis Georgiou
Warnie is going for a cash grab this week with these two trades leaving $151,851 in the bank. After two forced trades last week, he's grabbing the two rookies coming through set for big price increases.
Calvin
In: Alex Fasolo, Tom RockliffOut: Josh Caddy, Scott Selwood
Calvin likes the look of Fasolo off half-back and will use the money to upgrade Scooter to the inform Tom Rockliff.
Roy
In: Sam Mitchell, Matt SucklingOut: Adam Treloar, Ben Griffiths
I am looking to strengthen my backline after trading the two rookies Griffiths and Langdon who combined for less than 90. This re-structure through DPP will remove all rookies from my backline and create a spot for Jared Polec in the midfield. It will be hard to say goodbye to Treloar, but strengthening the backs is a high priority at destROY after last weeks disaster.
