• Nine things we learned from round six
• After the siren: Be honest - who predicted this?
WHAT a round! Last week NAB AFL Fantasy coaches needed to score in the vicinity of 2200 to win league matches - this week anything more than 2000 was a decent effort.
COLLINGWOOD v ESSENDON – MCG
The Anzac Day blockbuster started with a superb first quarter from the Bombers and their star midfielder Brent Stanton (143). He had 62 Fantasy points at the first break and went on to top score.
Fellow midfielder Dyson Heppell (129) was the next best Bomber thanks to his 33 disposals and game-high 11 tackles.
For the victorious Magpies Dayne Beams (136) led the way with 19 kicks, 13 handballs, five marks and nine tackles while Steele Sidebottom (124) booted three goals.
Anzac Day medallist, Dane Swan (122) had a very quiet first quarter with just seven Fantasy points to his name. He finished with 26 disposals and four goals to put the Medal around his neck. I was quite happy to get on board this week as we may not see the greatest Fantasy player of the past few years at less than $550,000 again.
A popular inclusion into the forward line over the past couple of weeks was Alex Fasolo (19). After a slow start, he finished with just five disposals before being subbed off with a foot injury. The forward is likely to miss at least this week, so a trade is in order ahead of the bye rounds.
The number one Fantasy defender heading into round six was Cale Hooker (49). He was averaging 12 marks a match before the game and only managed three on Friday.
Across the ditch in Wellington, Leigh Montagna (158) backed up from his 135 last week with another huge score thanks to 37 disposals and two goals. Fellow midfielder Lenny Hayes (128) racked up 34 disposals.
A massive 12 tackles made FWD/MID Dayne Zorko (122) the top scorer for the Lions in their first win of the season.
Ruckman Trent West (109) finished with 39 hit-outs, two behind St Kilda’s Tom Hickey (83), in a game where there was a huge amount of ruck contests.
Lions’ ball-magnet Jack Redden (108) and first-round draft pick James Aish (108) kicked three goals between them.
The conditions didn’t suit Nick Riewoldt (59). The forward copped a leg knock in the first quarter flying for a mark. He finished with 12 disposals and 5 marks.
Young Saint Eli Templeton (4) broke his arm early in the first quarter.
Leigh Montagna scored a game-high 158 points against the Brisbane Lions. Picture: AFL Media
The Kangaroos claimed an unlikely win in Perth as midfielder Sam Gibson (134) collected 31 touches and kicked two goals.
New recruit Nick Dal Santo (100) had 26 disposals and FWD/MID Brent Harvey (99) accepted the challenge of the Ryan Crowley tag, having a big impact on the game.
For the Dockers, David Mundy (123), Nathan Fyfe (119) and Michael Jonson (112) were the big ball winners.
As expected, Aaron Sandilands (77) dominated the ruck contests with 42 hit-outs.
The captain of more than half of all Fantasy sides, Gary Ablett (122) was best on ground at Metricon Stadium. His 30 disposals, 11 tackles and two goals were enough to notch up 122 points. Interestingly, he didn’t have one mark for the match.
Midfielder Jaeger O’Meara (116) also managed 30 disposals and 10 tackles while forward Thomas Lynch (112) kicked five goals.
First-round draft pick Kade Kolodjashnij (83) is quietly going about his business making Fantasy cash and posting solid scores. The defender had been a consistent Fantasy scorer with 72, 74, 67, 78 and now 83 since his debut.
For the Giants, midfielder Callan Ward (116), forward Adam Tomlinson (109) and midfielder Adam Treloar (104) were the best.
The Blues snatched a win in the Saturday twilight game as Marc Murphy (146) posted his second 140-plus score in as many weeks thanks to 32 disposals, five marks, 11 tackles and a goal.
Midfielders Bryce Gibbs (121) and Brock McLean (120) were excellent contributors for Carlton. Gibbs laid 11 tackles and McLean collected 32 touches in his first game since round two.
Defender Kade Simpson (105) only scored four points in the first quarter but he finished the game with his second Fantasy ton of the season.
Matt Priddis (111) and Luke Shuey (107) were West Coast’s best. Dean Cox (96) was the most dominant ruckman on the ground with 29 hit-outs. Nic Naitanui (55) finished with 24 hit-outa as his price will be getting close to $300,000 this week.
After a slow start to the season, Bryce Gibbs has lifted for the Blues. Picture: AFL Media
Sydney Swans recruit Lance Franklin (41) had an eventful night.
In the first quarter Alexis Georgiou (48) connected with his fist to Franklin’s face, which may see the Melbourne defender in a bit of trouble. Buddy was quiet, with just seven disposals and one goal before being subbed off in the third quarter. Despite a knee complaint, the Swans are confident he will face the Lions next week.
Midfielders Kieren Jack (116) and Daniel Hannebery (116) were instrumental in their side’s win while Rhyce Shaw (112) is proving to be a solid pick in defence and will see another price rise after posting back-to-back Fantasy tons.
Demons midfielders Nathan Jones (135), Matt Jones (116) and Bernie Vince (115) finished with 93 disposals between them.
Cash cows Harry Cunningham (79), Jeremy Laidler (75), Jay Kennedy-Harris (73) and Tom Derickx (57) will all have price increases this week.
Dom Tyson (66) fell short of his breakeven but with the Demons’ round-10 bye, it might be wise to wait until then to sell him as his price should remain fairly steady.
In a close match, FWD/MID Patrick Dangerfield (105) collected 11 kicks, 18 handballs and laid seven tackles to lead the Fantasy scores for the victorious Crows. After starting in the green vest last week, Tom Lynch (101) kicked two goals to go with his 25 disposals.
Midfielder Tom Liberatore (111) laid ten tackles and had 25 possessions. Champion Dog Matthew Boyd (107) racked up 33 touches.
Forward Luke Dahlhaus (102) made a great return from a minor calf injury with 114 points last round and he backed that up with another Fantasy ton this week. Big kudos to the coaches who held onto him while he was injured.
Round five NAB Rising Star winner, Matt Crouch (73) continues to increase in price. It will be hard to say goodbye to him when it’s time to trade him out.
The Hawks continued their high Fantasy scoring style of play in their 11-goal win over the Tigers.
With his third score this season over 120 points, DEF/MID Sam Mitchell (140) is the hot favourite to be the highest averaging Fantasy defender in 2014. A huge stat-sheet of 23 kicks, 12 handballs and 12 marks was fitting for the 250-gamer.
Former Saint Ben McEvoy (115) shared the ruck duties with David Hale (89) as the Hawthorn duo took the honours against Shaun Hampson (52) and Ben Griffiths (46).
Brandon Ellis (125) was the only Richmond player to score triple figures. His 32 disposals and nine marks was a testament to his impressive four-quarter game.
Captain Trent Cotchin (91) started well and as a result Hawks’ tagger Will Langford (84) went to him to hold him to 21 disposals for the match. As Calvin pointed out this week, Cotchin’s big Fantasy scores have come from the games he’s played away from the MCG.
Similar to his effort last week, FWD/MID Dustin Martin (71) started very slowly with just 21 points to his name at half-time. Spending time both forward and back, it’s always a frustrating ride coaching Martin in your Fantasy side but his strong last quarter may save him from the chopping block this week.
Forward Sam Lloyd (42) was subbed out in the third quarter. He went into this round with a breakeven of -24, so his price is still heading north but a large percentage of coaches are playing him in their 22s.
Sam Mitchell, evading Brandon Ellis, was huge again for the Hawks against Richmond. Picture: AFL Media
Two goals to Hamish Hartlett (122) made him the top-scoring Fantasy player in the last match of the Anzac Day round. His teammates Kane Cornes (119), Travis Boak (116) and Brad Ebert (112) all won their midfield battles, finding plenty of the ball.
Geelong midfielder Steve Johnson (107) will remain as the most expensive Fantasy player after round six. His 25 disposals, four marks, six tackles and goal were enough to sit him at the top of the score table for the Cats.
After opening the season with four big scores at an average of 119.25, Joel Selwood (73) has struggled with the attention he’s received in the past two weeks, bringing his season average down to 101.3. If you have too many round eight bye players in your midfield, he could be worth trading before his value drops even more.
HOW DID THE TRADERS GO IN ROUND SIX?
As a trio, we copped our fair whack this round. Roy’s team destROY finished on 2069. Not a bad effort with only four players scoring over 100 points. The Calvinators’ 2006 was held together by solid midfield scoring. Calvin has a Fasolo issue in his forward line to deal with this week.
My Warne Dawgs fell one point short of Calvin, ending up on 2005. A score over 2000 was looking shaky, but Kane Cornes came home like a steam train... making up for last week.
It’ll be a big week as we head into round seven, the last before the dreaded bye rounds.
Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for AFL Fantasy news and views throughout the week.
