• Nine things we learned from round seven
• After the siren: Eagles kicking themselves, not goals
IN A galaxy far, far away, NAB AFL Fantasy coaches were happy with the scores of every player in their squad this weekend.
Unfortunately, in this galaxy, there were plenty of injuries, substitute vests and taggers frustrating just about every coach in the land.
Round seven was probably a good prelude to the bye rounds trilogy that we’ll be coming up against in round eight, nine and 10. But before we start planning for next week’s battle, let’s look back at the round that was.
CARLTON v COLLINGWOOD – MCG
The Magpies controlled the game from start to finish and they were the winners in the Fantasy stakes, too.
Forward Jamie Elliott (115) kicked four goals to continue his great run, averaging more than 100 points from his last five matches. Dayne Beams (107) also delivered when forward, booting four goals.
FWD/MID Jarryd Blair (107) and ball magnet Dane Swan (102), collecting 32 disposals, were the other dominant Magpies on the ground.
Playing every game this season, Tom Langdon (99) has been a fantastic pick-up in our Fantasy sides. He has found a home in the backline and will find his value well over the $300,000 mark this week. It could be seen as a strategic move to trade the cash cow out given Collingwood has the bye this week but if he can continue to deliver as well as he has the past couple of weeks, he deserves to stay.
For the Blues, Andrejs Everitt (111) kicked a goal late in the game to take his score into triple figures. Kade Simpson (87) worked his way into the game in the second half to boost his numbers.
Brent Macaffer (48) went to Marc Murphy (74) and kept him quiet after the Carlton captain posted back-to-back 140 plus scores leading into the game.
HAWTHORN v ST KILDA – MCG
On Saturday afternoon, the Hawks demolished the Saints on both the scoreboard and the stats sheet.
Twelve Hawthorn players cracked the ton, including 10 scoring over 110 points in the best Fantasy team effort we’ve seen this year. Adding up the points scored for both teams, the Hawks beat St Kilda 1980 to 1356.
Luke Breust (129), Jack Gunston (113), Jarryd Roughead (112) and unlikely hero Ryan Schoenmakers (94) kicked four goals each. The Saints only kicked four goals for the day.
Schoenmakers played his first game after 12 months out with a knee injury and spent most of his time forward, rather than playing his usual role at the other end of the ground. With a starting cost of $216,700, he will see a decent price rise this week. However, it’s fair to say that will be his Fantasy highlight of the year considering he's averaged 52 points per game in his five years at the Hawks.
WATCH: Schoenmakers stars on his Hawthorn return
The bad news for Hawthorn was the injuries to Sam Mitchell (7) and Brian Lake (39).
Mitchell tweaked his hamstring late in the first quarter and was subbed off at the break. Lake was iced up with a calf strain in the third quarter.
On debut, Billy Hartung (105) immediately got his hands on the Sherrin – in his first quarter of AFL, he collected eight marks, one handball, three tackles, three marks and 48 Fantasy. He finished with 26 disposals and a goal for what was an impressive first game.
The highest scoring player in this match was surprisingly a Saint. Midfielder Leigh Montagna (151) racked up 39 disposals, five marks, seven tackles and a goal in what was a tough day for his club. Nick Riewoldt (39) battled through the match, appearing to carry a minor leg injury.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY v PORT ADELAIDE – StarTrack Oval
In chilly conditions at Canberra, the Power grabbed the four points despite an impressive performance from the Giants.
Midfielder Callan Ward (162) had 40 disposals to his name, including 11 marks and eight tackles, to post his highest Fantasy score of his seven year career. FWD/MID Devon Smith (133) kicked three goals for his personal best Fantasy score.
One of the contenders for bargain of the year, Jared Polec (115), produced his third ton of the season and is a low priority to upgrade in our midfield.
WATCH: Saturday Showreel - Jared Polec
After scoring 120, 115 and 96 points over the past three weeks, Robbie Gray (113) is putting his hand up for selection with another excellent performance. The FWD/MID finished with 30 disposals, spending a lot of time running through the midfield.
Kane Cornes (105) ran with Adam Treloar (93) and the old campaigner won the battle with 29 disposals to Treloar’s 22.
Quite a few coaches opted to trade the injured Alex Fasolo to Jed Lamb (46) with 85 and 87 in his previous two outings. The forward started in the green vest for the Giants, so his score of 46 wasn’t too bad considering it was from just 32 per cent game time.
ADELAIDE v MELBOURNE – Adelaide Oval
The upset of the round saw the Demons claim their second win of the season and Bernie Vince (99) was great against his former club.
A lot of coaches have traded out cash cow Dom Tyson (99) but the 41,416 still with him will be happy with his score and the extra dollars he will add to his price this week. Trading him just before his round 10 bye looks like the correct answer at this stage.
Forward Chris Dawes (96) made his presence known booting three goals while Jay Kennedy-Harris (87) will find be valued at over $200K sooner rather than later.
For the Crows, ruckman Sam Jacobs (110) had 41 hit-outs, defender Brodie Smith (110) achieved a game-high 30 disposals and midfielder Scott Thompson (107) managed 29 touches and a goal.
FWD/MID Patrick Dangerfield (101) will sit at around $500K during his bye next week and should be one of the first you look at in the forward line to pick up in a fortnight.
Adelaide forward Tom Lynch (0) and Demon defender Alexis Georgiou (15) were subbed out of the match after a head clash that concussed the two players. Lynch has broken jaw as a result. In further injury news for the Crows, Matthew Jaensch (45) finished the game on the bench with suspected broken ribs.
Bernie Vince and Chris Dawes played pivotal roles as Melbourne upset Adelaide. Picture: AFL Media
BRISBANE LIONS v SYDNEY SWANS – Gabba
The Swans were big winners at the Gabba, with eight players scoring more than 100 Fantasy points.
DEF/MID Jarrad McVeigh (122) was rumoured to be battling a calf complaint but showed no signs of it racking up 35 disposals. Midfielders Daniel Hannebery (120) and Josh Kennedy (116) continued their great run of form to both finish with over 30 disposals.
Heading into the round with a breakeven of just nine points thanks to back-to-back tons, Rhyce Shaw (111) made it a three-peat being allowed to do as he pleased off half-back. Midfielder Jake Lloyd (109) was one of the Swans’ better performers, scoring well above his $123,517 price tag.
Ruckman Mike Pyke (40) went down with a hamstring in the second quarter and subsequently substituted out. Tom Derickx (75) finished the match with 26 hit-outs.
Midfielder Tom Rockliff (141) laid 11 tackles to go with his 30 disposals, seven marks and goal to not only be the top Fantasy scorer for the Lions, but for the night.
Young Lion Nick Robertson (90) should remain a member of his team's 22 with a positive performance going head-to-head with Swans playmaker Luke Parker (97).
ESSENDON v WESTERN BULLDOGS – Etihad Stadium
Let’s call the 49 points in the Anzac Day match a blip for Essendon defender Cale Hooker (112). He was averaging 12 marks per game before round six and on Saturday night, the defender finished with 13 to be the highest scoring Fantasy players for the Bombers in their win.
Midfielder Brendon Goddard (105) returned after a fortnight out with an adductor injury. His price will be around $500K – about $60K cheaper than his starting value.
Bulldogs forward Luke Dahlhaus (120) is well and truly having a breakout season. He finished with 32 disposals and two goals to post his highest score of the season and take his average to 100 points per game.
Adam Cooney (116), Tom Liberatore (110) and Shaun Higgins (108) all contributed well for the Bulldogs.
Usually Brent Stanton (68) loves playing the Bulldogs, averaging 105 against them in his 11-year career. Liam Picken (71) went to him and kept the Essendon ball-magnet to his lowest score of the season.
Owned by more than 41,000 coaches, Jackson Merrett (33) was subbed out of the match in the third quarter. The forward was averaging 95 points per game heading into round seven. He will be on my chopping block this week.
Luke Dahlhaus has become a dominant Fantasy player, averaging triple figures. Picture: AFL Media
NORTH MELBOURNE v GOLD COAST – Etihad Stadium
The Suns claimed their first win at Etihad Stadium and Gary Ablett (115) was once again the star. He booted four goals to go with his 28 disposals after a quiet first half, with Levi Greenwood (120) doing a good job on the dual Brownlow medallist.
WATCH: Sunday showreel - Gary Ablett
Tom Lynch (105) and Harley Bennell (104) both kicked two goals and scored well.
Six Kangaroos cracked the Fantasy ton, including Lachie Hansen (138) who managed 23 kicks and a massive 17 marks, the most in a single game of any player so far this year.
Midfielders Jack Ziebell (133) and Sam Gibson (117) racked up 28 and 30 disposals respectively whilst Todd Goldstein (104) was the most dominant ruckman on the ground with 43 hit-outs.
Popular DEF/MID Luke McDonald (24) started in the green vest and only took part in the last quarter. As the Kangaroos have the bye next week, now might be a good time to sell the first-year player.
GEELONG v RICHMOND – MCG
Calvin’s No.1 captain choice Steve Johnson (126) didn’t disappoint. He looked to be on track for a monster game with 57 Fantasy points at quarter-time but the wet conditions made it tough for sustained scoring.
Wet weather specialist Jimmy Bartel (118) found the ball 24 times but true to form, laid nine tackles to help boost his final total.
Reece Conca (117) also managed nine tackles and he was the most prolific Fantasy scorer for the Tigers. Working hard through the midfield, Daniel Jackson (106) continued his best Fantasy season to date. His 34 disposals were the most by any player on the ground.
Starting the game slowly, Joel Selwood (82) stood up when it counted for his team, gathering 45 points in the last quarter. Despite the big finish, the Geelong captain has now scored less than 85 points in his past three matches and his value is now well below his starting price. Maybe he’s a bargain to think about after his bye this week?
WATCH: Sunday showreel - Selwood's stellar last quarter
Scoring the same amount of points as Selwood was Sam Lloyd (82), however, we celebrate this! In his fourth game, the Richmond forward kicked three goals and will receive a further price increase, no doubt pleasing the 44,933 coaches with him in their side.
WEST COAST v FREMANTLE – Patersons Stadium
In the final game of the round, the Dockers had 10 players score over 90 Fantasy points.
Paul Duffield (118), Matt de Boer (108) and Aaron Sandilands (105) led the way for the victorious Fremantle side.
A relatively unique choice, appearing in under 18,000 teams, is Nathan Fyfe (102). At around the $500K mark, he could be a handy choice this week to bring in for one of your midfielders on their bye.
Matt Rosa (100) was the only Eagle to score triple figures while a lot of their popular Fantasy players were quiet.
Ruckmen Dean Cox (62) and Nic Naitanui (48) were beaten soundly by Sandilands, but didn’t find as much of the ball around the ground as they usually would.
HOW DID THE TRADERS GO IN ROUND SEVEN?
I came into this round hoping I'd bounce back from a few low scores, but it wasn’t to be. My Warne Dawgs managed to scrape together 2019. While not disastrous, my boys have now slipped outside of the top 1000 teams overall.
However, a new round brings new hope.
This week signalled the return of destROY. Roy continues to improve as he makes excellent trades; this week bringing in Luke Dahlhaus. He scored 2121.
The Calvinators are a menace at the moment. Whether it’s a bit of luck, or some inspired coaching, Calvin smashed out a massive score of 2245 and is pretty happy with how his team is looking ahead of the byes.
