GREATER Western Sydney running machine Lachie Whitfield (DEF, $930,000) was let loose with no tag against Adelaide and the results came as no surprise.
He hit his fourth hundred on the trot after collecting a whopping 41 disposals and 12 marks for a season-high 160, which caused a $60k price rise and leaves him with a breakeven (BE) of 62. He has a tough match-up this week against Carlton, which will likely send Alex Cincotta to him and make every possession a tough one on Saturday night (except kick ins of course).
FANTASY LATEST Tips, strategy, draft, podcasts, more
Now that we have our rookies off the ground, it's time to start considering looking into fixtures for the initial match-up and beyond. At the moment, it's hard to ignore Richmond as a dream opponent and the Blues reinforced that on the weekend with their top three scorers averaging 135. That brings us to Fremantle, which is matched up with the Tigers this week over in the west and it could get nasty.
We had a preview of the game in round eight and the big boys put on a show with Luke Ryan (DEF, $929,000) scoring 161 with 15 marks, Caleb Serong (DEF, $875,000) managed an impressive 141, Andrew Brayshaw (MID, $857,000) had 125 and the guy in the bad books Hayden Young (DEF/MID, $830,000) racked up almost 100 more than he did on the weekend with 125 which included 30 disposals, seven marks, five tackles and a goal.
Listen to the AFL Fantasy Podcast with The Traders at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.
Strategically, keep removing the weakest link and upgrading to the best player available.
The hardest position to do that is F6 because there are no sure things. My favourite option there is Izak Rankine (FWD, $771,000) who is averaging triple figures in his last three while proving to be a star of the competition, over the likes of Alex Sexton (FWD/DEF, $774,000), Jy Simpkin (FWD/MID, $637,000) and Dylan Moore (FWD, $785,000). However, Rankine does have a month full of match-ups against teams that like to tag… I think some of the attention will start coming to him as opposed to solely Jordan Dawson which could make it tough going.
MOST TRADED IN
- Lawson Humphries (DEF/MID, $233,000)
- Jye Caldwell (MID/FWD, $851,000)
- Andy Moniz-Wakefield (FWD, $224,000))
- Connor Rozee (MID, $714,000)
- Josh Dunkley (MID, $924,000)
MOST TRADED OUT
- Jhye Clark (MID, $406,000)
- Zac Fisher (DEF/FWD, $794,000)
- Hayden Young (DEF/MID, $830,000)
- Harvey Harrison (FWD, $391,000)
- Joel Freijah (MID/FWD, $435,000)
TOP FIVE PRICE RISES
- Lachie Whitfield (DEF, $930,000) +$60,000
- Jye Caldwell (MID/FWD, (851,000) +$60,000
- Billy Dowling (MID/FWD, $357,000) +$56,000
- Eddie Ford (FWD, $472,000) +$55,000
- Logan Evans (DEF, $287,000) +$50,000)
TOP FIVE PRICE FALLS
- Jake Lever (DEF, $519,000) -$63,000
- James Aish (MID/DEF, $533,000) -$60,000
- Stephen Coniglio (MID, $707,000) -$54,000
- Dustin Martin (FWD, $552,000) -$53,000
- Bailey Humphrey (FWD, $359,000) -$48,000
LOWEST BREAKEVENS
- Logan Evans (DEF, $287,000) -11
- Arie Schoenmaker (DEF, $281,000) -6
- Lawson Humphries (DEF/MID, $233) -5
- Billy Dowling (MID/FWD, $357,000) -2
- Andy Moniz-Wakefield (FWD, $224,000) 2
HIGHEST BREAKEVENS
- Max Gawn (RUC, $1,016,000) 155
- Luke Ryan (DEF, $929,000) 154
- Hayden Young (DEF/MID, $830,000) 140
- Dan Houston (DEF, $831,000) 138
- Isaac Heeney (FWD/MID, $908,000) 134
STOCKS UP
Jye Caldwell (MID/FWD, $851,000): The 23-year-old has finally been given an extended run in the midfield and his form is reflecting that. The role change has not only seen a spike in centre bounce attendances (CBAs) but his time on ground (TOG) has also increased significantly, recording 86 and 87 per cent in his last two after failing to reach 80 in any of his previous games this year. In that time, he scored 126 and 144 while tackling like a beast, laying 11 and 12 respectively. It leaves him with a BE of 52 and he has fast become a 'must-have' as F4.
Connor Rozee (MID, $714,000): The Power skipper remains a bargain pick for the second week running with scores of 115 and 95 in his last two with the most recent coming from 25 disposals, seven marks and three tackles. He has a decent upcoming fixture with a game against the Tigers in three weeks being the highlight. He has a BE of just 69 and with Zak Butters attracting the tag, he should continue to work towards his best in the back half of the season.
Josh Dunkley (MID, $924,000): The original stat stuffer was back to his best with another quadruple double to his name which consisted of 17 kicks, 15 handballs, 12 marks and 10 tackles for 158 which was his second 150 for the year. His quiet spell is over with two big hundreds on the trot which leaves him with a BE of just 78 leading into a soft match-up at home against the Crows. The beauty of Dunks is that despite his domination of a game, he is never going to cop a tag while teamed up with Lachie Neale.
Izak Rankine (FWD, $771,000): We need to discuss the star Crow who has flourished since splitting his time in the midfield and forward… unfortunately, I fear he has been a little too good. He has scored 104, 99, 86 and 115 in his last four with the most recent coming from 27 disposals, seven marks and two goals from five scoring shots which gives him a BE of 68 and reflects his value. He will no doubt attract the attention of opposition tags moving forward (much to the delight of Jordan Dawson) but with no one putting their hand up for F6, he is certainly an option.
Tom Stewart (DEF, $689,000): The star Cat hasn't had the best season, struggling with both opposition attention and form. That saw a shift to the midfield last week with 24 CBAs which resulted in his first triple-figure score in 11 weeks after his 105 came from 23 disposals, eight marks and five tackles. They got a win, so there is every chance he gets the opportunity again this week and he is great value with a BE of just 63.
STOCKS DOWN
Hayden Young (DEF/MID, $830,000): Coaches are understandably pulling a rage trade on the defender-turned mid-turned half-forward after churning out an absolute stinker against the Swans. After a remarkably consistent year, it was hard to recognise the 23-year-old as he took just one mark, laid no tackles and didn't hit the scoreboard for a score of just 37. It leaves him with a massive BE of 140 but I recommend a hold here given he was best on ground against the Tigers earlier in the year and he will be keen to make the most of the match-up to rectify last week's performance.
Jy Simpkin (MID/FWD, $637,000): In the search for a serviceable F6, the Roos skipper ticked a lot of boxes after moving back to the midfield, George Wardlaw missing and scoring 132 and 81 leading into last week's match-up with the Dogs. Well, despite all of this and attending 22 CBAs and while spending 85 per cent of the game on the ground, he managed an underwhelming 64 from 21 disposals. At best, he is an option to loop at F6.
Zac Fisher (FWD/DEF, $794,000): A large number of coaches are pulling the trigger on the Roos' attacking half-back after he produced a score of just 67. Upon closer inspection and despite some misinformation about being tactically subbed out of the game, his score came from just 43 per cent game time after he was subbed out due to a minor injury complaint. If he is available to play this week, he is worth holding given his scoring prowess is far superior to the majority of players with forward status.
Travis Boak (FWD/MID, $695,000): The Power veteran was a bye option on the back of some impressive form and forward status but he should be moved on for the run home. Despite not scoring under 70 for seven weeks leading up to last week's game, he dropped a 45 from 10 disposals in what should have been an easy match-up against the Saints. It leaves him with a BE of 113 and he should be a priority to move on.
Jordan Ridley (DEF, $786,000): The 25-year-old defender has been outstanding following his delayed start to the season with scores of 132, 94, 91 and 93 leading into last week's match up with the Cats. Ruthless coaches have traded him out after scoring just 48 but the conditions certainly didn't suit him, recording a season low three marks and he is every chance to bounce back to his best this week against the Pies.
Get expert advice from The Traders during the season in the Fantasy Hub. Follow AFL Fantasy on Twitter and Instagram and 'like' the Facebook page to join in the conversation.
