FINALLY, the bye weeks are over and it’s time to assess the damage. Hopefully the temptation to sideways trade was resisted and you are in a prime position for the run home with only one or two rookies left on the field.
Fantasy Pig
Patrick Cripps was in beast mode against the Pies, looking like a man among boys at times. He absolutely dominated with 29 possessions, including a trademark 20 contested, to go with seven marks, nine tackles and a lazy three goals for a round-high 146. He played a massive 93 per cent game time which is huge for a midfielder and he will no doubt be on plenty of trade radars this week.
Honourable mention: Josh Kelly was my No.1 replacement for the injured Jack Macrae and he didn’t let his coaches down on debut with a sensational 138 to back up his 166 last week. Although the groin issue that kept him out earlier in the year is considered ongoing and he will be 'managed' it is hard to resist, regardless of whether he may rest between now and the Fantasy Finals. He had 30 touches, eight marks, five tackles and two goals.
Rage trades
Robbie Gray is not only a rage trade, if you are in a position to follow through with it, go for it. Even though he has been spending more time forward than his fruitful start to the year, it is no excuse to consistently score this poorly. He has seriously been played out of form, as we saw on Friday night when he scored 62 from 16 possessions in a whopping 96 per cent game time. The only hope for a return to form is a move straight back to the midfield with Chad Wingard struggling to hold down that role, so monitor closely.
Honourable mention: Adam Treloar is in the Traders' rolling 22 as a top-eight midfielder and although we flagged his match-up with the Blues a bad one based on his history against them, 66 and a cramp certainly qualifies as a rage trade nomination. On a positive note, hopefully it was just cramp in the hammy and he will be back to his best next week.
FROM THE TWOS Young Demon kicks a bag in VFL
Piglet
Mason Redman got off to a flyer, scoring over 30 in the first quarter before things turned sour by the end of the night. He played a great game with 71 points from 17 possessions and eight marks before leaving the ground in the fourth quarter with an ankle complaint, finally resorting to crutches. He will need to be closely monitored this week in regard to the severity.
THINGS WE LEARNED Charlie could go to Arden St
Trade targets
- Josh Kelly
- Jordan DeGoey
- Patrick Cripps
- Tom Phillips
- Elliot Yeo
Fantasy mailbag
Who goes first out of- e curonow, c curnow, taranto, cunico or god forbid, rocky...
— Will Webber (@wjrwebber) June 24, 2018
Say goodbye and thanks to Cunico mate.
What is the best strategy post byes for making top 1000
— Brett Mitchell (@BrettMitchell72) June 24, 2018
By selecting smart uniques like Tom Phillips and Jack Crisp.
Should I be worried about McLean and his standing on the rolling 22? After the injury he sustained playing Port Adelaide, his scoring has dropped significantly.
— magtuto (@magtuto) June 24, 2018
I understand the concern, but he is still well entrenched in the 22 for now.
What do we do with Cogs? Is Kelly affecting his scoring??
— benjaminkinley (@Kinley_surprise) June 24, 2018
We will give him an extra week given it was a bad head knock a few weeks ago. Should bounce back this week.
With no amazing low price rookies coming through is now the time to upgrade those 500k-600k players to Uber premiums? Fritsch and Seedsman for example
— Christian Delloiaco (@Jaded994) June 24, 2018
Yep, say goodbye to Seedsman.
How many rookies should we have after the bye rounds?
— Jeff (@dhbsnskHsb200) June 24, 2018
THE RUN HOME How the contenders are shaping up
Most teams in the top bracket would have less than three. I will have one.
For more, follow myself @RoyDT
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