ROUND 19 means the final 'home and away' match-ups for most AFL Fantasy leagues. Finals will be locked in for the elite this Sunday night, while the rest must pretend to care about the consolation finals, and bemoan the fact they hadn't heard of Tom Ruggles.
With this in mind, we thought we’d ask all 18 coaches if they had any Fantasy tips to help propel your team into the finals. Here's what they said:
Don Pyke: "You're in a situation where you need to win and you've got to keep winning to give yourself the best chance of going forward. And, … er, … something about structures". (Direct quote from rounds 3, 4, 6, 11, 15 and 18).
Justin Leppitsch: "Yeah I know it’s purely Rocky and Zorko’s Fantasy scores that make my team even the tiniest bit watchable. And I’m sorry about playing Robbo as a tagger so often. But trust me, Daniel Rich has got another century in him. Particularly if no one from Port goes anywhere near him again this week.
Brendon Bolton: "I’ve done the unthinkable. I’ve made Carlton a likeable team, with some added Casboult thrown in for comedy value. If that’s not Fantasy, I don’t know what is."
Nathan Buckley: "What have I done with Dane Swan? Well, once a Fantasy Pig, always a delicious bacon sandwich for the boys. I think that was one of Mick’s sayings."
John Worsfold: (rocks back and forth in chair) "What are you doing, Joe? It’s 15 metres out, Joe. It’s one of the great marks of the year – now just go back and kick the goal, Joe. (Pauses and smiles) Ahh, Zach Merrett. (Begins rocking again) "How could you miss from there, Joe? It’s four wins gone by my count, Joe".
Ross Lyon: "Is it the final round of the Fantasy season? I wouldn’t go so far as to say that. But if it is, and even though we’re nowhere near the top eight and there’s a bye before finals, you know I’ll be resting every decent player I’ve got."
Chris Scott: "Not my fault if you found the name Wylie Buzza funny enough to include in your team. Or thought Scott Selwood would work out. It’s Fantasy, so do what I do – put Danger and Selwood in the middle and call it coaching."
Rodney Eade: "I know. I didn’t think I’d have to find out who McKenzie Willis was either. Still, at least we’ve kept Jaeger and Dion nice and cheap for you next year when they run out for their new teams".
Leon Cameron: "Yeah, I love Jack Steele’s name too, but I was hoping for a bit more in Fantasy. Still, you can’t complain about my ban on Heath Shaw ever handballing. And did I mention Josh Kelly’s quite good?"
Click here to subscribe on iTunes.
Alastair Clarkson: "I’m just over two months away from my fourth flag in a row. I give as much of a toss about Fantasy as I do about contested footy".
Paul Roos: "I think you'll agree I've set your Fantasy side up pretty well for coming years. And big Max has done what big Max promised he would do. And I’ve saved you from yourself when it came to Jack Grimes. But I’ll never go back to Fantasy coaching. And when I say never, you know I mean it."
Brad Scott: "Well, the umpires have told us that Lindsay Thomas doesn't get a point for free kicks. So I guess it isn't a surprise I've got no players averaging 100+ this year. And no, I don’t know what’s up with Goldy either."
Ken Hinkley: "Can you imagine coaching a team this inconsistent? If not, fill your Fantasy squad with Port players and prepare to be bald by the end of the season. Actually, we lost last week and we've got the Lions on Sunday, so that’s probably not bad advice."
Damien Hardwick: "Really? Finals advice from me? You’re sure? Well, I didn’t really rate Dustin Martin’s game last week, so that probably means he should be first picked for your squad. I know we should keep playing the cash cows (Castagna, Markov, Drummond etc), so we’ll drop one for Bachar Houli this week."
Alan Richardson: "Stevo, Armo, Montagna(o), we’ve got Fantasy guns everywhere. If you left Nick Riewoldt out of your squad at the start of the year, you haven’t learned much from Fantasy in a decade. Wait until we take the captaincy off him next year – he’ll be averaging 120."
John Longmire: "Let me give you a tip – Dean Towers is decent value at $365,000. Let me give you another tip. Dean Towers isn’t allowed to touch the ball again if the other team is within four goals."
Adam Simpson: "If you need someone for the rest of the year, get Matt Priddis. If you need someone for just a week, check the fixture and if we’re playing someone in the bottom eight, pick one of his teammates."
Luke Beveridge: "Well, we've given you a look at a fair chunk of our squad. And not by choice either. You'll probably be as pleased to see Luke Dahlhaus (FWD/MID, $482,000) back as I am, but don't be fooled into picking Tom Boyd … like I was."
