WELL, the first week of finals is over and if you didn’t have Tom Rockliff as captain, you are probably reading this with a fuzzy head and a Berocca after your Fantasy Mad Monday.
Rockliff is obviously a must-have for the finals as he continued his ridiculously good form with 180 against Adelaide (in a team that lost by 105 points) to give him a three-game average of 160.
Unfortunately for those coaches who don’t already have him, he is now priced at an unheard of $707,203 and with a low break-even of just 104, he will increase again leading into the preliminary finals (yes, I referred to 104 as low, that’s how good he is).
Obviously many coaches find themselves in a knockout final this week, where maximising points on ground is a priority. Money can be a big issue at this time of year so I am going to look at some sub $500,000 players that are worth consideration as under-priced upgrades that could win you a match-up.
FRESH AS A DAISY
After being the talk of the pre-season, coaches were quick to put a line through former premium Dale Thomas [FWD/MID, $404,762] once the season commenced after some ropey early form.
The last two weeks however, Thomas has started to resemble the Daisy of old with back-to-back scores of 115 and 124 (keeping in mind he has only scored one 100 prior to that in 2014). In his past two games Thomas has found the ball with ease collecting season-highs with 29 and 27 possessions to go with 12 and 11 marks.
He faces tough opponents in the next two weeks with the Cats and Power, but as his break-even of 32 suggests, he is in outstanding form and is well under-priced for his potential.
GREENE BUT RIPE FOR PICKING
After returning slowly from his club imposed ban with a score of 63, Toby Greene [MID, $492,908] has repaid the faith shown by the Giants with a string of great games which has also propelled him into the Fantasy finals mix of trade options.
In the last month, Greene has scored over 115 on three occasions with returns of 118, 116 and 127, while his lowest score in that time is a respectable 93.
His run over the next three weeks also looks conducive to big scores with games against the Demons, Pies and the Bulldogs in the all-important Fantasy Grand Final. Over this impressive period, Greene has been back to his best, averaging 32 possessions. He has a break-even of 59 and is owned by less than one per cent of coaches. Great point of difference.
SIMPLE AS SIMPSON
Kade Simpson [DEF, $479,547] has regained the form that had him touted as the ‘must-have’ defender earlier in the season.
Following a slump after the mid-season break which included a nightmare performance of just 26 against the Giants in round 14, Simpson has been back to his outstanding best over the past three weeks with scores of 120, 112 and 109 to give him a three-game average of 114.
Finding consistent scorers in the backline is hard this year, but the re-capturing of form by Simpson has to catch the attention of the 74 per cent of coaches that don’t have him. His low break-even means he is a great player to have back there over the next three weeks.
BEST OF THE REST
Notable under-priced mentions also go to Patrick Ryder [RUC/FWD, $484,424] who is in great form with a three game average of 110 and surprise packet Harry Taylor [DEF, $431,333] who has never been spoken about in a Fantasy article before, yet has put together career-best numbers over the past five weeks with scores of 113, 93, 110, 84 and 133 which I am sure has pleased the three per cent of coaches who have him.
Finally, Brett Deledio [MID, $495,652] is quietly getting his season back on track with a three-game average of 109 and six weeks without dropping below 90, while Robbie Gray [FWD/MID, $454,957] looks to have recovered from his bout of the flu with 121 on the weekend against the Swans.
WHAT ARE THE TRADERS DOING THIS WEEK?
Warnie
In: Robbie Gray, Rory Sloane
Out: Brent Stanton, Luke Dahlhaus
It’s finals time and Warnie is showing no patience with form lapses. Amazing to see he has spat it with ‘his boy’ Stanton!
Calvin
In: Max King, Ben McGlynn
Out: Daniel Currie, Dayne Zorko
Calvin has been complaining about Zorko for weeks and he finally has the trade available to do something about it.
Roy
In: Max King, Rory Sloane
Out: Tom Derickx, Dion Prestia
As I have the week off in my main league, I am using Derickx for a cash grab which will leave me with $130,000 for upgrades prior to my preliminary final.
For all the top trade tips in this crucial period of Fantasy, hit me up on Twitter: @RoyDT
