Peter Ladhams contest with Josh Bruce in the ruck during the clash in round nine, 2021. Picture: AFL Photos

THE MOMENT we have all been waiting for is just one sleep away! Thursday night teams are back so make sure you tune in to The Traders on Facebook as they assess the ins and outs and what that means for your Fantasy teams.

The season has been a rollercoaster. After round eight, coaches were walking a little taller with scores across the board reaching a season high, but as the Fantasy Gods love to do, they cut most of us down in round 10, largely through applying the clamps to our popular rookies with Tom Powell (FWD/MID, $524,000), Miles Bergman (FWD/DEF, $415,000), Jy Farrah (FWD $368,000), Charlie Lazzaro (MID/FWD, $279,000), Anthony Scott (FWD/MID, $319,000) and Ryan Byrnes (MID, $276,000) all failing to reach 50 points.

With the breakevens of those rookies on the rise, it's time to start cashing in and upgrading to a premium. Powell is looming as a must-trade after scoring 58 and 40 in his past two, following back-to-back 100s in rounds six and seven. He now has a breakeven of 95 and will start to drop in price.

Trade tip: It’s time to prioritise the removal of red dots. We are going to need as many hands on deck as possible throughout the byes.

BYES
Round 12: Roos, Suns, Giants, Power, Cats, Hawks
Round 13: Tigers, Dogs, Eagles, Lions, Blues, Bombers
Round 14: Crows, Saints, Swans, Pies, Dockers, Demons

TOP FIVE PRICE RISES

  • Riley Collier-Dawkins (MID, $290,000) +$58,000
  • Matt Flynn (RUC, $451,000) +$57,000
  • James Jordon (MID, $520,000) +$49,000
  • Aaron Hall (FWD/DEF, $674,000) +$41,000
  • Jordon Sweet (RUC, $283,000) +39,000

TOP FIVE PRICE FALLS

  • Jack Bowes (DEF, $659,000) -$42,000
  • Ryan Lester (DEF, $340,000) -$40,000
  • Easton Wood (DEF, $375,000) -$40,000
  • Reilly O’Brien (RUC, $616,000) -$39,000
  • Rowan Marshall (RUC/FWD, $648,000) -$39,000
04:54

The Traders' round nine Fantasy wrap

Poor rookie scores means we need to get up to fallen premiums ASAP, Roy has some options

LOWEST BREAKEVENS

  • Riley Collier-Dawkins (MID, $290,000) - 18
  • Nick Bryan (RUC, $195,000) - 4
  • Jordon Sweet (RUC, $283,000) 4
  • Matthew Owies (FWD, $256,000) 5
  • Cody Weightman (FWD, $253,000) 7

HIGHEST BREAKEVENS

  • Tom Rockliff (MID, $818,000) 192
  • Luke McDonald (DEF, $635,000) 158
  • Dylan Shiel (MID, $722,000) 156
  • Stephen Coniglio (MID, $670,000) 156
  • Taylor Adams (MID, $752,000) 153

BUY

Jordan Ridley
ESSENDON
DEF, $597,000
The Bombers' star defender looks to be back to his best following his return from concussion and his price has bottomed out with a breakeven of 97. He has dropped 87K from the start of the year and has a nice run of match-ups leading into the round 13 bye.

Peter Ladhams
PORT ADELAIDE
RUC/FWD, $449,000
Crisis in the ruck department has created opportunity at the Power and the big man took full advantage. He couldn’t get a sniff of it earlier in the year playing predominately forward but scored 98 with 37 hitouts and 18 possessions in his first game as sole ruck for the year. He could be a value play though the byes. Keep a close eye on whether he maintains sole ruck responsibilities this week in a tough match-up against Brodie Grundy.

Issac Heeney
SYDNEY
FWD, $481,000
The star Swan hasn’t set the world on fire this season, but he reminded us how good he can be with a season-high 107 against the Pies. His price is down a total of $116K since the start of the year and for under 500K, you could do much worse. Heeney always comes with risk but if you can upgrade a non-playing rookie to him, it looks like a good play through the byes.

Also consider: Liam Baker, Josh Kelly, Dustin Martin.

Swans Isaac Heeney (left) and Tom Hickey celebrate a goal against the Magpies in round nine, 2021. Picture: AFL Photos

HOLD

James Jordon
MELBOURNE
MID, $520,000
When a rookie hits about $500K, it's usually a good time to offload them to a premium. That is unless the rookie is scoring like a premium as we have seen with the tackling machine Jordon, who is averaging 99 in his last three. He has a breakeven of just 27, so continue the ride.

Zach Merrett
ESSENDON
MID, $802,000
The ball magnet was anything but against the Dockers, scoring a season-low 67 which was a disaster, especially for those of us who backed him in with the 'C'. It caused a price drop of $28K and it will continue to plummet now given he has a breakeven of 145.

Reilly O’Brien
ADELAIDE
RUC, $619,000
The Crows big man looks a shadow of his former self and is a huge cause of frustration for his owners. Don’t get me wrong, if you have a luxury trade, pull the trigger, just make sure it's not at the expense of your team long term.

Also consider: Brandon Ellis, Christian Petracca, Lachlan McNeil.

Zach Merrett after the win over Fremantle in round nine, 2021. Picture: AFL Photos

SELL

Rowan Marshall
ST KILDA
RUC/FWD, $648,000
The luckless big man got off to an awesome start against the Cats, absolutely dominating the game before once again succumbing to his troublesome foot injury. Unfortunately he will spend at least a month on the sidelines so he must be traded.

Toby Greene
GWS GIANTS
FWD, $638,000
The Giants inspirational skipper has been enjoying a great season with an average of 89. Unfortunately he went down with a shoulder injury against the Tigers which will keep him out for four weeks, forcing his coach's hand at the trade table.

Jack Bowes
GOLD COAST
DEF, $659,000
The hard working Sun has been a sensation this season, averaging an impressive 95 which includes four big hundreds. He has increased $93K on the season but will need to be moved on after injuring his hamstring on 42 against the Lions.

Also consider: Lachie Sholl, Anthony Scott, Tom Powell.

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