Patrick Dangerfield gets a handball away under pressure in round 16, 2021. Picture: Getty Images

FANTASY coaches aim for the best players possible, especially heading towards finals, but Fantasy Classic is still all about buying low.

There was a range of players offering value as possible trade targets ahead of round 16. Patrick Dangerfield (149) was well under-priced at $642k following three games back from his ankle injury. He smashed through his breakeven of 111 and will be high on the trade priority list for non-owners this week.

But even cheaper were Jordan De Goey (124) and Jake Stringer (112).

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The Traders' round 16 Fantasy wrap

The story of the round was the value picks with Jordan De Goey becoming Jordan De Goat.

Roy wrote in his weekly ‘buy, hold or sell’ column that if you wanted a safe and reliable pick, you should look elsewhere. De Goey and Stringer are the definition of risk versus reward. They have outstanding roles at the moment and are playing the best (Fantasy) games of their career. At $515k and $526k respectively, their prices are increasing. The 2.8k coaches who grabbed De Goey and the 1.7k who jumped on Stringer this week will be grinning from ear-to-ear.

A pair of Blues also demonstrated they were better than their asking prices. Nic Newman (115) was a great switch for the injured Sam Docherty at $566k. Matt Kennedy (95) may not have been as good as De Goey or Stringer, but he outperformed the $507k you had to pay for him this week.

Fantasy Pig of the week

Only one in 10 Fantasy Classic coaches own Jack Steele (157). It’s ludicrous to think that someone who is averaging 132 in his last five games isn’t a member of more teams. This year Steele has laid 126 tackles, gaining him 34 points per game for that stat category. His game against Collingwood in round 16 saw him collect 36 disposals and five marks to go with 14 tackles, posting his highest score of the season.

Honourable mentions

It was a high-scoring round for midfielders and breakout players Ollie Wines (151) and Darcy Parish (143) were super-valuable for the few coaches who own them - just under 10 per cent of the competition. Zach Merrett (143) and Touk Miller (141) keep getting it done in the midfield and were popular captain options for double points. Aaron Hall (134) was at his Fantasy best in the last game of the round, finishing with 31 disposals and 13 marks.

TOP SCORERS – R16

  1. Jack Steele 157
  2. Ollie Wines 151
  3. Patrick Dangerfield 149
  4. Zach Merrett 143
  5. Darcy Parish 143
  6. Touk Miller 141
  7. Christian Petracca 136
  8. Aaron Hall 134
  9. Jarryd Lyons 133
  10. Ben Cunnington 131
  11. Dom Sheed 129
  12. Sam Walsh 128
  13. Christian Salem 126
  14. Andrew Brayshaw 124
  15. Jordan De Goey 124

Cash cows of the round

The best player with a starting price under $270k will be awarded the Michael Barlow Medal as the best cash cow of the year.

The votes for round 16:

5 – Cody Weightman (95) Western Bulldogs, FWD
Three goals in the opening term set up the second-year Dog for the best return of his 10-game career. He kicked another major in the third quarter and ticked his stats over to finish with 13 disposals, seven marks and two tackles. A slow burn of a cash cow, he’s added more than $150k over the last nine weeks.

4 – Chris Burgess (88) Gold Coast Suns, DEF/RUC
With Zac Smith out of the team, Burgess shouldered the ruck load for his highest-ever Fantasy score.

3 – Errol Gulden (88) Sydney Swans, MID/FWD
Two goals in the Swans’ upset win at GMHBA Stadium was reminiscent of his epic first three games.

2 – Deven Robertson (78) Brisbane Lions, MID/FWD
Gets the job done week in, week out. If you’re still rolling with him as your F6, you can keep doing it.

1 – Daniel McKenzie (75) St Kilda, DEF
The Saints scored plenty of points against the Pies; McKenzie joined in with 21 disposals and a goal.

LEADERBOARD: James Jordon 26, Tom Powell 15, Errol Gulden 14, Chad Warner 13, Matthew Flynn 12, Deven Robertson 11, Caleb Poulter 10, Miles Bergman 10, Nik Cox 9, Sam Flanders 9.

Rage trades

Matt Flynn (20) – You can’t complain about Flynn’s season, but after being valued at over $500k a couple of weeks ago, his price is now going backwards.

Steele Sidebottom (47) – This was Sidebottom’s lowest score since round six, 2013.

Alex Witherden (54) – Draft coaches who have been waiting for ‘Witho’ to come back in the side will have been disappointed with his showing. Considering he had an ADP (average draft pick) of 67, he has been a season killer for many.

Cam Guthrie (58) – Besides a couple of weeks out due to injury, this was the first blemish in Guthrie’s stellar season. He couldn’t add his 10th Fantasy ton for the year, instead posting his lowest score for 2021.

Lachie Hunter (66) – After a solid start (47 at half-time), Hunter went missing, adding just 19 points after the main break.

Nick Haynes (67) and Isaac Cumming (68) – You can let the GWS duo off for their below par scores as their recent form has been so good, but if they were unique in your match-up this round, they could have cost you your win.

Dustin Martin (69) – No Tiger cracked the Fantasy ton on Thursday night as they went down to the Suns. Dusty frustrated his 62,236 coaches with a disappointing score to start the round.

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