What a stunning two months Nick Dal Santo has produced for the select few of us who have him in our Dream Teams. Dal Santo started the season with three consecutive scores above 100, but then fell in a slight hole, topping the ton only once in the next five games. However, he has turned that around in a big way, which is great for the 6000 coaches who have him. Starting in round 10 against Fremantle, the St Kilda star has scored more than 100 in seven of his past eight games, including big scores of 133, 120, 134 and his 140-point effort last Friday against Adelaide.
Hall of Shame
There’s been a heap of nominations for Brady Rawlings to be added to the Hall of Shame and the raw numbers back up the general mood of angst towards the ageing Kangaroo. In his last five games, the 30-year-old has averaged just 60 points per game. He has also dropped almost $70,000 in value. It looks set to continue this week against Carlton, with Rawlings having a break even score of 135. He won’t get that and will probably drop another $20,000. If only he could go back to that cheap kick, cheap mark player we all liked last year.
Keep
When a popular rookie, like Fremantle Docker Nick Lower, has a game which is slightly down on expectations, there’s a haste which takes over some people. Trade him! Get him out! He’s peaked! He’s not going to score well again! Sometimes, you need to just take a deep breath and relax, because Lower, despite only scoring 66 last week against West Coast, is one to hold onto, as his 130 in round 17 would attest. If you are looking to upgrade him into a seventh premium defender then that’s fine, but until then, I say keep him.
Trade
The simple trading advice this week is to not trade at all. With three teams (Richmond, Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans) having the bye this week, league games will recommence in round 20. So, if you’re only going for the league win, keep all your trades up your sleeve in the lead-up to the DT finals. If you’re aiming for a finish as high in the overall rankings as possible, then I still suggest you hold back from trading this week, given you’ll already need to fill a few holes with your missing players.
Invest
If you are looking to boost your forward line and have a bit of cash lying around in your back pocket, it could be an opportune time to bring St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt into - or back into, for some - your Toyota AFL Dream Team, after the Saint has completed his one-match suspension next week. The Saints champion is in the best form of his season. Over the last four weeks, Riewoldt has averaged 102 points per week, including an equal season-high effort of 134 against Adelaide last week. Yes, he has been inconsistent this year, and won’t always have the luxury of playing against an entirely uncompetitive opposition every week, but he could be an excellent sixth or seventh forward given his price of only $326,700. But, with Riewoldt to miss this round against the Gold Coast, it's good reason to store up your trades until at least next week.
New kid on the block
If you decide to ignore my advice against trading this week, and find yourself looking for a cheap downgrade option, it could be Wayde Twomey. The Blues defender has by no means blown us away in his first two games, but he did score 60 on debut against Collingwood. He was on 36 points before being subbed off in the last quarter against Essendon on Saturday. That might be a sign he is on the way out of the Blues line-up this week, but wait until Thursday. If Twomey (MID, $80,400) is named, he will be the cheap target you might be looking for.
That hurts
For more than 50,000 Dream Teamers who have Steve Johnson in their teams, I’m sure they would have appreciated the Geelong star’s apology on Twitter for being a late withdrawal for Sunday’s game against Richmond. Actually, I take that back. I’ve heard that he cost a lot of teams the once-in-a-year opportunity of scoring 2400, and Dream Team coaches have long memories, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Stevie J was left out of a few teams next year through sheer spite. What made it worse was that Hawthorn’s Isaac Smith, who many had as a forward emergency, was named as a sub for the Hawks on Sunday so barely even filled in for Johnson.
Last word
We’re almost there. After a long, arduous season full of byes, substitutes, injuries and trades which might not have gone entirely to plan, we are only two weeks away from the business end of the Dream Team season. It’s why I implore you not to stuff it up now. In previous years, round 20 would mark the semi-final weekend of the competition. This year it marks a week to re-energise before hitting the last five weeks with vigour.
