THERE was plenty to celebrate this week with 20 players managing to score 110+ which helped many coaches record a respectable total.
Moving forward its officially upgrade season, where no rookie is safe. Obviously we are watching break evens closely and trying to fully fatten our cash cows but if offloading early means we trade to a premium we want, launch into it.
Fantasy Pig of the week
Bailey Smith is never hard on the eye, but imagine what it looks like if he is running around in your Fantasy team each week. The Bulldogs star is on fire, averaging 137 after a whopping score of 147 against the Roos. His huge time on ground is beyond impressive for a player that appears to never stop running in order to get his hands on the ball. In his last three games he hasn’t dropped under 94 per cent and his scoring is reflecting that. He should be high on the radar to upgrade from the likes of popular starting choices Matt Rowell and Matt Crouch.
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Honourable mentions
Max Gawn has shown no mercy to coaches that traded him out to Braydon Preuss last week, backing up his massive performance against the Power with another thumping score of 132 at the hands of the Giants. Jack Crisp continued his impressive season with a handy 125 while Andrew Brayshaw confirmed his status among the big dogs this year with another dominant outing, finishing with 123.
TOP ROUND SCORERS
- Bailey Smith MID 147
- Max Gawn RUC 132
- Jack Crisp DEF/MID 125
- Andrew Brayshaw MID 123
- Luke Parker MID 123
- Jack Macrae MID 119
- Lachie Neale MID 119
- Christian Petracca MID 115
- Callan Ward MID 115
- Ben Keays MID 114
Cash cows of the round
The best player with a starting price under $300k will be awarded the Michael Barlow Medal as the best cash cow of the year.
The votes for round:
5 – Tristan Xerri North Melbourne, FWD/RUC - 86
Another great outing for the Roos big man who managed 26 hit outs and 20 possessions against the in form Dog, Tim English. He remains one of the year's best cash cows and now has the added flexibility of ruck status.
4 – Nick Daicos Collingwood, MID/DEF - 80
The talented son of a gun just kept doing his thing, finding the ball. In yet another impressive outing, Daicos was busy collecting 27 possessions across half-back.
3 – Malcolm Rosas Gold Coast, FWD - 73
Although he didn’t manage a major from his two shots at goal this week, the 20-year-old made up for it with an impressive seven tackles.
2 – Ben Hobbs Essendon, MID - 72
It's a mystery why it took so long to get a game and it would be an even bigger mystery if he is left out of the team again this year.
1 – Jack Hayes St Kilda, FWD/RUC - 70
Once again stepped up to fill the boots of Paddy Ryder in impressive fashion. He has 16 possessions and took five marks.
LEADERBOARD: Nick Daicos 18, Tristan Xerri 14, Nic Martin 8, Jason Horne-Francis 5, Josh Ward 4, Nathan O’Driscoll 4.
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Rage trades
Aaron Hall DEF - The Roos defensive ball magnet was at it again against the Dogs, scoring 50 points in just 43 per cent game time. Unfortunately, the risk of hamstring injury always lingers for the popular accumulator and it has happened once again, forcing his owners to trade. A move to Blues midfielder George Hewett would still provide the opportunity for a cash grab and upgrade of a fattened rookie.
Matt Rowell MID - After five rounds, there is enough evidence to suggest that the No.1 pick is not going to score like we saw early in his career. He came into round five with a break even of 65 and he managed to score 66 from 18 possessions and a season-high three marks. Now that his breakeven is matching his scoring output, he can be moved on without a second thought.
Jye Caldwell MID - After an impressive round one ton, the 21-year-old has failed to fire. It was expected that he would benefit in the absence of Zach Merrett but it hasn’t been the case with scores of just 69 and 67 in his last two outings. He is at a nice price to upgrade to an uber premium on the flipside of a fattened rookie downgrade trade.
Matt Crouch MID – Coaches have rightfully been disappointed by Crouch’s output of late after scoring 66 and 78 in his last two games. He is playing extremely low time on ground and his low tackle count has been a huge issue the past fortnight, recording just one. This is the first week his price has begun to drop and it’s time to upgrade to an uber premium.
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