The bye rounds are here and our main goals are to get a minimum of 18 players on the ground each week and complete the byes with a better team than we started them. That means minimising straight swapping premium players and trying to take advantage of double downgrading rookies in order to generate enough money for an upgrade and remove a rookie from the ground.

Having said that, this is the toughest week to do so given an understandable reluctance to pay up for a round 13 or 14 premium when they will be missing a game within the next two. The next two weeks it becomes easier to select players who are fresh off their bye.

BYE ROUNDS Tips on how to dominate

As six teams will be on a bye in each of the bye rounds, the rules are as follows:

• Best-18 scores will count for round score from on-field 22.
• Three (3) trades are available for each bye round.
• Bye players will be locked at the final game of the round.

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MOST TRADED IN

• Tim English (RUC/FWD, $869,000)
• Mitch Owens (MID, $266,000)
• Joel Jeffrey (FWD, $291,000)
• Tom Mitchell (MID, $800,000)
• Jake Soligo (MID, $304,000)

MOST TRADED OUT

• Corey Durdin (FWD, $400,000)
• Braydon Preuss (RUC, $683,000)
• Sam Hayes (Ruc, $408,000)
• Nick Daicos (DEF/MID, $589,000)
• Nic Martin (FWD/MID, $646,000)

TOP FIVE PRICE RISES

• Jackson Hately (MID, $588,000) +$59,000
• Brad Hill (FWD/MID, $662,000) +$57,000
• James Peatling (DEF, $448,000) +$55,000
• Jake Soligo (MID, $304,000) +$49,000
• Joel Jeffrey (FWD, $291,000) +$49,000

TOP FIVE PRICE FALLS

• Callan Ward (MID, $596,000) -$66,000
• Luke Dunstan (MID, $613,000) -$61,000
• Steven May (DEF, $529,000) -$51,000
• Hugh Greenwood (MID, $548,000) -$47,000
• Ben Brown (FWD, $392,000) -$42,000

>> Check the latest Fantasy scores LIVE in the AFL Live Official App

LOWEST BREAKEVENS

• Luke Cleary (DEF, $261,000) - 9
• Mitch Owens (MID, $266,000) - 8
• Jacob Wehr (DEF, $256,000) - 8
• Jake Soligo (MID, $304,000) - 6
• Joel Jeffrey (FWD, $291,000) - 6

HIGHEST BREAKEVENS

• Christian Salem (DEF, $717,000) 162
• Aaron Hall (DEF, $818,000) 157
• Kyle Langford (MID, $667,000) 152
• Zac Williams (DEF, $609,000) 149
• Jack Steele (MID, $892,000) 148

BUY

Marcus Bontempelli
WESTERN BULLDOGS
MID, $806,000
The Dogs skipper officially has forward status and will be locked into the top six forwards for the remainder of the year. Although he was below his best on the weekend with 80, he had 116 and 119 prior to that. He is a bargain price for a player capable of averaging over 105 for the remainder of the season. He has a BE of 105 leading into his match-up with the Cats at Marvel Stadium.

Bailey Smith
WESTERN BULLDOGS
MID/FWD, $903,000
Fresh after a week off, the Bulldog superstar can now be slotted straight into the forward line which is an absolute gift from the Fantasy Gods. He plays a phenomenal amount of game time, dropping under 90 per cent just once and from a scoring perspective, his low score of 92 is his only score under 100.  He has a BE of 115 which is less than he scored in his last two games, so jump on.

Jackson Hately
ADELAIDE
RUC, $588,000
The former Giant has finally been given a good run at it and his form over the last three weeks is a reflection of that. Following a junior career that earned him Piglet status, we are now seeing signs of it on the big stage with 98, 91 and a season high 112 in his most recent game which included 27 possessions and eight tackles. He has a BE of just 24.

Also consider: Tim English, Tom Mitchell, Reilly O’Brien.

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HOLD

Nic Martin
ESSENDON
MID/FWD, $646,000
This was supposed to be the round we farewelled the Bomber sensation as he has the week off. The problem is he dominated against the Power in less than favourable conditions for the high volume marker. Despite the weather, he managed 12 marks and his second best score for the year with 113 which leaves him with a BE of just 67, meaning there is plenty more cash to make over the byes.

Connor Rozee
PORT ADELAIDE
FWD/MID, $656,000
In similar fashion to Martin, this was the week to trade Rozee, who was seen as a stepping stone to a premium. His owners are now left with a dilemma following his best performance in five weeks. He had a friendly match up with the Bombers but his 113 gives him a BE of just 67 and his services could be very handy in rounds 13 and 14 if you can manage to get 18 on the park while keeping him. 

Dayne Zorko
BRISBANE
MID/DEF, $771,000
The Lions skipper has an impressive tally of six hundreds this year including whopping scores of 132 and 145. Unfortunately and alarmingly, he produced his fourth sub 60 score this week with a 49 that consisted of just 14 disposals. He has a thumping BE of 130, but ignore that and just ride the rollercoaster.

Also consider: Christian Petracca, Patrick Cripps, Zak Butters.

SELL

Tom Green
GWS GIANTS
MID, $702,000
Following a great start to the season, the Giant young gun has dropped off a bit. After starting the year with four triple figure scores in the first five rounds, he hasn’t managed to reach that total again in his past six games. At the moment he is clogging up a midfield spot that could have one of the big boys and his bye may serve as the perfect time to offload him. He has a BE of 108, a total he hasn’t hit since round three.

Sam Hayes
PORT ADELAIDE
RUC, $408,000
The Power ruckman has provided a great service to our teams over the last seven weeks but his bye serves as the perfect time to use him for  cash grab, especially with the newly acquired ruck eligibility for Darcy Cameron. He has increased by a total of $218k from his first game of the year and is coming off a season low 34 which included 21 hit outs.

Daniel Rioli
RICHMOND
FWD/DEF, $602,000
The Tigers forward turned defender has had a solid season, increasing in value by $133k since the start of the year while averaging 77. Unfortunately of late he has been getting off to a great start but slowing after half time, as he did against the Swans to finish on 77. He has a BE of 84 and the bye serves as the perfect time to upgrade him to a premium.

Also consider: Nick Daicos, Corey Durdin, Hugh Dixon

Haha, cheers ya legend.

I love it mate. Perfect option to launch into next week. He is a gun.

Sounds like a great plan! Just to let you know, I traded Preuss last week, but a hold is certainly a play.

I always lean to upgrading around. In a position like you mention, Butters hasn’t been awful for a forward the last few weeks, but Green is clogging up a premium mid spot. I would seriously consider moving him on.

It appears he is! Super impressive on the weekend but I still lean towards someone like Hately for this type of stepping stone upgrade. Having said that, I wouldn’t blame you for having a crack at it.

You can’t go wrong with these two superstars. Gut and eye certainly says Parker at the moment, he is getting more mid time. But, I just can’t go past Bont. I love Bont.

It's not just a great pick up for this weeks match up, he has the easiest draw for midfielders I have ever seen for the remainder of the year. Jump on and enjoy!

Byes say it’s Heeney that goes first. But, I would remove the rookie first in this circumstance. Flag: This is easy for me to say as a non Heeney owner, but it’s the play I would make.

I’d be trading Preuss to a premium on another line. But like I said earlier, a hold is certainly in play. He has had an outstanding season… When he is out there.

Great question Dave. They will be basement price ($190k) unless they have played AFL before. If they have, I think their price will be applied like others at the start of the season. They should be in the system later in the week.

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