THE FANTASY Gods had a field day in round two of the byes with injury cruelling a number of premiums such as Darcy Parish, Dayne Zorko and popular skipper Max Gawn … Oh, I forgot they didn't go easy on the rookies either with Mitch Owens and debutant Daniel Turner ending their days early.
Although most bye planning is out the window and the only strategy remaining for many teams is to survive at all costs, we still need to attempt to field 18 players this week and hopefully in a way that leaves the team in a better position long term.
THINGS WE LEARNED Under-fire Bombers silences critics ... for now
Some underpriced targets to keep an eye on this week are Lachie Whitfield, Stephen Coniglio, Jackson Hately and … could Harry Himmelberg's role change see him average 85 for the rest of the season?
Fantasy Pig of the week
Out of nowhere, a bloke averaging just 68 got his snout out and overindulged against the lowly Roos. In a game where many Giants got off the chain, it was Harry Himmelberg who took it to the next level, scoring a whopping 161 which included 37 possessions and 16 marks. It was his second triple-figure score of the year and interestingly enough, his second in two matches. He looks to be another Giant who is benefiting from the new coach, given his previous top score prior to these hundreds was 74 - which coincidently was Spike McVeigh's first game at the helm. I think you are picking up on the pattern here.
Honourable mentions
Demons pair Jack Viney and Clayton Oliver had it on a string against the Pies, collecting 33 and 43 respectively, but it was Viney's 12 tackles that won out from a Fantasy perspective with the pair eventually scoring 157 and 146. It was business as usual for Andrew Brayshaw … just dominate. The young star backed up his 131 last week with another outstanding performance which consisted of 37 possessions, six marks, six tackles and a game-sealing goal for 141. Sam Docherty reminded everyone why he sits at the top of Roy's Rollin' 22 with a classy 135 mopping up across half-back against the Bombers, while Jaeger O'Meara fought gallantly against the Dockers for 134. Hard-running Giant Lachie Whitfield returned seamlessly from injury, but most importantly, returned to his best positions, changing between wing and half-back. He scored 130 which included 14 marks and he will be a popular trade target this week.
>> Check the latest Fantasy scores LIVE in the AFL Live Official App
TOP ROUND SCORERS
1. Harry Himmelberg FWD 161
2. Jack Viney MID 157
3. Clayton Oliver MID 146
4. Andrew Brayshaw MID 141
5. Sam Docherty DEF 135
6. Jaeger O'Meara MID 134
7. Lachie Whitfield DEF/MID 130
8. Stephen Coniglio FWD/MID 130
9. Isaac Cumming DEF 128
10. Lachie Neale MID 127
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 13:
5 – Nick Daicos Collingwood, MID/DEF – 114
The Pie ball magnet backed up last week’s superb performance with a massive 33 possession and six mark game against the Dees to record a team high. It certainly calls for a change of plan to remove him before his bye. What a star!
4 – Tristan Xerri North Melbourne, RUC/FWD - 82
After taking a couple of weeks to regain his form following an injury layoff, the Roos big man looked back to his old self against the Giants, despite the heavily one-sided affair. He had 14 possessions, three marks, three tackles and 27 hitouts while sharing ruck duties with Todd Goldstein.
3 – Ben Hobbs Essendon, MID/FWD - 79
The well-built youngster certainly gave his all against the Blues, never giving up on his way to 17 possessions, six marks and a goal.
2 – Jacob Wehr GWS, DEF - 72
The popular trade target didn't disappoint his owners with an impressive display against the Roos, spending plenty of time in a fruitful role on the wing.
1 – Nic Martin Essendon, FWD – 67
Although it wasn't a huge outing by his standards, he ensured the votes keep ticking over with 13 touches and an impressive five marks and five tackles.
LEADERBOARD: Nick Daicos 34, Nic Martin 30, Tristan Xerri 18, Tyson Stengle 15, Jason Horne-Francis 9, Greg Clark 9, Ben Hobbs 8.
Rage trades
Darcy Parish MID - The Bombers' ball-magnet was one of the form players of the competition and hence a popular trade target prior to last round. He had recorded five triple-figure scores in his last six games which included 119 and 146 in his last two but unfortunately succumbed to a calf complaint which occurred early in his match-up with the Blues. If he looks set for any times on the sidelines, he needs to be traded at this time of year.
Dayne Zorko DEF/MID - What a rollercoaster ride it has been for Fantasy coaches who thought they were taking advantage of Zorko's defender status. After a run of hot form that included three hundreds in a row from round seven, he has been up and down since then with the lowlight being a score of just 49. He was on fire against the Saints, racking up 67 from just 48 per cent game time before succumbing to a hamstring injury that may keep him sidelined beyond his bye.
Zak Butters FWD/MID - Speaking of rollercoasters, the Butters mouse drowned in the cream against the Tigers, scoring just 55 from 20 possessions. He only managed to take one mark and laid just one tackle which were both equal season lows. All this when it looked like he was back on track prior to his bye with three impressive performances on the trot where he returned scores of 84, 92 and 94.
Get expert advice from The Traders throughout the season in the Fantasy Hub. Follow AFL Fantasy on Twitter and 'like' the Facebook page to join in the conversation.
