AFTER navigating our way through the split round, we are now on the home straight to the Fantasy finals.
For plenty of coaches, every point is vital from here as it could be the difference between making the top eight or starting the pre-season far earlier than hoped.
Trades are as important as ever, especially after seeing some of the huge scores teams posted this week.
WHO'S ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK?
After a sensational start to the season where Brendon Goddard [MID, $536,986] looked set to be one of the top eight midfielders at year’s end, he has dropped off considerably.
After posting 157 and 147 in rounds 13 and 14, Goddard had to return scores of just 86, 87 and a very disappointing 62 since.
Although he still averages 101 for the season, Goddard’s three-game average of just 78 is unacceptable for a highly important midfield spot, especially when the likes of Tom Rockliff are outscoring him by a lazy 128 (ok, that was a bit harsh).
Goddard has a break-even of 153, so he will continue to significantly drop in value at this rate.
At this time of year, under-performing ‘premium’ mids have to be sideways traded to somebody that is getting the job done on a weekly basis.
MUST HAVE - OUR NEW FANTASY PIG
I have sounded like a broken record all year talking up Tom Rockliff [MID, $666,600], and if you haven’t been listening, maybe the 190 he scored on the weekend will prick your ears up.
'Rocky' is clearly the best Fantasy player in the competition and boasts a three-game average of 150 to put a cherry on top.
Despite being expensive at the start of the year, his price has increased by over $100,000 due to his sheer domination, in which he has dropped under 100 on just two occasions, while topping 130 in eight of his 14 games, including scores of 153, 157, 172 and 190.
For the 76% of teams missing out on these scores, he will obviously now come at a mammoth price, but given his next game is against the Demons, with a break-even of just 78, he is going to be even more expensive by round 20.
It may be more than a one-week mission to bring in the superstar, but it will be hard work making Fantasy finals without him.
Make sure you listen to our Podcast where we speak to Tom and we reward his outstanding year to date by elevating him to Fantasy Pig status.
THIS WEEK'S BARGAINS
At a time when many completed teams have the luxury of strengthening their bench with a superstar, fallen premiums who look to be regaining form are invaluable.
Nick Riewoldt (FWD, $429,143] looks to be back in the same form that saw him register four out of five 100-point scores to start the season.
In the last three weeks, Riewoldt has put together an 97 and an 89 before exploding for a season-high 164 against the Dockers in a dominant performance.
That score has given him a break-even of just 17 this week, and he looks ripe to select as your last forward, or even as vital bench cover as we move closer to the ‘silly season’ of late withdrawals.
Dayne Zorko [MID/FWD, $417,751] looks to be back to his best and is available for a price well under his potential. In the last month of football, Zorko has dropped under 90 on just one occasion and has scored back to back tons with 105 and an impressive 136 in his last hit-out against Gold Coast.
He has a break-even of just 28 this week against Melbourne and should have a strong finish to the year, given the tagging attention he was copping every couple of weeks now has to be firmly locked onto Rockliff and Pearce Hanley.
Although I never thought I would say it, Jake Carlisle [DEF/FWD, $427,169] has forced me to mention him as a trade option after back to back games of 163 and 165.
Prior to these scores, Carlisle looked completely out of sorts as a Fantasy player, going on a streak of 11 games where he did not manage to reach triple figures, after starting the season well with scores of 71, 111 and 101.
During his lean patch, Carlisle has some absolute shockers, turning out scores such as 38, 32 and 30 as he was playing a variety of roles, but he has certainly looked at home up forward in his last two games.
His hot form has given him a break-even -17 this week against the Swans, and he shapes as a useful wildcard in your side.
RED (AND WHITE) HOT FORM
With so much star power, some of the Swans' best Fantasy players get overlooked, and one of those guys is Ben McGlynn [FWD/MID, $520,835] who looks really hungry for premiership success this year and his form and scoring are reflecting that.
In his last three matches he has averaged 118 in well-rounded games including plenty of possessions, marks, tackles and goals for returns of 114, 111 and 130.
A huge bonus with picking up McGlynn is that he is only owned by three per cent of the competition and he could be a great point of difference in your league for the run home.
He has a break-even of 77 leading into his game against the Bombers where he will look to continue his career-best form.
WHAT ARE THE TRADERS DOING THIS WEEK?
Warnie
In: Sam Butler, Kieren Jack
Out: Xavier Ellis, Travis Cloke
Warnie is bringing in some cash by downgrading cash cow Xavier Ellis to Sam Butler on his bench and will upgrade the inconsistent Travis Cloke for the dual-position hero, Kieren Jack.
Calvin
In: Sam Butler, Todd Goldstein
Out: Xavier Ellis, Zac Clarke
Calvin admits defeat with the Zac Clarke experiment and will give him the boot after just one week.
Roy
In: Josh Kennedy, Scott Pendlebury
Out: Matt Suckling, Dion Prestia
I have lost patience with Prestia and Suckling so I am using the cash in my bank to go for reliable stars in Kennedy and Pendles.
Feel free to hit me up on Twitter for all things AFL Fantasy: @RoyDT
