TEAMS have dropped and although it's not the carnage that we saw in round 18, the news hasn't been great.
Adelaide announced on Thursday that Rory Laird (MID, $933,000) will miss this week's contest against Melbourne after injuring his shoulder last weekend. Laird is a very popular player and at this stage of the season … he can be traded.
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However, the news wasn't all bad with some big names returning. Fremantle (and Fantasy coaches) welcomes back Hayden Young (DEF, $723,000) and Caleb Serong (MID, $941,000), after both only missed the one week. Josh Dunkley (MID/FWD, $985,000) returns for the Brisbane Lions and will look to build on his impressive average of 108 against the Cats on Saturday afternoon.
Roy's best buys
How will you use your two trades this week? Here are Roy's best buys for the round ahead.
Jack Steele (MID, $833,000) – It has been a bumpy road for Steele owners, but the path is now starting to become much more enjoyable. After dropping $145k from his starting price, Steele has now averaged 111 over the past four weeks.
Max Gawn (RUC, $779,000) – As a solo ruck, Gawn can now be mentioned in the same bracket as English and Marshall. Coming off a career-high 162 he is a great replacement for the likes of Briggs, with some banking the $210k by trading out Marshall.
Luke Davies-Uniacke (MID, $779,000) – Coming off scores of 138 and 122, it's safe to say that LDU is now healthy and back to his best. He has a great draw coming up where he meets St Kilda and West Coast in the next two weeks.
George Hewett (MID, $452,000) – Last week, Hewett scored 72 in his first full game since round nine. For a player who averaged 98 last season, he is a great "downgrade" option from a rookie and a player you could be using on your field.
ALL THE TEAMS Check them out
Live teams show
The Traders are back live and cover all the important ins and outs as teams are announced. They break down the popular trades, discuss captains and answer all your burning questions. Watch the Live Teams Show every Thursday night on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App and ask your questions in the comments.
Most traded in
- Luke Davies-Uniacke (MID, $779,000)
- Jack Peris (MID/FWD, $223,000)
- Touk Miller (MID, $830,000)
- Jack Steele (MID, $833,000)
- Max Gawn (RUC, $779,000)
Over the past two weeks, coaches who have been shopping around the $750-$850k bracket have opted for the likes of Steele and LDU. Touk Miller (MID, $830,000) also needs to be in the conversation as he returned to the Gold Coast midfield last week with a score of 108. Let's not forget that Miller has averaged 110 and 122 over the past two seasons.
Another Gold Coast player who is a popular target this week is Sam Flanders (MID/FWD, $621,000). He dominated last week with 120 points from 33 possessions.
Jack Peris (MID/FWD, $223,000) also impressed in round 18 with his 13 possessions for a score of 57 but has been omitted from the Saints line-up and will not play this week. Reverse that trade now.
Most traded out
- Rory Laird (MID, $933,000)
- Tom Green (MID, $863,000)
- Angus Sheldrick (MID/FWD, $516,000)
- George Wardlaw (MID, $492,000)
- Matthew Johnson (MID, $547,000)
If you missed the boat last week, you definitely need to be trading out Tom Green (MID, $863,000) who will miss the next two weeks with a hamstring injury.
Other than that, it's the rookies that are being sent on their way with Angus Sheldrick (MID/FWD, $516,000), Matthew Johnson (MID, $547,000) and George Wardlaw (MID, $492,000) being shown the door after great debut seasons. At this stage of the year, your goal should be to have no rookies on your field and moving towards what people are calling a 'completed team'.
Calvin's best captains
In AFL Fantasy, your captain's score, doubles for that week. Here are Calvin's top five picks for you to consider.
No.1 – Jordan Dawson v Melbourne @ the MCG, SUN 3:20pm AEST
After his bye, Dawson has gone on a scoring spree with 123, 128, 136 and 172. Last year against the Demons he scored 129 and returns to the MCG where he scored 172 in round 15 against Collingwood. He is so consistently good and ticks all the boxes this week.
No.2 – Marcus Bontempelli v Essendon @ Marvel Stadium, FRI 7:50pm AEST
Bontempelli has averaged 132.5 in his past four games. He still carries a lowest score of 108 in his past 10 games but has never scored well against the Bombers with his best effort being just 103 from 11 games. That should change tonight!
No.3 – Zach Merrett v Bulldogs @ Marvel Stadium, FRI 7:50pm AEST
No one loves playing at Marvel Stadium more than Zach Merrett who is coming off recent scores there of 150 and 155. He plays tonight and with a ceiling like that, he's a great VC option.
No.4 – Tim Taranto v Hawthorn @ the MCG, SAT 1:45pm AEST
Taranto has now averaged 96 over the past three weeks where he has produced some of his worst scores for the season. Last week against the Hawks, we saw LDU (138), Scott (136), Sheezel (112) and Shiels (109) all score with ease and if Taranto can avoid the dangerous tag from Maginness, he will cash in as well.
No.5 – Tim English v Essendon @ Marvel Stadium, FRI 7:50pm AEST
For the second week in a row, English will play a team without their No.1 ruckman. Coming off 140, English should be huge once again under the roof where he has mixed results this year with two scores over 120 and four scores under 100 from his nine games.
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