Well thank god we are over the half way mark of these bye rounds. Last week was a lot better than round 11, with the ‘par’ score being a massive 324 points higher. But it’s really like being happy that you have genital warts downstairs because you didn’t get them on your mouth…..

This week is a very similar situation to last week where we look to finish off our teams by trading out the round 13 players who have ran their race and bring in the round 12 guns. Once again, I’m going to take a look at the most popular ins of the round and see who else is on the chopping block.

 

Defenders:

Trading down: Sam Shaw ($159,500, b/e -41) is the most traded in defender this week.  With a very handy average of 68, Shaw now looks to be a D8/9 for the rest of the season so let’s hope he continues his good form. outside of Shaw, the cupboard is bare for downgrades.  unknown quantities like Luke Brown and Sam Docherty should not be considered as blind trades just yet, there is too long to go!

Trading up:Interestingly, Michael Johnson ($419,500, b/e  81) is the second most traded in defender this week! Johnson is averaging a very respectable  91 and ranked 5th for total points scored (just ahead of old mate Broughton *sniggers*) and average. Johnson has also played one less game than the 3 of the other defenders (all round 13) and is clearly flourishing this season under Ross Lyons defensive style game plan. Other good upgrade targets are Waters ($438,900, b/e 96 now he is back from suspension, cheers Beau) and Jack Grimes $405,200, b/e 58 (yes, you read right). Ol’ grimey has only missed one game this year and and is averaging 96.6 for the last 5 rounds. thnks to Rainjan Blakers for the handy info on Tuesday on this!

The Cull: Popular tiger cubs Ellis ($224k, b/e 18) and Morris ($245K, b/e 42) are the most popular backs to be given the flick of you have some spare cash lying around. If you are looking to downgrade one of these guys to a Sam Shaw, you may want to reconsider as there is little cash to be made due to Shaw’s price rise last week. These guys do have excellent job security so holding onto them and copping a donut this week may save you more  in the future  as a permabench.(I’m planning on doing this with Tommy the Bugg)

 

Midfielders

Trading down: As chook told us yesterday only Sam Gibson ($85k) and Hayden Crozier ($98,700, b/e 8) would be the only rooks worth  trading in (and Crozier only if you are desperate, but you traded in Gibson last week, didn’t you?). Gibson is the most traded in player so far this week, and 7.71% of the DT population will take the 67  from the weekend as a tick of approval and will roll out the red carpet without a second audition.

Trading up: So far this week, 3 of the top players traded in are Midfield guns. People are now looking to finish off their midfield with players like Swan ($582k, b/e 150), Watson ($520k, b/e 86) and Thompson ($484k, b/e 116). People are still climbing aboard the Zorko  train (3.24% of the DT population this week) but as $308k, he is almost a trade up more than a trade down!

The Cull: previous DT god/Barlow impersonator Kyal Horsley ($293,400, b/e 81) is currently the most traded player out this week. Many a DTer planned to trade him out this round and could have been one of the few plans to actually come to fruition! Stalling giants Devon Smith ($282k, b/e, 102), Adam Treloar ($315k, b/e 113) and James McDonald ($296k, b/e 66) are also in the top 10 of traded out players this round, which is a pity, as a lot of DT’ers would of earmarked these players as the type to survive the cull and stay as perma bench players for the whole season.

Rucks

The position that we all like to stick our head in the sand and ignore continued its form with popular R2 Jon Giles missing a week with a calf injury, forcing many to put Jarrad Redden on the field to give his best impersonation of a spud.  Sandilands continues to be traded out of teams this week (9th most traded out player) with no real popular choice as a replacement. Bringing in Dean Cox is never a bad thing, while Paddy Ryder ($397k, b/e 86) is the next best available ruck, in terms of  total points and average (played all 11 games, ave 91). Just shows this season is all about durability without being spectacular in the ruck department.

Forwards

You have to love those DPP fowards. Just imagine if they weren’t available and we only had genuine forwards? Cloke? Reiwoldt? (either one) Walker? Waite? imagine if these players filled our forward spots? Headache and FMDT central!

Trading down: Power forward Jonathon Patton ($180k) is the most popular forward downgrade target so far this week. The big giant started with a serviceable 46, but bigger things are expected from #1 picks (and their price tag). Trading a Treloar or Smith doesnt leave much meat on the bone for an upgrade, but one thing you know you are going to get is a scoring player every week for the rest of the season. Sheedy will be keen to get some games into his #1 pick so he comes with some good job security, which could just trump his hefty price tag at this time of the season.

Trading up: This is where all these glorious DPP Mid/fwds come into play. ‘Waxing’ buddies (not the hair removal type, freako explains more here ) Steele Sidebottom($521k) and Dayne Beams ($527k) are the 2 most popular forward upgrades to come in this week. These two are almost pure midfielders in real life, but get to camp in our forward line and consistently pump out 100’s so we dont have to think about the likes of Waite, Hawkins and Tippett. Other Forward guns like Chapman (500k) and Stevie J ($518k) never look out of place in a forward line, but there is always the worry that they could get a rest in the latter stages of the season. A crystal ball (or spare trades) are going to be needed to get this decision right. One player who has not had a whole lot of discussion as a upgrade is DT gun Adam Goodes. A 6 week holiday (does anyone know if he went to Arizona?) is Goodes’ longest holiday in his AFL career, and could be a blessing in disguise in his 13th year in the AFL. With a reputation of finishing the DT season with a wet sail, Goodes will be fresh to live up to his expectation and smash out some big scores for the remainder of the year. Currently, he is being strongly considered to come into ‘The Running man’ this week and expected to hit the ground ,er, running.

The Cull: Sun Aaron Hall($243k b/e 16) must of reminded Bluey McKenna about sleeping with his daughter or something, because he was once again dropped in rd 12 after 2 games and caused donuts galore in out DT teams. Us DT’ers have also wielded the axe this week and rid him from our sides. If you have a DPP in the mids, sacrificing him (and the flexibility) for roo Gibson nets you a tidy profit.

Well there is a ball park summary of players to bring in while players to trade out this week, with out sideways trading to cover donuts. currently I’m facing 3 donuts with Scott UNdependlebury missing again with his tibia break. Props up to Jakub who picked this 2 weeks ago, while yours truly predicted a return this week :(

 

Have you got any gun trades planned? is your team finished? do you have any trades left? discuss it all below!

 

Hit me up on the twittersphere @jimbobholder to let me know about your good or bad trades!