Friday Fantasy Cheat Sheet – Rd. 2

Welcome to a new article for DT Talk this season; the Friday Fantasy Cheat Sheet.

Our aim with this is to post the things you need to know heading into the full lockout on Friday evenings with information on the top trades, cash cows following team selection, advice on whether to take the VC and the question of the week.

There could be more to come as this evolves, but we want this to be a nice simple and easy place to get the info you need regardless of how much time you have to agonise over your team! Suggestions are welcomed in the comments.

Must-read Articles

• Fantasy Ready (includes the weekly video)
• Calvin’s Captains
• Fry’s Cash Cows
• Thursday Scramble
• Fantasy Freako’s Rave
• Round 1 CBAs
• Weekly Podcast

Ben’s Top Trades

Ben of the @BeaufortBeaus takes a look at the most popular trades of Round 2 so far.

	Ins	Outs
1	Harley Bennell (MID, $224,000)	Tom Green (MID, $252,000)
2	Jeremy Howe (DEF, $549,000)	Andrew Brayshaw (MID/FWD, $508,000)
3	Jack Viney (MID, $652,000)	Lachie Whitfield (FWD, $829,000)
4	Darcy Cameron (RUC/FWD, $170,000)	Brodie Smith (DEF, $623,000)
5	Bailey Smith (MID/FWD, $537,000)	Darcy MacPherosn (MID/FWD, $632,000)
6	Sam Sturt (FWD, $197,000)	Ben Cavarra (FWD, $173,000)
7	Trent Rivers (DEF/MID, $208,000)	Dylan Roberton (DEF, $317,000)
8	Brett Bewley (FWD, $398,000)	Fischer McAsey (DEF, $252,000)
9	Chad Wingard (MID/FWD, $605,000)	Marcus Bontempelli (MID, $755,000)
10	Callan Ward (MID, $539,000)	Isaac Cumming (DEF, $315,000)

Harley Bennell has played two games since 2015 and none since 2017, but is rookie priced despite averaging over 85 four times during his heyday at Gold Coast. The safe option is to wait a week to check whether his injury history means he’s stuck in a forward pocket or his TOG is low, but who can blame the thousands of coaches who have jumped on board this fairy tale as soon as possible.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are no surprises to see Jack Viney traded in by so many coaches after top scoring in Round 1. The inside midfielder looked like a man on a mission against West Coast after losing the captaincy over the preseason. Don’t expect 132 every week, but he’s massive value even if he only matches his career best of 101.2.

Meanwhile a lot of the pre-season was spent predicting which mid-priced forwards were worth the punt, but Bailey Smith looks like the pick of the bunch after 95 points in Round 1. Macrae and Dunkley were disappointing against Collingwood, so I’d be concerned that their bounce back will hurt him. Patrick Lipinski’s back in the team too and may take up some of those precious CBAs.

Pies Jeremy Howe and Darcy Cameron round out the top five and hopefully you were one of the coaches who snuck them in before partial lockout. Howe started slow when he was stuck defending Dusty, but racked up the +6s with Jack Crisp in the second half to end on a solid 79. Cameron also gave owners of Sam Naismith a sigh of relief with a respectable 58 but who knows if he’ll keep his spot when Mason Cox returns.

Now to the players that coaches are desperate to trade out, with Tom Green topping the list after a disappointing debut. He’ll be a superstar down the track, but he’ll almost definitely be dropped to make way for Callan Ward. He’s an easy swap to Bennell though.

The huge popularity of this next one perplexes me, because why not give Andrew Brayshaw another opportunity to perform like he did in the Marsh Series? The 44 points and 65% TOG in Round 1 was concerning, but his 61 breakeven is more than achievable. I recommend fixing up bigger problems but also wouldn’t be surprised if he struggles to hit 50 again.

It isn’t a big shock to see Lachie Whitfield cut by so many coaches though. This altered season means that getting rookies off the ground as quickly as possible is a necessity, and trading Whitfield down to Bailey Smith can net you a whopping $292,000. He’s going to hit his monster ceilings a few times this season, but just remind yourself about what the extra cash allowed you to do.

Brodie Smith is another premium that coaches are happy to trade out after just 35 points in Round 1. I’m giving him another chance because his role in the midfield looks secure and Adelaide were dreadful across the board but will surely bounce back in the Showdown. That said, he’s already lost $23,000 and will drop further if he can’t reach that enormous 90 breakeven.

And if you’re unfortunate enough to own Darcy MacPherson, join the flock of coaches geting him out. He’ll be playing across half forward and there are plenty of better options who are $100,000 cheaper.

As a side note, Dylan Roberton is certain to sky rocket up this list when coaches respond to the news that he’s been dropped after just 20 points in Round 1. Swapping him out for debutant Trent Rivers is sure to be popular.

Sam Sturt has been dropped as well, so reverse that trade before full lockout tonight. Perhaps we’ll be able to capitalise on his -11 breakeven later on in the season.

Fry’s Cash Cows

Click here to read Fry’s weekly cash cows article ??

Trade Targets

Carnage. Absolute mayhem ensued last night after the Round 2 teams dropped with plenty of rookies and cash cows affected! While we still don’t know the fate of every younger for the weekend ahead, I’ve dug through the rubble to find the top trade targets and address how to play your rookies on your field.

1. Trent Rivers, DEF/MID, $208K
2. Ned McHenry, MID, $170K
3. Harley Bennell, MID, $224K
4. Jarrod Brander, DEF/FWD, $240K
5. Thomas Berry, FWD, $170K

Which #AFLFanasy cash cow/rookie do you rate as the No.1 trade target this week? ? #AFL

— SportsbyFry (@sportsbyfry) June 12, 2020

Shoutout to both Dylan Stephens (maybe) and Laitham Vandermeer who are both in line to make their AFL debut this weekend, but they don’t crack the top-5. Trent Rivers is my top cash cow this week, thanks in part to his mammoth numbers as a junior. The WA-born product averaged 109.8 from 9 WAFL games last year (albeit at Colt level) and hopefully, he’ll get enough game time to show off his handy foot skills. Based on his cheaper price tag, Ned McHenry piques my interest at No. 2, with the young Crow named on a wing for Showdown 48. If you’re looking for a rookie MID for your field then look no further then Harley Bennell, who will play his first game since 2017 after overcoming ongoing calf injuries.

The aforementioned Demons duo will play their first game for the club along with Luke Jackson – the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s draft. While Jackson looks like he’ll be a great player in the future, he doesn’t offer much value in fantasy with the tall prospect set to develop closer to goal to start his career. Jarrod Brander is the pick of the bunch if you need to plug a hole at either end of the ground, but with 55% of coaches already owning the versatile Eagle, chances are he’s already on your deck.

Finally, Lions debutant Thomas Berry will get to run out alongside his older brother Jarrod against the Dockers and those scrambling for a forward downgrade might be tempted. From 19 NEAFL games a season ago, the younger Berry averaged a steady 73.6 points boosted by 6.5 tackles, making him a decent option for those eager to field a full 30 players the round.

Starting Rankings

Based on matchups, role and scoring potential here’s a roadmap to how you should start your rookies on your field in Round 2.

DEFENDERS

1. Jarrod Brander, Eagles

2. Trent Rivers, Demons

3. Brandon Starcevich, Lions

Desperate times: Fischer Mcasey, Crows

MIDFIELDERS

1. Matt Rowell, Suns

2. Harley Bennell, Demons

3. Noah Anderson, Suns

Desperate times: Tom Green*, Ned McHenry, Dylan Stephens*, Trent Rivers, Justin McInerney*

*no guarantee to play

RUCKS

If you’re starting a rookie in your rucks this week, may God be with you.

Desperate times: Luke Jackson, Demons

FORWARDS

1. Jarrod Brander, Eagles

2. Jacob Townsend, Bombers

3. Curtis Taylor, Kangaroos

Desperate times: Thomas Berry, Ryan Gardner, Connor Budarick

Click here to read Fry’s weekly cash cows article ??

Calvin’s Captains

Heading into the Thursday night game my VC LINE stood firm at 88pts and nothing has changed. This means, I will not be taking Grundy’s 82.

On the other hand, if you had Phillips, Pendles, Adams or Houli who all cracked 100 (BCV 125+) then I’d be locking that away. We still have some great options coming… but in these uncertain times, it’s very tricky to predict what they might score.

Macrae scored 84 in round one, and should be better this week against the Saints who gave up plenty in the first week. He has scored 132 in his last two games against the Saints and should do enough to pass popular picks like Grundy and Cripps.

1. Jack Macrae – v STK
2. Max Gawn – v CAR
3. Tom Mitchell – v GEE
4. Josh Kelly – v NTH
5. Andrew Gaff – v GCS
6. Patrick Cripps – v MEL
7. Stephen Coniglio – v NTH
8. Tim Kelly – v GCS
9. Patrick Dangerfield – v HAW
10. Elliot Yeo – v GCS

Click here to read Calvin’s weekly captains article. ?‍☠️

Roy’s Question of the Week

Naismith was rolling nicely as R2 (flop) and my R3 is B.Williams. Should I
A) Naismith to Pitt (keep 300K in the bank)
B) Naismith to Lobb ($10K in the bank)
C) Something else

– @Cameron_ortlepp

Hey Cameron, I am in the same boat here and am still in disbelief I don’t have Cameron in my team to take advantage of him as a ruck emergency, because taking that score of 58 would be the correct play for those who do.

As far as our options go, Mr Worldwide aka Pitbull, aka Pittonet is definitely an option and given he has number one ruck responsibility, it has a bit of a Reilly O’brien feel to it so he should serve as a good cash cow. I quite like the idea of keeping Naismith and getting MWW as some security on the bench, especially if Naismith doesn’t return next week. MWW is a capable scorer as shown in the VFL last year where he averaged 98 but the unfortunate thing is his navy debut is against Max who will monster him. After that however (assuming Max doesn’t end his career) he has a run of nice match ups and should be a respectable long term prospect.

I don’t mind Lobb as an option, he was outstanding in the pre season and likewise in round one.

You could trade out someone like Dylan Roberton, swing B. Williams into the vacant defender position, allowing you to have Pitt and Naismith which would save weekly patch ups in the ruck department.