The Weekend That Was: Round 17

Round 17… Some bonkers results which were not limited to the final scores! We had legitimate captain options put up howlers, coupled with some monstrous individual scores. Hopefully you didn’t cop the rough end of the stick and have a squad ready to carry the momentum into crunch time. This may be a little presumptuous, but I’m backing most of my loyal followers will make top-8 in some sort of league!

As always, plenty to unpack, both good and bad.

17 down, 6 to go… time for The Weekend That Was!

 

Geelong vs Melbourne

Studs

Duncan (138) – Massive! That’s 3 tons on the trot from another bloke with two first names. Witnessing that completely needless +12 to finish the game was highly arousing as an owner! Peak fantasy.

Guthrie (114) – Speaking of high arousal levels, shoutout to Cam and the coaches who jumped on Guthrie about 4-6 weeks ago… what (wet) dreams are made of.

Danger (105) – There was a whiff of the Danger of old about this performance… 31 disposals and 5 mark. Thankfully his wayward kicking (0.4) didn’t come back to bite the felines!

Duds

Gawn (70) –

via GIPHY

 

Jackson (52) – Definition of one-hit wonder to Thursday 7 July 2022: “Someone who achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success.” Definition of one-hit wonder from Friday 8 July 2022 until further notice: (F)Luke Jackson.

 

Sydney vs Western Bulldogs

Studs

Mills (148) – Pills, thrills and the brilliant best of Callum Mills! He literally outscored his 54 last week vs Essendon in tackles alone – 16 for the record. 16!! Hopefully you weren’t scarred for life and backed him in with a VC loop or straight C.

Lloyd (106) – Well, well, well… Wasn’t it something else to have BT back commentating a Swans game! Someone must have told Lloooooooyd as he buttered up with 27 disposals and at least a handful of needless +6’s.

Parker (103) – Consistent, dependable, invariable, stable, true to form… you get my drift!

Treloar (102) – Seemed to be deployed off half-back on Friday night and had the 32 touches and 0 impact on the game… While it didn’t help the Dogs, fantasy coaches will be up and about!

Duds

Macrae (87) – Brings up the hattrick of mediocre scores with a pedestrian night at the office. It’s not panic stations but coaches out there running with Macrae as a unique will be undeniably seething!

Libba (74) – Surely Libba has enough room on his thicc body to get a tattoo that represents the Dogs 2022 season? On its last legs.

Dunkley (68) – Yeah spud score but at least you can breathe a little easier knowing 69% of the comp are running with Duncs at F1/F2!

 

Collingwood vs Norf

Studs

LDU (145) – Fair to say we knew this kid could play in about U15’s… I’m sure any of my ACT team mates can attest to feeling like an Auskicker on the same field as UDL way back when, brushing us off like little children! Just another lazy 33 touches and 11 tackles to the hyphen.

Anderson (142) –

Daicos (88) – Yes, didn’t reach the giddy heights of last week… However, if you still own you are absolutely copping this from a ‘rookie’. Still averages 99 in his last 5 and incredibly, there is every chance he finishes up nudging the top-6 defenders!

Duds

No one relevant… Not overly surprising given Norf is involved in the discussion! Fun fact: Their two most selected players are JHF (21.09%) and Hall (8.61%). One would rather play for Googong Hogs 4th grade and the other has strings as flimsy as a piece of spaghetti.

 

Gold Coast vs Richmond

Studs

Anderson (141) – That. Was. Bonkers. Good for footy and the 2% of coaches who own Ando! A star of the future rising before our eyes.

Bolton (108) – Speaking of stars… This guys is box office when he’s up and going! Did it all up on the Gold Coast with 29 touches, 18 contested possessions and 3.3. Perhaps a 3-park super pass was up for grabs for best on ground?!

Witts (104) – Cheeky ton for some coaches answer to ‘Rucking Hell’! Certainly not a top-2 ruck but an average of 90 is nothing to scoff at.

Duds

The Richmond spud factory, all 23 of them! Snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in what can only be described as one of the biggest choke since 2012 when an NRL convert sank the hearts of Tigers fans far and wide… Deja vu? Spookily similar just 10 years apart. You couldn’t count with your hands and feet the amount of inexplicable errors that were made in the last 6 minutes! Fair to say the old man was absolutely livid with his beloved Tiges – the F bomb got a fair workout…

ICYMI back in 2012: Skip to 2:00 and watch the chaos unfold… Goosebumps.

 

St Kilda vs Freo

Studs

Brayshaw (144) – As a Saints fan, it kinda made my blood boil watching Bray rack up. Even more ropeable I didn’t chuck him the C! 36 touches, 6 marks, 10 tackles – standard.

Steele (121) – Speaking of standard, other than his injury affected 77, Steeley has not dipped below 98 in his other 11 outings. A genuine beast that you’ll want in your side for the run home!

Sinclair (109) – Salvaged his score late with a string of cheapies in junk time… the sign of a true fantasy legend! Coaches would have been low key vibing watching the girthy calves in full flight!

Duds

Lobb (68) – Okay not his worst score ever but he might well have rubbed horsesh*t into his head… Eyesore.

Gresham (55) – The wee man just couldn’t get going under the roof @ Marvel on Saturday night… If he still resides in your forward line, I suggest you do something about that! 3-game average of 68 just ain’t gonna cut it.

Windhager (27) –

 

Port Adelaide vs GWS

Studs

Rozee (125) – Wow this is sooo kissed but good onya if you were forced to hold! Came up clutch with his top score of the season, kicking more goals than the whole Giants team on the night.

Cogs (116) – You look at the past two months and think “How in the f*ck was this bloke playing predominantly forward for the first 9 games?!” As a wise man once said: “What was going on there in the brain department?!” BT one-liners aside, this has been a huuuuge turnaround for Cogs and he is quintessential in any good forward line!

Taranto (101) – Timmy time! If you chased value this week, TT was target #1 and coaches were rewarded handsomely! You imagine he will be a popular trade target again this week for those who haven’t yet jumped on.

Duds

Houston (62) – Ouch! Public enemy #1 for 12% of the competition who continue to run with a man with massive spud-like tendencies. Fun fact: Houston averages 20+ points less than Mason ‘Speed Dealerz’ Cox over the past fortnight! Riddle me that.

Sh*tfield Whitfield (40) – Way to go and ruin an elite month, Lachie. 70% of the competition dodged an absolute turd on the weekend.

Wehr (38) – Wehr was he Saturday night? Asking for a mate.

 

Brisbane vs Essendon

Studs

Merrett (127) –

Caldwell (112) – Fantasy irrelevant at this stage of the season but all Neale non-owners absolutely loving your work Jye! Gave the Brownlow medallist a bath and got his lick of the ice-cream with 26 disposals and a goal.

Duds

Lyons (68) – Piss poor. About a month ago, a few coaches out there would have had Lyons in their sights as an ‘under-priced gem’… Since then he has lost all concept of how to Fantasy and might well assume the ‘over-priced spud’ label!

Neale (67) – Tagged out of the game by King Caldwell who tore him a new one… I sincerely hope you didn’t go the Callum ‘Pills, thrills’ Mills (54) into Lachie ‘Jye’s Bunny’ Neale (67) captaincy double whammy nightmare over the past fortnight.

Alpha Martin (48) – It pains me to do this but the fact is, Alpha went backwards after 3 qtr time. -1 point in the last stanza for the record, big Samson Ryan would be proud. Bit offensive to use Alpha and Samson Ryan in the same sentence from yours truly! He has been brilliant for coaches alongside Whisper Daicos as our best rookie selections. Legend.

 

Hawthorn vs Crom

Studs

Laird (132) – Odds on Desk Rig to ton up in Fantasy: $1.01 every week without fail. Genuine ball magnet with another 42 touches and 7 tackles! Has only gone below 118 once in his last 10 games… incredible stat!

Moore (129) – The man can play! His ability to get up and down the ground is second to none and this season he is starting to harness that potential. A big win for the Hawks this season and any coaches who ran with him from the start – priced at <$600K and averaging 90+!

Keays (118) – Daylight robbery to have Keays available at <$800K… Juicy run home with fixtures against Norf and West Coast during Fantasy finals. Very tempting indeed!

Sicily (108) – Living proof why you NEVER put anyone on your never again list… Not even putting a line through Dayne Zorko and his spaghetti strings at this point! 21 kicks, 10-12 completely pointless +6’s… blah, blah, blah you’ve heard it all before! Anyway, f*ck you astute coaches who are watching the points roll in.

Duds

Dawson (76) – First sh*t score for a little while courtesy of a crackpot named Finn Maginness who followed him most of the day… Moved up the ground later in the game and salvaged a respectable score with 10 tackles.

Hately (58) – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Every week you field this spud, you are falling further and further behind! Went completely missing in the last quarter and a half, recording a measly 7 points…

Soligo (39) – My word I hope he isn’t residing at M8 in your team anymore… Could be a real issue with Clarry in doubt this week. Owners will be sweating on his fitness following surgery to repair his thumb.

 

West Coast vs Carlton

Studs

Hurn (119) – Rumours swirling that Hurn entered the playing arena on a mobility scooter! All old-man gags aside, Hurn wound the clock back with his trademark elite kick:handball ratio (27 kicks, 1 HB for the record!).

Doch (114) – Never. In. Doubt. After a slow start to the game, Doch did was Doch does! He continues on a stellar season that not many (even myself) thought he could pull off coming off his testicular cancer diagnosis. One of the feel good stories of the season. I tip my hat (my #70 2021 hat of course!) to you, Doch!

Duds

Cripps (87) – 86, 86, 87 in his past three outings… Meh. Just the two tons in his last eight games is nothing to write home about! A genuine luxury but I can see why coaches would be contemplating a trade.

Trew (27) – Any chance of a half decent score? Too good to be Trew!

Ryan (9) –

 

The Juggernaut Review

2240. Three of three league wins, moved up 1K in the rankings, surely f*cking not! Couldn’t count on my hand how many times that has happened this season and we are 17 weeks in.

Gee it makes a difference when a few unique picks come to the party! Huge shoutouts are in order for:

• Jed Anderson (3% ownership) – 142
• Mitch Duncan (11% ownership) – 138
• Zach Merrett (9% ownership) – 127

Now I know not to get ahead of myself given I still own Dayne ‘Spaghetti Strings’ Zorko… Playing down in front of the Canberra faithful and a balmy top of 11 degrees, he better warm up those bloody strings properly if picked!

Looking ahead, we are now just two weeks away from when chasing the glory really begins! Things are starting to heat up as we approach round 20, the start of Fantasy finals. As I’ve mentioned previously, any rooks on the field (apart from Daicos) will start to show in your scoring as the good teams are separated from the elite teams. If you are slightly behind the eight-ball, be ready to pounce on any value and be sure to take fixture into account when making your trades! An easy fixture could be the difference when your matchups come down to the wire come finals time.

Thanks again legends and flex how you went in the comments!

Yours in Fantasy,

Fantasy Fanatic #70