The Weekend Wash-Up – Rd. 2

What goes up, must come down. Hard. There were players who took themselves from heroes to zero, and there were others who just got worse. Despite the struggles of some popular premiums, our value players once again carried the flag and continued the ridiculously high scoring start to the season. If you don’t get 2100 these days, don’t bother showing up on Monday. If you don’t reach 2000, find a better hobby. Strap yourselves in, it’s time for the weekend wash-up.

Legends

Treloar (152) – He wasn’t kidding pre-season when he said he would thrive upon the extra space created by the 6-6-6 rules. Rounds are often dictated by a huge captaincy score, so everyone who had the VC on Treloar Thursday night could sit back and enjoy their weekend, just like those who had Coniglio last week. Also just like last week, Mark Hutchings is on the horizon. Regardless Treloar looks an awesome pick and worth every penny paid. Gun.

Crisp (142) – Why can’t I bring myself to trust this guy? Perhaps it’s because he does this every damn year! Collingwood play a high possession game style and they love the ball in Crisp’s hands. There is no reason he can’t average triple figures and should be a lock for the top 6 defenders. Yet it still feels dirty. At $655k he looks a bargain this week.

Beams (128) – Last week I questioned if the Pies would take too many disposals off each other. Not if your team has 470! Sadly they don’t play Richmond every week. Beams racked up 36 and proved he’s still going to be right in the top 8 midfield mix. I could name half the Collingwood team here so let’s just say they all had a night out!

Lloyd (127) – Wow Llllllllllloyd looks good this year. Even better than we could have imagined. It’s his second consecutive triple double of kicks, handballs and marks. He just racks it up and is a priority in for me this week. Legend!

B.Crouch (109) – Consistency is king in fantasy, and Brad Crouch personifies that. When fit he’s an absolute jet and should average 105+ this season. Freebie, but we’ll take it!

Sloane (110) – Plot twist, Rory Laird got tagged?! Given it wasn’t exactly successful for Sydney, I’m not confident it will happen all that often. However it’s great news for Sloane owners! He’s already flying towards $800k, which is where he will sit if he’s not sat on by a tagger. What a bargain.

Newnes (102) – You couldn’t do it… Could you? He looks pretty good, but he has also played Essendon and Gold Coast. That’s the equivalent of me jogging out in the U14’s and getting a solid 25 touches. He’s an option, but something stinks.

Boak (138) – It would seem Travis Boak has been possessed by the spirit of the pig. He was clearly underpriced and it was a stroke of brilliance to anyone who selected him as a POD, returning to the midfield where he can average close to 100. Now the rest of the competition is faced with a different question. Is he worth chasing at $717k? That’s an average of 100, matching his career best. These 2 scores are amongst his top 6 efforts across his 13 year career. I’m inclined to think the boat has sailed for now, but if he can go and push an average of 105+ kudos to him!

Ebert (121) – Who went and grabbed Ebert off the waivers last week? If he was sitting there, you’ve hit the jackpot! He may be playing forward but he still knows how to junk. He’ll only average around 90 but that’s gold in drafts.

Rockliff (115) – This little piggy went to the market in the first half, racking up 24 touches and 79 points by half time. If it wasn’t for a tag in the second half, Rocky was heading for another huge 150+ score. If you didn’t already squeeze him in last week, I think you can safely say it’s worth prioritising above all else. Not only is he priced under an average of 100, he’s an easy captaincy option!

Duursma (102) – Remember those fears we had of Hamish Hartlett’s return? Yeah, scratch that. Duursma is here to stay. What a jet! What a class of rookies.

Cripps (116) – Cripps is going to be consistent all season long, and while there may have been better value picks, none will be as reliable and consistent as Cripps. A lock and load ton. Legend!

Dangerfield (134) – Similar to players like Yeo and Brayshaw last season, don’t take these DPP guys for granted. It’s an absolute gift to have Danger as a forward, and he looks backs to his brownlow best form. 31% of the competition aren’t trying.

Stewart (115) – I need a Cats fan to help me here. I haven’t seen either game, but I’m hearing Tom Stewart could be one of the best defenders in the comp! Can he maintain this scoring? Quite frankly I’ve got no idea. A great draft slider.

Kelly (111) – I tipped Kelly to move into the elite bracket of midfielders this season and consecutive 30 disposal games is a good start. He had 20 contested disposals and 10 clearances on Saturday, and we can pick him as a forward. Yet I selected Heeney instead!!!!! Blunder. What a jet.

Constable (106) – Imagine what could this kid do if he starts getting closer to 80% TOG! It will be interesting to see if he earns himself some extra minutes by maintaining this form, for now he’s more than good enough to be starting on our grounds every week. He sits on my bench and I’ll be doing something drastic to make sure that’s not the case after next week. LEGEND!

Oliver (130) – You can’t keep a good player down for long, in Oliver’s case it’s one week! 44 disposals and a huge ton makes up for his slow start last week. Back in your premiums, unless you’re chasing bacon of course…

Brayshaw (121) – Nobody should be at all surprised by this score. Gus Brayshaw is a dead set gun. The fact he copped a cork and still pushed through for a huge ton is all the more impressive. Hopefully he pulls up well and lights up the Bombers next week. Melbourne are yet to enjoy some cheap footy! You’d expect they should get some next Friday.

Whitfield (133) – Premium defenders are where it’s at! Whitfield or Lloyd was a toss up for many. Both was the answer… They should continue to rack up cheap footy and it’s beautiful to watch. Given how successfully Coniglio was tagged and Kelly set to return next week, Whitfield should be safe as houses.

Sheed (106) – Dom still can’t lay a tackle, but another 28 disposals and 9 marks took him safely past the ton again. The ship has sailed for non-owners, however his owners should keep a close eye on his midfield minutes with Gaff back next Saturday. He should get plenty of time at least on a wing, and a few more 90’s will take him close to $700k. Job done, anything more is a bonus! Ball magnet.

Neale (146) – Lachie Neale played two halves of great football, it’s a minor miracle! He was absolutely brilliant on Sunday and this is the level he should hit every week. Sadly if he does, the tags may start to come. I’m still not huge on this pick, but it paid off in spades this week.

O’Meara (122) – JOM is taking the reigns and dominating with Titch out injured. You’d have to think some tight tags are just around the corner, he’s too dominant when allowed to run free. Jet.

Hunter (123) – A tough guy to pick in fantasy, but a great draft pick that always seems to slide further than he should in drafts. Hunter will average 110+ this year, he just racks it up. The Doggies like to share the +6’s between left footers…

Liberatore (106) – BOOM. That’s consecutive weeks with 28 disposals for Libba, only this week he added his regular 7 tackles. There’s no reason he can’t average high 90’s and make nearly $300,000. That will make him one of the biggest money makers this season, an easy hold until the byes and a joy to watch. I’m going to stop before I jinx him, I just can’t believe he’s only owned by 38% of coaches. This is revenge for last season!

Hill (129) – You can’t trust Bradley Hill with anything, however he has been a cool draft pick so far. That is until he pulls a muscle before Round 6.

Fyfe (119) – Who on earth goes and has 32 disposals, 17 contested, 9 clearances with 10 marks! Nat Fyfe that’s who. He will be a top 8 midfielder if he stays fit, the dude is a fantasy machine. It’s about time everyone recognised it!

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Losers

D.Martin (59) – I’ve defended Martin from a footballing perspective, even if his fantasy scores have been down. Well Thursday night was an exception. That was disgusting. He played 56% of the game as a forward. It’s not working. Yet they persist with it? I don’t care if Levi Greenwood is shadowing you, go and beat him in the middle. Jack Riewoldt going down is a catastrophe. Absolute must trade if you didn’t already. G.A.W.N. I’d need to see a lot to even consider him as a forward after Round 6!

Higgins (45) – Just do yourself a favour and don’t go through the pain of owning a Tiger. It doesn’t end well.

Gibbs (79) – Where are his draft owners at? Probably crawled up in a ball somewhere. I don’t know what has happened to Bryce, but it ain’t pretty.

Jacobs (60) – Don’t say I didn’t tell you so. But man, he really DOES suck. I didn’t even think he could be this bad. Cull it before it breeds.

Mills (61) – Nobody went through with it did they? Forget the fact that he was an absolute jet midfielder before joining Sydney, he’ll just remain an average half back flanker and Horse won’t even consider common sense. Hard to explain but he has to go.

Heeney (58) – Is he still carrying that ankle injury? I sincerely hope so because he was a disgrace on Friday night. The alarm bells were ringing in Round 1 when he was hardly seen in the midfield, and thank the lord I pulled the trigger on this trade. Sydney, where young midfielders go to die.

Ross (85) – There goes his soft start to the season! This is so satisfying. I had to eat humble pie for the majority of last season while my nemesis Seb Ross continued to prove me wrong every week. Now we can safely right those two months off as a blip on the radar. An extreme outlier. Welcome back Seb. We haven’t missed you.

McGrath (69) – There wasn’t much relevancy amongst the rabble this game, but McGrath continues to look like a gun U18’s player that peaked early. He doesn’t find enough of the footy to make any real impact, and he can’t lay a tackle for his fantasy score either. Just like Darcy Parish, his free run is coming to an end.

Simpson (68) – Has the dam wall finally burst for Kade? An average of 90 will get you close to the top 6 defenders at this rate, so he’s worth keeping an eye on. However those who gambled early in draft are not being repaid.

Newman (66) – SPARE ME. In and out quicker than you can blink. I traded blindly having not seen him against Richmond, and what I saw on Saturday afternoon made me sick. He’s going to be up and down and potentially hang around the top 6, but that’s not saying much. Yuck.

Curnow (12) – I try to keep this article as relevant as possible, so this will be short…. Ok. *Glad he isn’t seriously injured

Henry (26) – Who you ask? I don’t know if Jack Henry’s scoring is in anyway related to Jordan Clark’s, but after Henry went off, Clark went OFF! So, unlucky Jack, but this could be a win. Especially with Tuohy on the horizon…

Hibberd (53) – 

Taranto (79) – Harsh on TT given his huge 137 last week, however you’d like to see him get closer to 100 on his off days. Given the competition for spots in midfield now that he’s $700k, he’s all of a sudden on the chopping block for me if I want to re-structure. He’ll still be good for 105-110, and remains an awesome pick.

Yeo (73) – Fallen premium alert. Yeo came into the season underdone and isn’t close to his best form yet. Give him a month to get his fitness up and we’ll have a bargain on our hands. Draft owners, just sit tight. The big scores will come.

Coniglio (50) – HAHA. Sorry. Yikes. Fantasy has a funny way of evening teams out. This is prime example number one as to why it’s safer going with fantasy friendly premiums who will avoid a tag. Having said that, Mark Hutchings shouldn’t have stopped Cogs from tackling. AT ALL. One tackle… No marks… At least that makes sense, but he could’ve at least tackled his way to 70?!?! Suddenly he’s back in the pack, luckily he plays Richmond next week. All will be restored.

Goldstein (68) – This was coming. I knew better, yet I still convinced myself Goldy wasn’t old, fat and slow. Watching him lope around the ground reminds me of a wildebeest taking its first steps. Only after 10 minutes the calf probably has twice the co-ordination of this c**t. I don’t care who I bring in this week, Goldy isn’t getting another week. p.s. Tom Campbell had little to do with it.

Scott (30) – Soooo… I think Constable has the gig then! Bailey Scott will be just fine and North will give him every chance after his awesome debut, so fear not. He’ll be a great cash cow on our pine… If you’ve got him on the field however, you’ll be sweating bullets every North game.

Zorko (71) – It’s a perfect replay of 2018! At least he’s scoring more than 50 this year. If the tags start going to Neale I’ll give him consideration, but it’s always going to be a roller coaster ride with Zork.

Witherden (75) – Witho is a f**king prick off to a slow start. We have a soft spot for him and he should know what he’s doing fantasy wise, so it’d be nice to see him pull his finger out next week. Can’t be settling for mediocrity.

Sicily (63) – As a non-owner you just have to laugh. As a Sicily fan I feel for him. As a Sicily owner you’d be absolutely ropable. We all know the Sicdog can lose his head, and it wasn’t anywhere to be found in the second half on Sunday. Having started the game well the Bulldogs put a lot of time into cutting out his intercept marks, Sicily’s game is almost too impactful for his own good from a fantasy perspective. I still have him firmly in my top 6 defenders. Write this game off.

Ryan (58) – But he’ll run out of the square on kick ins bro!!!

Dunkley (68) – Here we go again, another premium forward cuckold. There’s no denying it, Dunkley has absolutely sh*t the bed. His role may not be as good as it was last year, so 105+ was always hopeful. HOWEVER. I still see him on the ball and back in defence enough to put together a respectable score. He was walking around half the time I was watching, and I want nothing more than to bin him this week.

Case study time. Sam Menegola was in a similar boat last year. An interrupted pre-season could be blamed,  but that’s all here-say. He had 80% TOG in Round 1 and struggled big time. It resulted in many coaches trading him out, only to rush him back in a few weeks later. Is Dunkley a fallen premium who everyone will jump back on after a few good scores, or is he going to be Jack Billings and average 70 until the byes. We know he can score well, and he’s getting enough time on the ball to average 90’s. Travis Boak has only ever been a 90’s specialist. Is that a wise trade? I don’t know. Dunks survives for me this week, but that doesn’t excuse this horrendous effort.

If Tim English outscores him one more time I’ll go Kristaps Porzingis on a… Never mind.

It’s nominations time!

A.Treloar – A huge 304 points for those who wisely had Treloar as their VC on Thursday night. 39 touches, 6 marks and 7 tackles certainly gave his owners a relaxed weekend!

T.Boak – He’s averaging 141… Are you kidding me?! If you’re one of the few Boak owners and don’t vote for your spiritual leader here, I see no hope for you. 33 disposals, 6 marks and 9 tackles, he does it all!

P.Dangerfield – He’s no Boak, but Danger’s 37 touches and 2 goals wasn’t a bad effort either. The most selected player in the competition, for obvious reasons…

J.Lloyd – A combination of his efforts in both round 1 and 2 sees Lloyd get a nomination. There’s nothing better than seeing a stat line of 19-15-10 next to your player.

J. Crisp – Lastly Crisp’s huge 142 can’t go unnoticed. He had 24 kicks and 14 makrs, that’s 84 points from +6’s alone! Even better, 13 of his marks were uncontested. The general.

Who gets your vote?

This Game Sh*ts Me

Can somebody tell me why every god damn ruckman not starting with G in this league is bloody awful. Oh hang on, f**king Goldstein. Our alternatives. Sam Jacobs, a poor mans Dawson Simpson. Matthew Kreuzer, a walking hospital ward. Scott Lycett, a man who once scored 8 points in a full game. Tim English, 10 hitouts per game doesn’t get your very far. Tom Hickey… Forget it. It’s going to result in me making a trade this week that I know full well will continue to haunt me all season, whichever decision I choose. F**k the rucks. This game sh*ts me.

The Other Bits and Pieces

2196. Consistency wins you flags and thankfully my boys are showing that early. We’re yet to put it all together, not even close. There’s plenty of sh*t still to be filtered, looking at you Dunkley. I think your season is at the crossroads after Round 2. I’m giving sideways trades the OK for 2 more weeks, max. Then you’re just wasting upgrades and losing ground. So, after the next fortnight you’re stuck with your team, upgrades aside. To hold or fold on Dunkley? What to do with your rucks?

I’m in exactly this position, and like I said I’m still not sure whether Dunkley is a Billings or a Menegola. If I had nothing better to do I’d straight swap him for Kelly, but I have Goldstein. So I’m doing what any sane man would do, and I’m bringing in 32 year old Mumford for his first game in over a year. Let me justify this terrible trade.

I admit the rucks are a catastrophe, and I’d love nothing more than to upgrade to Grundy and be done with it. However my major concern is the bye round 13. If you have Grundy and Gawn, that’s 2 zeroes on your ground in Round 13 before we’ve even started on the three main lines. That’s a huge red flag for me, especially after my experience last year.  It was the sole reason I didn’t start with the big two in the first place, and I have to stick by that. Just give me as close to 80 as possible Mummy and we can shake hands and move on. Lycett could tempt me, if I can trust Jack Crisp. Zac Clarke, please come and save me. Chances are none of them are named and it’s back to square one.

For now Mummy allows me to go Newman to Lloyd. Boom. Complete waste of a trade last week, but the gun defensive premiums are standing out. That leaves me with just a couple of question marks. Dunkley being shit. Having Shane Mumford. And how the bloody hell do I get Constable on my ground? Answer, something crazy. If Constable goes big again, and he does look like a ball magnet, that’s cash wasting away on my bench. So a midfielder will be getting chopped and my wHore problem will be solved. It’s a case of average triple figures in midfield, or you’re gone this season.

Good luck in Round 3 legends, let’s make it a high scoring one. AGAIN.