Welcome to the first edition of ‘The Final Call’, the second weekly AFL Fantasy Classic article that I’ll be providing on The Roar.
In this article I will look at the named teams and any impact they might have on our fantasy decisions. I also pick a captain for the week and tell you my final trades.
The Teams
As expected Paul Chapman (avg. 103 – $493,539) will miss this week after copping a suspension for a high bump against Brisbane last week. Chapman now stands to miss two in a row given he has the bye next week.
The same goes for Ben McGlynn (avg. 94 – $477,960) who will miss at least one game with illness and also has the bye in Round 10. Both players are worth a big chunk of cash to be leaving stranded on your bench for a fortnight, so consider trading them out if you have them.
Valuable rookie pick Kade Kolodjashnij (avg. 76 – $349,197) will also miss this week as he takes the time off to recover from a knee issue. He should be right to go for Round 10 so I would hold onto him for now, he should keep making money.
But enough of what’s out – what’s in? Ben Lennon ($233,100) will make his AFL debut for the Richmond Tigers after having been selected at pick #12 in last year’s AFL Draft. Geelong’s Jed Bews ($115,200) is also set to make his AFL debut.
I wouldn’t go bringing in either yet though.
Lennon is a bit expensive for a rookie, and Bews is unlikely to play more than a few weeks.
One you definitely should consider though is Melbourne’s Aiden Riley ($135,500), who is set to make his Demon debut after playing 12 games in three years at Adelaide.
He’s a good chance to get a decent run of games in the senior side and is bound to make some cash if he does.
Last but not least it’s great to see North Melbourne captain Andrew Swallow ($512,000) named for the first time since injuring his Achilles tendon last year. Swallow is great fantasy player – don’t trade him in yet but keen an eye on him as he makes his return.
Captain’s Corner
For those who tried the vice-captain loophole on Thursday night’s game, Patrick Dangerfield proved a great choice if you picked him, with a match-high score of 135. Dayne Beams (107) and Scott Pendlebury (101) were solid but not spectacular.
I would take Dangerfield’s score if you had him named as vice-captain, but there are better options playing during the week if you named Beams or Pendlebury.
Any one of Steve Johnson, Tom Rockliff, Gary Ablett or Leigh Montagna would make a worthy choice as your fantasy captain this week. Usually I would lean towards Ablett for his reliability, but he will come up against the Tom Curren tag this week, and Curren has been a very effective tagger lately.
I’m putting the captaincy upon a fantasy favourite of mine, Tom Rockliff, who has had four games of 133 or better from seven starts this year.
My Final Call
I’m happy with my first trade of the week, dropping Jon Patton to bring in Taylor Walker, after Walker managed a respectable 79 points on Thursday night. He will only improve from here and I’m backing him in.
My other trade was going to be to drop Dale Thomas and bring in Jack Ziebell, but with Aiden Riley being named for the Demons I’ve decided to get in on him at the low price of $135,500.
Final trades
Out – Jon Patton, Dale Thomas
In – Taylor Walker, Aiden Riley
Need some last minute advice before the Friday night final lock-out? Give us a holler in the comments and I’ll help you out.
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