Weekly wrap: Round 5 studs & duds

I’M BACK!!

Reflecting on last week, I was #downinthedumps.

Not anymore though!

I can’t wipe the smile off my face after an unbelievable debut Gather Round in my home state. Kudos to the AFL and South Australian government (in particular the GOAT Peter Malinauskas)!

And, sensational performances from Lachie Neale, Marcus Bontempelli, VC Laird, Shrek, RowMar, Dunkley, Hopper, AND EVEN LIAM JONES saw my team launch up the rankings.

This week, Elite Dadds scored 2354 which boosted me up 15k spots to 19,691^st.

Look, I’m not where I’d ideally want to be, but overall I’m happy with where my team is at.

Trades seem somewhat simple this week in terms of cheapie downgrades, but I’m having some trouble deciding which direction to go in.

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Option 1:

Kade Chandler -> Dylan Williams

Reuben Ginbey -> Matt Roberts

Liam Jones -> Touk Miller

Option 2:

Cam Mackenzie -> Matthew Johnson

Lachie Cowan -> Matt Roberts

Reuben Ginbey -> Stephen Coniglio

Option 1 leaves me having to play both Wilmot and McVee on-field – which actually isn’t much worse than fielding Liam Jones – but it also means I will likely have to hold Cam Mackenzie until the 14 goes out of his cycle, and because my FWD bench will consist of Alwyn Davey and Jacob van Rooyen, I may be forced to play him on-field as well.

Still, it means I can get Touk against North Melbourne this week.

But, Cam Mackenzie’s role has gone down the drain and despite playing the whole second half on Sunday, he still only scored 14.

But Touk…

GARGH. I’ve got some decisions to make during the week.

Anyway, here’s the wrap!

Adelaide v Carlton

• Jordan Dawson (152) was the most traded-in premo this week and he did not disappoint! A move to the midfield has seen his scoring skyrocket, and with 173 and 152 in his last two games, he is without a doubt a must-have
• Rory Laird (135) was back to his piggish best with 37 touches
• A 93 and 116 in his last two games… With a 34 still in his rolling average, could you consider Chayce Jones (116) this week?
• Max Michallaney (60) and Luke Pedlar (60) continue to tick up in price
• Sam Walsh (104) made a solid return to footy
• Patrick Cripps (80) scored his lowest score of the year
• Adam Saad (85) was on track for another 100+ score but succumbed to hamstring tightness in the last quarter
• If you’re looking for someone to trade, Lachie Cowan (42) is your guy

Fremantle v Gold Coast

• Two 146’s in his last three games from Caleb Serong (146)!
• SHREK! Three weeks ago, Sean Darcy (136) was one of the most traded-out players. Since then, he’s scored 132, 125, and 136. HOLD *clap* YOUR *clap* PREMO’S *clap*
• Andrew Brayshaw (77) had another un-inspiring SuperCoach game. That’s now three scores below 84 this season
• Luke Ryan (93) was solid again
• Matthew Johnson (67) goes up in price this week, but with sub-scores of 24 and 14 in his average, you can definitely pick him up this week
• Corey Wagner (39) wasn’t amazing on debut but as the old adage goes: You can’t change a winning team!
• A move to the forward line has re-ignited Jack Lukosious’ (115) career. He had 12 marks and kicked 1.4… This score could have been even bigger
• After a slow start to the year, Noah Anderson (109) now has two tons in a row
• I’ll be doing everything in my power to bring in a bottomed out Touk Miller (127) this week. He hasn’t dropped under 100, has scored two 120+’s in a row, and comes up against North Melbourne; a team he’s dropped a 167 and 131 on in his last three games against them
• Don’t rush to bring in Bailey Humphrey (38). Even though he’s on the bubble, he won’t jump up in price too much

Richmond v Sydney

• BANG! Jacob Hopper’s (115) time in our sides was on thin ice but he stood up in terrific fashion. I’ve got my eye on his Round 7 fixture against the Suns who he’s scored 129, 134, and 125 on in his last three matches against them
• Since his 95 in Round 2, Tim Taranto (115) has three 110+’s in row
• Liam Baker (113) has proven that when he scores big, he scores BIG. I’m just waiting until I see a glimmer of consistency from him
• I’ll preach the same argument as above for Daniel Rioli (101)
• Congrats if you picked up Tylar Young (62) when he was on the bubble! His role as a key position player scared me off too much, but he’s scored back-to-back 60+’s and still only has a breakeven of -16
• Samson Ryan (56) will only have a few weeks left to make money
• Nick Blakey (151) collected 30 touches in a massive game off half-back
• Tom Papley (140) kicked six second-half goals

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• Jake LLLLOOOOYYYYDDDDD (119). He looks back to his seagull-ish best. He has a low score of just 93 this season and now has a 120 and 119 in his last two
• First ton of the year for Bandit’s boy, Braeden Campbell (105)
• After three sub-games in a row, Matt Roberts (93) finally got his start and did not disappoint! Picking up a player who has played four games already this season for just $129k is a godsend
• Just one ton in the last three games for Errol Gulden (88)! Cause for concern?
• It happened… Will Gould (39) FINALLY made his debut, albeit as a sub. He didn’t look too out of place either
• Corey Warner (37) also made his debut and while he didn’t find a lot of the footy, he did use it well when he was in possession of it
• The Joel Amartey (33) party is well and truly over. A hamstring tear will see him on the sidelines for a number of weeks

Brisbane v North Melbourne

• Lachie Neale (176) is BACK. It’s time to bring him in because he ain’t getting any cheaper
• There might’ve been some doubt before but there isn’t anymore! Josh Dunkley (133) is lock for F1
• Like that one girl I briefly made eye contact with on my family holiday when I was 13, I still can’t get Dayne Zorko (110) off my mind
• Will Ashcroft (72) can be held until his bye
• Darcy Wilmot (68) can remain in our sides just a little longer
• Conor McKenna (55) had a shocking first half but luckily finished with a not-so awful score. I’ve still got faith in him
• Jack Ziebell (106) with another lovely game. It might be too late to jump on now unless you think he’s capable of finishing as top-6 DEF/FWD
• The streak continues for Harry Sheezel (100)! Season keeper!
• Boy am I glad Luke Davies-Uniacke (90) got injured and missed Round 3! Otherwise, I would’ve jumped on after his 143 and 155 without hesitation
• Choosing Harry Rowsten over Will Phillips (74) could hurt my team dearly in the long run

Essendon v Melbourne

• 35 touches and a season-best game for Zach Merrett (134)! It’s a shame he’s going to miss a week for a Will Day-esque tackle
• Darcy Parish (108) is the cheapest he’ll get this season so it’s time to jump on! He also plays the Pies, and he LOVES playing the Pies
• Two tons in a row for Sam Draper (103)!
• Will Setterfield (91) got off to a slow start but worked into the game well largely thanks to 10 tackles. He looks to have maxed out in price so if he’s your ticket to bringing in a big dog, feel free to pull the trigger
• Soooo… Jordan Ridley wasn’t a terrible pick after all. He was my path to bringing in Daicos so I’m not totally upset, but I wish there was a way I could’ve held him
• I brought in Mason Redman (72) for his second worst score of the year which was upsetting
• Jye Menzie (19) has truly slammed headfirst into the rookie wall
• Brodie Grundy’s (128) recent record against the Bombers hinted that another huge score was on the cards, and it sure was! Gawn’s return is imminent though so please don’t bring Grundy in

80% of game time in the midfield for Christian Petracca in Round 5 (2nd highest % for the year) pushed him under the 35% threshold. In the end, he ended up on 34.3% as a forward. #SuperCoach #AFLFantasy

— Fantasy Freako (@FantasyFreako) April 16, 2023

• When I tell you Christian Petracca (110) was a whisker away from getting FWD status, I mean it
• Talk about slow starts! Clayton Oliver (115) was on just 2 touches at quarter time and 11 touches at half time… “So how did he get to 115?”, you ask. Well, he had a 30 disposal second half… Including TWENTY touches in the last quarter! Twenty!!
• I needed Judd McVee (63) to step up and I couldn’t be happier! I may have to rely on him a little longer now If I bring in Touk this week
• What is going on with Angus Brayshaw (59)?! He’ll be such a tasty option if one of the Melbourne midfielders gets injured
• Kade Chandler (56) will be on the chopping block for many this week after a couple poor games in a row. His breakeven has jumped up to 47
• Jacob van Rooyen (52) enjoyed a monster price rise and should continue to soar over the next month (provided he holds his spot in the side)

Port Adelaide v Western Bulldogs

• A HUGE rise in CBAs saw Zac Butters (146) post his best score of the year. He’s one to watch over the next few weeks
• Connor Rozee (93) played just half of the first quarter and still almost managed to ton up. More importantly, he got the SCPB Betr Multi over the line!
• Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of Jason Horne-Francis (86), but I’m not going to let that blind me from acknowledging how good of a footballer he is. I would go as far to say that he won the ball off his own boot in that last quarter
• Dylan Williams (51) is on the bubble this week. One bad game and he’s out of the Port side though
• A game-high 12 clearances propelled Marcus Bontempelli (145) to his biggest score of the year
• “He can’t keep getting away with this… HE CAN’T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS” (Breaking bad reference for those playing along at home). Tim English (139) is unstoppable and has a low score of just 134… Interestingly, he has three scores of exactly 139 in his five games this year. As good as he is, I just can’t justify trading Shrek or RowMar at this stage of the year
• Jack Macrae (112) and Tom Liberatore (102) went about their usual business
• Liam Jones (88) had a day out!
• Many coaches would have been forced to play Oskar Baker (53) on-field after the news of Cam Mackenzie being used as a sub
• Bailey Smith didn’t play, but I thought he deserved a brief mention now that he has FWD status

Geelong v West Coast

• Will I be eating humble pie after saying Tom Stewart (135) wouldn’t have a high ceiling with Mitch Duncan in the side? No, not yet (sucked in Niko). We’ve got one game of data to suggest he can’t score high (92) and one game to suggest he can (135). A game against Sydney this week (and hopefully Ryan Clarke as well) will be a real test
• Jezza Cameron (119) is such an interesting pick. Risky? Yes. Rewarding? Double yes
• Three tons in a row for Patrick Dangerfield (118). If he had FWD status I wouldn’t hesitate in bringing him in, but for now he’ll have to wait in the wings
• Esava Ratugolea (88) has two 88’s in a row, causing his breakeven to plummet to -26. Don’t bring him in, but if you started with him then enjoy the wave!
• A perfect example of why you should always wait a week! Mitch Duncan’s (34) 116 from two weeks ago will be forgotten very quickly after his effort against the Eagles
• Absolutely kicking myself for not starting with Oscar Allen (113)! He has a low score of 64 and despite already making $138k, he still has a breakeven of only 17 after a four-goal performance
• Reuben Ginbey (51) was in the wars all afternoon, resulting in him being substituted out in the third quarter. Apparently he’s fine, but his new breakeven of 81 is not

GWS v Hawthorn

• Toby Greene (120) was a standout. It’s clear that he needs goals to score well, but if you take out his 40 in Round 3, he’d be averaging 103
• Stephen Coniglio (102) is back! And very cheap!!
• IF Will Day got given two weeks THEN Tom Green (97) should get at least one
• Don’t get me started on Harry Himmelberg (89) single-handedly winning the game on both ends of the oval
• Lachie Whitfield (78) got DEF status, although he really hasn’t shown enough to warrant a trade
• How the hell is Jack Buckley (78) scoring so well? And how the hell did we seemingly ALL miss him? He hasn’t scored below 78 yet
• Harry Rowsten (42) came on as a sub but did well to score as well as he did given his minimal 23% TOG
• Jai Newcombe (121) did his very best to try and get the Hawks over the line

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• It will never cease to amaze me how Conor Nash (110) gets a midfield gig over Cam Mackenzie. He just does not look good with ball in hand
• James Worpel (100) racked up 35 touches but again, his 54% DE let him down
• James Sicily (91) should be veryyyyyy cheap in a few weeks and I for one am licking my lips
• Fergus Greene’s (76) price (to my annoyance after trading him out two weeks ago) continues to soar
• Tyler Brockman (70) bounced back from his 25 a few weeks ago to jump up $51k
• Seamus Mitchell (67) showed lots of promise on debut
• Cam Mackenzie (14) came on at half time which not only saw him lose cash, but also saw his breakeven leap up to 89. Unless you’re willing to hold him until this 14 falls out of his cycle, he’s a must-trade

Collingwood v St Kilda

• How Nick Daicos (128) is still able to roam free amazes me. He’d be leading the Brownlow at this stage
• Tom Mitchell (107) got back to the tons after his 64 two weeks ago
• Scott Pendlebury’s (92) run of 100+ scores has come to an end
• Is Callum Wilkie (156) legit?! He has a three-round average of 126…
• Rowan Marshall (123) made light work of Billy Frampton (27)
• The large scores of Mason Wood (98) look to have come to an end so if you’ve got him, turn him into a big premo
• Jack Sinclair (90) looked to be on track for a big one but slowed down after half time. He still has a breakeven of 113 so don’t feel like you HAVE to bring him in this week. At some point though, he will have to be in all our teams
• Liam Stocker (78) still hasn’t dropped under 70
• Nasiah Wangeen-Milera (75) now has DEF status! Hopefully he has a mid-season turnaround in form
• Mattaes Phillipou (67) might have to play full forward now that Anthony Caminiti (44) has been sent straight to the tribunal. It’s funny how some players get given an AFL lifeline and then do something as stupid as this. I play footy… It’s not that hard to go through a game without punching someone in the head