The byes have so far failed to slow us down, and despite a number of quiet Round 9 performances, the team managed to score 1763 points, good enough for a 300-point win over Geelong.
With North Melbourne also registering a fine win over Brisbane, our Kangaroo contributors carried us through. We need to make special mention of Brent Harvey, who top-scored for the round with 144 points – he has been a brilliant unique option for us this year.
Our Collingwood trio of Beams, Pendlebury and Swan were solid without being spectacular, while our other fantasy tons came from David Swallow, newcomer Dustin Martin and of course, our captain in Gary Ablett.
Our latest cash cow target Cameron Shenton managed 79 fantasy points for us in his first game, and increased nearly $30,000. He’s on a bye, but should play a bit of footy for the Saints.
This week’s matchup
Well, this is the big one. We take on Brisbane’s fan team this week, in a blockbuster top-of-the-table clash. The Lions’ team sits in first place with a very healthy percentage, but a win this week will see us go outright top.
The big advantage we have is that Brisbane are on a bye in the AFL. This means that Tom Rockliff, Pearce Hanley, Dayne Zorko, Lewis Taylor and James Aish will all be missing for our opponents, while we’ll only be missing Zorko.
We’ll both be without Aaron Sandilands, while our loss of Leigh Montagna will be matched by Sydney's Josh Kennedy for them.
On the block
There’s not really anyone that has to go, other than Jay Kennedy-Harris. The classy small-forward has stagnated in recent times, and with a 30 last week and a bye this week, we can look to cash him in.
Our defence has been solid, but we could benefit by the addition of one more top-end player. Rhyce Shaw and Jeremy Laidler, both Swans, come to mind as potential trade-out options. Sydney have the bye, and the pair have done their jobs in terms of getting us through the byes so far.
Trades
Kennedy-Harris to a rookie is the no-brainer. This will free up around $150,000, allowing us to either do a double-downgrade with Laider, or chase a top defender by shifting Shaw.
Finally, Laidler’s increase in value means that we can grab a quality defender on the cheaper side.
Trade Decisions
