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It took four quarters and some last-term heroics from Brent Harvey, but North Melbourne ground out its first victory for the season, overcoming the Western Bulldogs by 29 points.

Harvey was immense, booting 3 goals on his way to a game-high 118 fantasy points. With Daniel Wells (57) tagged by Bulldog Mitch Wallis, the veteran was allowed to roam free. So too recruit Nick Dal Santo, who was arguably best-on-ground in his first win at his new club.

Dal Santo had 32 disposals for 108 fantasy points, doing what he liked through the midfield.

Across half-back it was the Lachie Hansen and Scott Thompson show. The duo had 95 and 82 fantasy points respectively, along with 16 marks between them. They zoned off their opponents all day, intercepting Bulldog forward ventures and setting up the play. This style of game-play is extremely fantasy friendly and if it can continue they will both be valuable defensive options.

Leigh Adams played a full game this week, backing up his incredible Round 1 substitute appearance with a further 84 fantasy points. He worked hard alongside Sam Gibson, who had 117 fantasy points in a typically productive display.

North’s big forwards presented at times, but with just 4 goals between Black, Petrie and Currie, it was Harvey and the midfielders who kept the scoreboard ticking over.

For the Bulldogs, Adam Cooney was industrious with 116 fantasy points, while Luke Dahlhaus harassed and tackled for much of the game, but let himself down with his kicking – finishing with 1 goal, 3 behinds.

Will Minson was the best ruckman on the ground, accumulating 99 fantasy points and outpointing a restricted Todd Goldstein for much of the afternoon. A straight swap between these two might be a smart trade for AFL Fantasy coaches.

ET: Around the grounds

Some of the better performances this week included Collingwood and Essendon captains Scott Pendlebury and Jobe Watson. Both players have started 2014 with a bang and are worth trading into your team before their prices increase.

Steve Johnson has also continued his impressive 2013 form, as has Nick Riewoldt, who put up 148 points against the Giants. Demon duo Nathan Jones and Daniel Cross topped the 125-point mark, and could fill a hole in your on-ball brigade if you’re looking for a mid-priced option.

Dayne Zorko up front (130 points) and Brodie Smith down back (123 points) were excellent contributors for their respective teams. Both players can be traded in for $400k or less, and could be downgrade targets for underperforming premiums.

Dane Swan (68 points), Scott Selwood (48 points) and Patrick Dangerfield (80 points) have had slow stars. All three are averaging considerably less than was expected, although it’s always dangerous trading out guns after only a couple of poor games.