AND THEN there were two.
Thousands of Grand Finals will be played across NAB AFL Fantasy Classic and Elite leagues this weekend, and as this week has gone on, every match-up gets more intriguing every day.
It started with season-ending injuries to popular Fantasy selections Dane Swan, Ryan Griffen and Michael Hibberd, before Ross Lyon threw Grand Finals on their heads with the resting of a range of Dockers including David Mundy and Aaron Sandilands.
Add to this the injury to Nat Fyfe a fortnight ago and Luke Hodge’s suspension, and many of the top averaging players for 2015 will be missing this week.
North Melbourne will also go down the route of resting players, with potentially 8-10 Roos taking round 23 off to freshen up before finals. Almost a quarter of the competition may lose the highest scoring player of the year in ruckman Todd Goldstein while over 25,000 coaches may be without Shaun Higgins.
Fantasy coaches will need to decide which two players to trade out to help maximise points. Looking at which positions have the best bench cover may help with decisions. Working out where you can bring in a high scoring Swan or Hawk to take advantage of their favourable fixture is the way to go.
Don’t write off Port Adelaide players as options to bring in this round. Last time the Dockers rested players on the eve of the finals, their opponent St Kilda posted some massive Fantasy scores. Leigh Montagna racked up 189 points while Jack Steven (148), Jarryn Geary (123), Clint Jones (121) and Nick Riewoldt (120) all scored overs.
One man who will be watching the points tick over this weekend will be Kym Hillman from Western Australia. Kym’s team ‘Kyms Klan’ is leading the overall competition by a whopping 634 points and looks to have the $25,000 and Toyota AFL Grand Final package in the bag.
The school’s competition Grand Final will be played over round 23 with Tasmania’s Mack Blazely taking on Western Australia’s Samuel Taylor.
Good luck in your Grand Finals … we will all need it!
The Traders will be dissecting the ins and outs for round 23 in the live Fantasy chat from 6.15pm AEST. Post your pressing Grand Final selection issues as we head into the last home and away round of the season.
