Nine things we learned from round 12
After the siren: Kangas can start recalibrating their finals dream
Around the state leagues: Tarrant makes return, Logan stars for Port
Ballantyne, Tigers among 10 charged by MRP


I KNOW I'm not only speaking for myself here, but that was a very long weekend for NAB AFL Fantasy coaches.

With the exception of Gary Ablett, Aaron Sandilands, Dustin Martin, Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury, the top 40 most popular Fantasy players this year failed to crack the ton. This brought scores down and anything over 2000 this week was considered a decent score for the round.

Geelong v Carlton, Etihad Stadium

In a thrilling finish, Joel Selwood (79) kicked the winning goal to see the Cats take the four points to open the round.

Fantasy scores were down on Friday night with popular players down well below their season averages. Selwood managed just 18 disposals while DEF/MIDs James Kelly (86) and Jimmy Bartel (80) were busy, but didn’t produce huge numbers.

If you don't own Steve Johnson (77) yet, then get ready for another big price drop this week to make the classy Cat much more affordable. Andrew Carrazzo (72) had the job on the midfielder and held him to just 19 touches. A three-round average of 75.67 will see the former most expensive player in Fantasy around the $550K mark this week.

Kicking three and four goals respectively, Mathew Stokes (101) and Tom Hawkins (101) joined Bryce Gibbs (139) as the only players to crack the Fantasy ton.

Gibbs booted four goals to go with his 21 kicks and eight handballs in what was his best game for the season.

Hawthorn v West Coast, Aurora Stadium

An eight-goal haul for Jarryd Roughead (163) helped his 27,134 owners on this tough round. The forward finished with 17 kicks, seven handballs, eight marks and six tackles to be the highest scorer for the weekend.

WATCH: Roughead demolishes the Eagles
The Hawks ran away with the win in the second half. Luke Hodge (120), Jordan Lewis (111), Isaac Smith (108) and Liam Shiels (106) were the major ball winners in Launceston.

Matthew Spangher (101) scored the second Fantasy ton of his career, taking a game-high 10 marks.

Three goals to Andrew Gaff (135) helped him to be the best for the Eagles. Mark Hutchings (118) and Luke Shuey (109) finished with 28 and 29 disposals respectively. Ruckman Nic Naitanui (91) has been improving over recent weeks and could be a cheap option to bring in thanks to his low breakeven.

Although he was subbed out in the third quarter, Xavier Ellis (66) smashed through his breakeven and he will be looking to start making some cash again. On debut, $115,200 ruckman Luke Lowden (66) kicked three goals and second-gamer Jeremy McGovern (88), coming in for Josh Kennedy, was impressive, kicking two goals. 

Port Adelaide v St Kilda, Adelaide Oval

In the Saturday twilight game, half of the Power players notched up 90-plus points in their 70-point win. Hamish Hartlett (138) played his best game of the season, collecting 36 disposals, eight marks, five tackles and a goal.

Ruckman Matthew Lobbe (125) was the most dominant ruckman on the ground, racking up 43 hit-outs compared to his opponent, Billy Longer (51), who finished with 22.

FWD/MID Chad Wingard (125) may have been the talk of the weekend with his epic mark, but his Fantasy numbers were very impressive: 23 touches, 10 marks and three goals. With just 18 points last week due to injury, Wingard is priced under $400K and could be a value forward worth considering. Fellow FWD/MID Robbie Gray (124) continued his excellent 2014, averaging 101 over his past five matches.

WATCH: Chad Wingard’s Mark of the Year contender
Despite being subbed out in the third quarter, Jared Polec (84) pleased the 69,028 coaches who held on to him after his low score last week.

For the Saints, midfielders Lenny Hayes (105) and Jack Steven (101) topped the score table with draftee Luke Dunstan (89) in line for another price rise, and Nick Riewoldt (88) slotted four goals.

Greater Western Sydney v Essendon, Spotless Stadium

The Giants couldn't get the job done on the scoreboard but they had the better Fantasy performers in Sydney.

Adam Treloar (130) has averaged 122.67 points over the past three rounds to establish himself as one of the breakout midfielders of the season. He has improved his season average by over 20 points on last year to be an excellent unique selection.

Going under the radar, Devon Smith (128) racked up a very Fantasy-friendly 28 kicks and five handballs. His fourth ton for the season, including 137 last round, has made him a great late selection in Elite leagues and a sneaky option to bring into Classic sides if he can string together some more big scores.

A massive 30 kicks for Heath Shaw (125) and 27 disposals for Callan Ward (108) continued their excellent recent form.

David Zaharakis (132) was the only Bomber to score over 100 points. The midfielder kicked two goals to go with his 34 disposals. Jobe Watson (95) was next on the list but his 58,000 coaches will be faced with a forced trade this week as he will spend the next 8-10 weeks out after an uncommon hip injury.

WATCH: The freak injury that may have ended Jobe Watson’s season
Midfielders Dyson Heppell (89), Brent Stanton (88) and Brendon Goddard (74) were well down on their season average as the Giants restricted the Bombers well below their usual Fantasy output. They were averaging 1758 points as a team prior to this round and only scored 1494 on Saturday night.

Michael Hibberd (67) has been a dependable defender this year but didn't find it easy to get his regular +6 mark-kick combo. Tagger Rhys Palmer (71) held him to just three marks, almost five below his season average.

Western Bulldogs v Brisbane Lions, Etihad Stadium

The Lions upset the Dogs under the roof with some high tackle counts getting the job done for the victors. Jack Redden (128) laid nine tackles while Pearce Hanley (124) had 12. Calvin's No.1 captain pick, Tom Rockliff (104) saved his score with 10 tackles as he only finished with 20 disposals.

The Dogs also got amongst the tackles with Tom Liberatore (112) and Ryan Griffen (100) laying 14 and 10 respectively. Breakout midfielder Jackson Macrae (139) scored his first ton since round five. If you're looking for a cheap ruckman for your bench who will have some job security over the next few weeks, consider Stefan Martin (99) at just a touch over $200K. He performed well against Will Minson (96) collecting 17 disposals to go with his 32 hit-outs. Knee injuries to Trent West (season) and Matthew Leuenberger (five weeks) will see the former Demon assume the No.1 ruck role for at least the next month.

Claye Beams (93) will now be worth over $200K thanks to his 24-disposal game. With minimal cash cows coming through, Beams could be brought in this week to sit on your midfield bench. Unfortunately Zac O'Brien (23) started in the substitute vest once again and his cash generation will be limited until he plays a full game.

Luke Dahlhaus (58) and Shaun Higgins (52) scored below what their coaches expected. We will need to keep an eye on the injury list this week as Higgins left the ground in the last quarter with a rib injury.

Gold Coast v Sydney Swans, Metricon Stadium

Two sub-100 point games for Gary Ablett (146) wasn’t going to be three as the little master was back to his best running relatively free, gathering 38 disposals and laying nine tackles. He should be back in Calvin's good books now and will have to feature his top five Captains for next round.

Midfielders Kieren Jack (106), Daniel Hannebery (106) and Josh P. Kennedy (103) collected plenty of the ball while their highest averaging forward, Luke Parker (98) kicked two goals.

New inclusions for thousands of Fantasy forward lines this week, Craig Bird (71) and Lance Franklin (56) didn’t quite live up to the hype. Their recent form has been exceptional so coaches shouldn’t panic as they can just as easily produce those big hundred-plus scores again next round. Fortunately, Franklin is free to play next week after being cleared of wrongdoing by the Match Review Panel.

FWD/MID Ben McGlynn (93) appears in less than three per cent of teams but his numbers have been as good as any over the last couple of weeks.

Fremantle v Adelaide, Patersons Stadium

The Dockers owned the day, taking the four points and restricting the Crows with their Fantasy scoring.

In form defender Brodie Smith (98) was the best for the away team with 24 disposals. Ruckman Sam Jacobs (87) pushed aside injury concerns from last week to still score against the tough opposition.

His opponent Aaron Sandilands (123) finished with 38 hit-outs in a potential three-vote performance for the league's No.1 ruckman. Matthew Pavlich (113) kicked three goals and defender Paul Duffield (111) was busy with 23 kicks and four handballs.

WATCH: Sunday showreel - Aaron Sandilands
Michael Barlow (109) continued his excellent recent run with 30 touches, just behind Lee Spurr (104) and David Mundy (102) on the disposal count, who had 32 each.

The latest victim at the hands of Ryan Crowley was FWD/MID Patrick Dangerfield (66). He was given little room to move as he registered his third score under 100. No prizes for guess how many weeks he has been in my team! He may find himself under $500K very soon.

Popular forward Taylor Walker (47) struggled in the second half, scoring just 11 points and Matthew Jaensch (53) was a long way off his season average of 93.

After a vest last week, FWD/MID Matthew Wright continued to frustrate coaches, being a late withdrawal for failing a concussion test prior to the match.

North Melbourne v Richmond, Etihad Stadium

This match was a textbook example of a game of two contrasting halves. Photographs of Dustin Martin (123) and Drew Petrie (82) would adorn a definition in a dictionary.

WATCH: The Roos rise and the Tigers crumble in one incredible quarter
Martin was awesome in the first half. The FWD/MID kicked four goals and went into the main break with 93 Fantasy points to his name. He added just 30 points to his score before full time. Petrie started the third quarter on zero, no thanks to some free kicks against, but turned it on with three goals in the third quarter, finishing with four for the match and a big reason why the Kangaroos won the game.

Currently the highest-scoring forward in the competition, Brent Harvey (119) just keeps getting the job done. The FWD/MID has been written off by a lot of coaches but in the week before his 36th birthday, he has proven that he will be one of the top six forwards in 2014.

In his fourth game of the season, Andrew Swallow (111) scored his second Fantasy ton in succession. At under $450K he is an under-priced premium option worth considering for your midfield if cash stocks are low.

Given the green light to be more attaching in recent weeks, Levi Greenwood (109) is averaging 120 in his past five games. He went head to head with Trent Cotchin (94) and racked up 29 disposals to the Richmond captain's 24.

Tiger midfielders Matt Thomas (101) and Brandon Ellis (100) finished with 24 and 23 disposals respectively.

Once again, Liam Anthony (57) started in the substitute vest but came on at half time for Majak Daw (16) and proved his Fantasy worth. 14 disposals and going at more than one point per minute, the midfielder priced at just over $200K would be a handy addition to our sides if he can string four quarters together.

Former Giant Anthony Miles (87) played his first game in the yellow and black. Like Liam Anthony, he has great Fantasy potential. Miles is awkwardly priced at $279,700 but given opportunity, he'll experience some big scores and subsequent price rises in the coming weeks.

Melbourne v Collingwood, MCG

The tough round came to an end on Monday afternoon in the traditional Queen's Birthday blockbuster where only 11 goals were kicked.

The game couldn't have started any worse for Calvin's No.1 captain choice for the week, Dayne Beams (76). He received a heavy tag from Daniel Cross (82) who kept the midfielder to just 36 points at three-quarter time before adding 40 points to his score in the last quarter for some respectability. Unfortunately I listened to the Irish pirate and whacked the C on him for my lowest score from my captain for the year.

Midfielders Dane Swan (114), Clinton Young (109) and Scott Pendlebury (100) were the best for the Magpies. 13 marks was the highlight for Young. DEF/MID Tom Langdon (87) was busy off half-back collecting 22 disposals and nine marks to remain as a low-priority upgrade in the backline.

Running with Pendlebury, Bernie Vince (120) was the top scorer in the match and the first goal kicker in the game, Nathan Jones (113) enjoyed one of his best performances of recent weeks.

Dom Tyson (50) copped the Macaffer tag. This score will see his price stay around $450K.

How did the Traders go in round 12?

Roy was the best performer of our trio with 2052. Despite bringing in Bird and Franklin this round, trades that he calls a failure, his ranking improved.

My Warne Dawgs limped to 1960 and dropped outside of the top 1000 ranked coaches. Calvin, also with the 'C' on Beams, has his tail between his legs.