THE LAST round of normal, or semi-normal… well, normal for 'corona footy' is done and dusted for a few weeks.

NINE THINGS WE LEARNED Tomahawk's brain fades are still a problem

What lies ahead will be complete mayhem, with 33 games in 20 days and a new round starting the day after the previous round finished. Quite frankly, I am pretty excited about it and if you have been struggling to improve your rank, times like this provide great opportunity to make significant moves.

Fantasy Pig

Zach Merrett looked like the ball-magnet of old and it was a sight to behold for his owners after some disappointing returns in recent times. At his best he is one of the most prolific scorers in the game and hopefully this performance is a sign he has turned his season around after leading all scorers with 138 from a whopping 33 possessions, nine marks and six tackles. He is owned by just three per cent of the competition.

Honourable mention: Andrew Gaff Speaking of returning to form after a lean patch, Gaff also looked like the magnet that has him placed in the uber-premium category for elite scoring midfielders. He cruised around his home turf for 95 per cent of the game, taking 11 marks and collecting 26 possessions in that time for 126.

04:06

Roy's Fantasy trades: round nine

Roy helps you prepare for 33 games in 20 days

Published on Jul 27, 2020

Rage trades

Jy Simpkin has been outstanding this year, embracing his opportunity in the midfield and his scoring has reflected that. There were plenty of question marks surrounding his availability this week which resulted in a number of his coaches trading him out Thursday night out of fear he would be a withdrawal. Well he wasn't, but that trade left his ex-coaches pretty satisfied after Curnow tagged the wounded bull right out of the game, holding him to just nine touches and 44 points. He will bounce back – hang in there to make the hold worthwhile.

Another player that I wouldn't trade but who certainly deserves a rocket with a reversed rage trade is Carlton co-captain Patrick Cripps. After an impressive first half, he was well and truly clamped down, recording just one point for the rest of the game. He eventually finished with just five kicks in his 16 possessions and gave away five free kicks for 49 points. He will bounce back sooner rather than later.

Piglet

Finally, Caleb Serong was off the leash, playing 80 per cent game time as opposed the 50 per cent we were becoming accustomed to. Coming as no surprise to his Fantasy coaches, the results spoke for themselves with 22 possessions, seven tackles and a goal for a career high 98. Just let him play!

Honourable mention: Mitchell Hibberd

01:05

Serong's special effort in the pocket

Caleb Serong kicks a great goal in the latter moments of the game

Published on Jul 27, 2020

The top 5

  • Zach Merrett: 138
  • Andrew Gaff: 126
  • Clayton Oliver: 121
  • Josh Kelly: 119
  • Andrew McGrath: 118

Trade targets

  • Hugh Greenwood
  • Max Gawn
  • Andrew Gaff
  • Jake Lloyd
  • James Sicily
04:27

The 10: Round eight's best moments

Watch all the best highlights from a thrilling round eight

Published on Jul 27, 2020

Crisis creates opportunity! Make a plan and stick to it. At the moment, mine is simple… Use three trades every week to remove one of the rookies on my ground scoring me 30. I am ignoring underperforming premiums and sticking to the plan. Obviously the challenge will be finding out downgrade options etc. but that is going to be part of the fun.

For more, follow myself @RoyDT

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