THE FIRST of the condensed fixtures begins with Western Bulldogs v Richmond to kick off 20 straight days of football across four rounds. 

Although this round is relatively normal as it involves all 18 teams and finishes on Sunday, a rolling lockout is in place due to team announcements now occurring at 6:20pm AEST the day before the game.

NEED FANTASY HELP? Tips and tricks for the condensed fixtures 

Round nine match times as below. Be sure to plan your trades ahead and only make the moves that you need. If possible, only trade out or in a player in the last hour before their lockout as final teams with late changes are announced one hour before the bounce. Stay across social media for the important late mail.

Wednesday, July 29 

Western Bulldogs v Richmond, Metricon Stadium, 7.10pm AEST 

Thursday, July 30

Melbourne v Port Adelaide, Gabba, 8.10pm AEST 

Friday, July 31 

Carlton v Hawthorn, Optus Stadium, 3.40pm AWST
Essendon v Brisbane, Metricon Stadium, 7.50pm AEST

Saturday, August 1 

North Melbourne v Adelaide, Metricon Stadium, 2.35pm AEST
St Kilda v Sydney, Gabba, 5.10pm AEST
West Coast v Geelong, Optus Stadium, 6.10pm AWST 

Sunday, August 2 

Gold Coast v Greater Western Sydney, Metricon Stadium, 3.35pm AEST
Fremantle v Collingwood, Optus Stadium, 4.10pm AWST 

BUY

David Swallow (MID/FWD, $693,000) - Since Matt Rowell's injury, the veteran Sun has bumped up his centre bounce attendances and his scoring has followed in correlation. The added bonus of this is he received dual position status in round six and is in the elite bracket as a forward.

Andrew Gaff (MID, $780,000) - The Eagles ball magnet looks to have put a quiet patch behind him after racking up 26 possessions and 11 marks against the Pies for 126. He loves playing at home and played a whopping 95 per cent game time.

James Sicily (DEF, $675,000) - After a slow start to the year, the Hawk defender is heating up. He continued his good form against the Swans with a trademark seven marks to compliment his 23 possessions for a score of 95. He has a three game average of 99.

Also consider: Dustin Martin, Hugh Greenwood, Bradley Close.

HOLD

Patrick Cripps (MID, $662,000) - The Blues champion is testing the patience of his coaches after another disappointing outing against the Roos. After a great first half, he was well held (literally at most stoppages) to just one point in the second half, eventually scoring 49. 

Jy Simpkin (FWD/MID, $635,000) - When reports rolled out through the week that the young gun was likely to miss the week, it turned into being quite a bold hold. Unfortunately there was no reward with a score of just 44 points. 

Sam Docherty (DEF, $691,000) - The Blues star continues to attract plenty of negative attention from opposition forwards and his scores are suffering as a result. In his last three games he has averaged just 59, well below what we have come to expect.

Also consider: Tim English, Brad Sheppard, Dan Houston.

SELL

Marlion Pickett (MID, $380,000) - Although the premiership hero is still increasing in value each week, taking advantage of three trades and upgrading early to a reliable scorer is certainly a viable option. He scored his third 30 for the year against the Giants this week. 

Brad Crouch (MID, $676,000) - The prolific ball winner is having a solid season, without being outstanding but unfortunately he must be traded this week after suffering a hamstring strain on just 21.

Brayden Maynard (DEF, $640,000) - After a great start to the year, the hard working Pie defender has dropped off to the point a trade needs to be seriously considered. He has scores of just 56 and 48 in the last two games and is missing Jeremy Howe. 

Also consider: Devon Smith, Harley Bennell, Brandan Starcevich.

CALVIN'S CAPTAINS

In AFL Fantasy your captain scores you double points for that week. Here are Calvin’s top five picks for you to consider.

No. 1 – Lachie Neale v Essendon @ Metricon Stadium

You can't turn your back on a player who has scored over 100 in six of his eight games this year. Neale scored 139 on the Bombers in 2019 and has scored over 125 against them in four of his last seven. Neale is in some serious form and in these times of uncertainty, Neale is as safe as they come.

No. 2 – Max Gawn v Port Adelaide @ the GABBA

Gawn is averaging 111 in his last five games and meets the Power on Thursday night. Last week, Rowan Marshall (95pts) and Patrick Ryder (73pts) scored well against Port which tells me that Gawn should have a big night.

No. 3 – Josh Kelly v Gold Coast @ Metricon Stadium

Kelly is back after his season-high 119 last week and meets a team he scored 120, 140 and 166 against in his last encounters.

No. 4 – Brodie Grundy v Fremantle @ Optus Stadium

With an average of 78 over the last three weeks, Grundy has been a frustrating captain choice. He averaged 123 against Fremantle in his last three games, and in each game he went up against a different opponent. He's tough to read at the moment, but you can never write him off.

No. 5 – Andrew Gaff v Geelong @ Optus Stadium

We all know Gaff's record at home is phenomenal and last week he proved it again with a huge 126. He meets Geelong on Saturday night, a team he has scored 120, 91 and 120 against in his last three, only dropping under 100 once in his last six against them. He ticks a lot of boxes here.

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