IF YOUR Fantasy Classic score was down a bit this week, you are not alone.

While there were still plenty of big scores posted throughout the round, the 100 most-selected players in Fantasy Classic didn’t smash out the beast scores we have seen in the last few rounds. Just eight of the top 100 popular players scored more than 110 in round nine, while only four scored 120 or more.

Another factor was the lack of big scores from skippers.

Captains in Fantasy gain coaches double points. Max Gawn (105) was given the ‘C’ by 24 per cent of the competition and was the best of the popular options. He scored one point more than Jack Macrae (104) who was picked by 16 per cent of coaches to gain the x2.

While coaches usually like more points from their captains, next on the list was Brodie Grundy (84) and Zach Merrett (67) who were well below their usual output.

Those 20-plus points difference had an effect on total scores and may have cost some coaches league wins or overall ranking places if they were on the wrong side.

Fantasy Pig of the week

Plenty was spoken about Jarryd Lyons (142) winning the Marcus Ashcroft Medal for his best on ground performance against his old club, the Suns, in the QClash. But there possibly hasn’t been enough said about the Fantasy season he’s putting together. His 37 disposals, six marks and nine tackles helped him to his equal highest score of the season and it should be noted his lowest score of the season has been 95, making him one of the most consistent Fantasy players this year. Owned by just two per cent of Fantasy Classic coaches and carrying an average draft pick (ADP) of 35 in Fantasy Draft, he’s been passed up by many, but those who jumped on have been very happy.

Honourable mentions

Cats duo Cam Guthrie (138) and Mitch Duncan (134) have been the top two scorers for their team for the last four weeks and once again got the job done. Darcy Parish (131) continued his hot run while teammate Nick Hind (122) posted his best numbers of the year and is putting his hand up as the mid-priced player of the season. Sean Darcy (133) is the poster boy for the "punt rucks" strategy in Fantasy Draft, considering he’s averaging 92 and had an ADP of 246.

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TOP SCORERS – R9

1. Jarryd Lyons 142
2. Jy Simpkin 142
3. Cam Guthrie 138
4. Andrew Brayshaw 137
5. Mitch Duncan 134
6. Sean Darcy 133
7. Darcy Parish 131
8. Ollie Wines 130
9. Dayne Zorko 127
10. Alex Witherden 127
11. Jacob Hopper 126
12. Nick Hind 122
13. Rory Laird 122
14. Hugh McCluggage 121
15. Sam Walsh 121

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Cash cows of the round

The best player with a starting price under $270k will be awarded the Michael Barlow Medal as the best cash cow of the year.

The votes for round nine:

5 – James Jordon (110) Melbourne, MID
Equal top score for the undefeated Dees, Jordon racked up 20 disposals, but it was his tackles that helped him post his career-high score on Sunday afternoon. The 20-year-old laid 13 tackles which netted him 52 points alone. What was most impressive was Jordon's third term where he collected eight disposals and six tackles for 50 points.

4 – Matt Flynn (109) GWS Giants, RUC
Finally back in the team putting up a season-high score in a great display against Nankervis.

3 – Riley Collier-Dawkins (86) Richmond, MID
Grabbed his opportunity in Tigers’ depleted midfield. Boosted stats with seven tackles.

2 – James Rowe (76) Adelaide, FWD
Best score since round one, Rowe has kickstarted his cash generation again.

1 – Cody Weightman (73) Western Bulldogs, FWD
Kicked three goals in the Dogs’ epic win at Adelaide Oval in his first game this year.

LEADERBOARD: James Jordon 21, Tom Powell 15, Chad Warner 13, Matt Flynn 12, Errol Gulden 11, Jy Farrar 7, Daniel McKenzie 5, Archie Perkins 5, Connor Menadue 5, James Rowe 5.

Rage trades

Tom Powell (40) – The advice has been to roll with Powell until his bye. This probably still stands, but his massive price gains this season have halted with his first price decrease.

Jordan De Goey (56) – Things were looking good when De Goey was on 30 at quarter-time. Just 26 points followed and he gets another week on the rage trades list (for the seven per cent of owners, we really need to move him on sometime soon… the byes maybe?!).

Reilly O’Brien (59) – Like JDG, ROB has featured in this section too many times. Was his 2020 season an aberration? Is he a premium? The gap between the big two in Grundy and Gawn, to who we thought the next best was O’Brien, has grown significantly with the numbers that ROB is putting up.

Zach Merrett (67) – Copped attention from Caleb Serong to post his first score under 100 for the year. Forgivable considering what he’s done this season, but not so much if you were among the nine per cent of the competition who captained him.

Tom Mitchell (84) – Playing at the Fantasy friendly UTAS Stadium, playing against the winless North Melbourne… everything added up for the Fantasy Pig to rack up a big score. It wasn’t to be as the Roos recorded their first win of the season and their midfield had the better of the Hawks.

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