Brodie Grundy in action against Carlton on Thursday night. Picture: AFL Photos

The time has finally arrived, round 12 and the first bye is here.

As we scan over our team heading into the round, count up your green dots, making sure you have the best team possible for the round ahead.

The byes explained

Teams on the bye: Geelong, Gold Coast, GWS, Hawthorn, Kangaroos and Port Adelaide.

Over the next three weeks, only your best 18 on-field players will count towards your score. During this time, you will have three trades per week to structure your team in the best possible way.

Players on their bye can be moved and traded over the weekend, until they are locked at the start of the final game.

ALL THE TEAMS Check them out

Live teams show

The Traders are back live and cover all about the important ins and outs as teams are announced. They break-down the popular trades, discuss captains and answer all your burning questions. Watch the Live Teams Show every Thursday night via the Facebook page from 6:15pm AEST and ask your questions in the comments.

Pain in the Neck

With an average of 111 next to his name, Brodie Grundy (RUC, $798,000) has had another outstanding year. Unfortunately, a neck injury has now sidelined one of the most popular Fantasy players in the game.

So with byes starting this week what are your options?

HOLD – Over the bye rounds, only your top 18 on-field players will be counted. If your team is beautifully structured over the bye and you have 20 players or more on field, then maybe you could afford to hold Grundy over the coming two to three weeks. Even more so if you have Matt Flynn sitting on the bench.

SWAP – A swap to Max Gawn (RUC, $795,000) is the safest move going around. If you don’t have Melbourne’s captain then now is the time to do it. He shares the same bye as Grundy and has a great run leading into the end of the season and even meets a Grundy-less Collingwood in round 13.

DOWNGRADE – Maybe you already have Max Gawn and need someone else to partner him over the coming weeks. Sean Darcy (RUC/FWD, $673,000) is at the top of that list after he has averaged 105 in his last three games. For the brave and money-starved coaches; Reilly O’Brien (RUC, $568,000) is also an option. He has dropped $260,000 from his starting price and is coming off 97 last weekend.

Most traded in

  • Trent Bianco (DEF/MID, $198,000) – 15k
  • Isaac Heeney (FWD, $539,000) – 6.7k
  • Max Gawn (RUC, $795,000) – 4.9k
  • James Madden (DEF/FWD, $229,000) – 4.2k
  • Sean Darcy (RUC/FWD, $673,000) – 3.5k

There are no surprises here with Max Gawn (RUC, $795,000) and Sean Darcy (RUC/FWD, $673,000) making the list as they shape as the best replacements for the injured Grundy. Fantasy coaches are not missing out with Trent Bianco (DEF/MID, $198,000) either, who is one of the easiest picks this week. On a sour note, James Madden (DEF/FWD, $229,000) has been dropped so if you are one of the 4,000 who have traded him in, you better fix that now.

05:30

Most traded out

  • Brodie Grundy (RUC, $798,000) – 10.8k
  • Jacob Koschitzke (DEF/FWD, $358,000) – 8.6k
  • Tom Phillips (MID/FWD, $530,000) – 4.5k
  • Miles Bergman (DEF/FWD, $392,000) – 3.9k
  • Tom Powell (MID/FWD, $471,000) – 3.7k

Four players on their bye make the top five most traded this week, as coaches look to maximise their on-field players. As expected, Brodie Grundy (RUC, $798,000) is the most traded out player. Even though over 10,000 coaches have moved on Grundy, several thousand more are holding the big ruckman hoping to navigate their way through the byes with him on the bench.

Best captains

In AFL Fantasy your captain scores you double points for that week. Here are Calvin's top five picks from the games to come for you to consider.

No. 1 – Clayton Oliver v Brisbane

Oliver loves playing against the Lions and has scored 156, 111 and 125 in his last three games against them. He’s in awesome form averaging 127 in his last three this year and as he plays Friday night, he is a great VC option.

No. 2 – Max Gawn v Brisbane 

Coming off scores of 118 and 129 this year, Gawn meets a team he scored 129 against last year. He is another great VC option and has only dropped under 105 once in his last ten games

No. 3 – Zach Merrett v Richmond 

Dreamtime in Perth shouldn’t bother Merrett who has scored 124 and 105 there recently. He had 156 against the Tigers last year and has been in hot form lately.

No. 4 – Jack Macrae v Fremantle

After scores of 147 and 153, Macrae sits a long way down the list this week based on his form. His record against Fremantle isn’t great with previous scores of 75, 127, 91 and 99 and could be tagged like Merrett (67) was a few weeks ago. He is still the best in the game!

No. 5 – Darcy Parish v Richmond

In his last six games, Parish carries a lowest score of 106 and is averaging 132 in his last three games.

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