Sean Darcy and Michael Walters in action for Fremantle against West Coast in R22, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos

THE PRELIMINARY finals are done and dusted and we have just one round left, the Big Dance. For those eliminated, remember you are only as good as your last game, so push through to the finish line before taking a well-earned break prior to launching into a huge pre-season.

As far as next week goes, its about ceiling, fixture and unique match ups if you are in the GF. Make sure you tune into The Traders AFL Fantasy Podcast as we discuss this week's best picks including a few roughies for the underdogs out there. We will also have a look at the battle for the car between @mattmottram and @shuckasFantasy.

AFL Fantasy Grand Final Party

Join The Traders for a Grand Final Party at London Tavern Hotel, Richmond on Saturday 20 August. Roy, Calvin and Warnie will get you prepped for the Fantasy Grand Final in round 23 with some insight and fun before taking in the afternoon games of footy. 

Cheer on every +12 (mark, kick and goal) with your league mates. Doors open at 12pm, The Traders will be talking Fantasy from 1pm in the lead up the first bounce at 1:45pm.

Click here to RSVP on Facebook for this FREE event.

Fantasy Pig of the week

Dockers big man Sean Darcy has been disappointing this year it's fair to say. That is until almost 900 coaches traded him out prior to this round only to have him drop a season high 147 on their head. In his first triple-figure score for six weeks, Darcy was in beast mode, taking advantage of the extra stoppages due to the weather, tallying 56 hit outs while collecting 16 possessions, taking five marks, laying six tackle and kicking a goal. He has a terrific match up with Greater Western Sydney next round and should be great once again with his overdue return to form.

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Honourable mentions

Josh Kelly has been another disappointment this year, but he is another that came good at the right time, especially for Draft coaches. He had his first triple-figure score in five games with an impressive season-high of 142, while Dan Houston joined the party as the Power embarrassed the Bombers, taking eight marks and kicking a nice goal for 136. Pre-season-hype man Liam Duggan reminded us he is still playing with 136, while Tom Lynch took full advantage of the Hawks 'swinging the magnets', kicking eight goals for 134.

>> Check the latest Fantasy scores LIVE in the AFL Live Official App

TOP ROUND SCORERS

  1. Sean Darcy RUC 147
  2. Josh Kelly MID 142
  3. Dan Houston DEF/MID 136
  4. Liam Duggan DEF/MID 136
  5. Tom Lynch FWD 134
  6. Touk Miller MID 133
  7. Harry Perryman DEF/MID 132
  8. Brandon Ellis DEF/MID 130
  9. Callum Mills MID 129
  10. Jordan Dawson DEF/MID 129
Touk Miller in action during Gold Coast's clash against Geelong in round 22, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos

Cash cows of the round

The best player with a starting price under $300k will be awarded the Michael Barlow Medal as the best cash cow of the year.

The votes for round:

5 – Marcus Windhager St Kilda, FWD/MID– 84
Not only did the talented Saint do a job on Lachie Neale, he found plenty of it himself, gathering 21 possessions while taking seven marks.

Marcus Windhager chases Lachie Neale during St Kilda's clash with Brisbane in round 22, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos

4 – Tyson Stengle Geelong, FWD -  83
What a season the Cat recruit is having. He kicked another bag of three goals on the weekend to go with 15 possessions and five marks.

3 – Nic Martin Essendon, FWD/MID - 79
I remember back to round one when Bombers supporter Warnie told me Martin had no job security, so I didn’t pick him. He did his thing again with a nice eight marks.

2 – Mal Rosas jnr Gold Coast, FWD -  72
Registered his second highest score of the year after laying an impressive eight tackles.

2 – Jake Soligo Adelaide, MID - 72
An impressive outing from the young Crow who collected 22 possessions, three marks and laid three tackles. 

LEADERBOARD: Nick Daicos 56, Nic Martin 43, Tyson Stengle 30, Tristan Xerri 22, Willie Rioli 14, Jason Horne Francis 14.

Rage trades

Jack Steele ST KILDA, MID
For the second week in a row, the usually reliable Saint has been a big disappointment. After recording triple-figure scores in his first six games back from injury, Steele has failed to reach that mark the past two weeks, highlighted by his most recent performance where he collected just 13 possessions and took two marks for a season-low 65. Having the Fantasy star as a unique was supposed to be a positive at Finals time.

Lachie Neale, BRISBANE MID.
Although life was difficult with a tagger, more is expected from the superstar. In a time of need for his coaches, he got the weekend off to a rocky start on Friday night when he collected just 16 possessions and took no marks on his way to a season-low 60 points. He plays the Demons this week who haven't been running with a hard tag, so he should be back to his best.

Tim English WESTERN BULLDOGS, FWD/RUC

The writing was on the wall when Stef Martin was selected, as we have seen English pair up with Jordan Sweet earlier this season which resulted in disappointment. It was like re-reading a book as the big Dog had little impact on the game barring a few flashy moments, collecting just 10 possessions and taking one mark for 69. If Stef plays again, English must be traded.

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