THE FIRST round of finals for many leagues was action packed and had a little bit of everything including the newly crowed Pig embracing the snout on the big stage.

THE RUN HOME Cats' grip on top spot starts to slip

Fantasy Pig

Jack Macrae: Is certainly back to his best and it's nice to see him back in 2018 form. Despite having a tough match up at the Lions, he absolutely dominated with 45 possessions, four marks and seven tackles and his endeavour and attack on the ball was a far cry from what we saw earlier in the year when he was moping around the half forward line. The superstar led all scorers for the round with a whopping 151.

Toby Greene: My No.1 trade target last week showed why he earned that mantle, once again taking full advantage of the midfield time available in the absence of Stephen Coniglio and Josh Kelly. The Giant ball magnet had it on a string to ensure he maintained his hot form with 34 possessions, eight marks, six tackles and a goal for a game high 146. He is still under priced considering his form, especially as a forward.

Honourable mention: Brodie Grundy's first official week (post snouting) didn't go to plan in the wet but the Pig certainly made up for it against the Suns with a dominant performance that returned 145 points. He was outstanding all day despite a formidable opponent in Jarrod Witts, racking up 43 hitouts to go with a goal, rewarding the coaches that showed faith in the big fella by giving him captain responsibilities.

NINE THINGS WE LEARNED Dons' stop-gap spearhead isn't a proper fix

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Rage Trades

Dom Sheed: With form on his side and a great run home for midfielders, Sheed has been great for long time coaches and he looked a prime trade target for non-owners based on his numbers. Unfortunately, last year's finals superstar choked in the first round, a cruel blow for teams in elimination games after returning just 49 points from 18 possessions and he didn't lay a tackle.

Honourable mention: Patrick Dangerfield has a history of dominating the Dockers, to the point where a number of coaches gave him captain responsibilities. Unfortunately, it became evident that history is a thing of the past as Danger sat predominantly forward in the second half, before eventually finishing on just 65 from 15 touches and two behinds.

BARRETT Rance still hell-bent on finals return

Piglet

Will Snelling turned it on for his coaches, especially the ones that still require him to play on the ground. He collected an impressive 21 possessions that were complemented by two goals to eventually record the Bombers' second-best score of 93.

AROUND THE STATE LEAGUES Flag hero hurt, luckless Cat returns

Trade Targets
  • Toby Greene
  • Zac Williams
  • Bachar Houli
  • Rory Laird
  • Scott Pendlebury

Fantasy Mailbag

The highs are great, but they need to be because the lows are so frustrating. Well done on an epic victory, would have been fun to watch your rollercoaster.

And… There is an example of one of those lows I was talking about.

Haha, don't lose that confidence!

It can be such a cruel game and captain hindsight is relentless!

For more, follow myself @RoyDT

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