Cheat Sheet | Round 17

Welcome back community. It’s the second to last Cheat Sheet for the year and the last “short form” version. Which means the “Festival of Fantasy – Part Deux” is almost over. Thank baby cheeses.

Like many of our actual teams, this week snuffed out the last hope we had of getting to the league GF (if playing SC league). But fear not, there’s still overall position to play for … or pride. Because of that, we’ve only selected PODs this week. You can’t leap up the rankings if you’re playing the same players as everyone else. But choose these players wisely, recent past form is no guarantee of future form.

I’m also curious to know how many trades people have left at this stage of the season. We’ve all had 37 for a 17 round season, where we normally get 30 for a 24 round season.

Mark Blicavs DEF – $502k – Avg 97 BE 102
Blicavs’ lowest score in the past 8 weeks has been 84, but he’s very capable of 120’s as evidenced by games against North and Freo earlier this year. Ownership of only 2.3%

Jayden Short DEF – $489k – Avg 97 BE 88
I usually hate “name puns” but all I can come up with is “if you’re you’re short on cash, don’t be short in defence”. Terrible Murial. Much like Blicavs, Short has solid 120s in him, and rarely drops below a mid-80. A solid choice in 5.8% of teams.

Adam Cerra DEF – $499k – Avg 91 BE 84
Probably the most in-form defender I’ll recommend here. 3 Round Avg of 112, comprising scores of 118, 97 ans 121. Cerra’s has pulled 2 scores of 134 this season, so I’d probably go for him over the other 2. Owned by just 2.5% of teams.

Matt Crouch MID – $628k – Avg 112 BE 70
I’ve been flogging Matt Crouch for a few weeks, and he keeps getting the points and the Crows keep winning, so I’m back for round 3. 3 Rd avg of 147, and only in 2.2% of teams right now.

Sam Walsh MID – $569k – Avg 101 BE 51
Last year’s “must have rookie” seems to be this year’s “meh” with only 5.1% ownership. Maybe not after his 161 last week. Walsh may be suffering a little from 2nd year blues. His form has been very mercurial from lows of 52 to highs of 140 and 161. Has Crows (easy) and Brisbane (hard) in his final 2 games.

Ollie Wines MID – $571k – Avg 106 BE 85
Despite some off-field media frenzy this year, Ollie is having his best SC season so far eclipsing his Season Avg of 100 from 2014. Not only that he’s cranked out some big numbers, 189, 143, 133, and 128. His team is flying and so is he.

Sam Menegola MID – $552k – Avg 107 BE 73
This guy is another who I wonder “how is he in so few teams?” Massive ceiling as shown last week with 193 against an insipid Dons, but a few 150s scattered throughout his season also. He is the highest Point Per Minute (PPM) in the comp right now.

Tom Hawkins FWD – $623k – Avg 113 BE 99
Tomahawk is the best forward in the game right now, on the back of 6 tons in a row, including a 204 and 173 last week. He’s the second highest forward for the season behind Petracca, and still only in 3.8% of teams. I know it’s not the most sensible idea to play Key forwards in SC, but this might be an exception. Richmond should be close, but Sydney in the last round should be a bloodbath.

Sam Powell-Pepper FWD – $415k – Avg 77 BE 62
SPP is averaging 102 over the last 3 rounds, and looks like a tasty cheaper option for coaches struggling with cash. 2 of his 4 tons this season have come from the last 3 weeks, so he’s definitely peaking at the right time.

Liam Ryan FWD – $380k – Avg 71 BE 21
Definitely a risky choice, Ryan has the ability to go big (for his low price) rocking a few 110s this year, but equally has the chance to crap the bed. With St Kilda and North to come for the Eagles, it’s a risk with a chance of decent reward.

Well, that’s it for another round. See you all in a week’s time.