With the byes fast approaching SC is becoming more difficult by the week, with a whole range of factors needing to be considered before every trade. While it generally isn't a great idea to bring in a player this week who won't be playing next, coaches have a wide range of individual strategies for dealing with the byes so these players are still included in the Best Buys for this round.

So it seems that the Best Buy curse has returned, with Rocky performing well for those that brought him in but re-breaking his ribs and is now listed on the AFL website as being 4-6 weeks away from playing again. Sorry about that. While he will be sorely missed by those like me that grabbed him last week, a fair few coaches will be in the position of having to bench him to maintain trades and hoping he returns sooner rather then later.

Due to the byes there is a bit of a shortage of Best Buy contenders this round, with players like Hodge taking a week off next round, so we've had to make do. This brings us to the Best Buy for this round, Heath Shaw. Inconsistent and sometimes stupid, Shaw has had a good run this season and is yet to be suspended, as well as having the round 13 bye. Realistically he probably wont be scoring big every week, but always has the potential to do so and at the moment is more consistent then a lot of the other defenders going around. As the Best Buy this week he will likely spud it up on the weekend, but here's hoping he can fight the curse and come out firing against a struggling Lions side.

Also included this week is a list of the bye rounds for reference.

Round 11: ADE, RIC, WBD, BL, CAR, HAW

Round 12: GCS, StK, SYD, COL, ESS, FRE

Round 13: NM, GWS, PTA, WCE, GEE, MEL

<div>





DEFENSE
MID-PRICERS





Josh Gibson (HAW) DEF 481.6k 97 14%

Gibson has been good this year, although a bit up and down. He scored a nice 119 in the last game to bring his average for the season to 97, which while not great is definitely worth a spot in the backline so far. Costing around 480 grand he is priced where he should be, and should continue to perform well with the occasional low score thrown in.



Rory Laird (ADE) DEF 448.1k 91 3.5%
Laird is an interesting one, with a big score of 131 last game he brings his average to 91 for the season but his seemingly regular concussions have taken their toll on it. When he plays and doesn't get injured he gets a fair bit of the ball and uses it pretty well, he just needs to work on getting some more consistency into his game.



PREMIUMS





Luke Hodge (HAW) D/M 541k 110 17.1%

Hodge is back and pumped out a 130 on the weekend, bringing his average to date up to 110. He's the top-scoring defender this season when he's played, 4 points-per-game clear of the recently under-performing McDonald, but has a price tag to match at 541 grand. A gun player in a gun side, Hodge is looking like an excellent pick down back.



Heath Shaw (GWS) DEF 528.4k 103 26.9%

Heater continued his recent run of good form on the weekend with a 144, bringing his average back to 103 for the season. Priced at just under 530 grand he is slightly expensive for the numbers, but offers decent value when he performs. As the Best Buy this week he may struggle on Sunday arvo, but playing the Lions he should be a decent chance for another big game.



Liam Picken (WBD) DEF 513.5k 96 3.6%
Picken is still a fairly big POD with a selection rate of 3.6%, but many are still hesitant about his role in the Doggies side. After his 110 on Saturday he is averaging 96 for the season and costs 513 grand, but with the byes rapidly approaching many prospective coaches will be holding off for now.



MIDFIELD
ROOKIES





Liam Dawson (BRI) MID 117.3k 29 +7k
Dawson is on the bubble this week with an average of 29, but unfortunately like the only other rookie on the bubble to have played last week he has the bye in round 11. Costing under 120 grand and set to rise in price by only about 7 grand he probably won't get many picks this week.



MID-PRICERS





Leigh Montagna (StK) MID 526.4k 114 0.9%

Montagna has continued to perform after his missed games, averaging 114 so far for a price of 526 grand. With less than 1% of teams picking him to date and a price rise of around 20 grand coming he has great value as a POD, but like most others here at this stage his selections will heavily depend on bye structures.



Brad Ebert (PTA) MID 509.9k 107 5%

Ebert bounced back with a nice 134 against the Dee's, bringing his average to 107 and his price to 510 grand giving him some good value. Currently sitting in 5% of teams and facing an 18 grand price rise he is a player well worth considering, and doesn't have the bye until round 13.



Brandon Ellis (RIC) MID 529.9k 106 1.2%

Ellis, like many of the Tigers, has been playing well in the last few weeks. A 128 on the weekend saw his average go to 106 so far, and with a price of 530 grand he is around the mark for value. Sitting in only 1.2% of sides he is a big POD, and if the Tigers can get on a similar role to last year then a fair few coaches will probably grab him over the byes.



Oliver Wines (PTA) MID 514.5k 106 2.7%
Wines seems to have lost nothing over his injury layoff, posting up 123 points on the weekend to take his average to 106. A classy player and good value at under 515 grand he has really stepped up again this season and many coaches can see him finishing the year in the leading group of midfielders even though his selection rate is still under 3%.



PREMIUMS





Steele Sidebottom (COL) MID 612.6k 124 0.9%

Sidey also suffered an injury layoff, but bounced back well to keep his average at 124 from the 3 games he's played. Costing over 610 grand he needs to keep his average up over 120 to be good value, but with under 1% of sides picking him his POD status should help a bit too. Set to lose a small amount from his price this week, but only around 3 grand, yet again the byes will be the big decider for most.



David Armitage (StK) MID 593.2k 118 3.1%

Armo keeps performing, to the surprise of quite a few fantasy coaches, racking up 134 on Sunday in a winning effort against the Lions. Now averaging 118 for the year and priced at just under 600 grand his price is about where it should be and his 3.1% of owners will be happy with his efforts to date.



Patrick Dangerfield (ADE) MID 587.3k 116 21.7%

Danger had a huge match playing head to head against Fyfe, knocking up 188 points to bring his average up to 116 for the season. With Sloane still out Danger is showing what he can do in the midfield, but unfortunately he'll probably be relegated to the forward line once again when he returns. At around 590 grand he is a bit overpriced, but if he can keep getting game-time on ball could be good value.



Dayne Beams (BRI) MID 596.1k 112 14.1%
Beams has started to show why he was a popular pick pre-season, averaging 129 from the last 3 games to take his season average up to 112. With 14% of sides already picking him it will be interesting to see how many others grab him in rounds 12 and 13, but with the bye next week he probably won't have many picks this week.



REGULARS





Nathan Fyfe (FRE) MID 677.1k 134 62.7%

RUCK
PREMIUMS





Stefan Martin (BRI) RUC 572.7k 110 3.6%

Big Stef Martin has been putting his expanded frame to good use, scoring another 132 on the weekend and taking his average up to 110 for the year. So far he has been the best performing ruckman in the league, narrowly edging out Goldy for the honour. Priced at 572 grand and sitting in only 3.6% of teams he has good POD value and will again likely be popular after his bye.



Ivan Maric (RIC) RUC 578.2k 106 9.5%
Maric has also been dominating in recent weeks, averaging 125 over the last 3 games. It seems that the big man is a real barometer for the Tigers, as generally when he scores well they seem to win. Costing just under 580 grand for an average of 106 isn't great, but with his improved form and the Tigers getting a run-on recently he could still be solid value.



FORWARD
ROOKIES





Liam McBean (RIC) FWD 123.9k 31 +8k
McBean is the second of our rookies this week, but like Dawson has the bye next round. Priced at 124 grand with an average of 31 he will likely increase in price by around 8 grand after his next game, and will likely be in the selection frame whenever Richmond want to run a 3 talls setup.

MID-PRICERS





Tom Mitchell (SYD) M/F 493.2k 108 27.8%

Titch had another sub-100 game on Friday, but it was a game where many of the favourites had poor scores. Now averaging 108 in the games he's played and costing under 495 grand he is still good value, but really needs to get back to 120+ scores he showed previously for his 28% of owners.



Lance Franklin (SYD) FWD 468.6k 94 25.1%
Buddy fired against the Blues on Friday night, pumping out 149 points to bring his average to 94. A sometimes slow-starter he appears to be heading in the right direction with his scoring, and can hopefully start to string together some 100+ games. Sitting in &amp;frac14; of the sides in the competition he is already popular, and his price of under 470 grand is great value for what he can contribute.

PREMIUMS





Luke Dahlhaus (WBD) FWD 533.1k 108 5.2%

Dahl has been in great form this season, averaging 108 for the year and 118 over the last 3 games. He has been one of the Doggies more consistent players so far, and with only 5% of sides including him so far his 533 grand price tag offers good value.



Brett Deledio (RIC) M/F 573k 107 6%

Lids has shown why a fair few coaches went with him at the start of the season in the last couple of games, scoring an impressive 134 in his last outing to take his average to 107. Priced on the high side at 573 grand he needs to stay injury free to be a decent pick, but if he keeps performing his selection rate of 6% will surely increase dramatically.



Josh J Kennedy (WCE) FWD 504.4k 106 4.3%
JJK has been up and down a bit so far, like most power forwards, but his up of 148 against Geelong shows that he still offers good value. Priced at just over 500 grand with an average of 106 and a selection rate of under 5% he will be a trade target for a few sides, but the majority of teams seem to be relatively settled in the forward line by now. A price rise of 25 grand is on the way, and with the Eagles sharing the round 13 bye he may offer some handy cover over rounds 11 and 12.

REGULARS





Robbie Gray (PTA) M/F 627.6k 121 51.3%

Dustin Martin (RIC) M/F 547.3k 105 42.7%

Dane Swan (COL) M/F 509.9k 104 57.3%

WAITING LIST





Scott Pendlebury (COL) MID 574.3k 114 -6k

Lachie Neale (FRE) MID 571.7k 112 -10k

Todd Goldstein (NM) RUC 511k 109 -9k

Josh P Kennedy (SYD) MID 560.5k 108 -22k

Tom McDonald (MEL) DEF 518.5k 106 -23k

Jobe Watson (ESS) MID 486.3k 98 -22k

Luke Parker (SYD) MID 553.8k 97 -23k

Joel Selwood (GEE) MID 495.3k 95 -14k

As always feel free to join us in the comments section for all the trade talks, and good luck for the upcoming round.