Nothing like a good Best Buys column to warm you up on a freezing Melbourne morning.  But going by some of the comments, weve seen a bit of a view forward of the carnage to come as a long season takes its toll on our teams.  Those that travel well, could be doing so with a thin line between success and failure, and that could be something as temporary as rookie form, or lack of injuries.   Even the best coaches have to manage injuries and players having poor form, and its interesting to see the faith and lack thereof shown to players on these forums.

Advice for the week...this week I would have to say back your team in.  I wouldnt be trading other than upgrades or downgrades or long term injuries.  Form is temporary, class is permanent, and if you have a team of classy but out of form players - people like Adam Goodes for example - you just need to do the BonJovi and Keep the Faith.  He could pump out a 150 on the ball this week, you never know.

Now onto the best buys action for the week:<!--more-->

FRESH MEAT:
Strijk has been the name we have heard so much about - a rookie lister getting a run (possibly due to Selwood injury), and did OK on the weekend.  A DEF option for a downgrade if you have a reliable 8th.
We are hearing that Tapscott that Melbourne injured player of lore, is possibly getting a VFL run so maybe an option for a FWD downgrade to come, and a fairly cheap one at that.
At 127k, Henderson is DEF-FWD MPP and has strung a few games together, showing decent scores around 60.  Could present a good option for those thinking of a swing man, with Adelaide likely to keep playing kids like him and Davis (and Jaensch, Gunston, etc)
Outside of that Roberton got another run for his cheersquad, but with Broughton only a few weeks away could be a short term fillup.

CATCH THE TRAIN:
Perenial yoyos Giansiracusa and Tippett are on their way up after a good dose of form.
Nick Malsexi looks to finally tip over the 500k mark, but you can guarantee he will spud it up with a 60 in the next few so like other backmen, might be a risk to get.
Gilbee 475 and Franklin low 500s do seem undervalued, and both have reasonable chances to dig in when their teams meet this Friday night
Sandilands at 591 is probably as low as he will get for Kreuzer owners, its time to upgrade if you dont have Lurch.

ON THE NOSE:
Hille has done an injury again.
Higgins will leak $ and possibly points on return from injury, and from here on is either a keeper or trade now.
Cameron Mooney if anyone was silly enough to get on him, get off.  Same with Baker.
Steve Johnson will be out for a while, so hed be one to avoid.
Brendan Fevola might miss again this week.  His value is now less than that of Peterson which says something about what a wretched year he has had.  But another thought is at 274 possibly going under 240 how much lower can he go?   Could yet be an interesting downgrade trade come SuperCoach finals time (WC/Adel/Ess/Syd)
Leon Davis is in a race to the bottom with Fev.  Who will get under 250k first?  I back both players to respond in the near future, but I have a little more faith in Neon.
Hopefully for the punters, St Nick Riewoldt will get a game this week and have a certain drop of value down towards the 540 mark, which is where hed be if he returns at 117 pace for 3 weeks.  117 is some score, and if hes even slightly managed on return, he could be under 500.  Another prime pickup for SuperCoach finals, but on the nose just at the minute.

OK Time for the Best Buys:
DEF: H Shaw, Gilbee, Malceski, Duffield, Grundy, Grimes all decent and scoring OK in last match.  Grundy and Gilbee have MPP which could help cover a zero or two.
MID: Judd, Montagna, Watson seem good value to me at the high end.  Griffen and McGlynn are medium priced M6 options for those seeking someone a little left of centre.
FWD: Pavlich and Franklin at the top, Grundy and OKeefe as the cheap options.  Keep watch on Chapman and Nick Riewoldt to see how they are managed into September.  Im thinking more games for NRiewoldt, and less for Chapman from here on in.  Id think 9 to go, Roo will play 8 and Chappy 6 or 7.  Read into that what you will.
RUC: Obviously those with Kreuzer need a trade option (though I for one would wait to see if Warnock gets his spot - check the team list tonight).  Sandilands as good as it gets, but for anyone else (if you already have him or cant afford him) the next best options for mine are: Ryder and the Tiger Cub Graham, with Tippett, Jolly and Clark having a late and darn annoying return to form.   For the first time for a while Id steer clear from Cox given the Eagles form is atrocious.  If they pick up in form (or if Nic Nat gets rested), then Cox at 450 in future rounds represents a very nice get.

OK, in terms of how many trades you have now, Id think 7 is a good number with 9 games to go, you could manage with 5 or 6, and any less is handing finals success to your rivals Id think as the attrition rate goes up.

Until next week, happy trading.