Welcome to another Best Buys.  Not long now before trades are made from necessity rather than design.   In fact we are probably in that area for a lot of teams.

Anyway, for some this week will be the time after the cold light of day, to decide who to trade Shaw to.   I was constrained by cash in the end fortuitously because Lower came in and did the business.   Though Nick has shown some amazing form at times this year, hes not someone he can be completely relied upon, so its back to the Shaw out drawing board for my team this week.   Its not easy to find the right player, and with finances being stretched in the Legion, Im running out of fuel at precisely the wrong time.   Where Newman might have been a discount option, a big week has removed his name.   Johncock went and got injured, Suckling and Birchall are tantalisingly out of reach, and Scotland still retains that annoying bye.

The other thing to consider is a good run for your team doesnt necessarily mean a good score for defenders.   Those thinking Hurn might reconsider when they see the Eagles good draw.  That might mean good for Kennedy and not for Hurn.   Id love someone to run some stats on the scoring of defenders in winning teams to see if my thought holds water.   The ticker tends to buck my gutfeel thought, and I dont want to be one to argue with the ticker, but is this a time for a minority report?

Making the right move is paramount, but its nearly impossible.   Makes you think just relying on Stanley and Lower is a legitimate tactic.

The other area of interest I think is how you handle Smith in R2.   A fair few have him there, and while hes been serviceable, you can see the signs of a long year taking its toll.   Id certainly plan on keeping him for this week at least, because he should be able to get some points against Jolly (who is a good tap-to-ad vs opponent ruck, but not a great "get hitouts" ruck).

Most of us have a decent forward line, and it appears Petrie into R2 is the option of choice.   I tend to agree.   It seems this year you can never have enough premium forwards.

OK the Best Buys, Downgrades and All-Australians are to come after the break.   Join me and the discussion there!

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Best Buys

DEF: Fisher is a great option for those who dont have him.   For those who can only straight swap out of Shaw....its looking grim.   Maybe a forward-defense MPP link incorporating Grundy/Murphy and Talia/McKernan.   Hurn the only real other prospect this week.   Birchall has a high BE and is borderline for a quick swap to Shaw next week depending on his score.  If average, then a swap is on, if above average....   Id be predicting above average as Melbourne v Hawthorn looks to be a battle of the rebound teams.

MID: Bartel is the player of choice here.  If you want a run at someone who has had their 2nd bye, then Thompson and Embley head the list on pure value terms.   But Id still say, most of us wouldnt be looking to make trades in this area.   Bartel now is too expensive for the luxury M7 trade that some pulled off last week.

RUC: Rucks still probably over-score in rankings this year when they are hot, but when they are not, they tank quite badly.   Sandilands in the 450s could be worth keeping an eye on if he regains his mojo.     My view is that this week isnt really good for trading into rucks.   Maybe it will be when Petrie has the bye in R21 though...

FWD: SJ and Boomer look ripe for the plucking as does Hi Lo Sylvia.   Sylvia has had his bye and the Melbourne draw outside the next two does look inviting.   We might still see the Lo against Hawks and Cats.   SJ and Boomer have SuperCoach finals byes to contend with.   From those without a bye to come... Fyfe and Cloke are great for those with no budget.   On a budget, hmm it looks average.  Hi Lo for mine.

Downgrade options:

Crows at the ready!  No byes and possibly Talia and Callinan both playing this week.   Both on the bubble and have shown an ability to score.   Keefe is the best of the rucks with a likely ticket to keep playing seniors for Collingwood for four more weeks as Dawes recovers.  He wont score much though!   I liked the look of Twomey from Carlton (dont like saying these two in combination; doesnt seem right given the Magpie heritage) and worth another look this week.   Thompson from GC might also be worth a second look if he keeps his spot.

All Australians (Season)

D: Fisher, Scotland, Goddard, Deledio, Newman, Shaw, Gibbs (Suckling, Broughton, Enright)
M: Pendlebury, Ablett, Murphy, Swan, Dal Santo, Judd (Pridds, Thomas, Griffen)
R: Cox, Goldstein (Sandilands, McEvoy)
F: Pavlich, Franklin, Fyfe, OKeefe, Johnson, Harvey, Roughead (Chapman, Goodes, Cloke)

All Australians (3 round)

D: Broughton, Goddard, Gibbs, Newman, Bock, Lower, S Martin (Scotland, Gibson, Suckling)
M: Pendlebury, Dal Santo, Hodge, Thomas, Judd, Rockliff (Griffen, Mitchell, Montagna)
R: Goldstein, McEvoy (Cox, Leuenberger)
F: Fyfe, Pavlich, Gray, Monfries, Ballantyne, Goodes, Davis (Petterd, Cloke, Chapman)

Until next week happy trading!