In Dozen Deals we use BUY, SELL, HOLD, ADD, or DROP. This is based on a 10 team 22 player roster. BUY, SELL, HOLD, and DROP will apply to players that are generally owned, while ADD will cover players you may find on the waiver wire or as a free agent.

Only one week till a flood of DPPs are added to our teams, and like I’ve been saying, it’s time to bolster our midfields if at all possible. There’s a plethora of buy low candidates available, with premiums on every line struggling. While it would be great to get Parish, Oliver, or even Macrae into our teams for their inevitable returns to form later in the year, the reality is that few coaches will be willing to trade them out for mediocre defenders. The best play is probably to lower your eyes, and aim for the players no one will be emotionally invested in. The almost JAGs that are looking like they present some value. Ross, Wines, Brent Daniels, and really anyone else hovering around an 80 average who might have a good run coming up. Small trades can have a big impact on your lineup and are generally much easier to get over the line! If you are still stuck with someone like the Schultz and you upgrade to the 80 averaging Daniels, that’s an 18 point improvement!

Buy: Brent Daniels

Daniels isn’t a player likely to get anyone excited, but he’s been more than handy so far this year. An 80 average and only 1 game below 77 is not a bad return for someone taken super late in most drafts. Throw out a similarly averaging defender or a 2 for 1 deal and see if you can snag him.

Buy: Clayton Oliver

Clarry’s had a shocker over the last few weeks, and with the stank of his off-season dramas hovering, you might be able to persuade someone to part with him. Luckily, there’s a fairly simple explanation for his rubbish scoring, which is a busted hand that should see him back in action quickly. It’s not often an M1 type is up for grabs, so make the most of it. 

Buy: Liam Baker

Baker has been sneakily good this year, deployed as a roaming Mr fixit by his new coach. He’s averaging 88, but his last 4 have been 99.5… as a forward. That ranks him 5th overall for forwards! You’ll have to give up something decent, but worth a shot with so many tigers out. Someone has to score for them!

Hold: Jack Macrae

For players like Macrae, there’s really no point in a trade. He might come good and win you your league. Unfortunately, he’s unlikely to land you anything respectable in a trade. If you really feel like bringing in Matt Roberts or Jarrod Berry, I’m sure someone will do the deal, but otherwise, hold on tight and hope that Bevo gets the can sooner rather than later.

Hold: Tom Green

Never, ever sell low if you can avoid it (unfortunately sometimes, it’s unavoidable). Tom Green had a ripping start to the year, and coaches shouldn’t be deterred be a couple of down weeks. Try not to make knee jerk reactions to short term scoring, and instead focus on long-term trends that develop. Green still has the role and will be fine. Players with a role change are the ones you should move on. Also, don’t get caught up in salary cap hype, once you trade out a gun, it’s almost impossible to get them back in again.

Sell: Mitch Duncan

Another defender you could probably do without, Duncan has had 2 good games and 2 terrible ones. You could wait until he goes above 100 again before selling him, but I’d also be happy to see the back of him now if someone will give you an ok mid in return. I feel like while his calf and hambones are intact, he’s a reasonable sell. He’ll be worthless if he does a soft tissue.

Sell: Callum Wilkie

He came from nowhere to average a highly respectable 87 last season. Unfortunately, he’s getting nowhere near that at the moment, and this scoring is showing no sign of changing any time soon. Trade him now, or drop him to the waivers in a week or two.

Sell: Luke Jackson

The ruck unicorn has been a more than handy forward, but with Darcy returning, he’s probably not going to be the F1 in your team for much longer. I see two real plays here. 1) sell now and get a better forward or a really decent mid for him, or 2) wait until a ruck from another club has a long-term injury and flog him to the unlucky owner. Selling this week seems the less risky option for mine.

Add: Ed Langdon

A superstar of the fantasy world he is not, but Ed Langdon can certainly be a handy scorer on his day. 33% owned seems way too low for someone who could slot in handily as an M7 in most teams. Jump in now while he has the bye if you have bench room and he’s on the free agent list in your comp.

Add: Matthew Kennedy

The Kennedy story is a tail as old as time. He is consistently played as a small forward and averages in the 50s or 60s, then finds some midfield/half back opportunity and magically becomes fantasy relevant once again…and it seems to happen every season. He’s well worth an add, but be warned, as soon as players return and he’s shifted to the forward line or the bench, he’ll turn back into a fantasy pumpkin.

Drop: George Wardlaw

A Harsh call, and possibly too early but unfortunately, the Warlord hasn’t hit this year, with only one game over 70 points. He may well be a star of the future, but for 2024, it seems the Roos stacked midfield has better fantasy options. Plus Sheezel’s grabbing so much of the ball there’s very little for anyone else. Unless you’re in a deep league, it’s probably time to move on.

Drop: Elijah Hollands

He scored a ton in his first game for the blues and was picked up everywhere. Unfortunately, he’s since showed that was most likely an anomaly. Back to the waivers, you can probably do better streaming against soft matchups.