With four wins in a row, the Swans travel to Melbourne to take on Essendon on Friday night. This will be the Swans’ last match before the bye.  

What did you take out of our round eight match, Fantasy wise?

Lotts: It was a super impressive performance all round last Friday night. Four games in a row, for four wins, and we’ve seen guns like Jarrad McVeigh (DEF/MID $500,667), Dan Hannebery (MID $506,115), Josh Kennedy (MID $543,127) and Kieren Jack (MID $501,889) pull out some consistently high scores. Fingers crossed that trend can continue for the rest of the season!      

Sub-elite Legends: You’re definitely not wrong Lotts, but I have to say I was excited to see the forwards all working together for the first time and am expecting better things to come. Lance Franklin (FWD $391,410) and Kurt Tippett (FWD $401,898) knocked up 106 and 86 respectively and will only get better with match fitness and more time together. Special mention also to my main man Luke Parker (FWD/MID $501,583). He notched up another handy 121 Fantasy points and has more total points than any other forward in the competition.

Who’s your Swans player of the week?

Lotts: It’s got to be Josh Kennedy this week. The midfield gun just gets it done week after week and he loves playing his former club, Hawthorn. Last week was no different as he racked up 139 Fantasy points, his fifth 100+ score in a row. If you don’t have him in your side, jump on now as he’s averaging a career high 107 Fantasy points this season.

Sub-elite Legends: Dan Hannebery (MID $506,115) was probably best on ground with 143 points and 40 touches but I was most impressed with Kurt Tippett (FWD $401,898) in his first game back. Even on such a limited base he snagged four goals and dominated in one-on-one contests. As a stay-at-home forward with the potential of getting into the ruck, he is very important for the team but could also be a speculative buy for some big Fantasy scores in the near future.

Which Swans player would you choose as your captain for the next game?

Lotts: Fresh off a 2.7 goal match for 106 Fantasy points, Lance Franklin could have recorded a monster score had he of kicked straight. Next up he faces a side he loves playing – and loves to kick big scores against. The last time he played the Bombers he kicked eight goals on his way to 122 Fantasy points. So I’d give him the nod as captain this week, especially with the bye rounds impacting scoring.

Sub-elite Legends: Josh Kennedy is the highest scoring Swans player and has been in great form averaging just shy of 120 points a game in the past three weeks. He is an ultra-consistent Fantasy scorer so I am going to lock him in as a safe bet this weekend.

Next up is the Bombers at Etihad Stadium, who are the players to look out for from Essendon?

Lotts: The Bombers have won their last two matches off the back of some scintillating form from their guns. Jobe Watson (MID $512,071) top scored with a massive 149 Fantasy points last week while Dyson Heppell (MID $542,771) continued his outstanding season with 127 points. In his second game back from injury, Brendon Goddard (MID $479,589) returned to his best pulling out 126 points, so there’s plenty of guns in there and players to watch out for during the match.

Sub-elite Legends: The Essendon engine room can certainly pump out some big scores as you mentioned but equally the half-back line gets plenty of footy. Cale Hooker (DEF $469,611) and Michael Hibberd (DEF $479,946) have both been averaging near-100 points a game and score quickly with plenty of +6’s from their switch kicking. They can both be devastating by foot if they get into open space, so they will definitely require some attention this weekend

Any changes this week for your team?

Lotts: Let’s just say the bye threw me out last week, I had an absolute stinker. But I’m going to make amends this week and bring in some guns. On top of my list is Tom Rockliff (MID $600,098) who has been on fire ever since I traded him out of my side when he was suspended for a game. So you’re back in Tommy. I’ve also got to add some class to my forward line so I’m going to bring in his teammate Dayne Zorko (FWD/MID $450,417) who has been pretty consistent this year averaging 91 Fantasy points a game.

Sub-elite Legends: I’m reasonably okay for numbers during this bye round so I’m very close to picking up fallen premium Ryan Griffen (MID $415,186) in preparation for next week. I also like the look of Port Adelaide midfielder Kane Mitchell (MID $275,178) who has an extremely sub-affected price from last year. He played his first game of the year last weekend for a very respectable 113 points. If he avoids the vest he should be a handy cash cow.