Well, as promised in last week’s article, this week I am going to focus my energy on a couple of players who are probably not on too many coaches radars. I believe that at this time of year you need to be a bit creative to give you the edge over other players – for example, the guy I played this week had 17 players the same as mine, meaning that we really had only five players going head to head! It was ridiculous, and when Bartel and Rockliff dropped in dud games for me, my finals assault took a slip. So what if we had a few more differences between each team? What if I had replaced Gibbs, whom we both had (and who has been underperforming lately) with a player such as Rischitelli, Vince or Rawlings? Each player is a plausible inclusion on their recent form and each would have given me enough points gain to win me the match! Whilst this isn’t necessarily going to be the case in every circumstance, look at common players like Higgins, Bartel, Waters, Malceski and Podsiadly – all of whom are in a current form dip – and look at your options around their price range. Giving myself as another example, five of the remaining six teams in my league have Gibbs, five have Bartel and six have Waters. So what good are these players really doing for me? Essentially Waters is wasted space as he will simply cancel himself out every time I play any one of my opponents. Whereas if I had Newman, Broughton or Symes, I would not compete against an opponent with the same player. Whilst I could be totally screwed if Waters came out with a score of 120 vs 60 from any of the others, I believe it is a risk worthy of being taken, considering the form of any of the three listed above compared to that of Waters. Once again in this article I have taken the brief approach, choosing quantity over quality, and will list a number of players worth considering for your finals X-factor. Whilst I wouldn’t recommend doing this if you only have one trade left, or if you have the week off after winning round one (a trade in week two could still be on the cards if you have no injuries), it could be a great last grab for any teams clutching at their final chance of finals glory. Good Luck!

Greg Broughton – $353,200:

Broughton is best known as the DT rising star of 2009 with his highly impressive scoring in the back half of the year whilst playing a rebounding role in Fremantle’s developing team. This year he started the season OK, averaging 92 points until round 8 when he injured himself. He was then out of action until round 16 when he returned with 71 points -  he followed this up with an ordinary 60 points in round 17. As it turns out though, both these games simply saw him rebuilding his fitness base. The two games since (rounds 18 and 19) have seen Broughton played through the middle, with positions in Freo’s backline already taken up. In round 18 he was best afield versus West Coast (and racked up a handy 120 points), and this week he made his way to 99 points as the second highest scoring Docker. He is in only 8,227 teams and Freo have a reasonable run home with two games at Subiaco versus Sydney and Carlton and an away game to Hawthorn in round 21. If he can stay in the midfield (and there is no reason he shouldn’t), I believe he could continue to average his 100 points for the remaining rounds.

Chris Newman – $359,600:

Whilst Newman may play for a side sitting towards the bottom of the ladder, it is certainly worth considering him. He started the year slowly playing a more dour role, but since the Tigers season hit it’s strides with a win over Port Adelaide in round 10 he has been very consistent. He now plays a rebounding role from defense, much in the mould of Brian Lake or Sam Fisher in that he still takes a strong opposition forward, but also works hard to break free, creating plenty of rebound from defense, as well as cutting off opposition marks. In the past 10 games he has averaged 93 points and has only dropped below 75 points on three occasions. He has also scored himself four tons in that period. In just 8,513 teams, Newman could provide a great defensive option in the run home.

Andrew Swallow – $428,200:

Swallow has had a consistent year this year after a breakout season in 2010, however he has really hit his straps over the past month. After averaging a respectable 91.5 points until round 15, Swallow has gone BANG over the last four matches, averaging a huge 121 points, which includes 160 points in round 17. Swallow is a tough in-and-under player and will regularly win his own ball. He is also a tackle fiend, averaging over eight per game this year - his huge round 17 game consisted of 15 tackles! He is also rarely the focus of taggers, with captain Brent Harvey the much more popular target. The Roos have a very important week ahead of them with their hope of finals on the line, so watch for Swallow to give his all at the contests, winning plenty of his own contested ball and tackling hard.

Scott Thompson – $422,000:

Thompson’s Crows have had a season to forget, but at least he has been relatively consistent for his 6,172 owners, especially over the last month. With the Crows pushing for finals, Thompson has really lifted with his team since beating Essendon in round 14. In that game he scored 146 points and since then he has averaged 116 points. Although the Crows are no chance of making the finals, expect them still to work hard at shaping the top eight – they may be out of the eight, but do still have respect for themselves. With games against Brisbane, Collingwood and St.Kilda remaining, the Crows will really set themselves tasks over the next few weeks – especially against the Saints as it will be played at AAMI stadium. Also, the Crows deficiencies are not coming from their midfield, but from their forward line, so at least Thompson should be capable of winning plenty of ball. Also, Vince now seems to be the first tagging choice for opponents, meaning Thompson will at least get some games where he can be off the leash.

Michael Rischitelli – $403,500:

Rischitelli has had an ultra consistent season and it is a surprise that he is not in more than just 17,051 teams. Across the 19 round season he has picked up 100 or more on eight occasions (including the past three) and has dropped below 85 points only once. Since being moments from being traded to Carlton in the off-season, Rischitelli has really had a breakout season, easily becoming the Lions best midfielder for the year. He is averaging nearly 98 DT points for the year and 105 across the last nine. Whilst he hasn’t been a prolific scorer (only one score over 120), he has been one of the most consistent week-to-week performers of the year. It’d be nice if he could step up another 10 points on his average, but I wouldn’t be counting on it. He could be the perfect pick for someone scared of an ultra inconsistent midfielder in their lineup.

Chris Knights – $356,100:

I mentioned above that you may have to take a risk for a big reward, and Knights certainly is that big risk. He has played only four games this year, the fourth one against the Doggies on the weekend, the first time he has played since round five. Early in the season he was hardly setting the world on fire, but when a player has only played four games for the year his history can count for something. Knights was a revelation for Adelaide last year, going from a ball-winning midfielder to a goal-kicking forward flanker, capable of drifting through the midfield. He is a player easily capable of averaging around 90-95 points and then pulling out a 140-point blinder. Unfortunately though, we have seen very little exposed form from him, causing him to be a bit of a risk. Albeit, he did look decent on the weekend, gaining 91 points for his 17 disposal, 7 mark and 6 tackle game. He should get better as he builds fitness, but perhaps not in time for the Grand Final. If you are not looking to trade this week I’d keep an eye on him, but there may be some less risky picks with just as much upside. He is in only 2,563 teams though!

Adam Schneider – $373,900:

I did an article on Schneider in the pre-season, praising his ability to find space and kick stacks of goals and run through the middle, etc etc… But the sub-text on that article (for those who remember) was that it seems to only happen in the latter half of the year – and that is exactly what we are seeing from Schneids at the moment. Whilst he has had quite a good season, his recent form is what stands out the most for DT purposes. His role is much more of like a midfielder than a forward at the moment – he will start forward, but drifts through the middle for five minute bursts to lose his opponent, then has a very good knack of finding space up forward and then kicking goals. The weekend’s game was the best example as he continually presented in the forward line and was the Saints target in the forward line the same number of times as Riewoldt. But at the same time, he racked up 30 disposals and five tackles in his 154 point game. He has averaged 102 over the past eight games and is in good form with some presumably easy games coming up over the next fortnight against North, Richmond and Adelaide. He is in only 12,028 teams.

Others to consider:

Brad Symes – $340,400:

Came back from injury in round 12 and has averaged 91 points since, including 100 over the last three. Looks in very good nick and is part of an extremely functional and well-drilled backline. Unfortunately, it is the Crows forward line that is stuffed.

Dale Thomas – $376,100:

Has dropped off a little lately but re-found form on the weekend against the Cats with 115 points. He is in 38,180 teams, but still there are plenty of DT coaches not to have caught onto his great 2010 form. As I have said above, look at your opponents’ teams and go from there. Thomas is a great pick if only one or none of your opponents have him.

Colin Sylvia – $430,500:

It only took him all bloody year, but he finally got there, averaging 115 points over the last five games. He has mistreated his owners terribly this year, but it is great to see him bounce back into some form with a role in the Melbourne engine room.

Shane Tuck – $396,600:

He is a guy that has worked bloody hard to stay in this team and he is not about to let anyone take his spot from him. Despite a couple of off games in the last month (a 64 and a 76), he has averaged nearly 100 points for the full season - in fact, despite these two down games, he has scored below 85 twice. He is never going to get tagged and has some big games to round out the season, which he typically loves. Also, he is in just 1,982 teams!