The second AFL round was staged over just one week, which was right in itself. Split rounds play havoc with fantasy team management and the use of ''loopholes'' is disgraceful.*

Some teams found their fantasy stride. Essendon had an impressive 11 players score over 90 points, led by Brent Stanton (121 points) and Jobe Watson (120 points). It was a pity they couldn’t ride their momentum to victory.

Melbourne had six players over 110 points (Nathan Jones 129 points, Daniel Cross 125 points, James Frawley 124 points, Dean Terlich 113 points, Bernie Vince and Dom Tyson (111 points). They never had much momentum, but the numbers are encouraging.

Meanwhile, all things are coming together for Port Adelaide. Kane Cornes keeps on trucking (136 points), Brad Ebert was unstoppable early (127 points), Richmond must rue letting Jay Schulz go (107 points) and Chad Wingard looks a back-to-back club champion (102 points, four goals).

Wrong

There were other teams, however, which were strangled. Many could only hoist one player up to 100 and they weren’t always a player you would expect. Sydney had Lewis Jetta on 104 points, Western Bulldogs had Adam Cooney on 116 points, Hawthorn had Shaun Burgoyne on 123 points and Richmond had Matt Thomas on 107 points.

Gold Coast couldn’t even manage that. Not one player reached the 90 mark, thanks to Fremantle’s dominance and the treacherous weather. Gary Ablett on only 80 points? That’s wrong.

Ridiculous

There were two fadeouts on the weekend, which are just as ridiculously bad for fantasy games as they are for the real deal. Notable players went missing and scored under 10 points in their final quarter: Trent Cotchin (79 points), Brett Deledio (72 points), Matt Suckling (67 points), Grant Birchall (47 points), David Swallow (89 points), Jaeger O'Meara (77 points), Brad Ebert (127 points) and Dean Cox (51 points).

Regrettable

Age will regrettably weary him some day, but until then we’re going to keep marvelling at Nick Riewoldt. He had a complete game against Greater Western Sydney, scoring 148 points – 17 kicks, 7 handballs, 14 marks, 3 tackles and 5 goals. Some have written his fantasy obituary early (this writer included) but Riewoldt seems determined to go out fighting. Here’s hoping he can keep up the stratospheric scoring.

*This coach activated his right to use a player loophole strategy this round. It didn’t help.

Article supplied by Footy Prophet (www.footyprophet.com) – football analysis and opinion with a fantasy focus. Be a part of the game.