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Miller's Guide: Head to head is back

Good sportsmanship is an underrated asset.

Forget Adam Goodes' dance moves, Brad Scott's back and Nic Naitanui's drought-breaking mark.

The real talking point of the weekend should rightly be the return of the classic one-on-one duel that helps bring fans through the turnstiles in droves.

The epic battle of the competition's best player in Nat Fyfe and Adelaide's X-factor in Patrick Dangerfield on Saturday night was one for the ages.

Yes, there were other worthy sub plots.

Aaron Sandilands did what Aaron Sandilands does best in racking up an obscene number of hit-outs.

He broke a 33-year-old record set by Gary Dempsey in achieving 69 taps in the win at Adelaide Oval – the most in AFL/VFL history.

The Fremantle giant also now boasts the most career hit-outs of any player in amassing 6677 across his 225 AFL matches.

There were also other minor plot threads such as Zac Clarke's one possession for the match or Eddie Betts' two ridiculous goals.

But at the end of the day, the storyline that kept us coming back for more was Fyfe versus Dangerfield.

The match-up felt like a return to traditional footy – a heavyweight meeting of old between two of the competition's best.

If it was a boxing bout, impartial judges would have had a tough time ruling on a winner on points.

For the record, there was nothing in the statistics between both men.

Fyfe edged Dangerfield in total disposals (40 to 38), clearances (14-9) and inside-50s (10-6). Elsewhere, the Crows midfielder showed he has grunt to go with class in boasting more contested possessions (29-26) and tackles (8-6).

Both players finished with a goal to their name.

The coaches from both teams awarded Fyfe with maximum votes, but I was left leaning towards Dangerfield.

The Adelaide midfielder lifted his game to a level I wasn't convinced he was capable of and came close to inspiring the hosts to a genuine upset. I would argue his effectiveness was better with ball in hand. Again for the record, Fyfe finished with six clangers to Dangerfield's four.

There is an argument to be made that it is easier to look good in a stronger side, especially with a 211cm giant hitting the ball down your throat at will.

In saying that, I am taking nothing away from Fyfe.

He is now clearly the best player in the competition and only an ill-timed suspension or injury stands between him becoming the first player in Fremantle's history to win a Brownlow Medal.

A move towards a cap of 80 rotations per team per game is a likely option being discussed right now by the AFL for next season.

I'm all but convinced that, if the cap goes ahead, it will mean more of the competition's best players spending more time on the field, even if it means resting forward.

To my mind that increases the likelihood of good players matching up on each other for longer. And if that means more duels like Fyfe v Dangerfield, I'm all for it.

Let's hope more AFL coaches will be brave enough in the future to put their best players head to head.

And the match-ups I'm sure we'd all love to see?

Imagine two of the hardest nuts in the modern game – Luke Hodge and Joel Selwood – going toe to toe for a whole game. Or the class of Scott Pendlebury matched up against the relentless work rate of Gary Ablett.

Consider watching two emerging stars like Marcus Bontempelli and Dylan Shiel trading blows or even Lance Franklin against Luke McPharlin for an entire match, rather than the constant rotation of match-ups favoured in modern footy.

Gladiatorial style one-on-ones are good for the game. For football's sake, let's hope the first edition of Fyfe v Dangerfield is not the last.

Fantasy Fodder
If you took my advice last week and traded in Tom Rockliff ($485,000), I owe you a sincere apology. What looked like a point scoring oasis looming in mouth watering fashion on the horizon has turned into a Fantasy mirage – and not for the first time. Who would have predicted Rockliff would break three ribs? Again!

On the plus side, he still served up 90 Fantasy points and gained $5000 in value, so the world could look worse. If you have some spare change, it's high time to upgrade the Brisbane captain to either Luke Hodge ($605,000), David Armitage ($621,000) or Nat Fyfe ($596,000). All are must have players this season.

There's plenty of value elsewhere. North Melbourne's Trent Dumont ($150,000) was rewarded with his first full AFL game last weekend and served up 87 Fantasy points. Tasty. North's poor form means you can expect him to be given more opportunities. Note it's also high time to ditch Geelong's Mitch Clark ($289,000).

He's been more than handy as a ring in and has gained $133,000 in value, but is now injured. Trade him in for extra cash. Again, if you have spare change hanging around then Richmond's Brett Deledio ($515,000) still looks underpriced. He has averaged 121 points in the past three weeks and appears back to full fitness.

Just be wary that the Tigers have Fremantle this weekend, making Deledio potentially more ripe for the picking next week.

The Heat's On...
Adam Goodes. Whether you think the Sydney champion was right or wrong in celebrating a goal on Friday night with an indigenous war dance in front of a group of Carlton fans, it was always going to do one thing – get people talking.

Goodes has a knack for polarising footy fans. His actions have rightly been labelled a proud celebration of his cultural heritage by fellow indigenous players, but they have also armed his critics with ammunition.
The dual Brownlow medallist can only expect the likelihood of receiving more boos and unwanted attention from opposition supporters in coming weeks as a result.

Top Tweet
Tom Rockliff, @rockwiz38
"Proud of the boys effort.. Stuck at it all day. Good news for me is only one broken rib this time."

"Sorry guys not joking happened about 10 mins into game."

"Take that back, actually re-broke all 3 ribs, thanks for the well wishes guys"

The Brisbane captain gave a rolling commentary on his latest injury on Twitter after the Lions capitulated to St Kilda on Sunday. If only all players were in charge of updating fans about their injuries.