TIME to confront the elephant in the SuperCoach lounge room.

As much as we like to have fun with it, the fantasy game isn't always beer and skittles.



This year we have to think about peptides and anti-obesity creams.



Until this point, we've ignored the headlines and blindly recommended and happily picked Jobe Watson, Dyson Heppell and Michael Hibberd and celebrated the huge hauls of points they've dragged in for us.



WATCH: Pimp My Side in the player above



But I could tell by the angle of Gill McLachlan's furrowed brow this week that "Moonee Ponds, we have a problem''.



Firstly, let me say, I love Jobe Watson. Hard to find a better bloke.



The tough inside midfielder has been a Hercules on the field, tears and all against the West Coast Eagles in enemy territory last weekend.



But the skipper's shock confession last week that he believed he had been injected with AOD-9604 has taken concerns surrounding the club's supplement scandal to new levels.



We'll call it code red and black and the alarms are most certainly ringing down the halls of the Herald Sun office.



Consequently, it's officially time to put a halt on trading in Essendon players. Consider them suspended.



I'm no mad scientist, but the reality is that if the drugs investigators have enough evidence to charge the Bombers before the league heavyweights' August deadline, potentially triggering automatic bans for Watson and Co throughout the SuperCoach finals, and Essendon fans won't be the only ones protesting down at Docklands.



I'll be bloody joining them.























































I have big Jobe and Heppell in my team and the nerves are starting to jangle.



It's lucky Big Joey is a newbie and B.J. Goddard was not part of any funny business last year, otherwise we'd be really stuffed.



Where you sit on the club's supplement scandal might just depend on how many red and black sashes you have in your team.



They're popular boys, the Bombers, and they're pumping out huge points.



Jobe has 98,591 owners. He is the 17th most-picked guy in the comp.



Heppell 89,734. He is 19th. Hibberd has 29,456.



Nick Kommer and Paddy Ryder are also up there.



If you have none, you might be cheering for ASADA, beg my pardon.



But there is an asterisk in the SuperCoach game now.



It means "bring in a Bomber at your own risk''.



CAPTAIN’S CORNER

Ryan Griffen ($670,500 mid)

Griffen ticks all the boxes to score big against the Giants on Saturday. The speedster is in career best form (averaging 146 the past six weeks) and will benefit from Bulldogs skipper Matthew Boyd (cheekbone) sidelined.

Gary Ablett ($687,900 mid)

It’s impossible to leave out the master. Ablett boasts an impressive QClash record with scores of 134 and 150 in third and fourth instalments of the rivalry. The skipper had a tough time last year (112) but has the runs on the board to bounce back.

Patrick Dangerfield ($605,900 mid)

Has the tide turned for Danger? Dangerfield has posted scores of 150 and 142 after struggling to find consistency at the start of the year. West Coast poses no fears either for the explosive midfielder who piled on 138 against the Eagles at the same venue last year.

JUMP OFF

Matthew Boyd ($542,300 mid)

Thanks for the memories Matty. An inspiration servant for a very long time, injury has cruelled Boyd in 2013. The clearance specialist’s latest injury, a fractured cheekbone, is set to keep him out for a month. It follows calf strains which plagued the midfielder earlier in the year.

Tom Rockliff ($439,700 mid/fwd)

While his best is very good, it’s too few and far between. Rocky has averaged 75 over the past five weeks including a high of 90. The one-time SuperCoach stud is set for a hefty ($23,000) price drop this week too. It might be time to pull the trigger and use the cash to bolster your midfield/forward stocks.



- with Gilbert Gardiner