Today's open, page-16

Staying with this thread although its more about the close. I have looked at the thor ann and on the surface at least are unrelated.
I am asking for help to understand todays trading. A 90k dump at 18 and then all those averages followed by an orchestrated auction for heaps at 17. Not a bad days work if its possible its the same crew.
I need to understand if its possible to control that close as a similar thing happened last week and potentially could happen again if the build side grows around the 18 level again. Any thoughts?