Injuries, injuries, injuries. What more needs to be said. It was the round for it.  In 13 years of playing this game I’m not sure I’ve seen a start quite like this. To have so many premiums out at one time, so early on in the season, it certainly feels unique this year. But in the words of the all wise and knowledgeable Conor McGregor, “An injury is not just a process of recovery, it’s a process of discovery.”

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This early on in the week it feels more like recovery; particularly for those coaches dealing with multiple outs. I feel for coaches I know who need to manage Josh Dunkley, Lachie Neale, and Dustin Martin all at the same time. Just like I feel for the poor bloke I know that traded Neale in about 10 minutes before the bounce. Ooft. Needless to say, it’s these three injuries that will be taking up the majority of the Supercoach conversion this week. 

To continue on with McGregor’s wisdom, it’s fair to say that we are now in a week of discovery. The opportunities we have before us for some unique points of difference in our teams makes this a fun week. If you’re still in the recovery stage, this might not sound so fun but you’ll get there. 

In my mind, we’ve got three places of opportunity. Or as I like to call it, POO.

First, is the opportunity to bring fresh blood into our forward line.

I will grant you, there aren’t many standouts here. 

One of the most popular trades will be Steele Sidebottom. He’s been increasingly finding form and numbers, and importantly he’s now priced under $500k. Toby Greene is another solid option, and is certainly being praised for his on-field maturity in the media these past few weeks. He’s the 4th best forward right now, priced at the $500k mark, and has 10% ownership. Tom McDonald and Shai Bolton have averaged decent numbers the past few weeks. I’m not personally looking at them, but you do you. 

Second, is the opportunity to repair/improve/change our ruck strategy.

Those who are still dealing with the Matt Flynn ruck strategy could use this time to move to a set-and-forget policy. We have no idea what Leon Cameron’s ruck policy is and whether Shane Mumford will come back sooner rather than later. This week can now be a time where we define our own ruck policy more clearly. 

If you’re not going to go to Gawn or Grundy then perhaps NicNat, Reilly O’Brien, or even Sean Darcy would do the job well. It might be a more conservative route, but then it could pay-off in the long run and give other options elsewhere. Again, you do you. 

Third, is the opportunity to bring some PODs, particularly in the midfield. 

As it stands I only have two of the top 10 midfielders right now. Yes, it concerns me. But I suspect there may be some players on this list that you don’t have either. Think Cam Guthrie, David Mundy, and Jarryd Lyons; all under 6% ownership. Other options outside of the top 10 include Touk Miller (0.6%), Jaeger O’Meara (1.5%), and Luke Parker (1.8%), who have averaged 105+ over the past few weeks. I mean, there’s more to add here too: Adam Trealoar (3.1%), Ollie Wines (1.6%), and Hugh McCluggage (2.2%), who are all scoring well and all able to be snatched up at a decent price. 

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Whatever your injury concerns may be this week I hope you can see this as a time of discovery, Conor McGregor would want you too. And I mean, you’ve got to do those recovery required rage trades too of course. Anyway, you do you. 

Till next week!