Author: Jon Coombs

SuperCoach Weekend Wrap | Round 14

Round 14. 

Ooft. 

The final bye-round. 

The hardest round of the year (for many). 

The round we’ve all been planning for (well, some of us). 

The round where plans were hip and shouldered when the fixture changed (thanks COVID). 

The round where some Supercoach teams go to die. 

I’m not sure how your team went but for most it was a challenge to even field 18. Although, with nine rounds to go there’s still plenty of points on offer and opportunities galore to move up those rankings and win those leagues.

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On Friday I felt for all the coaches who had moved Mitch Duncan into their sides. I mean, I felt for Mitch as well, but he was a genuine POD option going into the round with less than 6% ownership. It’s a shame to see such an innocent act on the field result in an 8-12 week injury, add to that the drop of $70k in value. I hope you’ve got enough trades.

But Friday was also a test for those thinking of bringing in Patrick Dangerfield. He did enough to show us he still has the goods, and to think what his score may have been had he hit the target more accurately. With a 95 his price has now dropped to $515k and is expected to drop further still. Come the end of Round 15 he must be considered a forward trade-in, hopefully finalising your side for the season. 

Other Geelong options worth considering are Joel Selwood and Tom Stewart. Stewart is in over 35% of teams and is well-regarded by many of us. Joel Selwood on the other-hand is only in 5% of teams and considering his form and the Cates run home might be worth an M8 position. As for the Bulldogs, as unlucky as they were, Bontempelli did the job for them and the rest followed along.

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Port Adelaide trounched Gold Coast and there really isn’t anything good to say about the Suns. Even Liam Pickering struggled to find any form of superlative in his special comments on the game. It was a shame Robbie Gray had to be subbed out in his 250th, but Ollie Wines is still relevant (albeit on the expensive side) to anyone looking for another POD midfielder. Travis Boak is also one to consider, but wait a week or two and he’ll be under $500k. 

Brisbane’s win over North was expected, but it was again interesting to see Jy Simpkin top score and now strung three hundreds together. A possible POD option at $524k perhaps? Jack Ziebell had his early season form return with a 134, and Aaron Hall lined up his seventh ton in a row. 

But all eyes were on Lachie Neale, and didn’t he deliver! 156. This is the kind of scoring we know Neale for and he didn’t even reach his BE. For those on the lookout for a final midfielder then he pretty much sealed his own fate. Of course, it’s likely there will be plenty of people jumping on the Neale train in the next week or two but you can understand why with scores like this.

GWS’s win over Carlton was also expected. While Carlton came within striking distance during that final third quarter it was just a horrible performance. Lachie Whitfield (126) showed why he’s a powerhouse and threat to any team that doesn’t have him in their side. If you haven’t got him already then now is the time. Nick Haynes (96) again did well and is rewarding those who have jumped on him early post-bye. And Toby Greene (125) too was another value add prior to the round starting and rewarded those coaches who went with him. At the final whistle there were eight tons for GWS and nothing particularly helpful from the Blues.

In the final match of the round Bombers had a solid win over the Hawks. Huge congratulations to those 1% of coaches who had Jake Stringer and his 180, although he isn’t long-term relevant from here on in. And those other familiar names this year for the Dons all posted some good consistent scores; Nick Hind, Darcy Parish, Dyson Heppell, and Jordan Ridley. For the Hawks, Tom Mitchell had a solid 114 and perhaps those wanting to risk it all could be inclined to look favourably upon Jaeger O’Meara’s top score of 124. What is more relevant is perhaps Jarman Impey’s 109, who has now brought his BE down to a more acceptable level and doesn’t have to be traded out so quickly this week. And Jai Newcombe, while at the bottom of the list for points scored this week will most likely keep his spot and enable some cash generation in the next week or two. 

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For those of you who have managed to walk well through this bye period, well done. For those of you who have suffered through some low scores and league losses then it’s time to move that chin up and carry on the fight for another nine rounds. 

Have a great week. 

SuperCoach Weekend Wrap | Round 13

What a fascinating round of football we had this weekend. Some winners, some losers, and some just straddling the fence unsure about it all. Of course, the big winner was Neale Daniher and his team raising much needed funds for motor-neurone disease. What a great cause and such an inspiration to see. Puts the weekly ups and downs of being a fantasy sports coach in perspective, don’t you think? 

On the field, however, there were some great games of football with plenty of close and competitive matches. There’s certainly a bit to reflect on so let’s just do that.

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The Winners

Geelong. Hawthorn. Fremantle. Adelaide. West Coast. Collingwood. All winners who grab the four points, but what about us supercoaches? 

Ollie Wines has had a great run the last few weeks now and again he showed his value. He is owned by only 4% of coaches so makes a terrific POD option. You may have missed his 144 this week but he has a good ceiling and a pretty smooth run home. If he’s fit and firing then he’s worth the $570k. 

Jai Newcombe showed why Hawthorn picked him up in the mid-season draft. A 75 on debut was helpful for many, plus the added bonus of being a tasty $103k to bring in an elite premium. It looks like his role will help Tom Mitchell gain the points his owners so desperately want as well so there’s plenty to like about Newcombe.

Sean Darcy is probably not the R2 you’re looking at right now unless Brodie Grundy is out for longer than expected. But he put another great game together with a 140. Those 3000 coaches who have him will be very appreciative of his efforts. 

Josh Kelly, well, hello there. Finally his owners saw him reach the potential we know he has with a 147. His game was top-shelf and with the run that he’s got for the rest of the season he continues to be an appealing option to bring in at $577k. It should also be noted that Nick Haynes had his first game for a while and was back with a 118. For those looking for some risk and reward he’s still only $335k with plenty of potential. A sure winner this week. 

Other winners this week were Scott Pendlebury, who bought back form from his 2013-2016 years with the top score of the round (167). Dougal Howard (160) had one out of the box despite what went on there with the Saints, and Aaron Hall (141) continued his great run of form. And we can’t end the winners section without mentioning Riley Thrillthorpe and the points collected with his winning goal in the final moments of the game. 

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The Losers

Port Adelaide. Sydney. Gold Coast. St Kilda. Richmond. Melbourne. There were a couple of upsets this weekend so some surprising losers, particularly Sydney, St Kilda (given the 360-0 head start Adelaide gave them), and Melbourne. And for us coaches it also meant a couple for our teams too. 

Ned Reeves hasn’t played a game yet and he has 22% ownership. He was the easy downgrade choice from Matt Flynn or other R3, particularly after he’d been named on Thursday night. But, alas! He was a late out and we didn’t get to see him. To make matters worse, Jonathan Ceglar had a good game and could keep him out. This will be causing some of us issues this coming weekend. 

Isaac Heeney and Jordan Impey underperformed this week. It seems the time has come to t move on Heeney inparticular, and for those who have the space or trades to move on Impey it might be worth the upgrade. Thankfully Heeney can wait a week given his bye round this weekend, but one to ponder in the coming days. 

For those who jumped on Jordan De Goey a few weeks back would’ve been pleased to see him playing sollid midfield minutes. However, given that he may be rubbed out it could also be time for him to go as well. 

Mitch Duncan has now had two games of lower than expected performances. Another mid-70 doesn’t really cut it and is now an interesting one for the 12% of coaches who have him. The same could be said for Steele Sidebottom. He put in his second-lowest score for the season and raises the question of whether coaches should add him to their forward line in coming weeks.

The In-Betweeners

North Melbourne and GWS. Yep, a draw sort of says it all doesn’t it. No definitive winner, no definitive loser, but sitting in that place in-between. 

Lachie Whitfield was much talked about coming off his bye, and he performed OK without knocking the socks off anyone. Those coaches who bought him in will need to continue to trust him as works his way back to the form we like to see. He still offers great reward at $504k but it could go either way. 

James Jordon would’ve been an easy offload this week, and in reality he can still be, but his 99 this past weekend means there is still money to be made on him. It raises the question of whether to hold or not. When he’s scoring better than Petracca the mind does wander into unchartered territory, should I hold him? Could he be a keeper at M8? Is there an elite premium I can reach this week or next because of him?

The same goes for those who have Tommy Highmore in their team. Wowee, what a ride coaches with him have had. And yep, I’m one of them. The win this week was his amazing 111, which tends to happen when players are in the position they’re build for. But, he could now be a helpful D7. You see, I’m second-guessing myself now again. What to do.

With this being the final round of byes it may well be an ugly round of scores, which I know many coaches are trying to come to terms with. Alternatively, it could be an opportunity to jump spots and win those league games. Whatever the case may be for you, I hope you ride the ups and downs in style (and with perspective).

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Toward the middle to end of the week the cherry on top of what has been a horrendous season for those of us in Melbourne was an amazing storm that went through the suburbs. A number of people have been impacted, many still without power, including a few of the Coaches Panel team. But perhaps for those of us who have been following the ups and downs of Tommy Highmore the cherry on top of our bye-round strategy was to see him playing in his right position and knocking up a ton. Wowee. I know a number of coaches traded him out to bring in Lachie Whitfield, but it ends up he comes in a scores even better than a few of our defensive lines. The irony. 

But the weekend of Supercoach joy began as Geelong and Port Adelaide got started. Dangerfield was back, albeit not performing at his best yet. Perhaps a good get in a few weeks once his BE has dropped a bit. Ollie Wines was terrific again, and is someone I’m certainly looking to bring in for the remainder of the season. Travis Boak too tonned up and continues his good season. We’re well aware of what he can do and has a good run home as well. Jeremy Cameron, Gary Rohan, Robbie Gray, and Dan Houston are also possible options for us. 

In the surprise of the weekend Hawthorn got up over Sydney, who just didn’t look like they could be bothered trying. Tom Mitchell showed up though and got a score of 135 for his coaches. He has had a rollercoaster of a season but is in the mix for our midfield options. He’s probably not a POD option though with 20% of coaches owning him already. 

We also can’t go past Jai Newcombne this week. Straight into the side and in a great role for him. A 75 for a debut game is an excellent score, so he’ll be a shoe-in for many coaches to help upgrade our midfields. 

Reeves, who many had drafted in was a late out. Oh boy. 

Those who didn’t have great games in this one were Isaac Heeney and Jarman impey. In forward lines already diminished it raises the question of whether we stick with one or either of them. They now have decent BE’s and have been on the lower end of scores in the last few weeks. This week provides an option to make use of the chas generation and jump elsewhere, like a Dangerfield. 

Sean Darcy is having a ripper and again had one against Gold Coast this week. He’s now the fourth best ruck in the competition. Perhaps not too relevant now but if Grundy continues to be out some decisions will need to be made. Luke Ryan too continues his great form as is another to consider for locking up your defensive line. 

Touk Miller again helps his coaches and has been an excellent choice for those who jumped on him weeks ago. Hugh Greenwood also toned up alongside David Swallow. 

Perhaps in the game of the round was the comeback by Adelaide over St Kilda. It looked like the Saints had this in the bag but then the final death nail was the goal kicked by in the final few minutes. was looking like a brilliant VC option with over 80 at half time but then didn’t do anything after that. I’ve already mentioned Highmore, but Brad Crouch has also put together some great numbers since round 7 too. 

For Adelaide Rory Laird has been excellent. Thilthorpe gets those coaches those wining goal points. And it’s worth watching Rory Sloane in coming weeks too. 

Supercoach Weekend Wrap | Round 12

I know that I can’t take no more
It ain’t no lie
I want to see you out that door
Baby bye bye bye”

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If you’ve never heard those words before then perhaps you missed the great era of boy bands circa late-90s and early 2000s. Those are the lyrics of one of the great boy bands, N’Sync, penned for such a time as this. Yes, that time of bye rounds during the 2021 season. That time when there is a flexible fixture, so much so that a Round 14 game is moved to the weekend prior while in the middle of the round before. That time when no one really knows what the holding the ball rule means. That time when Supercoaches everywhere are given extra trades overall and more to play with during the bye rounds. What a time to be alive. 

The spanner in the works is the movement of the Richmond v West Coast match, now in round 13. But, for many this may become an opportunity to improve their side quicker than previously thought. Now that we are one bye round through we begin to say ‘bye, bye, bye’ to various rookies who’ve reached their cash generation point, and perhaps some mid-pricers not doing much either. And perhaps we’ll say ‘Hello, hello’ (thanks to The Cat Empire) to a few premiums we didn’t think we’d have so early. 

A big in for many this week will be Lachie Whitfield, or perhaps another premium player you wish to finish off your defensive line. It’s certainly a great chance to part ways with Thomas Highmore; oh what could’ve been! This past weekend saw Rory Laird (also a midfielder), Luke Ryan, and Jack Crisp top the defenders. Ryan and Crisp are interesting POD’s if one was to consider how they might perform the rest of the season. There are most likely better options and I suspect most of you are only wanting to fill one more position, so I’d be recommending Whitfield if you don’t already have him.

Darcy Parish had an excellent game and went huge in the Bombers loss to the Tigers. He’s certainly one to consider on the run home. Not many are convinced by him, with only 6% ownership, but he has had a good season so far and could keep going post-bye. Marcus Bontempelli kept his Brownlow kind of year going, again topping the Bulldogs scoring with Jackson Macrae. And Brad Crouch finally delivered, from a Supercoach point-of-view, in the Saints loss to the Swans. 

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In our ruck line no one beats Max Gawn. That continues and well done to those who had the VC on him on Friday night. He won VC toss up between him and Clayton Oliver for the week. With Brodie Grundy out injured many pulled the trigger and traded him. This would’ve aid off if you’d gone one of Reilly O’Brien and or Tom Hickey. They were second and third scoring rucks for the week. O’Brien I find is an enticing prospect if you want to go someone other that the Gawn and Grundy combo. He has come out as saying he wants a more consistent second half and we’ve seen in the past that he can perform well. 

In closing out the weekend Tim Membrey, Liam Ryan, and Kyle Langford were the top scorers for the forwards. All of which have under 2% ownership. None are really relevant in terms of long-termer, but Liam Ryan would be the only unique POD there if one was risky enough. 

Having said that, it is a time to start getting risky, particularly if you’re within a shot for the overall. Then again, if you’re contesting the leagues too and need some uniques then perhaps do some research and try and pick who will be consistent over the coming 10 rounds.

But with all that said, it is time for me to say ‘bye, bye, bye’ for the week.

SuperCoach Weekend Wrap Up | Round 11

As a former club president used to say regularly on a Thursday night, “A week is a long time in football”. And boy, this week has felt long. The obvious issue being the nature of the AFL season now that we here in Victoria have gone back into lockdown. At one point in the week it was looking like a bye-round had come early, but then it changed again back to the 22-man squad being counted. The rollercoaster finally settled on Friday morning and for some provided sweet relief for all those who care on what felt like a long weekend. 

And across our lines we saw some great scores and some underperforming stars, while also many having to deal with a pesky VC/C decision. 

The weekend started with one versus two. It was certainly a good one. For those of us who had any or all of Jackson Macrae, Lachie Hunter, Marcus Bontempelli, Clayton Oliver, and Max Gawn were well rewarded. Plenty of good VC options in this game, none more so than Macrae, and those who managed to make this move began the weekend with a solid start.

Collingwood v Geelong – yawn. It certainly wasn’t one of the great contests between these two clubs as we’ve seen in the past. The Pies didn’t kick a goal until the third quarter – the first time they’ve done that since 1905 apparently. Wowee. Chris Mayne’s 539 coaches would’ve been happy with his 142 as he pushed himself into the top five scorers in the midfield for the week. One of the main issues from the game was Brodie Grundy’s neck injury. The club have now confirming he’ll miss multiple weels. After Matt Flynn’s score this week I’m sure we’re a bit nervous. Of course, for anyone who had him as their captain this week (ahem.) then it cost a few points that could’ve been found elsewhere.

Dayne Zorko went huge with 162 in Brisbane’s win over GWS. It added salt to the wounds of anyone with Grundy as captain. Mitch Robinson rewarded the 1% of coaches who have him too. Josh Kelly is back to consistent form after being played in the right place for a few weeks in a row. And Lachie Whitfield now becomes a serious contender to fill that final defensive spot in our teams with that 120. For a guy who has shown his ceiling to be extremely high and with a 2.1% ownership then that POD is staring us in the face.

Jack Steele led the Saints again with one terrible team defeating another terrible team in North Melbourne. Luke Dunstan also made a handy return to elite football with a 131. For the Kangas Aaron Hall topped again but it wasn’t a good performance nor an appealing game. It continues to be a long season for both these sides and not many relevant for us coaches.

When I saw the scoreline of the Hawthorn v Gold Coast game I thought how poor the Hawks must be when losing to the Suns. I can’t say I can trust the Suns yet as a consistent side but their main man Touk Miller continues to put a blinder of a season together. A 153 for the 1% of coaches who have him. Well done.

A number of good scores came from our ruck line this week, the best came from NicNat with a 163 as he continues to do the job for his owners. But it was the Bombers who overcame the Eagles with those relevant lads of Darcy Parish, Dyson Heppell, and Zac Merrett. 

Richmond were also behind for a while against Adelaide but got the job done. Reilly O’Brien topped the Crows scoring with 147 and another solid ruck performance. But there were plenty of tons for the Tigers including Jayden Short, Shai Bolton, and topped by the impressive game from Jack Riewoldt. 

Again, another come from behind victory of sorts with Sydney matching the Blues and then powering on. It was tight at half time before Carlton were run over by the likes of Jake Lloyd, Josh Kennedy and Callum Mills. And all Isaac Heeney owners gave themselves a lick for moving him into their teams in recent weeks, of particular note was his 128, muc higher than his average and expected score for the week. For the Blues Patrick Cripps took the points with 133 and Sam Walsh the next highest with an underperforming 90. 

The final game of this adjusted week saw Port Adelaide roll the Dockers and had eight scores over 95. Interestingly enough, none of them are owned by more than 5% of teams except for Travis Boak. Peter Ladhams has put a good three weeks together in a row, and Ollie Wines is always there or thereabouts. For the Dockers Luke Ryan topped with 100 in what was an underwhelming team performance.

We shall watch closely this week with what happens with the draw. Irrespective there will be some byes this week and so it’s a bit of a week by week proposition given the likelihood of changes. All the best with the first week of bye rounds, and don’t go too crazy on those trades yet! 

SuperCoach Weekend Wrap | Round 10

It’s not often a player scores over 200 so when one does we watch in awe and ride the wave. A big congratulations to those 31.8% of coaches who have him in their team, and even more so if you had him as captain or played the VC loophole. As it happens, the last time we saw a score of 200+ was round 10 last year. It also happened to be Clayton Oliver. And it also happened to be against Adelaide. We all know what to lock in for next year! 

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A great win by the Lions over the Tigers saw Jarryd Lyons, Dayne Zorko, and Hugh McCluggage again take out the top three for their side. Lyons now moves into sixth in the overall scoring rankings and it’ll be interesting to see how the rest of his season goes. Bachar Houli topped for Richmond, and is looking very tasty for 470k. Sure, it’s a risk. He may only average 80-odd from here on out and looks like he’s dropped off a bit compared to other years. But, what we do know is that he’s got a good history and will be fine job security wise. It’s a case of risk and reward. 

Zac Williams and Adam Saad finally rewarded owners with a decent score. And Sam Walsh was looking like he’d rank number one this week if half-time scores were anything to go by. A shame he dropped off so much in the second half, but he did look quite sore toward the end. Carrying a side does take its toll. Nevertheless, Carlton got the win over Hawthorn as Tom Mitchell went big with a 142. 

Joel Selwood played a good captain’s game and there were plenty of tons as Geelong defeated Gold Coast. Mitch Duncan owners will need to deal with at least one week without him, and possibly more depending on the results of his concussion tests over coming days.  

The first one-point victory for the weekend went to Adelaide over Melbourne. What a great performance by the Crows, particularly in the final 15. Paul Seedsman, Rory Laird, and Ben Keays top scored. But despite the one point loss it was Oliver’s 204 that brought the house down in our fantasy community. Just a great performance personally and for all of us who have him. 

The second one-point victory also happened on Saturday night as the Saints (5.3) went down to Aaron Noughton (5.4). I suppose we do need to include his teammates’ scores in there too, which does boost the win a little bit. Marcus Bontempelli, Bailey Dale, and Jackson Macrae, and Tom Liberatore again helped us coaches out considerably. The 6000 coaches who have Adam Treloar will be sweating his scan results this week, which may see him sidelined for multiple rounds. There is nothing to say about the Saints. 

Fremantle pipped Sydney by two points. I can’t say I saw any of this game nor had any interest in it but there were good tons by Nat Fyfe, and the two Freo ruckmen Rory Lobb and Sean Darcy. Jordan Dawson made 932 coaches happy with his 145 and it was good to see Lance Franklin and Callum Mills closely behind. 

Lachie Whitfield made his first ton of the season in GWS’s win over West Coast. And Tom Green continues his great run of form these last few weeks. NicNat is an option for those who still need to upgrade their R2 from Flynn. He is the outright third best ruckman of the competition for us and top scored for the Eagles with 120. 

The final one-point victory for the week saw Port Adelaide grab the win over Collingwood despite losing in all those vital statistics–clearances, marks, contested possessions, and effectiveness. I suppose they win the battle of the bar guernseys this time round. Darcy Moore (142) and Brodie Grundy (138) had great scores and Robbie Gray (118) topped the list for the Power.  

I attended my first game in-person for quite some time, and it wasn’t pretty watching the Dons completely maul my Roo boys. I’m not sure if it was the pressure from the Bombers or just really poor and slow by North. In any case, it enabled Darcy Parish (152), Andrew McGrath (123), and Zac Merrett (117) to bring home some good scores. For North, well, Ben Cunnington had 142 and Aaron Hall did make the ton in the end. 

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But you’ve got to love a weekend with mammoth scores and good results from many of the usual suspects. I hope you had every success this weekend and look forward to the next one. In the meantime, keep planning for those byes, they’re just around the corner.

SuperCoach Weekend Wrap Up | Round 9

How good was Friday night! The start of the round. Another weekend of SuperCoach for us. And to top it off, Tommy Highmore makes it back into the team! A late in for the Saints and a big win for plenty of coaches, a number of whom were no longer having to contemplate a donut in their defence.  

Geelong got the win as expected, with the usual suspects of Cam Guthrie and Mitch Duncan performing well. I’m just annoyed I have neither of them in my team even after having an eye on them for so long.

As the Swans took the points over the Pies Tom Hickey continued to reward coaches. If you’ve had him since the start of the season you’d be a very happy coach. Not only is he making cash but he’s making plenty of precious points in the ruck line. He top scored for the match, which at 118 doesn’t really speak well of the rest of the players on the field. 

In their first win for the season North toppled the Hawks and Jy Simpkin reminded us of his high ceiling. Remember him from last season? A score of 164 rewarded the 1.9% of coaches that own him and was the highest score across all lines. Others, like Goldstein, Cunnington, and Hall all scored well for North too. For the Hawks they had a few tons, but nothing to really change our plans. In the tale of the Tommy’s, Tom Mitchell only just got over his BE for the round and is still a very good price at 532k. 

Brisbane annihilated Gold Coast through the likes of Dayne Zorko, Jarryd Lyons, and Hugh McCluggage. Every one of these players is worth having in your side, particularly with Neale out. Over and over again they score tons and often high ones and that. I think we’ll just move past the Suns this week.

A great comeback from the Tigers saw them get up over GWS. There were plenty of points going around in this game, and particularly pleasing were the scores for Josh Kelly and Matt Flynn owners. Toby Greene is now out for a month though, so more pain for coaches hoping to finalise their forward lines. The Tigers had Baker and Martin top their team scores, but what is also important for cash generation is Collier-Dawkins’ 88. He spent considerable time in the midfield and around the ball. He’ll be earning good cash in coming weeks with the amount of injuries Richmond are dealing with. 

The Doggies, headed by Marcus Bontempelli, Jackson Macrae, and Caleb Daniel, had a good win over Port. Wines and Boak did their things for their coaches, but it is the long injury list that has caused havoc for many. 

Darcy Parish, Nick Hind, and Jordan Ridley all had good games for the Bombers win over Freo. Ridley is about as low as you’ll get him so it might be time to pounce and shore up your defence. Sean Darcy continues to put up good scores for the 2% of teams that have him and Andrew Brayshaw rewarded the 21,000 coaches that have him. 

Melbourne keep rolling on, causing all sorts of confusion for their fans and fans in general. The confusion surrounds them actually winning games, which now looks like they can actually do it with consistency, but also for their members who have to decide when they should duck off up to the winter chalet for that well deserved mini-break. I digress. 

There were some excellent scores from some of the families faces–Clayton Oliver, Tom McDonald, Max Gawn, Christian Salem, and Christian Petracca. Gawn may not have had the score we wanted, particularly as a captain’s choice, but James Jordon will continue making cash for us over the upcoming bye rounds. For Carlton, the two Sam’s–Docherty and Walsh–kept their end up (for Supercoach at least). And after the debacle of a presser by their coach this week it seems they replicated his form on the field. 

The final game of the round saw the Eagles beat the Crows. West Coast have many players worth considering for our teams–Tim Kelly, Nic Nat, and Alex Witherden to suggest a few. They all scored well and showed their value this week. Witherden particularly, at 428k, is a D6 possibility.

All in all another solid round with a few positives and challenges along the way. All the best for the coming weekend. 

SuperCoach Weekend Wrap Up | Round 8

If it feels to you like this past weekend was ‘meh’ then you’re right. It was. There wasn’t much to write home about. I mean, there were a few high scores here and there but nothing out-of-the-box. 

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Friday night started with a great performance by Geelong to well and truly knock off the reigning premiers. Shai Bolton has to have all but locked up the mark of the year, and a good showing score wise makes him an option to consider as permanent for our forward lines. Although now that I wake on Tuesday morning I read that he’s broken his hand after a nightclub incident. Ignore the previous sentence. Jayden Short continues to tempt us with a 98 and now a BE of 69. Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron scored really well for the 3% of coaches that have them. And Mitch Duncan and Cam Guthrie continue their excellent season. 

St Kilda came from behind to defeat Gold Coast. Jack Billings put up good numbers and Jack Steele did as was expected of him. Touk Miller is also putting together a consistent season and is now ranked the 10th best midfielder in the competition.

The Giants pipped the Dons with Tim Taranto and Josh Kelly leading their teams’ scores. Another good week for all those Kelly owners, and is a steal at 511k for all those who don’t have him. Typical of Essendon was Zac Merrett and Darcy Parish’s run of form, doing what we now expect. 

Collingwood met expectations as they knocked off North Melbourne. Ziebell clocked up another ton and is now the number one ranked forward. Aaron Hall looks like an interesting prospect for our forward lines too. He’s been scoring well recently and at only $419k might come into consideration for some. Darcy Moore top scored for Collingwood, playing back where he needs to be. Think of all the points we could have right now had Bucks been playing him in position! And I can’t go past this match without mentioning Jordan De Goey. Last week I threw up the question of whether he was someone to consider for our forward line. By this week’s result it seems he might be. I mean, he did have to kick 6 goals to score 118. Nevertheless, he’s now $296K with a BE of 6. Decisions, decisions. 

Saturday night saw Melbourne defeat Sydney in a great contest. Clayton Oliver, Christian Salem, Gawn, and Harmes all scored well. Callum Mills had another great week in what is becoming a great season for him. His move to the midfield has done wonders for his scoring and he’s now ranked the number one defender. Parker, Lloyd, and Hickey all made solid contributions to our teams as well. 

Port crushed Adelaide in the showdown but there’s about as much to mention here as what should’ve been mentioned about those prison bar guernseys. Yawn. It is worth highlighting Rowe’s score of 81 though, which now looks like he’ll be making more cash for those who kept him. And it was a shame Frederick ended up being the sub, causing plenty of panic from coaches. 

The Eagles over the Hawks provided Tom Mitchell with another opportunity to ask 86% of coaches why he’s not in our teams yet. The run may have begun, and his fixture looks delicious. Impey and Jiath continued in good form, I hope your team still has one of them at least. And for the Eagles Andrew Gaff returned good numbers. 

While the Bulldogs defeated the Blues it is worth pondering Jacob Weitering as another decent defender option among many. He’s been consistent for a good five weeks now. The Bont took the cake for the Doggies this week. It seems it gets shared around each week and it happened to be his turn this time. Libba and Macrae scored well too, but there were plenty of owners ruing the decision to make him captain. Oh what the scores could’ve been! And Caleb Daniel worried owners for the first half, with 17 points up to the main break, but then exploded to reach the ton. 

And finally, Brisbane nudged out Fremantle. Another ‘meh’ game but considerable scores from Jarryd Lyons, Hugh McCluggage (again!), and Daniel Rich. Daniher continues to make money for his owners and score enough points to keep him on the field. 

Last week may have been the time to use our trades to bring in some rookie talent and a premo. This week might be the time for a double-downgrade, if we can afford it, for cash generation. Remember, the byes are heading our way with speed, so if you haven’t thought about that already then it’s planning week as well. Whatever way you go, I hope you have a great week. 

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SuperCoach Weekend Wrap | Round 7

It’s a strange feeling coming to the end of a weekend without having major issues. This weekend was reasonably uneventful considering the last three weeks (or seven weeks for some). Of course, we’ve all got issues, but from a SuperCoach perspective we had no major injuries, no inconsiderate reports, and no significant concussions. To be fair, we didn’t really have any major scores either but that’s something we all have to deal with. 

Given the calm weekend we’ve just had let’s take a look through the positional lines and see who performed well. These next few weeks may bring with it an opportunity to plan well into the byes and help our scoring potential too.

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In defence Steven May, Bachar Houli, and Alex Keath were the top three scorers. May and Houli are particularly relevant for us. With the terrible injury to Tomlinson we don’t exactly know how Melbourne are going to go forward in their structure. However, it may provide May with a more significant role and in turn increase the possibility to score well. He will be a key player in the backline for the rest of the season and had a great game on Sunday. In many respects May is an easy jump. He will shore up our defence and do so at a low cost of 408K. His current ownership of 0.8% will surely rise in coming weeks, as will his value. 

Houli has been a mainstay for many Supercoach defences. He’s a tried and trusted player and showed us that this week. At only 1.1% ownership he’s a significant POD and only 468K. There would be concerns over the possibility of injury and lack of fitness thus far in the season, but if we’re honest we take this risk with others (ahem, Zac Williams) and he’s only going to get more consistent as the weeks go on. 

It looks like it’s time to move on some of our defensive rookies, the likes of Heath Chapman and Changkuoth Jiath, and in doing so grabbing a May or a Houli isn’t much of a stretch. In departing with Jiath you can pick up May or Caleb Daniel and make a profit. Something to think about at least. 

The top midfielder this week, Zak Jones, isn’t particularly Supercoach relevant. Given he is only in 225 teams you can tell our community isn’t overly confident in him. However, Ben Cunnington and Brandon Ellis, who came in as the second and third respectively, may be more so. Ellis in-particular has shown some good consistency since round two. He would also be a great POD with only 848 coaches recruiting him so far.

I’m personally a little bullish on a couple of others that performed well this weekend, Hugh Greenwood and Tim Kelly. Greenwood has a great ceiling, but does seem up and down like my cryptocurrency investments. Kelly hasn’t had a great season so far, but we do know what he’s capable of. He busted out a 131 this week and is someone worth watching come the bye rounds. 

As for our rucks, it’s always going to be Gawn and Grundy. Except when it isn’t. And that happened to be this week. It’s an unfamiliar sight to see such a low score for Gawn, but Grundy again performed well by bringing in a 144. I ended up shoring up my ruck strategy through the sale of Dunkley during the week and was happy with the decision. I know a number of others who did the same. My only error, not having him as VC. 

I don’t really want to spend much time looking at the forward line. 

Why? 

It’s just horrible. 

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The highest score was a 123 from Jack Darling. Shai Bolton is in the mix, I suppose. He’s now strung a good few games together and is useful as a DPP option. Other than that, of the 15 forwards who tonned up this weekend (minus Daniher and Ziebell) all have very low ownership. There is very little to write home about. 

To finish up this week I want to throw a conversation starter out to you re: our forward line. 

Would you consider Jordan De Goey? 

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Yes, you read that right. 

Look, I know, he hasn’t had the season we were all promised. He’s in terrible form in a team that is in terrible form. I know all the reasons why we shouldn’t even consider the question. 

But! 

He’s under 300K already and he’ll be about 250K in two weeks time. There aren’t many forward options, there’s cash to be made, and surely his season can only get better. Did I mention his low-price? Something to consider? Maybe? 

On that note I shall leave and let you carry on with your day. All the best for next weekend! 

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SuperCoach Weekend Wrap | Round 6

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!

Supercoach Weekend Wrap | Round 5

As Monty Python’s “The Life Brian” reminds us, we’ve always got to look on the bright side of life. For despite another round of carnage for many coaches there were plenty of positives to take away from this weekend’s games. Let’s at least name some of these before moving to the more critical issues many have to deal with. 

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Nine tons from the Eagles meant there were plenty of coaches happy with some of their selections. Liam Duggan top scored and Alex Witherden had a great debut. There’s a couple of possible options in an already packed defensive line. 

The Bulldogs do what the Bulldogs do and have such great midfield depth that plenty get on the scoreboard. Josh Dunkley, Jackson Macrae, and Marcus Bontempelli were all exceptional for our teams. Even when Bont goes forward he still manages to grab the points we want him to, it’s just a beautiful thing right now. 

Surely we all want Lance Franklin to reach 1000 goals in his career. If that’s the case then we may see more scores like that on Saturday. It was a tough loss in the end for the Swans, mind you, all us Matt Flynn owners are possibly in for a tough few weeks still as Shane Mumford and his 669 owners continue to celebrate. He was the highest scorer and only ton for GWS.

Port Adelaide did a number on Carlton and also had plenty of 100’s. Sam Walsh the only consolation for Blues fans with a terrific 144.

Lachie Neale did what all his owners have wanted him to do all season. He showed what he’s capable of and the high ceiling he has. His fellow midfielder, Hugh McCluggage was also impressive and is perhaps one to keep an eye on. Zach Merrett the only positive for the Dons. 

There were some good scores in the Crows–Dockers game. David Mundy keeps going, Liam Ryan another good option for us in the backline, Nat Fyfe and Andrew Brayshaw all in the mix as well. 

Reilly O’Brien looks like a genuine upgrade target for those, like me, having to deal with a disastrous ruck situation. Locking him in alongside Max Gawn, who absolutely dominated and is now the number one scorer not only in his position but overall, would be a consistent combo. 

Geelong didn’t have to do too much to beat North, but Tom Stewart and Sam Menegola certainly provided a helpful lift for some coaches. Jack Ziebell continues on with his excellent scoring and is currently the third best forward in the game. 

See, there are plenty of positives to talk about. But, yes, you’re right. There are issues galore as well. One way to look at this past weekend is to see it through the tale of the Jordan’s.

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Friday night didn’t go well for any Pies supporters or Jordan De Goey coaches. Having to deal with a score of 4 just makes it a tough round, having him drop by $57.6k is salt into the wounds, and then the fact that he’ll miss next week as well. I don’t know what that is, death by a 100 papercuts? Coaches will have to decide though, is it an easy sell or a gutsy hold? 

The other Jordan is old mate Jordan Ridley. Off with concussion saw his score stand at 31 and he’ll also miss the ANZAC Day clash. What made this one worse for many coaches was the decision to offload Caleb Daniel to upgrade to him. That is the definition of carnage. 

And the final Jordan worth mentioning here is Jordan Clark. These rolling team selections are causing issues every weekend and this week over 50% of teams were impacted by his omission from the Cats squad.

There’s more we could speak of here too; Mumford taking Flynn’s spot in the ruck, breakevens creeping higher and higher for a number of our rookies, and the few downgrade options coming through. 

Whatever weekend you had, I hope you make decisions you’re happy with in the coming days. After all, we’ve got to look on the bright side don’t we?