Tag: Jordan De Goey

#40 Most Relevant | Jordan De Goey

When Jordan De Goey finally cracked the midfield role, he showcased that he could be a regular 100+ performing player. But with some significant questions marks surrounding him, the range of outcomes is one of the largest in 2022.

PLAYER PROFILE

Name: Jordan DeGoey
Age: 25
Club: Collingwood Magpies
Position: MID/FWD

2021 Highest Score: 
125 Vs West Coast (AFLFantasy)
138 Vs West Coast (SuperCoach)

Career Highest Score: 
125 Vs West Coast | AFLFantasy (2021)
151 Vs Geelong | SuperCoach (2020)

2021 Average: 
84.3 (AFLFantasy)
85.2 (SuperCoach)

SuperCoach Price: $463,500
AFLFantasy Price: $707,000
AFLDreamTeam Price: $718,800

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WHY IS HE RELEVANT?

One of the hyped players of the 2021 preseason was Magpie Jordan De Goey. Why? Because the now-former coach Nathan Buckley was vocal about increasing his role in the midfield from a part-time to permanent. However, when push came to shove, it didn’t eventuate for the first portion of the year. It took longer than fantasy coaches had hoped, but by the time Jordan was released into an exclusive midfield role, we finally saw the fruit of why many had jumped on to start the year.

It was a tale of two seasons in one for the De Goey express. Over the whole season, the stats line masks both the horrible first nine games, while it could discredit how just how dominant his scoring was to end the year. In AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, he averaged 94, scored eight tons, three over 120 and an additional four over 90. He’s currently ranked ninth among forwards available in 2021.

While in SuperCoach, he finished the season with an average of 85, scoring eight tons, two of them were over 120, and he had a further four scores above 80. He’s currently ranked sixteenth by average among all forwards.

In the first nine games, he averaged 57 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam & 61.5 in SuperCoach.these numbers do include an injury impacted single digit score is here he was subbed out early the pies round 5 clash. There was just 1 ton & 0 games with 20+ disposals in those nine games. However, from round in the final 11 games in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, he averaged 106, including seven tons, three of them over 120 DT – avg 106, 7 tons, three over 120 and just one score below 90. Similarly, SuperCoach averaged 104, posting seven tons, two over 120 and had over 20 possessions in ten of the last eleven matches.

In the preseason, a regular activity, I encourage all coaches to map out who they think will be the top 15-20 players by ranks in each line. Mitch Duncan, Tim Taranto & Josh Dunkley are likely top-five scoring forwards across the formats. But the agreement amongst the ‘experts’ of the best forwards diversifies drastically in the top 10 beyond them. For example, if given the exclusive midfield role again like this year, Jordan De Goey is destined to average over 100 in that role and be potentially priced 20 points per game of value unders, making him near impossible value to pass.

Jordan has shown fantasy pedigree as a forward before. In 2018-2019 he averaged in the low to high 80’s across the formats. That’s when he played a 60/40 MID/FWD split. But a split role isn’t what brought the 2021 back half ceiling. If he does have a split comparable to that, then I won’t want anything to do with JD5.

There’s plenty of ‘if’s’ surrounding Jordan, but should they all land on the elements land in his favour, then every fantasy coach will want him in their teams.

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MY TAKE

The possibilities surrounding Jordan De Goey and what might happen this coming season are some of the broadest outcomes of anyone. There’s a world where he might not even be on an AFL list, right through to him being one of the best forward eligible guys in the game.

Ultimately any fantasy prospects could be voided depending on the outcome of the upcoming court case. Depending on the verdict, he faces some serious legal consequences and being dropped from an AFL list might be the least of his concerns. The New York Criminal Court will decide his fate on January 18. From that point on, we’ll know if he’s even a consideration in 2022 or not.

We see it almost every year; when a new coach takes over, we see game styles and structures of teams undergo massive overhauls. Just look at the game style changes of Adelaide & North Melbourne in the past two seasons under new coaches. Under Craig McRae, what style of footy will they play, and how much will they invest the midfield roles into the next generation of Pies?

The preseason news coming from the club is Brayden Maynard is being moved up the ground to provide some toughness and speed through the midfield. Do the mature hands of Taylor Adams, Jack Crisp, Steele Sidebottom, and Scott Pendlebury take most minutes? Or does McRae fully embrace the rebuild and give heavy opport7nities to the kids? Over the past few offseasons, the magpies have drafted heavily with midfield talent. Finlay Macrae, Reef McInnes, Nick Daicos, Caleb Poulter, Trent Bianco, Arlo Draper and Cooper Marley deserve time. But how much will it be? And how much will his addition impact De Goey?

It won’t shock me if McRae decides to build a midfield unit around him. But, equally, he’s so damaging forward that they look to use the likes of Jamie Elliot, Oliver Henry & Will Kelly as the building blocks around him inside forward 50.

Regardless of the outcome of the court case, you cannot start him. Why? He’s not been in the AFL environment all preseason! He’s lost trust currency with his teammates and the new coaching unit. Even if he is allowed back, he will be starting at the back of the pack for footy ‘touch’ & arguably fighting to get further midfield opportunities again.

I’m convinced that he will start slow if he gets back into the AFL system. The pies have spent months planning and training without him for the preseason. So if anything, I suspect a slow build to start the year with MID/FWD splits to begin the year. And then midseason, if that midfield role does eventuate, he is absolutely someone to consider as an upgrade target.

DRAFT DECISION

Jordan De Goey is a tough one to rank. On potential, if the role aligns, he could be a top 5 Fwd. However, he could also float in the ’80s and be ranked from 10th-20th as per previous seasons. Additionally challenging is the uncertainty about if he plays footy at all. Thankfully we’ll know the verdict In a week of the court case and the Magpies suspension.

I won’t want to spend an early rounds draft rank on him if he’s allowed to play. Due to the lack of AFL environment around him, I think he will start slow and build into his scoring. But that probably means in many drafts I’ll miss out on him. As most all it takes is one coach to be bullish on his upside early, and he’s gone. I stated earlier. There’s a world where he’s a top-five ranked forward. 

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Keeper League Ranks | Tier Six | Patreon Exclusive

MJ & Kane continue their analysis on who they believe are the top 50 players for a brand new UltimateFooty Keeper league.
In tier six, we look at seven more players and unpack their fantasy potential.

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Adam Cerra

KANEA lot of the glow from Adam Cerra’s time at Fremantle has rightly gone to Andy Brayshaw and Nat Fyfe but Cerra is set to boom. 

After playing much of his AFL career across half-back and half-forward I think we’re finally about to see him released as an inside midfielder. 

In 2021 we saw Cerra’s CBA’s increase and as a result we saw some ceiling in the final rounds of the season. In Round 19 Cerra racked up 129 points thanks to 30 disposals, nine marks and two goals and backed it up the next week with 138 points courtesy of 33 disposals, eight marks and six tackles. 

I know it’s only a couple days but that’s the type of well-rounded scoring that the uber premiums have. With the chatter that Cerra will land at Carlton who are screaming out for midfield support I think we get a 95-100 season from him in 2022 and then consistent 100 seasons after that. 
MJWhen I think of how best to describe Adam Cerra as a player the first word that comes to mind is class. ‘Chez’ has this uncanny ability to make the difficult look easy and find his teammates lace out from seemingly impossible positions. 
The scoring consistency hasn’t yet popped for him, just last year alone he delivered just four scores over 100. But what I like about his scoring is the steady build. Over the past three seasons, he’s averaged 60, 75 (BCV) and now an 87 which includes an injury impacted 15. 
If this current scoring trend both continues and maintains at his new club, he should average 95 for the next 7-8 seasons. Additionally, it wouldn’t surprise me if he ever cracked a few seasons over the 105 marker. 
At Carlton (his rumoured club of choice) he’ll never get tagged. That will always be Sam Walsh or Patrick Cripps if he can ever get back to his former glory. Having Cerra as potentially the #3 midfielder will be an exciting proposition for Blues fans but also for keeper coaches.
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Bailey Smith

KANEThere’s definitely a lot of merit in taking superstar players even if their scoring isn’t quite reflective of their standing in the game, as there’s always a buyer in the league that wants to own them. 

I don’t want the above comment to downplay Smith’s fantasy ability though. In his three seasons he’s already demonstrated that he has elite scoring traits. In 2021 alone he produced scores of 131,127, 125, 118 to go with a 126 in the semi final against Brisbane. That’s incredible scoring for a third year player.

My major concern with Smith as a fantasy prospect is his role. He’s been so damaging as a wingman with his workrate and capacity to hit the scoreboard that I worry he’ll be locked into this role for the bulk of his career. 

It’s extremely difficult to be a wingman that pushes past 105 and with Bontempelli, Liberatore, Macrae, Dunkley and Treloar all having multiple years of elite football ahead of them I don’t see a need to move Smith into a sought after inside midfield role. 

Even if Smith stays out on a wing for the next five years he’s too good of a player to average less than 90 points. I don’t think the fantasy output will match his superstardom but it will be more than good enough for many years to come.
MJI gotta be upfront with you. In keeper leagues, you want players that can score, but you always want to enjoy the player on your list. Thankfully, Bailey Smith ticks both of those boxes for keeper coaches.
Smith is genuinely one of the most watchable players in the AFL right now, and at just 21 years old when the season starts he’ll continue to only get better. 
Since debuting for the club he hasn’t missed a game. And in that debut year, he finished with an average of 69. Many know about my ‘games to first-ton’ metric for keeper values. For Bailey, it took him 14 games before that first ton. However, he had 3 scores over 90 before that. 
In 2020, he delivered a BCV average of 86 which included one pure ton and an additional six over 80. Remember in 2020 ‘80 was the new 100’ due to the shorter game time. 
For the season just gone, he averaged 87, scored six tons which included four over 115. 
The score build is there. He wins the contested ball, also accumulates the uncontested stuff, he tackles, marks and kicks goals. He’s well and truly the total package!
The lack of positional stability is of concern, as that impact both his ceiling and scoring basement. But at just 20 years of age at the time of writing, he has plenty of time to lock down a permanent position. 
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Sean Darcy

KANEIt was the breakout season we’ve all been waiting for from Sean Darcy. The 23-year-old ruckman played 21 games (his previous best was 15 out of 17 in 2020) and demonstrated the scoring power we saw glimpses of in his first season. 

Darcy’s average of 94 points was headlined with scores of 133, 132 and 122 but also brought down with scores of 44 (vs St Kilda, limited by injury and played forward) 59 (vs West Coast & Nic Naitanui) and 64 (vs Collingwood & Grundy). 

There’s clearly two massive challenges for Darcy as he aspires to match the top rucks. Firstly, his body. He needs to string seasons of 20+ games together and missing just three games in the past two seasons is an encouraging sign. Secondly, increase his floor. You can’t have 30-40 dips on your average when you face the best rucks in the competition. 

With a rising list around him and obvious role guarantees, Darcy has all the traits to be a long term ruck option. If you’re picking him in this range I think you have him pegged as a 95-100 player going forward. If you’re higher on him don’t be afraid to make your move earlier, if you lower on him well he’ll be well and truly gone by the time you’re comfortable to take him.
MJEver since Sean Darcy broke onto the football scene back in 2017 it;’s been clear he has the fantasy pedigree. A debut score of 80 was followed up a week later with a 114. The potential has always been there, but the injury issues in his body had previously let him down. Prior to this year, he’d never played more the 15 games in a season.

In 2021 he played 21 games, scored nine tons including three over 120 and an extra eight more scores over 80. And to be honest I thought he was pretty perfect in his year. But can he get better? In theory, yes, but for him to elevate himself to the Brodie Grundy territory of rucks, he’ll need to continue to improve on his endurance and athleticism. 

If he can do that, it’ll provide him with the necessary opportunities to push that average north of 105-110. 
Valuing rucks in any draft is both difficult and divisive. Everyone has differences of opinion. And that’s fine, but from a topline perspective, I’ll say this. Would you be prepared to spend a round 4 round draft pick on a player who’s 23 years old and likely top 3-4 in his line for the next 7+ seasons? For me, the answer is clearly ‘yes,’ which is why he’s in this tier on our list. 
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Matt Rowell

KANEAre you a glass half full or glass half empty kind of coach?

The junior pedigree and first four games of Matt Rowell are historic but injuries and some underwhelming performances since have put a halt to much of the hype. 

For a player like Rowell who has 10+ years ahead of him I think there’s always going to be at least one coach who jumps early so to get him I think you’re going to have to reach inside the top 25 picks. I feel comfortable in the 30s and wouldn’t be expecting 100+ in 2022 but more so high 80s, low 90s. 

No doubt Rowell could be a top 10 prospect as soon as 12 months from now and reward the coach that selects him for a long time. Ideally from now and draft day in Feb/March you’d love to hear that he’s tearing up the track in preseason and is healthy.
MJHow long can we be prepared to hold onto his junior numbers and start of the 2020 season and believe these as normal? 
In 2020 before succumbing to his season ending shoulder injury, he scored 64, 108, 104, & 78 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam resulting in an average of 70.8 or 88.5 adjusted. 
In the NAB League for Oakleigh, Rowell averaged 123 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam. From his seven games, he averaged 32 disposals, 17 contested possessions, eight tackles and four marks per game.
This year, 12 games, an average of  55 and he didn’t score over 80 all year. The past 2 seasons of serious injury hits are a little concerning, but not alarming. At 20, he’s got a mountain of time on his side. 
I still think Rowell has the potential to be a 110+ averaging midfielder, and positively for new keeper leagues, he’s probably slipped a round or two in peoples eyes for when they target to draft him.
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Reilly O’Brien

KANEWhen to pick a ruck is always a challenge in a keeper and largely it depends on the setup of your league. Clearly the deeper the league the more valuable they become, particularly if you have the utility position activated. 

For this list, we’ve gone with 10 teams and one ruck on the field so the value is lesser but there’s always a need for a good one. 

The hard thing with ROB is what is his value? The upside looks to be near the best in the league as he’s demonstrated stretches of 110 scoring, however, in 2020 he had some scores that were shockers from a fantasy perspective and as a result his average fell into the 80s. 

With the reports ROB was carrying injury throughout much of the season I see him averaging near 100 for the next 3-5 years. The Riley Thilthorpe addition is a massive positive for ROB in my opinion as it means the Crows won’t play a second traditional ruck and instead have a talented ruck-forward in Thilthorpe to share the ruck duties with. 
MJWhich is the real Reilly O’Brien? Is it what he delivered in 2021? Or is it closer to his previous efforts when holding the #1 ruck mantle? 
From 20 games last year he averaged 86, scoring 5 tons and just an additional seven scores 80 or higher. Pleasingly for owners looking for ‘upside’, his 6 lowest scores came in the opening 10 rounds. But in the last 10 games of the year, he dropped his scores under 87 just twice. 

In 2020 he averaged 86.7 Avg (108 adjusted average) and scored 6 tons and 5 additional scores 80+.  While in 2019 he averaged 95 from 18 games. 
The club has confirmed that for major portions of the season that he was carrying some injury concerns of his lower back. So for me, there’s enough data for me to have greater confidence to think he’s closer to 2019/2020 scoring than 2021.  
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Zak Butters

KANEZak Butters is on his list largely for the eye test. The way he plays the game and the skill set he has projects as an elite player for mine. 

Now that’s not to say he hasn’t demonstrated some scoring power already. 

In the shortened games of 2020 Butters delivered scores of 114, 97 and 85 and in 2021 he produced scores of 119, 91, 90 and 88 in the full length games. 

This more than enough scoring for a player who has only played three seasons and hasn’t seized a prosperous midfield role. 

The best case for someone like Butters is that he becomes what Robbie Gray was in his prime. From 2014-2016 Gray averaged 96, 97 and 98 points while maintaining forward status and could always be relied upon for a big game.    
MJThe balance of keeper leagues is paying for a player at what they will be, and not just what they have. The risk to do this is you can pay for a layer ‘earlier than others’ as your forecasting potential.
At 21 years old the signs are there that Zak Butters knows how to deliver fantasy points, just looks at some of the signs from 2021.
R5, 119 |  36 touches, 6 tackles and a goalR20, 88 | 22 touches, 6 marks, 1 goalR21, 90 | 19 touches, 2 goalsR22, 91 |  25 touches 
I see another 8+ seasons of 85+ seasonal averages from Butters. There is a ‘small risk’ he moves into a predominate midfield role and loses that forward eligibility. However, the upside is that if he’s around the ball that much to lose FWD status, he’s probably averaging 95+ anyway. So in reality it’s probably not much of a loss. 
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Jordan De Goey

KANEJordan De Goey might be the most complicated player in the 50!

At 25 years of age he should be in the prime of his career and based off his second half of the season his scoring is certainly good enough (106 from Round 11-23).

Where it gets tricky to project De Goey going forward is the new coach – Craig McRae. How does he envisage De Goey in his Collingwood side in 2022 and beyond? What is the split between midfield and forward? 

I can’t see De Goey’s average falling below 80 and that would be with playing the majority of his time forward. Sole midfield his average should be edging towards triple figures as he has all the tools in his fantasy game to do so. 

The ideal mix is clearly just enough forward time to remain forward eligible with the rest in the midfield hunting the ball. If this happens I can see De Goey as a 90-100 player and constant top forward.
MJMr Upside is what I want to call Jordan De Goey. Much has been made about both his notorious start to 2021 scoring and a stunning ending. 
2021 was a tale of two scoring halves from his seasonal average of 84. Between rounds 1-10 he averaged 57 including an injury affected 3. However, from rounds 11-23 he averaged 106 with a high of 125 and a low of just 93. 
I don’t have any concerns about him losing forward status both in the immediate and long term. De Goey is far too imposing a forward 50 option, and no coach would want to lose him from there permanently. 
The greatest unknown for him is what’s the game style of the Magpies under McRae? Will it be high ball retention like last year? Or will they be looking for more impact per possession? I still rate him as a career 80+ FWD from now till retirement.  
2021 Season Defining Moves | Patreon Only

Whether it’s an overall ranking or league focus, achieving success in fantasy footy requires so many elements to work. One of the keys is trading in the right player at the right time. So here’s a look back at the moves that using hindsight was the season defining moves of 2021.

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Aaron Hall

If you’ve played fantasy footy for a few seasons, then you’d know that Aaron Hall has a fantasy pedigree. He spent the better part of two seasons delivering tons.

Some would say the perfect time to get Hall was at round 3, where he busted out a 99 & 123 in AFLFantasy and 81 and 131 in SuperCoach. And whole that might be a valid perspective. However, I think 2 weeks later was better. So there you got him after his concussion, and since round 7, he hasn’t had a misstep.

Since round 7, he’s scored 12 AFLFantasy/DreamTeam tons; 9 of these were over 120 and 5 over 120. In this run, his lowest score has been 88, and he’s averaged 118.9 in this 15 game run. For SuperCoach, over the same stretch of games, he posted 14 tons and 5 over 120. His only score under 100 has been 73, and he’s averaged 121. Safe to say, Hall might have been the most influential early trade in fantasy coaches seasons.

Josh Kelly

Josh Kelly is an absolute gun! You don’t have multiple seasons averaging 110+ across the formats and not have some fantasy footy pedigree behind you. But over the first 6 weeks of the year, the recently signed Giant for life was struggling to score. As a result, Kelly was being used predominantly across the half-forward flank and averaged 85.5 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 90.8 in SuperCoach.

However, in round 7, his midfield role returned. For reference, it coincided when fellow elite user Lachie Whitfield returned to the side. From round 7 to now, he’s scored 11 tons from his 14 games, including 10 consecutive from round 7-17. During this stretch of games, he’s averaging 112.

For AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, he’s had just one game in the past 14 where his scores have dipped beneath 96. An average of 111 is exactly the sort of returns we’ve come to expect from him.

Kelly’s (like all on this list) is a testament to timing and buying low on players. But, history told us, when fit, he scores very well!

Darcy Parish

Injuries create opportunity, and that’s exactly what happened for Darcy after Dylan Shiel went down with a long term injury. In round 5, Shiel went down injured, and at that point, Parish was averaging 88.2 in SuperCoach and 86 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam.

From this point onwards, he’s averaged 114 in AFLFantasy, which included 11 tons, with 4 of them over 140. In SuperCoach during this same 16 game stretch in SuperCoach 110.8 including scores of 190, 166, 162 & 152.

To put it simply, in 2021, when Dylan Shiel plays, he averages 81.7 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, but without him, he averages 117.7. That’s a differential of 36.1. In SuperCoach with Shiel, he averages 86, and without it’s 128.1. A differential of 42.1.

Sean Darcy

Do you remember when Brodie Grundy got injured and was ruled out just before the bye rounds? I do. I ended up writing a piece on my trade suggestions for him. In it, I said that ultimately ‘hindsight’ well tell us what’s the right move. Clearly, trading into Sean Darcy was the correct choice.

Even before this injury, Darcy was showing some scoring potential. In round 11, when the injury happened, Sean was coming off a 4 game average of 104 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 113 in SuperCoach.

However, from round 12, when the trade via Grundy could’ve been made, he’s scored 8 tons from his 10 games in SuperCoach. He hasn’t scored below 90 and has given scores of 190, 183, 156, 150 & 140. Since this point, he’s averaged 135.4.

For AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, the scoring ceiling isn’t as high, but it’s just as valuable a trade. Over the past 10 weeks, he’s scored 5 tons, plus two additional scores over 90 and averaged just on the ton.

Taylor Walker

One of the decisions that defined 2021 was for those who traded into Taylor Walker ahead of round 3 commencing. Whether you traded him in from an underperforming premium (like Jordan DeGoey) or an injury forced to move ‘Tex’ was a huge win for owners. The following four weeks, he did his job with scores of 136, 99, 74 & 76 in DreamTeam/AFLFantasy and 130, 106, 85 & 103 in SuperCoach.

Heading into round seven, his price had increased by $320,000 in AFLFantasy, $197,000 in SuperCoach and $245,000 in DreamTeam from his starting price. Not a bad quick money maker and points on-field performance.

Jack Ziebell

Do you remember the pain entering into round two? Patrick Dangerfield had just been handed a three game suspension, and the debate amongst coaches was about whether to hold or trade. Hindsight would say that trading Danger was clearly the right call, especially after suffering an injury on his return game.

Jack was the form forward of the competition over the first three months of the season. In SuperCoach, he averaged 115 up till the bye rounds, just three scores under 100 and only one score to this point under 89. For AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, over the first 11 games 109, posted some monster scores of 139, 140 & 170 and didn’t drop below a score of 82. So chances are if you started with or traded into Ziebell early, you had strong rankings rise to start the year.

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Jordan De Goey

Trading him out of your team in the front half of the season could’ve been equally as defining as trading him back in. But certainly jumping on after suspension and bye round was a perfect time. By then, he’d already had three solid games against the Crows, Cats and Demons, so it wasn’t a ‘blind jump.’ So even though you could’ve got him at a steal price at the end of round 10, nobody was trading into him then.

Since round 16 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam he’s scored: 124, 117, 120, 93, 125, 94 & 98. While in SuperCoach over this same timeframe he’s gone 114, 124, 114, 80, 138, 85 & 119. In this seven week stretch, he’s been going at an average of 110 across all formats. HUGE!

Brayden Fiorini

If you were a Patreon in 2020, you might recall Kane & I spoke about him in our 50 keeper targets series. In it, we highlight his fantasy potential and that he’s a fringe option at the Suns. However, with injuries to key midfielders like Hugh Greenwood, ‘Fio’ found himself seven weeks ago with a chance to prove himself as someone who belongs at the top level.

And prove himself he has. Over the previous 7 weeks in AFLFantasy, his lowest score is 101. He’s had 4 scores over 110 and is averaging 115. He’s now priced at $803,000. But at round 16, you could’ve picked him up for just $639,000.

The scoring consistency might not have been as high in SuperCoach, but the value has been ever better. At round 16, Brayden was priced at $301,700. Now he’d set you back $523,500. Over the past 7 weeks, he’s scored 5 tons and is averaging 110. If you brought him in as an M8-M9 swingman or a ‘buy low’ and hope option at M7-M8, he’s been an absolute find for you!

Touk Miller

I couldn’t get through this article and not mention him. In reality, getting Touk in anytime this season has been huge. But really, post-bye is his super run. At his bye round, he averaged 117 across the formats, and many would’ve assumed that’s a phenomenal start, but this is as good as he gets.

For his first 10 games of the season in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, he was averaging 117 and posted 7 tons. In his past 10 games, he’s averaged 125 with just one score under 100.

Over in SuperCoach, his first 10 games of the season, he averaged 117.9 and posted 7 tons. In his past 10 games, he’s averaged ? with hasn’t dropped his scores under 100.

Jy Simpkin

‘After his bye’ is a phrase I’ve already used on multiple players (and still more to come.) But Simpkin is a testament to backing in a player’s scoring history even when he’s given you minimal faith in his delivery in that current season.

Over the first 11 games of this season, Jy has only 4 SuperCoach scores over 90 and only one above 110 and was averaging 89.9. While for AFLFantasy, he’d posted 3 tons and averaging 86.2.

Since the bye, he’s posted 7 AFLFantasy/DreamTeam tons and had just one score under 90. In this 10 game stretch, he’s currently averaging 105. In SuperCoach, he’s also posted 7 tons, twice scored 99 and is averaging 106 in his past 10. It’s not as big as others on this list, but still a win for owners.

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Christian Petracca

Christian started the year super strong. Over the first 8 weeks, he rarely had a poor game. An average of 111 in AFLFantasy & 103 in SuperCoach over the first 8 weeks is more than handy. As good as it was, the back portion of the season has been even better.

If you traded him in from round 9 onwards, he would have returned 9 SuperCoach tons, 7 of them over 110 and 2 148 or higher. In addition to the ceiling, he’s still yet to go under 90 since round 9. In these past 12 games, he’s averaged 128. Meanwhile, in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, he’s scored 9 tons, 8 of them over 110 and 3 over 135. An average of 122. Well done if you picked him up then.

Jack Steele

OK, much like Touk Miller above, this feels like a stretch given how good he’s been across the totality of the season. But in truth, the perfect time to get him (if not for the whole season) was really after the bye. Before it, he still had a sold average of 112 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 118 in SuperCoach.

From round 15 onwards in SuperCoach, he’s hit the ton every week, has had four scores over 145 and has gone under 130 twice. During this 8 game stretch, he’s averaging 137. While in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, he’s also had 8 consecutive tons, including 5 scores of 138 or above, including a 162. Since this hot stretch started, he’s got an 8 game average of 133.

Matt Kennedy

For years the Carlton footy club has been looking for additional support to Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh. The club thought Zac Williams was the fix, but it had the best option under their nose in Matt Kennedy. As a forward eligible option, Matt’s become one of the ‘hot hand’ forwards since he played as a midfielder. I mean, what a novelty. Playing midfielders as midfielders!

It would’ve taken a pair to get him in at the start of the bye round, given he hadn’t played for months and had an average that even at a rookie price, most coaches would’ve said no to. But he’s been exceptional over the last 9 weeks since getting back into the side and playing midfield.

Four tons, plus an additional three scores between 93-95 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, has seen him average 96. Over in SuperCoach, he’s gone just as strong. 5 tons, four of them 115+ and an average of 94. Yes, he’s had 1 or 2 stinkers in this stretch, but given the price point, trading into him at any time through this run has been a raging success!

The 5 Top Trade Targets For Dustin Martin

It was a horrible sight last round! The triple Norm Smith Medal Winner writhing in pain on the ground at Metricon stadium. Later, the club confirmed that he would miss the remainder of the season after suffering a kidney injury. Before this injury, Dusty was one of the most popular forwards in fantasy football. This season ending injury means he’s a must trade!

Each side is different and will have different trade priorities; I’ve decided to focus this article on like for like forward line only replacements. So here are my 5 Top Trade Targets For Dustin Martin.

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Shai Bolton

At his best, Dusty is the games most dynamic game breaker. While ‘replacing’ him as a player is impossible, Shai Bolton does possess some similar game breaking dynamics. Bolton, currently not ‘banging the door down with his scoring, but he’s been far from poor.

Between rounds 4 – 13 in AFLFantasy and DreamTeam averaged 98.7, including 4 tons, while in SuperCoach, he averaged 108 and had a scoring range between 96 -121 during this 8 game stretch. If Richmond is any chance of putting themselves deep into finals, I personally believe it’ll come off the back of a dynamic month of footy from Bolton. With no Dusty, he becomes the match-winner for Richmond. In my eyes, he’s the standout replacement if you own Martin.

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Jordan De Goey

JDG5 is one of the form forwards across the competition. In AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, he’s averaging 109 in his last 5 and a monstrous 120 in the past three. In the last few rounds, he’s among the top 10 of total points performers and given Dusty’s quieter scoring patch, moving to the ‘hot hand’ forward could be a nice late season boost for your side.

In SuperCoach, it costs you about $50k to trade into him, and surprisingly his ownership is still at 10%. This is ridiculously low, considering his lowest score in the past four games is 114.

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Matthew Kennedy

You shouldn’t be surprised to see Matt Kennedy here. Ever since Carlton played him in his preferred role as a midfielder from round 14 he’s been sensational for his owners. A five game average of 93 in SuperCoach and 97 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam is a supreme return. Equally encouraging is that he’s shown moments of a ceiling with a season high score of 116.

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Patrick Dangerfield

His ownership numbers aren’t low and neither is his pricetag. But for those without Patrick Dangerfield he’s probably one of a handful of matchups you feel nervous being against. Already this year Danger has shown the ‘monster’ ceiling game is still within reach.

The injury to Jeremy Cameron did result (as expected) with Danger increasing his forward 50 minutes. However, if the Cats dominate opponents over the coming five weeks like they did last week then it won’t matter. What he might lack in disposals, he’ll likely make up with goals scored. This week they take on the injury riddled Tigers, the following week it’s the bottom of the table Kangaroos. Winning these games might all but stitch up a Cats top 4 spot, so I can’t see them taking the foot off the pedal.

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Tarryn Thomas

Recency bias after a monster game last weekend? Perhaps! But if you’ve watched North over the course of the season, to see the scoring ‘pop’ from Tarryn Thomas is of no surprise. Last weekends 126 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 108 in SuperCoach is off the back and 88 (SC) and 84 (AF). The week before that, he scored an 86 in (AF) and 96 (SC). Yes, the scoring isn’t ‘insane’ but if you need a unique then ‘TT’ isn’t the worst idea out there.

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Any others?

Ultimately, many of these guys above are the ‘value options.’ But, of course, the likes of Aaron Hall, Dayne Zorko or Jack Ziebell can be considered too if the salary isn’t a restriction for you.

In AFLFantasy, we do have a few additional options, Josh Kelly would’ve been the obvious top tier option, but given he’s got some question marks around availability, you can’t go near him. So possibly Scott Pendlebury is the next best available for you, or if you’re looking for a smokey, then Harry Schoenberg is coming off the back of a 113 & 83 and is priced at $481,000.

AFLFantasy | Possible DPP Additions | Round 18

Before round 6, 12 and 18, the gang at AFLFantasy team up with Champion Data to add some new DPP into the game. After round 5, the first list of names and positions will be released. Historically, AFLFantasy has said that players need a minimum of 35% to be considered for a new allocation in a new position. So let’s see which players are locks, close or no chance of getting DPP.

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Darcy Tucker | ADD DEFENDER

With just one game over 80 (111) all season, many would be forgiven for looking past Darcy Tucker. And in classic, I totally advocate for it. In a draft, depending on how deep your league is Tucker could be a handy in. Darcy’s spending an increasing amount of time off the wings and across half back. It’s not a highly relevant gain, but its a fair one.

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Jordan De Goey | ADD MIDFIELD

The preseason role of Jordan De Goey has finally started to be seen! For those who started him and held your patience is finally being rewarded. For those looking to jump onto a value forward capable of going 90 for the next seven weeks ‘JDG5’ has shown his potential in the past month. With 3 tons in his last 4, he’s proving to be a popular ‘trade in’ for many. The reason for the scoring spike is the exact same reason he’ll pick up Midfield status, he’s playing almost exclusively in that role.

Jake Stringer | ADD MIDFIELD

I could probably ‘copy & paste’ the reasoning from Degoey for Jake Stringer. Over the last month or so his club has upped his centre bounce attendance. Clearly, Ben Rutten loves his centre clearance work and burst from stoppage. More often than not, Stringer then pushes forward and allows another Bomber into the midfield mix. Like any midfield addition, it is only versatility to awards you rather than a scoring relevance boost.

Tristan Xerri | ADD RUCK

For the 1.4% of owners (which I am one of), this likely gain will come as a small boost to go with his 34 weekly points. At the very least he’ll provide a small pulse for coaches running with no ruck cover.

Luke Jackson | ADD RUCK

Over the past few weeks, the Demons have started to equalise the ruck usage between Max Gawn and Luke Jackson. Just last week they had an even split of ruck contests attended. As a result, his RUC/FWD gain should be a simple formality for the gatekeepers of AFLFantasy. He’s not classic relevant, but in deeper draft leagues especially if you have two rucks on field this could be a huge boost for owners.

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Mitch Duncan | ADD FORWARD

OK, at first, it feels like a stretch. And to some extent, I agree but hear me out. On Wednesday morning, SuperFooty released a forecast of potential names that may be DPP’s in 2022 for SuperCoach. Now, if you don’t play SC, that’s fine, but it’s still relevant. AFLFantasy, along with SuperCoach and DreamTeam, all take their initial squad allocations from Champion Data. So they were cited as a reference point in this article where (you guessed it) Mitch Duncan was listed as a MID/FWD.

If he’s passed CD’s threshold to be an option in 2022, then he’s certainly a consideration to be a huge acquisition in this final batch of DPP’s.

Upgrade Targets After Their Bye | Round 14

The multi bye rounds are over. We now have an additional eight teams with no more scheduled rests for the remainder of the season. So here’s a club by club breakdown of potential upgrade targets who have just had their bye round.

Of all the club write-ups, I think the Crows have the least potential ‘relevant picks.’ The move of Rory Laird into the midfield has been inspired, and his scoring has been prolific across the season. Across the formats, he is the #2 ranked defender in averages and by total points. In fact, he’s under 20 points shy of the top spot. If you don’t own him, the damage has been done. The only world I’d advocate for him as a ‘trade in’ target is if you need to minimise his impact against you in rankings or league battle.

Ben Keays has been a star for his owners! In the draft formats of UltimateFooty, his average draft position was 207. With an average of 109 to date, he’d easily make the podium of the top draft day picks of the year. What’s fantasy footy 101? Ask those who traded into Darcy Parish this past round. Sadly they know it well now. Buy low, sell high! I wouldn’t be buying stocks on Keays, he’s been great, but even with his low ownership, it’s not worth paying up for.

You either have Reilly O’Brien at R2 currently, or your planning on trading in Brodie Grundy ASAP. ‘ROB’ was only an option three weeks ago when Brodie went down injured. He isn’t someone I’d advocate for as an upgrade now. His previous 3 game average is an improvement on his season in total. But for the extra $100-$150k across the formats, I’d rather Grundy every day of the week.

It’s not an upgrade, but expect the Crows to give a handful of games to last seasons #11 pick Luke Pedlar. The tough clearance winner possesses explosive speed from traffic. He’s not a basement price midfield cow, but he might be a pulse to end the season.

Two weeks ago, Nick Haynes was an obvious ‘buy low’ premium. From Collingwood, coaches have another ‘obvious’ buy low pick up in the midfield. Scott Pendlebury is coming off the back of a 167 in SuperCoach and is priced at just over $424,000. He had an injury affected role change midseason, but since overcoming that hand injury in the past fortnight, he’s delivered consecutive 100’s. If you need a cheap M7 or M8, then Pendls is your man. He has a decade of averaging over 100 in this format.

He’s arguably even more tempting in AFLFantasy, where he’s recently picked up forward status. With scores of 104 & 98 in his past fortnight and priced at under $600,000, he’s an easy no brainer selection.

We spent plenty of time on our latest podcast discussing the urgency of when to trade into Brodie Grundy. My best encouragement is to go and listen to it. Ultimately the who (you trade out) and how you plan to get him determines whether or not I feel he’s a priority this week or not. Ideally, we’d all want him on our completed side.

Mr Consistency in our backline over the past few seasons has been Jack Crisp. With low scoring deviation, he’s certainly a player that has some appeal to coaches. Personally, I’d look for either someone that is a comparable performer but cheaper. Or someone at a similar price with a greater scoring ceiling.

Due to suspension Jordan DeGoey isn’t available to play for the Pies or our fantasy teams this weekend. But prior to the bye his previous three games we’d started to see the preseason midfield role eventuate. In his last three games in SuperCoach he’s scored 88, 70 & 115 with an average of 91. Not bad for a guy priced less than $100,000 upgrade from Harry Jones.

Similarly, in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam his past three have been 109, 78 & 106 at an average of 97.7. He’s the ultimate definition of ‘buy low’ and while I get he can be frustrating to own, he’s still a high potential value F6 for coaches looking to finalise their team if cash is tight.

At the start of the season, it felt like one of the most obvious premiums we’d want in our forward lines would be Steele Sidebottom. For one reason or another, it’s been a patchy season from Sidey. He’s getting some midfield minutes, but what role does he hold under Robert Harvey? Best to wait a week or two to see before committing.

I’m a big fan of Andrew Brayshaw. I genuinely believe that he’s on the cusp of becoming one of the next big midfielder Uber premiums. He’s in a weird price where he’s not the crazy value of others, but not also the safe 110 of others at a slightly high price point. Still, he should be a consideration as an option.

The scoring of Luke Ryan certainly lends himself more to SuperCoach than other formats, but he’s still got the ability to get on a hot run of form everywhere. In SC, he’s averaging 110 in his past five, including two scores over 125. In just 8% of sides, sometimes paying up for something different is worth it.

The time to trade into Sean Darcy has come and gone. The two opportunities were when Matt Flynn was dropped when Darcy what at his basement. Or a month ago when Brodie Grundy was injured. Not now! Yep, even in AFLFantasy, where he’s an RUC/FWD. I couldn’t pay the $100,000 more to choose him over Pendls.

Clayton Oliver has been one of the best midfield picks of the season. However, I don’t believe he’s worth paying up for. Part of this is linked to the substantial value options we have across the midfield. Many of them covered off in this article. The other is that next week he comes about against the tagging nemesis Matt DeBoer in round 16 and also Mark O’Connor in round 23.

If the value is the name of the game and you’re keen on trading into a Demon, then Christian Petracca is the guy. In SuperCoach last year, he broke out with a 117. Currently, he’s priced 12 points per game off this based on the current season. However, in his past five, he’s averaging 109 and scoring variation between 96-130. In AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, he’s a great financial option too. At his start of the season, a glance highlights his scoring potential, whereby in round six this year, he was averaging 115.8. He’s slowed since then, but it highlights his capacity.

With no Brodie Grundy for the past three games, chances are you already have Max Gawn. If not, you’re probably not in contention in either your leagues or overall rankings. That said, In my view, Gawn is clearly the top ruck for the rest of 2021 and is someone you’ll want to have.

Christian Salem isn’t a value pick. He’s not a ceiling pick. But it is a unique pick that’s on the safer side. He’s not for me, given the value we have and the ceiling guys we have. But he’s solid if you keen.

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The Tigers have a brilliant fixture run home for non Dustin Martin that might be enough of a reason to sway you to bring him into your side finally. Beyond his opening two rounds, he hasn’t hurt those who opted against him. Personally, given his high ownership, I’d encourage you to continue to go against him and look to another option, potentially even a teammate of his.

Heading into the final nine rounds of the season, coaches want to trade into premiums that can be a top-tier option. Bachar Houli has a proven history of going on hot runs of 110+. His upcoming opposition is as friendly as any other defender, so the only cause for concern is his poor durability over recent years. But on scoring potential, he’s as good as any.

If the injury history of Houli concerns you, then his teammate Jayden Short is certainly a comparable option. A seasonal average of 96 in SuperCoach & 92 in DreamTeam/Fantasy have him ranked in the upper tiers of defensive premiums.

The Tiger I personally like the most is Shai Bolton. He’s damaging through the midfield and inside forward 50. He’s still relatively unique, considering his multiple week injury layoff just over a month ago. In SuperCoach, he’s priced at an average of 97 but is averaging 109 in his past five. In fact, since round four, his lowest score is 96. Not bad for a player under $525k.

In AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, he’s performing equally as strong in our forward line. Since round four, he’s scored 4 tons (including 122) and has a low of 85. Not a bad run of 8 games, if you ask me. Shai offers four key ingredients that should be appealing to prospective owners. Scoring ceiling, low variable deviation, relatively low ownership and still some value for money. If he’s not on your watchlist, at the very least, your playing the game wrong.

Quite simply, Jack Steele is worth every cent. He’s a VC/C option every single week!

Brad Crouch is more of an AFLFantasy/DreamTeam selection and still offers some value. Two seasons ago at the Crows, he showed his ability to be a season, long 110 performer. In his last five games, he’s averaging 110, and in his previous three, he’s going at 123. He’s one of a handful of Saints that have been relevant fantasy prospects for us this year. Personally, as good an option as he is, I’d wait a week and grab Neale.

It’s starting to get late in the season for Rowan Marshall to be an option for you. Sadly injuries have damaged his season for fantasy coaches and the Saints. Even if he does play this week, many coaches are only one or two forward spots away at max. With options like Patrick Dangerfield, Toby Greene and even Shai Bolton all within range of him, you can’t pick him. The best thing about him is his DPP, but with some rookie RUC/FWD options getting games, its value has taken a marginal dip.

The move of Callum Mills into the midfield has seen him become a topline defensive premium for the year. And given how good he’s performing, his ownership numbers are scarily low in some formats. For example, he’s coming off the back of eight consecutive SuperCoach tons, and he has dropped under 90 in just one game all season in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam.

He’ll give you a great points return, but the real question beneath this especially for DreamTeam and SuperCoach players is this. What’s the value of a trade? Based on the amount you have remaining and current ‘completion level’ of your side will ultimately have an impact on whether he’s worth paying up for.

Jake Lloyd has been good without being great. Which, if we are honest, is a reflection of how amazing he has been over the past few seasons. An average of 108 in SuperCoach & 98 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam is nothing to sneeze at. So if you can afford to trade him in, you’ll be rewarded. But personally, if you’ve got that far, you might as well go all the way and grab Mills.

I’m aware that the title of this article is ‘upgrade targets.’ But Joel Amarety’s important enough to sides to need to be discussed in this article. His value is twofold. Firstly, a downgrade to him should generate the cash you need to make another upgrade. Second, his RUC/FWD positional creates great flexibility, especially if you own Callum Coleman-Jones or target Rowan Marshall as a final forward spot upgrade.

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Finding value to finish off our sides can be challenging, but West Coast champion Shannon Hurn is genuinely an option. Barring his injury affected round four clash against St Kilda (scored 6), he’s been delivering strong premium scores. Removing this early in game injury from his scoring, he’d be averaging 106 in SuperCoach and 100 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam. To go with his dependable scoring, Hurn is incredibly unique. He’s in 2% or under of sides across the formats.

A picture of consistency over the past few seasons has been wingman Andrew Gaff. In AFLFantasy/DreamTeam he’s historically been a 105-110 midfielder and a 100-105 in SuperCoach. This year he’s currently averaging about 10-12 points per game beneath that.

The midfield of West Coast has been smashed with injuries, with all of Elliot Yeo, Tim Kelly and Luke Shuey all missing multiple games. With all either back or returning over the coming days, we should see Gaff recommence getting that silver service on the outside of the packs. With some luck, he could be the perfect ‘buy low’ candidate to complete your midfield.

While Gaff represents value, Elliot Yeo, for me, is the pick of the Eagles mids. Across the formats, he’s a proven historical performer of 105. Yeo has been building his fitness base after a long time out of the game. However, after match winning final quarter against Richmond, I’ve seen enough to suggest he’ll be able to get back somewhere near his best.

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 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? 

SuperCoach | Weekend Wrap | Round 4

Where on earth did this carnage come from!? 

Midweek there was no inclination about what was to unfold across this weekend. Sure, the weather reports were telling us it’d be the coldest day of the year but no one warned us it would affect so many players this weekend. 

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The carnage didn’t start with the early round games, it came at team selection. The stress began when Matt Flynn was managed out of GWS. For those of us all-in on the Flying Flynn R2 ruck strategy were hit by a bouncer we didn’t see. We just hope it’s only one week of management rather than a few. For those risky Zac Williams owners Friday night only got worse as he was confirmed a no-show for the GCS game. And then for the Sunday games we’re told Rory Sloane could be out for a month with a rather concerning injury, and he was looking so good! Then perhaps the final straw of selection was Jacob Koschitzke out of the Hawks team, causing all sorts of defensive issues for us. 

In terms of actual performances carnage didn’t arrive until Saturday. The Swans kept up their good performances and cash generation for us. Jordan Ridley did his thing. As did Jayden Short. And nothing particularly drastic occurred in the Power v Tigers match, although Orazio Fantasia owners are probably done with him. 

But it was a Saturday special of poor performances by a number of players we expect better from that turned this weekend. Nearly 50,000 teams are filthy with Caleb Daniel and his 19 points. Yes, 19 points! And with 79% game time! And then late Sunday he gets one week from the MRO. I’m betting he’ll be the first rage trade for most this morning. Joe Daniher owners were expecting more than 34 points from 96% match time, especially now that the game is suited to key-forwards this year. Like the Bombers did last year it might be time to say bye bye. There are others too. I won’t mention Lachie Neale, but I will mention Jordan de Goey. Ouch. 

As MJ and Kane talked about on last week’s podcast, it’s time to raise the issue of Josh Kelly in these weekly wrap-ups. Let’s face it, he’s not getting the scores we’re expecting from a premium midfielder, and we can place the blame for that squarely at Leon Cameron’s feet. Why on earth Kelly isn’t one of the main midfielders and chasing down everything everywhere is confusing to say the least. Kelly scores his best when he’s in the middle and the guts of the play, at the moment that’s not happening enough. He’s averaging 20 points less per game than he did last season (114.6). It’s killing me, as I’m sure it is those other 9300 coaches. 

On Sunday we saw some good scores from the ruckmen – Gawn, Darcy, and O’Brien. Fyfe, Hall, Scholl, and Petracca all scored well for their respective sides. And it seemed like a more positive way to end the round. One must feel for Luke McDonald though, within minutes of his first game back for North he’s injured again. Unlucky for those 1437 coaches who had him in their side. 

Given it’s now Round 4 it’s worth making a couple of points to finish this up. 

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First, the Bulldogs continue to share the points around and Macrae continues his excellent form. Adam Treloar also looks like he’s warmed up and settling into his new home as part of the setup there. The Saints turned it around this week and show that there are plenty of points in them when they’re on. Jack Steele is shooting up the rankings, each week scoring better than the last. 

Second, there are some nice little POD’s beginning to emerge. Jack Bowes has put up some great numbers – 146, 114, 95, 107. Jarryd Lyons has tonned up each game he’s played – 100, 103,139, 113. Hugh Greenwood, as I mentioned last week, looks to have found form – 50, 79, 135, 155. And Toby Greene is worth considering given the GWS set up – 86, 93, 117, 120. As we begin to offload those rookies it’s a good time to think what POD’s we might pick up along the way. 

Third, the coming week or two are vital in assessing your team and making the critical rookie downgrade trades. There are a number now struggling to meet their break-even. This is a time to analyse how best to milk that cash and maintain scoring. 

All the best!