Tag: SuperCoach

SuperCoach Weekend Wrap UP | Round 20

The first week of league finals is always an exciting one, and you can’t really say this weekend didn’t have excitement. I mean, it looked at one point like we may not even have a full nine matches considering the news that came out late Friday. While contingency plans were put in place the round happened, and wasn’t it a beauty for us supercoaches. Plenty of points to go around with some stunning scoring across the board. Let’s have a look at how it played out. 

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Friday night found me out with some mates watching Carlton demolish a hapless St Kilda. Sam Walsh again led the Blues with a 141, but it was actually Jack Steele and Rowan Marshall for the Saints who provided the most supercoach interest early on in the round. With a 158 each this provided plenty of coaches with hope for some good scoring throughout the round. Steele is now a consistent captain or vice-captain choice, hats off to those who claimed that one this week. As for Marshall, he was helped with the late out of Paddy Rhyder and take full advantage of that he did. 

The Bulldogs did a number over the Crows and as what we’ve come to expect there were plenty of tons in their team. Adelaide had a few, but it was the likes of Jackson Macrae, Bailey Dale, Caleb Daniel, and Tom Liberatore who all hit the helpful 120+ mark. 

In a low-scoring contest Geelong did what was expected of them over North Melbourne. Aaron Hall and Jack Ziebell were up in the tons for the Kangas but it was the Guthrie brothers for the Cats who helped their owners out considerably with a 147 and 142 respectively. 

The final match on Saturday saw the Pies double the Eagles score, who somehow are still in the top eight. Jack Crisp (143) has had a great couple of games and has really put together a top season. He is now the fifth best defender for us as coaches, which is probably not what we expected going into this season. Now that Jordan De Goey (138) is a constant in the midfield he too is clocking up the points consistently for our forward lines. Even Steele Sidebottom got back into it this week with a 123. It’s always interesting to see the change when a new voice is leading a club. As for the Eagles, there’s really nothing much to mention. NicNat topped the ton, that’s about it. They just really don’t like to travel do they? 

Melbourne did to Gold Coast what other teams used to do to Melbourne themselves. A 98-point victory that also saw some huge scores – Clayton Oliver a 166, Christian Petracca a 148, Luke Jackson a 141, and Max Gawn a 138. Just a dominating performance by many we have in our teams. Perfect captain choices. As for the Suns, Touk Miller had a great 142 and really has come into his own this season. 

This exciting weekend was only made all the more so as the Hawks made the decision to dump their experienced and 4-time premiership coach for a junior with only 8 games of coaching in the VFL. Amazing. Despite this, the Hawks did get up over the Lions. The likes of Jaeger O’Meara (156), Chad Wingard (139), and Tom Mitchell (132) all brought the points for us coaches, just like Clarkson brought all three of them into the team in recent years. As for the Lions, Jarryd Lyons continued his great season with a 121, and a few more tons from other players came along with him. 

Sydney had an important win over Essendon. Callum Mills led the Swans with a 129, followed by Jordan Dawson (122), and Justin McInerney (116). However, it was the Dons who brought the points with a mammoth 168 by Zac Merrett, followed by Jake Stringer (123) and Darcy Parish (108). Unfortunately it looks like Dyson Heppell will be out due to injury for at least a week. This will cause a few coaches some issues this week. 

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I can’t say I know exactly what happened in the Dockers win over the Tigers. I didn’t watch it. But, Andrew Brayshaw had a blinder with a 190. Adam Cerra (147) and David Mundy (126) came through with some solid tons too. Sydney Stack provided coaches with a 149, while Dion Prestia (113) and Liam Baker (106) rounded out the tons for the Tigers. 

And in the final game of a rather confusing round of football, Port defeated the Giants who still seem willing to give up their opportunity at a finals spot. The scores in this game didn’t go too big like others this round, but Karl Amon did etch out a 152 while Ollie Wines had 115 for the Power. GWS didn’t prove much, as Nick Haynes top scored for them with a 107. 

The main issue for us coaches, particularly if you’re out of contention for the overall, is how to manage our teams through the finals. I hope you managed a win this week, but I do realise there were just as many losers too. So, whatever it was for you, a W or a L, I hope you were able to take advantage of the points on offer this weekend. 

SuperCoach Weekend Wrap | Round 19

A quiet lockdown weekend here in Melbourne didn’t necessarily mean a quiet weekend in front of the flat screen. This round of footy may have been one thing, but how good is it that we’ve got the Olympics for the first time in five years!? While there’s a certain oddity to it all without spectators and other pandemic adjustments it’s still the Olympics and can’t not be watched. 

So with this in mind, this weekend’s wrap gives gold, silver, and bronze medals to teams and individuals from the round.

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The Gold Medals

The performances of the weekend surely went to North Melbourne, Western Bulldogs, and Geelong. I may be biased, and I know Carlton really isn’t much chop right now, but North winning gives them a chance of moving off the bottom of the ladder and allowing another to take the wooden spoon. But really, the Bulldogs beating Melbourne was the game of the round as they helped themselves to the top of the ladder. A great coaching effort by Luke Beveridge and some terrific performances by names we’re familiar with all worked their magic together. Geelong also beat Richmond for the second time this year, which is the first time the Tigers have lost twice to the same team for over 5 years. 

In terms of players relevant to us as coaches, the gold medals go to Rory Laird (178), Patrick Dangerfield (165), and Josh P Kennedy (154). While Laird and Dangerfield are well owned by coaches Kennedy provided something unique (0.9% ownership) given the need to trade out Dusty this week, well done if you were one of the few who took him into your team. If you missed out of any of the VC options on Saturday, Dangerfield provided an excellent captain option, Laird obviously did too but it takes a certain kind of risk taker to make that choice. 

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The Silver Medals

Brisbane completed an expected win over Gold Coast, and kicked the highest score for the weekend. Adelaide did what they needed to over Hawthorn. And Sydney were comprehensive against Fremantle. All had solid but expected wins, with Brisbane and Sydney solidifying their top eight positions. 

Oscar McInerney was the standout player on-field for Brisbane with a 148 so takes out the first silver medal for an individual this round. Jackson Macrae (146) did what he does and it is rather surprising there are 48% of coaches without him. Lachie Whitfield also scored a 146 after his week off due to concussion, rewarding those who have him or held him. 

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The Bronze Medals

I might be a tough judge but Port Adelaide have also solidified their top eight position while defeating Collingwood on Friday night. GWS and West Coast were also winners for the round, but didn’t do anything overly convincing. 

To round out the individual awards this week we saw Caleb Daniel do what all his coaches wish he’d do most weeks and give us a 145. Clayton Oliver, in the same game, was excellent for Melbourne with a 144. And then a third Bulldog medallist, Bailey Smith (140) takes the final medal on offer. It was certainly a game of high scores, and plenty of VC or C scores on offer. I hope you managed to at least get one of these scores yourself. 

Some honourable mentions for the round include Jack Crisp (140), Tarryn Thomas (135), Brayden Fiorini (139), Zac Jones (140), and Isaac Heeney (128) with a possible mark of the year to go with it.

As we turn to league finals now, and no doubt you’ve got minimal to no trades available, it’s time to find out the place of our teams against our mates, colleagues, and other randoms. All the best for the first round this weekend, I hope you grab some gold yourself.

SuperCoach Weekend Wrap Up | Round 18

I don’t really want to write this. 

I’m still fuming. 

I’m still trying to recover from the SuperCoach weekend that was. Not that I expect you to care about my team at all, but my last seven days in Supercoach-land has hurt big time. 

Down goes Hugh Greenwood. Down goes Lachie Whitfield. Down goes Dustin Martin. Out goes Callum Mills. Out goes Toby Greene. Down goes Josh Kelly. 

I think I’m still in shock. 

I’m more in shock about my team and the sudden turn of events than I am that Melbourne is back in it’s fifth lockdown. Perhaps that’s what is getting to me, another lockdown. I’m comfortable coping the injuries. That’s going to happen. All the injuries happened on the field too, so no worries, I’ll deal with that. What’s tipped me over the edge is losing two players an hour before a match started because of state governments having different policies in relation to isolating. Gee, it’s a hard one to cop. 

I know I need to get over it. I will. Eventually.

As for what happened in the wider SuperCoach landscape, let’s have a look at a few winners from this week. 

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Sam Walsh

With the top score of 193 this weekend, Walsh led the Blues to a win over the Pies. His rolling average for the last three rounds is now an impressive 163. And each of his 55,569 coaches would be well pleased to have him. For those without, it looks like we’ll need to wait until 2022. 

Tom Mitchell

Mitchell led the Hawks this week with an ‘impressive’ draw to Melbourne. This is the kind of score all owners have been waiting for and it’s coming at the right time of the season. His last six outings have all been tons and it will be interesting to see how the fixture falls for him over the coming weeks. 

Sean Darcy

Has there been a more impressive breakout ruck performance than Darcy? His last three weeks have been phenomenal and with only 2.8% ownership it means there are plenty of us missing out on these monster scores. While this week was a sultry 156, he was over the ton at the half and was heading toward somewhere near the 200 mark before having a spell due to injury. Could he be a Gawn or Grundy replacement in 2022? It’s worth pondering. 

Ollie Wines

With a 154 Wines was the fourth highest scorer across the competition. In his last eight matches he’s only been under the ton once, yet I always feel it could go either way with him. He’s certainly a POD option going into finals and the end of the season with 5.7% ownership, but he is $100k more than Dustin Martin so it will take some maneuvering to get him. 

Jamie Cripps

Cripps scored 150 to round out the top five for this week. He’s probably not someone you’d be considering to move in at this stage, he does average 73 and this one looks like one of those out-of-the-box weeks. 

That’s the top five for the week, but the big issues for us centre around two main questions.

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First, who are we going to bring in for Dustin Martin? 

The confirmation that Martin will be out for the rest of the season makes the decision to move him out a no-brainer. And depending on how many trades you have and what kind of cash you’ve got in the bank will depend on who you can go for. 

If you’ve got no cash then you’re probably looking to the likes of Shai Bolton, Sam Menegola, Andrew Gaff, Tim Kelly, Steele Sidebottom, Brayden Fiorini, Jack Viney, or Jaidyn Stephenson. Each of them comes with risk, but could also give good reward depending on the way things go. Some are more midfielders than forwards, so if you can make a DPP move through the Martin trade you also open up a few more options. 

If you have some cash to play with, and for the sake of this scenario let’s go with an extra $50k, then the likes of Cameron Guthrie, David Muncy, Nat Fyfe, Joel Selwood, Hugh McCulggage, Tim Taranto, Rory Sloane, and Nick Hind come into play. 

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Second, and your decision about Dusty is most likely impacted because of this, is how to deal with the moving fixture over the coming rounds? 

As we saw at the end of last week and over the weekend the whole fixture is a moving beast. It’s a little hard to plan more than a week in advance at the moment, perhaps in life as in Supercoach. But to me it doesn’t make much sense worrying about our team until at least Thursday and possibly as late as Friday this week. Every day there is new news about what the AFL are having to deal with and so until things are sorted for the coming weekend let’s hold things loosely. 

Well, that was somewhat cathartic. Rant over. Hope it all goes well for you this coming week!

SuperCoach Weekend Wrap | Round 17

Moments. There are moments in life when things suddenly change. Perhaps it’s love at first sight while at the pub with a few mates. Perhaps it’s resigning from a job you just hate. Perhaps it’s when that first child arrives and you never imagined you could love more than you already do. Whatever it might be, there are moments. And for those of us invested in the world of SuperCoach there are moments too. Moments whereby an injury, a poor performance, or even a great performance can change the course of a round and even a season. Of course, let’s not equate these Supercoach moments to the realities of life and living, but in the life of season 2021, Round 17 may well be a moment for our teams and even for the teams we support.  

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It all started on Thursday night when Melbourne defeated Port Adelaide quite convincingly in the end. Christian Petracca had a monster with 173 points, followed by Tom McDonald (132), and Clayton Oliver (118). Their win solidified their top spot and if you had the VC on Petracca I suspect it would’ve done wonders for your overall rank or your leagues. For Port the usuals of Travis Boak and Ollie Wines topped the ton, while poor Zac Butters looks like he’ll be out after succumbing to injury again.

In what has been labelled the worst Friday night game in a long time the Bombers smashed the Crows who gave nothing for us as coaches or for their fans. Well, Rory Laird is the exception. Zac Merrett (143), Nick Hind (134), and Jordan Ridley (120), did what was needed for their teams. However, Kyle Langford did get subbed off with a suspected hammy so there will be 9308 coaches having to deal with that this week. 

Fremantle did Hawthorn by 10 goals and with Sean Darcy (183) romping it in for the second week in a row. How he still has only 2.5% ownership is beyond me. Rory Lobb (132) got in on the action and David Mundy (121) was again amongst it. With Jai Newcombe out, Lachlan Bramble (120) was a terrific consolation prize for those still needing to play a rookie or two in the midfield. For those of us who had him on the pine I only hope you were able to get him onto the field. Tom Mitchell was the main man again for the Hawks with a 131. 

Geelong did what was expected of them over Carlton, but Sam Walsh (158) is clearly the best player for the Blues and will be again highly sought after in 2022 by coaches who missed him this year. Tom Stewart (127), Zac Touhy (126), and Cam Guthrie (111) all helped themselves to tons for the Cats. 

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The debatable upset of the round this week was St Kilda defeating the Lions by a good 32 points. And I won’t dwell on poor old Eric Hipwood, but this match was a moment for Saints supporters as hopes are still alive for a possible finals run. Daniel Rich (128), Lachie Neale (118), and Dayne Zorko (109) all notched up tons. Any of these guys would be worth having in your team. But it was Jack Steele with a 149 that took the cookies on the night. His performance was stellar once again and he is rewarding his coaches big time. It’s hard to believe Tommy Highmore (97) is still performing nearly as well as many of our premium defenders, not to mention the POD of Rowan Marshall (95) for our forward lines. 

Talking about moments. The Suns kicked two goals in the final four minutes to take the points against the Giants, and more likely changed the course of GWS’s season than their own. However it was the first half of football that may have impacted many of us. First, Hugh Greenwood went down with a an ACL meaning he got a donut for the round and will need to be traded. Second, Lachie Whitfield was done with a confirmed concussion and subbed out with only 32 on the board. Again, a likely trade out depending on structure and trades left. He may miss up to two games depending on the fixture over the next 12 days. A big blow for 16% of teams. 

Another moment was the Swans beating the Dogs and in doing so are looking good for a run into finals. Jake Lloyd was back to his best (114) and Callum Mills (127) hasn’t stopped giving his coaches tons for a while now, but it was Jordan Dawson (141) and Tom McCartin (134) who were the big scorers for them this week. All the usual suspects from the Dogs performed well enough for our teams but couldn’t get the job done for their own. Jackson Macrae, for the first time in 30 games, had under 30 touches. It’s been a great run. 

Collingwood was another who had a big turnaround with a seven goal run to clinch it by 16-points against Richmond. None other than Jordan De Goey helped himself to a handy 29 disposals and a 124. But in that run of goals it was Brodie Grundy who ended up blasting to 140 alongside teammate Taylor Adams. While the Pies had eight tons in the end the only Richmond ton came from none other than Jayden Short with another solid 129. 

On Monday night the final match of the round saw West Coast continue to show they’ve fallen off the rails and North Melbourne were hard and skillful enough in the contest to take the points. Nic Naitinui scored a solid 134 despite their efforts, and Tim Kelly also a decent 115. For North, Jaidyn Stephenson had a terrific game with 38 touches and 153 points. His 6000 coaches would’ve been pleased. Ben Cunnington, Todd Goldstein, and Jy Simpkin all had solid tons too. This could be a defining moment for either of these teams. 

SuperCoach Weekend Wrap | Round 16

By now there are very few who are contending for the cash prize and so what drives your SuperCoach ambitions at this point in the season? Perhaps your team is settled, or almost there with 1-2 more trades to make? Perhaps you’re sitting pretty waiting for the league finals to begin so you can claim victory over your mates? Or perhaps there’s a slight chance you can make a league final series and so it’s all or nothing.

Now that the byes are well and truly gone this is the time of year where big things can happen. And when I say big things, I mean big scores. The premiums are in, the rookies are off the field, and the opportunity for some monster scores keep us coming back. Well, it is for me anyway.

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And this week was case in point. The team of the week scored 2804! Sean Darcy topped the competition with a 193. Sean Darcy! Followed closely by Darcy Parish (190) and back-in-form-ripe-for-the-picking-forward Patrick Dangerfield had 184. This is what we come to see. 

The big scores started on Thursday night as Touk Miller again led the Suns from the front with 153. An excellent VC choice in hindsight. Tom Lynch’s return was impressive with a 126, and now has to be in the conversation as a possible F6 option for some teams. He’s pretty cheap at $346k. Bachar Houli also had a 112 but has succumbed to the dreaded syndesmosis.

Now Friday night brought out the big guns in the wet. Parish and Dangerfield both went big and the eight other tons in the game don’t even seem worth mentioning. What was pleasing was to finally see Dangerfield show us his ceiling like we’d all been hoping for him to. Those 20% of coaches who now have him were richly rewarded. The rest live in regret. 

GWS had a great win over Melbourne while Steven May top scored with 131. Josh Kelly had a great first half but then dropped off to lead the Giants side with a 118. 

Despite getting completely done by the Lions, Rory Laird has a solid 129 and was the standout for the Crows in their loss. He is now ranked number two in defence for the season, and number 10 as a midfielder. He’s having a great SuperCoach season. For the Lion Marcus Adams led with a great 135, with Zac Bailey and Jarryd Lyons slightly behind in the mid-120s. 

Carlton also had a great win over Fremantle, even though Sean Darcy took the rucking department by the horns and ended up with a huge 193. Who’d have thought he’d have been the fourth best ruck of the competition at the start of the season? Andrew Brayshaw and Luke Ryan also performed solidly for coaches who have them too. For the Blues, Sam Walsh was again impressive and will be on the wishlists of many teams come 2022. His 138 now moves him into seventh best midfielder for the season. 

Charlie Dixon was the only plus-130 score in Port’s win over Hawthorn. If we’re talking big scores this week then there’s not much here to see. Lachlan Bramble, the rookie of the week, did manage an 80 though and earned $50k for those who jumped on him. 

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If we didn’t know the Eagles despised GMHBA Stadium then we certainly do after this week. Offt, what a performance. Sydney thumped them and in so doing Callum Mills scored 121 and Lance Franklin had a competitive 113. On the Eagles side of the ledger, there’s nothing much to say. 

Jack Steele was on fire on Sunday afternoon as he led the Saints to beat the Pies. His 154 would’ve been a great captain selection for anyone who missed out on the scores in previous games. Brodie Grundy is the only one worth highlighting for the Pies as he led his team in scoring.

To round out the weekend the Bulldogs did the expected number over the Kangaroos. Jack Macrae found enough of the footy again to help deliver a 138, and gave plenty of coaches a decent enough captain score having missed out on other opportunities. Ziebell, Goldstein, Cunnington and Hall topped for the Roos and are all familiar to us no doubt. 

Whatever your motivation going into the round I hope you enjoyed one or two big scores this week. It was certainly the round for it. All the best as we head toward the finish line, or finals at least. Chat to you next week. 

SuperCoach Weekend Wrap | Round 15
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Death. Taxes. And another round where Dayne Zorko shows us the ceiling he’s capable of. All things true in life and Supercoach. 

For those wise enough to have the VC tag on him on Thursday night were well rewarded with a 174 becoming 348. And for anyone considering grabbing him now he comes at an elite premium cost, rightfully so. Brisbane romped it in against Geelong, which saw the likes of Daniel Rich, Oscar McInerney, and Joe Daniher get amongst the tons. For those who have held Daniher, in particular, their patience is paying off in his current run of form. Lachie Neale battled well after what looked like a serious shoulder injury as well. On the Cats front, Patrick Dangerfield’s 97 keeps him in the mix for our forward lines, especially as he is now under 500k. Expect the 8% ownership to rise significantly in the coming week or two. Joel Selwood was looking sore by the end of the match and Tom Stewart was held well in defence. There’s no need to panic, but it’s worth watching. 

The upset of the round became a talking point across the weekend. The Saints keeping the Tigers to 22 points was quite amazing really. Jack Steele’s 132 continues his great form this season, and Tommy Highmore makes more cash for his owners as well with a 91. Jayden Short nudged another 100 but everyone else really didn’t deliver what was expected of them. I feel for those who bought in Shai Bolton this week too. Ouch. 

Wasn’t it great to see Brodie Grundy back doing his thing? He topped the scoring against the Dockers with assistance from Steele Sidebottom (115) and Taylor Adams (110). Andrew Brayshaw had a good game with 110 for the Dockers, while Sean Darcy continued his decent ruck season with a 90. Those who had held Nat Fyfe through the bye rounds were unfortunately hit a blow with his late out. A watch and see for this week by the looks. 

North’s second win of the season against the hapless Suns provided plenty of high scores. Todd Goldstein helped his 8600 coaches with a 136. Ben Cunnington did it again for his owners and those who have decided to take the gamble on Jy Simpkin are reapingthe benefits with his 122. For the Suns, Touk Miller and Brandon Ellis. Enough said. 

Lance Franklin nearly won it for the Swans in that final quarter but the Power managed to get it in the end. However, those that do own Franklin helped themselves to a nice 130. Callum Mills continued his run of form and Luke Parker also shared in the points. Jake Lloyd had his most underwhelming game of the season with a 73, and those who have held Heeney really have made an error in judgement as his score of 57 dropped his price by $36.6k. Travis Boak and Dan Houston topped scored for Port and showed glimpses of their opening season form. 

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Melbourne beat Essendon in a tight affair. The Dons top scorers were Zac Merrett with 147, then the usuals of Darcy Parish (121), Dyson Heppell (121), and Jordan Ridley (111). A number of teams may own all four of them, let alone one. Melbourne’s scores were okay. Nothing exceptional. And those of us who put the C on Max Gawn are surely now looking elsewhere as he has proved to be lackluster when sharing roles with young Jackson and being placed in the forward line to help their lack of tall options. 

The Hawks over the Giants was also surprising, perhaps more so embarrassing for GWS. Nevertheless they still provided plenty of points for us. Whether you own Lachie Whitfield (116), Josh Kelly (110), Tim Taranto (100), Callum Ward (98), Nick Haynes (94), Matt Flynn still (84) or Toby Greene (84) I’m sure there was something in there for you. For the Hawks, surely it’s only Tom Mitchell who continues to be relevant? He scored a helpful 118 for his owners and stays in consideration for that M8 position. But poor Jarman Impey coaches were dealt a blow after his training incident on Friday afternoon. There’s a trade decision to be made there. 

With an under-firing midfield the Eagles got done by the supremacy of the Bulldogs mids. Low scores by Tim Kelly, Andrew Gaff, and Luke Shuey didn’t help any Eagles owners. Perhaps that only satisfied coaches with an Eagle in their team are those who have stuck with Nic Naitinui all season. Why this guy isn’t talked about more this season I’m not quite sure. He’s ranked as the second best ruck in SC now and while Grundy has been out for a few weeks he averages 113 and has not scored under 90 since round one! Then we turn to the Dogs and see the usuals yet again. Marcus Bontempelli with a monster 156, followed by Jackson Macrae (136) and Bailey Smith (123). 

The Blues did the job over the Crows. Jacob Weitering had a great 143, while it was good to see Sam Walsh nab a 131. Coaches who have held Walsh in his ups and downs this season would’ve been pleased, not to mention any Blues fan. Rory Laird and Tex Walker grabbed tons for the Crows too, but other than that the relevancy of everyone else may be hard to justify. 

It was finally good to get through the byes and have some ripping scores this week. There’s nothing quite like the peace of having 22 players named and playing is there? 

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 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!