The Phantom’s Round 12 Review: Cripps was enormous, Walsh outstanding but there’s one Blue who might’ve helped SuperCoaches even more

On Saturday afternoon, one Carlton player saved the trade plans of thousands of SuperCoaches. And it wasn’t Cripps, Walsh or Gibbons. In the Round 12 review, The Phantom looks at how his efforts affect SuperCoaches moving forward.

• SuperCoach Round 12 late mail: All the scores
• Is it time to say bye, bye to Brodie?

There’s one Blue more than 100,000 SuperCoaches need to thank.

And, no, it’s not Patrick Cripps, who was enormous — and even that’s an understatement — against the Lions, leading his side to victory with 38 disposals, 16 contested possessions 4 goals and a season-high 194 points.

It’s not young gun Sam Walsh either, despite the 18-year-old’s impressive 141-point performance, on the back of 32 disposals, 12 marks and 14 contested possessions.

It must be Michael Gibbons then, Phantom, I hear you say.

No, it’s not. But the mature-age recruit’s 109 points couldn’t have come at a better time.

Ed Curnow, take a bow.

On behalf of thousands of SuperCoaches, thank you.

It wasn’t even the 128 points, either.

Ed Curnow kept Lachie Neale quiet after halftime. Picture: Michael Dodge/Getty Images

At half-time Brisbane star Lachie Neale was threatening to take the game right away from the Blues.

The former Docker was unstoppable in the opening half, tallying 25 disposals and 84 SuperCoach points.

He was well on his way to reaching his huge break-even of 169.

And the SuperCoaches who had factored in a slight price fall into their trades plans — yes, I’m one of them — were starting to get nervous.

Enter Curnow.

Caretaker coach David Teague sent the eldest of the Curnow brothers, who has done his share of tagging duties in the past, to Neale in the third quarter.

It worked.

Cripps exploded. Neale had no impact, recording just six disposals after half-time, and the Blues went on to record a famous 15-point victory.

Lions midfield gun Lachie Neale was curtailed after a hot start against Carlton. Picture: AAP Image/Richard Wainwright

And, more importantly, of course, Neale managed just 22 more SuperCoach points in the second-half to finish with 106 points — a huge 53 points less than his break-even.

Neale’s score, his third-lowest for the season, saw his price tag take a $28k hit.

That means after the Lions’ Round 13 bye, Neale will be available for $29k less than his starting price, despite being one of only six players to average 120 points or more this season.

Thanks, Ed.

Elsewhere, Crow Brodie Smith recorded a season-low 48 points against GWS after copping some attention from young Giant Isaac Cumming.

But, if you’re trading him, it’s next week ahead of the Crows’ Round 14 bye.

For what it’s worth, The Phantom will be keeping him with the plan to eventually move him to the bench for the run home.

Speaking of attention, master stopper Matt de Boer was all over Rory Sloane for three quarters until the Adelaide co-captain delivered an influential final term, which resulted in 58 SuperCoach points, to get his side over the line.

But Sloane only just passed three figures, finishing with 103 points, and with another huge break-even in Round 13, he’s likely to be available for close to $500k after the Crows’ bye.

And what about North Melbourne’s Jack Ziebell, who tallied 28 disposals, 10 tackles, two goals and 133 points.

He’s posted a number of big scores this season when unleashed in the midfield. And with Shaun Higgins set for a stint on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, the contested-beast might stay off the leash.

It’s easy to forget he’s available as a forward in SuperCoach.

And for less than $500k.

For more than $100k less, there’s another SuperCoach forward who went big in Round 12.

You might know him — Lance Franklin.

Buddy booted five goals against the Eagles to post his first SuperCoach ton of the year.

He’ll make the perfect bench loophole option after the Swans’ bye in Round 13, if you can afford it.

THE PHANTOM’S ROUND 12

Score: 2031

Overall Ranking: 781

Studs: Patrick Cripps (194), Max Gawn (153) Sam Walsh (141), Jake Lloyd (136), Tim Taranto (131), Michael Gibbons (109)

Duds: Brodie Smith (48), Noah Answerth (33)