The Phantom’s Trade Talk: The big men top the list of replacements for injured Bulldogs defender Caleb Daniel

With Caleb Daniel to miss 3-4 weeks with a hamstring injury, it’s time to trade, SuperCoaches. And, led by the two top-scoring players in the past month, there’s plenty of replacement options in the forward line. Plus recap The Phantom’s Live Chat.

Playmaking Bulldogs defender Caleb Daniel will miss up to a month with a hamstring injury, suffered late in the final quarter against the Power.

The skilful right-footer, who is in 15 per cent of teams, is the fifth-ranked forward for total points after posting SuperCoach tons in nine of his 14 matches this season.

And, in a very consistent year, Daniel has only failed to reach the 90-point mark twice, with a low-score of 77.

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But with the 22-year-old set to miss half of the remaining games in 2019, it’s time to trade.

With Melbourne’s Max Gawn still in some doubt for Sunday’s clash with the Blues, despite being cleared of any serious ankle damage, this could be the opportunity to bring in the highest-scoring player in the game over the past month and give yourself ruck cover at the same time.

Or you could go with the second-ranked scorer in the competition in the past four weeks.

While there’s never a right time for an injury to a premium, we’re not short of replacement options this week.

And, if it wasn’t for the Daniel injury, many SuperCoaches wouldn’t have room in their final side for the first two.

Scott Lycett (Port)

$568,600, Fwd/Ruck

Three-round average: 152

Ownership: 8.9% of teams

Scott Lycett, right, with teammate Joe Atley at Power training.

On form, Lycett, who has taken his game to another level as Port’s solo ruckman without Paddy Ryder, is the best forward-line upgrade target ahead of Round 16 after posting scores of 180 and 165 in the past two matches. And that’s not even taking into account his dual-position status as a ruck-forward in a week when the top-ranked ruckman is in doubt.

Lycett has posted four SuperCoach tons on the trot — two before Ryder’s omission — and ranks first for contested possessions, third for disposals and third for hitouts-to-advantage of all ruckmen since Round 11. After the Showdown, the Power face Richmond (Ivan Soldo), GWS (Shane Mumford) and then Essendon and Sydney, sides who both lost their No. 1 ruckman to injury last week. And I’m not sure Ryder will be back soon, not to play in the ruck at least.

Rowan Marshall (StK)

$569,500 Fwd

Three-round average: 134

Ownership: 11.5%

Rowan Marshall has been a revelation at St Kilda this season.

With an average of 135, Marshall is the second-ranked player in the competition, just 30 points behind Lycett, over the past month. The 23-year-old Saint has posted scores of 139, 122, 119 and 161 in his past four matches, on the back of his work around-the-ground. While his ruckwork is rated below-average, Marshall is averaging 18 disposals, 10 contested possessions, seven marks and four tackles since Round 11. And highlighting his ability to get his teammates involved, Marshall has recorded seven score assists in this time.

THE OTHER OPTIONS

Josh Dunkley (WB)

$623,900, Fwd/Mid

Three-round average: 128

Ownership: 24.8%

Assuming you’ve already got Cats Patrick Dangerfield and Tim Kelly — and you should — Bulldog Josh Dunkley has been outstanding since his permanent return to the midfield in Round 7. The 22-year-old has posted seven SuperCoach tons in his past eight matches, four of them in excess of 130, including a 173-point performance against the Blues, and he’s definitely in the mix to be the top-scoring forward from this point.

Travis Boak (Port)

$564,500, Fwd

Three-round average: 118

Ownership: 39.9%

While he might not possess the scoring-ceiling of Dunkley, the former Power skipper has been super consistent in his return to Port’s midfield in 2019. Boak has tallied 30 disposals or more in 11 of his 14 matches this year, posting SuperCoach tons in each of those occasions.

Michael Walters (Freo)

$569,700, Fwd/Mid

Three-round average: 113

Ownership: 13.2%

Walters failed to fire against the Blues, finishing with just 81 points, but there was no stopping the match-winning Docker in the previous month. The 28-year-old posted scores of 110, 127, 158 and 100 between rounds 10 and 14, starting at the centre bounce before drifting forward. Walters has eight SuperCoach tons for the year and is the fourth-ranked forward for overall points. He got off at the tribunal last week but can we trust him?

A LITTLE BIT CHEAPER

Jack Ziebell (NM)

$511,200, Fwd

Three-round average: 111

Ownership: 3.5%

Jack Ziebell the midfielder is a terrific SuperCoach prospect.

The tough 28-year-old tallied a season-high 140 points against the Swans, playing through the midfield, in Round 9. A week later, he started in the goal-square, finishing with just 50 points against the Bulldogs. But since interim coach Rhyce Shaw took over in Round 11, Ziebell has started in the middle, averaging 24 disposals, 11 contested possessions, eight tackles, six clearances and 111 SuperCoach points in the past four matches.

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