GWS Giants SuperCoach study guide: Best premium picks, mid-price risks and cash cows
If the SuperCoach stars align, GWS could have the top-scoring defender, midfielder and forward in 2019. And at least one of them is available at a bargain price. The Giants’ best premium picks, mid-price risks and cash cows.
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GWS could have the a top-three scorer in defence, midfield and up forward in 2019 such is their SuperCoach depth.
Josh Kelly is a genuine No.1 overall scorer contender while Lachie Whitfield’s popularity has gone through the roof as a defender and, despite injuries, Toby Greene has the pedigree to be one of the best forwards.
We analyse the best premium, mid-price and rookie options at the Giants in 2019.
BACKS: PHANTOM’S PREMIUM DEFENDERS ANALYSIS
MIDFIELD: GIANTS HOPE KELLY WILL RE-SIGN SOON
FORWARD: SMARTER GREENE’S FITNESS FIRST FOCUS
PREMIUMS
Josh Kelly $617,800 MID
The smooth moving superstar had a frustrating run with injuries in 2018 but has to be high on the shopping list after returning with two scores in the 140s then going bananas with a three-week blitz of 130, 130 and 205. The latter coming on the back of 41 disposals, 10 clearances and 16 inside-50s against Carlton in Round 20.
Stephen Coniglio $588,600 MID
Returned from an injury-hit 2017 season in spectacular fashion, averaging 108 points a game in a career-best year. No reason to think he can’t repeat those numbers this year, although the starting price will turn off plenty.
Lachie Whitfield $542,100, DEF
The former No.1 draft pick has graduated into a genuine SuperCoach A-grader and is even more enticing as a defender after his position was reclassified by Champion Data. Only went under 80 twice last season and his next step is to add more really big scores — he only beat 120 three times in 2018, although two of them (141, 130) came in the final four rounds. Kick-in rule change will help.
MID-PRICE RISKS
Toby Greene $354,600 FWD
Greene has been a great SuperCoach selection since averaging 95 in his first season in the AFL in 2012 — also the last time he was this cheap. That would make him a no-brainer pick if it wasn’t for persistent injuries and occasional tribunal visits that have restricted him to 23 games in the past two seasons. Greene had more ankle surgery in November — track his recovery closely. If he’s picked in Round 1 he’ll be hard to pass up.
Zac Williams $407,800 DEF
Was on a steady rise to becoming an elite SuperCoach defender (averaging 88 in 2016 then 94 in 2017) when he ruptured his Achilles tendon during a pre-season training session last January. He returned in the elimination final, scoring 117, and will be raring to go from Round 1 … with a juicy price discount. With the prospect of more points from kick-ins, he’s about as safe a pick as you’ll find in this price bracket.
Shane Mumford $320,200 RUCK
Big Mummy has come out of retirement and is set to step straight into the No.1
ruck role at GWS. While his body was beaten up at the end of the 2017 season, he still played 20 games that year and averaged 98 SuperCoach points, including five scores above 120. That presents huge potential value but beware: Mumford is now 32; and he’ll miss the first two games due to a club suspension. Pick him if you can find bench cover for those rounds, have a dual-position ruck on the bench and another up forward (like Justin Westhoff), or are prepared to cop the zero, an option if you’re only interested in league games that start in Round 3.
Heath Shaw $492,400 DEF
Has fallen from SuperCoach popularity in recent years but he could be a major winner from the new kick-in rules — Shaw has played on from defence more than any other player since 2015. The price is enticing but he’s on the comeback trail after hurting his knee in Round 21 last year and is no certainty to play in Round 1.
ROOKIE BIBLE: ALL THE CHEAPIES YOU NEED TO KNOW
GAMBLE: JONATHAN BROWN’S SUPERCOACH TEAM
UNIQUE: SUPERCOACH DEFNDERS NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT
Tim Taranto $481,600 MID
Tracking in exactly the right direction with averages of 67 and 89 in his first two seasons and plays in a way the SuperCoach scorers love. But that’s a very awkward price and he’s only available as a midfielder this year. The Phantom is a big fan.
Jacob Hopper $431,100 MID
Strongly built inside midfielder who has only shown glimpses in his three AFL
seasons of his massive junior scoring - a 31-disposal, 131 SuperCoach point game against Carlton last season is a taste of what’s to come. The question is when. Entering his fourth season and with Dylan Shiel’s departure opening up more midfield opportunities, he’s right in the breakout window.
ROOKIES
Jye Caldwell $162,300 MID
The Vic Country midfielder was the Giants’ top pick in last year’s draft (No.11 overall) and was one of the top ball-winners in the draft pool, but injuries make it hard to assess his SuperCoach potential. “I’ve done both hamstrings, a kidney and a calf, I’ve been plagued by injuries the last few years,” he told Fox Footy. One to watch in the pre-season.
Jackson Hately $148,800 MID
The Giants’ next draft pick is a ready-made midfielder with an impeccable pedigree; his South Australia under-18 coach described him as “a kid that you would want to adopt”. The school captain can also play footy, averaging 22.5 disposals, nine contested possessions and six clearances a game at the under-18 championships and impressing with 17 touches, two goals and eight tackles in the AFL Academy game. Hately also has experience against senior bodies after playing 12 games for Central District and could get the nod from Round 1.
Ian Hill $117,300 FWD-MID
Exciting small forwards are notoriously unreliable SuperCoach scorers, but they also have a knack of getting early games. Hill, a cousin of Fremantle’s Hill brothers (as well as former Eagle Josh Hill and ex-Pie Leon Davis), has turned heads at pre-season training. A bench option if he gets games.
Isaac Cumming $173,700 DEF
Was on the radar at this time last year but managed just two AFL games in 2018 for modest SuperCoach returns. With another pre-season under his belt and senior players including Dylan Shiel, Tom Scully and Ryan Griffen departing, there are spots available in the Giants’ best 22. He averaged just over 20 disposals per game in the NEAFL, including one 33-disposal and two-goal game. Could he be 2019’s Jeremy Finlayson?
NO-GO ZONE
Brett Deledio $463,800 MID
“Lids” is one of the all-time great SuperCoach scorers, averaging over 100 for eight seasons in a row and stringing together scores of 115, 153 and 111 in an early-season purple patch last year. But sadly it couldn’t last as Deledio’s body let him down yet again. With limited trades, we can’t take the risk.
Dawson Simpson $473,500 RUCK
Return date is uncertain from a horror ankle injury he suffered last season — he tore ligaments on the inside of his ankle and then, in the words of GWS medical officer David Joyce, “because of the way his foot has fallen he’s managed to fracture the ankle on the other side”. Ouch.
DRAFT SMOKIES
Callan Ward (Midfield)
Inspirational skipper has averaged at least 97 points a season every year since 2012 — and hasn’t missed a game in four years. Set and forget.
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Originally published as GWS Giants SuperCoach study guide: Best premium picks, mid-price risks and cash cows
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