KFC SuperCoach PODS: The midfield guns that no one is picking
Patrick Cripps has been one of the most popular midfielders, while Sam Walsh is set to go to another level. But who is the unsung Blue flying under the KFC SuperCoach radar?
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While it is wise to fill your KFC SuperCoach side with reliable midfielders, there are a host of options flying under the radar.
Blues bull Patrick Cripps (51 per cent ownership), dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe (39 per cent) and Bulldog ball-magnet Jack Macrae (31 per cent) are plugged in most SuperCoach sides – as they should be.
But with eight players to choose from on field alone, there is the opportunity to mix things up without doing anything drastic.
And the best way to do that is to select a unique player or two.
These point-of-difference picks – or “PODs” as they are known in SuperCoach world – are generally considered to be players with 10 per cent ownership or less. That means only one in 10 players have taken the punt on that player, making them a rare commodity in SuperCoach.
If these selections come up trumps – like Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli last season – the rewards are sweet, with the potential to catapult your team up the rankings.
However, if your POD doesn’t go to plan it can cost you big time.
While it is a fine line, picking these hidden gems makes SuperCoach a lot more fun.
Check out the leading POD candidates in the midfield who can separate your side from the rest.
Josh Kelly (GWS) $637,700
2019 average: 117.4 (14 matches)
Ownership: 11 per cent
Overlook Kelly at your peril. Interrupted by injury in previous seasons, the smooth-moving Giant is enjoying his best summer yet – his first full pre-season in the past three years. This can only mean good things for his SuperCoach output. The former No. 2 draft pick averaged 117.4 SuperCoach points in 2019 – the fourth-highest of any midfielder. Opposition teams opted to tag Stephen Coniglio over Kelly last year, leaving him off the chain. His efficiency means he is capable of scoring well without racking up massive numbers, and 10 per cent ownership is too low for a player of his quality.
Verdict: If you are looking for a POD to freshen up your midfield, Kelly is your best bet.
Adam Treloar (Collingwood) $615,800
2019 average: 113.4
Ownership: 9 per cent
Treloar is a different kettle of fish to Kelly, but his sheer weight of numbers means he must enter consideration. The ball magnet tallied more disposals than any player last season on his way to a career high average of 113.4. Like Kelly, Treloar rarely cops a tag with teams letting him roam free to gather possessions at will. A notable change in his scoring last season was his enhanced ceiling, posting three scores above 150 – compared to just one from 2017-18.
Verdict: Will be one of the top midfielders at season’s end.
Andrew Gaff (West Coast) $583,200
2019 average: 107.4
Ownership: 2 per cent
Gaff is the main source of West Coast’s attacking drive and with Tim Kelly’s arrival, he should reap the benefits of more footy from the coal face. The consistent Eagle won 27 disposals or more in every game last season despite being in the same side as Luke Shuey and Elliot Yeo. It shows that another inside bull shouldn’t impact his scoring potential – it could even enhance it. Gaff finished last season like a house on fire, averaging 115.8 points across his last six games and continues to get ignored despite back-to-back seasons nearing a 110-point average.
Verdict: Has proven he can produce uber-premium numbers – a possible M5 candidate.
Tim Taranto (GWS) $555,900
2019 average: 102.4
Ownership: 3 per cent
Taranto’s 102.4 point average doesn’t reflect how impressive he was in just his third year of senior football. The tough youngster averaged 108 points in the first 12 rounds of 2019 before he tapered off in the back half of the season. While he will get overlooked by SuperCoaches given he is in same midfield as Kelly and Coniglio, he still managed to score well last season with these two in the side. Expect a more consistent season from the 22-year-old, but will it be enough to break the elusive 110-point barrier?
Verdict: Will become a top-10 SuperCoach midfielder – it’s just a matter of when.
Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane Lions) $510,700
2019 average: 94
Ownership: 3 per cent
Brisbane’s emerging star added 17 points to his 2018 average last season and he should edge towards the 105-mark by year’s end. His breakout season saw him surge into the All-Australian squad of 40 and he has flagged more time in the Lions’ engine room this season. This and another pre-season under his belt should see McCluggage lift his scoring floor after falling below on 80 on five occasions in 2019. He finished the season with four scores of 112 or more in the last eight rounds, which illustrates what he is capable of in 2020.
Verdict: Outside midfielders are always a risk – assess his time in the guts during the Lions’ pre-season games.
UBER-PODS
Travis Boak (Port Adelaide) $582,300
2019 average: 107.2
Ownership: 1 per cent
Remember this guy? Boak was an integral part of many successful SuperCoach sides in 2019 but has lost his dual-position status. A move into a full-time midfield role saw the Power star produce his best SuperCoach return in his 13th season, averaging 107.2 points per game. Now, he is in less than 1 per cent of teams. With Ollie Wines set for a delayed start to 2020, Boak will have even greater responsibility in the Power midfield.
Verdict: Is turning 32 this year but remains a very interesting proposition
Matt Crouch (Adelaide) $563,000
2019 average: 103.7
Ownership: 1 per cent
The case for Matt Crouch is a hard sell given many previous owners placed the handball-happy midfielder on their “never again” lists after a supposed one-week injury turned into a month-long stint on the sidelines. If we take out Crouch’s injury affected score of 54 – when he was on track for a ton – his 2019 average increases from 103.7 to 106.4. These are numbers closer to his imposing 2017 campaign when he reached a 110-point average at season’s end.
Verdict: Underpriced and has a SuperCoach-friendly game, but Adelaide is unlikely to be a top-eight team which could impact his scoring.
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Dion Prestia (Richmond) $550,200
2019 average: 101.3
Ownership: 1 per cent
In SuperCoach it is often the players who finish the previous season strongly who emerge as formidable scorers the following year. Enter Dion Prestia. In his first full season since 2014, the 27-year-old accepted greater responsibility in the Tiger midfield, averaging 111.9 points from Round 10 onwards. He has shown he can average above 105, finishing that 2014 season with 106 on the dot – and that was at the Suns. At a club oozing with talent, the “Human Meatball” could be a very satisfying SuperCoach feed.
Verdict: The Tigers like to share the points around but the signs are there for Prestia to go to the next level.
The smokie
Ed Curnow (Carlton) $493,200
2019 average: 90.8
Ownership: 1 per cent
If you are looking for something really outside the box, Ed is your man. The Blues midfielder was played horribly out of position by former coach Brendon Bolton in the first half of last year, when he using the contested midfielder as a forward. Under David Teague he returned to the coal face and thrived, averaging a whopping 113.9 points over the last nine rounds. Scoring like this isn’t foreign to Curnow, who has twice topped a 100-point average across a season. If he can register this sort of return for even the first half of 2020 he will prove to be a valuable asset at that asking price.
Verdict: It sounds crazy but it just might work.
Originally published as KFC SuperCoach PODS: The midfield guns that no one is picking