The experts from The Lair deliver their verdict on the good, the bad and the ugly
WE are just over the halfway mark of the season and it’s been a big year in The Lair. The Phantom, The Eradicator, The SuperCoach Hipster and Mr SuperCoach take your through their best and worst of 2018. Re-cap The Phantom’s live blog below.
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WE are just over the halfway mark of the season and it’s been a big year in The Lair. The Phantom, The Eradicator, The SuperCoach Hipster and Mr. SuperCoach take your through their best and worst of 2018 and how they will attack the run home.
1. WHO WAS YOUR BEST STARTING SELECTION
The Phantom (@ThePhantomSC): Patrick Cripps. At $538k, starting with of The Phantom’s favourites was a no-brainer for me. Some thought otherwise but he’s the seventh-highest averaging midfielder after 12 rounds. Riley Bonner was fun while it lasted.
The Eradicator (@TheEradicatorSC): Stephen Coniglio. He totally lived up to his potential value in the early rounds and was among the top scorers until Josh Kelly went down. Great to get some premium output at a non-premium price.
The SuperCoach Hipster (@MattTurner1986): Toby McLean. He’s like that band you once loved and saw in a venue smaller than some wardrobes that eventually got big, played Splendour and appeared on Sunrise. McLean was in five per cent of teams before round one but he’s now in 26 per cent (averaging 106 points per game) and a trade-in option for many others after his bye.
Mr. SuperCoach (@antimoiannella): Apart from the obvious (Gawn/Fyfe/Laird), probably Stefan Martin. He’s proved a consistent scorer week-to-week, who has, so far, managed to avoid serious form or injury issues.
2. WHO WAS YOUR WORST STARTING SELECTION
The Phantom: That’s a tough one. Actually, no it’s not. Jack Billings.
The Eradicator: Marley Williams. I could’ve said Mason Cox here as many tried to talk me out of that selection. I do stand by at least trying it, although it didn’t work. Williams was worse because it was a classic case of not on my radar until the preseason … posts one big score and I got sucked in. That’s not good enough, Eradicator!
The SuperCoach Hipster: Marley Williams. Reeked of being a point-of-difference in 2018 during pre-season. What I didn’t smell was an average of 58 over the first three rounds.
Mr. SuperCoach: Unfortunately, there’s too many contenders for this position. A toss up between Callum Mills (ended up injured anyway), Christian Petracca (inconsistent and underperforming), Matt Crouch (two hamstring injuries) and Patrick Dangerfield (overpriced at the start), all for differing reasons.
3. BEST TRADE SO FAR
The Phantom: I’m still yet to make it. However, I’ve been pretty happy with trading Allen Christensen, at top price, to James Sicily at $498k. Although I should’ve taken the Hipster’s advice and started with him.
The Eradicator: I haven’t knocked anything out of the park yet this year, but I was pretty happy with trading in Angus Brayshaw two weeks ago. Looks set to be a high-possession winner in my defence. Finger crossed.
The SuperCoach Hipster: Upgrading Marley Williams to Shannon Hurn. “Bunga” Hurn is averaging 100 for me and is still a point-of-difference, in only 4 per cent of squads. Starting with Williams is still giving me nightmares.
Mr. SuperCoach: Loved the output of Jake Lloyd, Toby McLean and James Sicily since their arrival into Ant’s Army.
4. WORST TRADE SO FAR
The Phantom: The Tim Kelly and Zac Langdon to Tom Rockliff and Tim Smith double trade looked like a disaster after one week. Thankfully Rockliff bounced back against the Tigers but it’s still a loss at this point. The Rory Lobb trade is edging its way up the list.
The Eradicator: While I haven’t smash anything big in trades, I haven’t really bombed on any either. Nothing facepalm worthy, yet, but I was halfway through a mid-round double trade when I realised I was $7k short of bringing in Brodie Grundy. I went Stefan Martin as next best but it’s just no the same.
The SuperCoach Hipster: Going from Josh P. Kennedy to Ed Curnow hasn’t hurt me too badly score wise but, in hindsight, it was just unnecessary. I jumped off Kennedy without really needing to, given Curnow hasn’t outperformed him since the trade and cost me about $70,000. Also, Kennedy hasn’t been going around touching umpires and getting suspended for it.
Mr. SuperCoach: After the first week, Tom Rockliff to Tim Kelly wasn’t looking good.
5. PLAYER YOU HAVEN’T GOT THAT YOU REALLY WANT
The Phantom: Toby McLean. The plan was to always trade him in after the Round 12 bye but the carnage of last week ruined that and Robbie Gray came in instead.
The Eradicator: I have one across each line … just need to make them happen over the byes — Elliot Yeo (DEF), Jack Macrae (MID) Brodie Grundy (RUC), McLean (FOR)
The SuperCoach Hipster: Brodie Grundy. I started with Matthew Kreuzer alongside Gawn then dumped the big Blue and got English (the player, I already spoke the language). I eventually upgraded to Callum Sinclair because I couldn’t afford Grundy and while the Swans ruckman has been decent, Grundy has been next-level all season.
Mr. SuperCoach: Jack Macrae. Last two matches notwithstanding, he’s been unbelievable all season. Brodie Grundy a close second, despite my contentment with Stefan Martin.
6. HOW MANY TRADES HAVE YOU GOT LEFT?
The Phantom: 10 before any moves this week. But there will be some. I’ll have 5 or 6 coming out of the bye rounds with a complete team. It’s low, I know, but I’ve been playing catch-up
The Eradicator: 12 before Round 13 trades. I’ll be going hard in the next two weeks and hopefully my team is together after that.
The SuperCoach Hipster: Not enough. 12 (likely 10 or 11 after this round).
Mr. SuperCoach: 12. Will be less in two weeks’ time …
7. BEST TIP FOR HOW TO ATTACK THE RUN HOME
The Phantom: I’m all about the value when it comes to upgrading, especially if it helps you complete your team earlier. If you can do two upgrades, rather than target Jack Macrae in the midfield for example, I’d do it.
Keep some trades up your sleeve or set up some bench cover for the run home because you will need it. And it could help you make up ground late in the season when other SuperCoaches have been caught short.
The Eradicator: Wherever possible, keep one decent rookie on each bench line, open up some dual-position links and have at least six trades up your sleeve, coming out of the bye rounds.
The SuperCoach Hipster: Head to a country with next to no internet. For me, one of the best finishes to a Supercoach season came in 2016 because I had stacks of trades leftover. I’d been on holiday in Cuba where there was very little internet and none in homes. The downside was I could barely access my team and thus loopholes, captaincy changes and tinkering fell by the wayside. The positive was I barely traded and had plenty left in the can when I came back to Australia. So I was able to use them on the run home and overtake lots of teams that spluttered towards the finish line.
Mr. SuperCoach: Make sure to look for value in upgrades (ie don’t overpay for guns), trade in as many DPPs as possible, and as always, avoid the sideways trade until the finals. Good luck!
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