The Phantom’s Lair: Round 9 review podcast

WITH The Phantom away, The Eradicator, The SuperCoach Hipster and Mr SuperCoach take over the Lair to review Round 9 of the season and how you can secure Jacks Macrae and Darling, the bubble boys and how to tackle the first of the byes.

Jack Darling is on fire for the Eagles after a six-goal haul against the reigning premier. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images Buddy cleared by MRO

• Rage trades: Players you need to axe or target this week

WHEN The Phantom’s away, the other SuperCoach experts can play.

And that’s exactly what The Eradicator, Mr SuperCoach and The SuperCoach Hipster do as they take over The Phantom’s Lair for this week’s podcast review of Round 9.

As The Phantom takes a week off to find some form ahead of the crucial bye rounds, our SuperCoach experts tackle and debate some of the big issues, including:

THE rise and rise of the Western Bulldogs’ Jack Macrae continues with a 177 against the Crows, following scores of 141, 189 and 156 in his previous three weeks. Now averaging 139, he’s a must-have, but can you afford to bring him in at $727k?

Jake Lloyd has run into some top form. Picture. Phil Hillyard

THE Eagles’ forward powerhouse Jack Darling looks to be a top-six forward lock, as he dismantled the Tigers’ much-vaunted defence with 15 marks, six goals and 181 Supercoach points. It tops off a huge month for Darling, whose lowest score — other than a 42 against Carlton — is 89.

PLAYERS who picked up Swans’ defender Jake Lloyd for $466k were rewarded with a massive 173 points against Fremantle. That score follows a 130 against Hawthorn, with the consistent backman now averaging 103, and priced at $511k with a BE of just 6.

BEST of this week’s rookie bubble boys looks to be St Kilda’s Ed Phillips, who backed up his 87 on debut with a slightly disappointing 49. But he still showed enough to suggest he’s worth picking up as a $123k mid. Also keep an eye on Essendon’s Jordan Ridley and Melbourne’s Tim Smith, who performed strongly in their first games for the year.

BYES roll around early this week with the Power and Gold Coast taking the weekend off after their hugely popular and well-attended China clash. Keep an eye on players from both sides who will be attractive pick-ups post byes, with the more disruptive round 12-14 byes just around the corner.