The Phantom’s SuperCoach Pre-Season: The best premium options in defence
Is Jake Lloyd worth the money? Can Rory Laird bounce back? The Phantom runs the rule over the top-price SuperCoach options in defence.
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Welcome, my friends. SuperCoach is here and that means it’s time for the start of The Phantom’s pre-season.
Who is worth the top-price in defence? Here’s a look at the premium options for 2020.
THE TOP-PRICE
Jake Lloyd (Syd)
$591,400
The neat-kicking Swan picked up where he left off in 2018, confirming his status as a top-line SuperCoach premium – arguably, the only one in defence.
After posting SuperCoach tons in 13 of the final 15 matches of the previous year, Lloyd passed the 100-point mark 15 times to Round 18, 2019.
In his role as the distributor from half-back, the 26-year-old became even more prolific as his teammates continued to look for him whenever they could.
Lloyd, on average, tallied three more disposals per game and ranked first for effective disposals and metres gained and second for total kicks and rebound 50s in the competition.
The right-footer scored 236 more points than any other defender in SuperCoach and the 12th-most of any player.
But it’s what happened from Round 18 – or even earlier - onwards that is of some concern – albeit only slightly.
Between Rounds 1 and 12, Lloyd averaged 32 disposals and 117 points but with the introduction of Jordan Dawson’s more permanent role in defence, his average fell to less than 100 from Round 14.
A closer look reveals Lloyd still won plenty of football but his ability to impact the game as the chief – and only – distributor was hindered.
THE PHANTOM’S VERDICT: Again, it’s only a slight concern but, at the top price, are you better off waiting to see how it plays out early in 2020? That’s what I’m doing.
BOUNCING BACK
Rory Laird (Adel)
$525,800
In 2019, the ball-winning Adelaide defender posted eight SuperCoach tons less, and tallied four disposals less per game, than he did in the previous year.
And it resulted in Laird’s average falling by 11.
A disappointing year, right? Well, only by his high standards.
The 26-year-old still finished the year as the fourth-ranked SuperCoach defender, despite only breaking the 100-point barrier twice after Adelaide’s Round 14 bye.
It’s no coincidence his side won the same amount of games in the run-home.
The Crows failed to play the game on their terms for most of 2019 and it was a big reason Laird failed to get the ball in his hands as much as he did in 2018 – a year which saw him average 32 disposals and 108 points per game.
But it’s been a summer of rejuvenation at West Lakes and new coach Matthew Nicks knows his side needs to be better at creating – and then scoring from – turnovers.
Two years ago, Laird was the fourth-ranked player for intercept possessions in the league. Last year, he was 13th.
Expect those numbers, most of them in fact, to climb in 2020.
THE PHANTOM’S VERDICT: Laird was a top-four SuperCoach defender in what was a year to forget for his club. If that’s the floor to Laird’s output – and I think it’s pretty close – he’s hard to pass up at $525k.
James Sicily (Haw)
$509,500
Sicily’s final three scores of 140, 47 and 124 summed up his 2019 perfectly.
At his best, the 25-year-old’s scoring power is as good as any player in the game.
But after coach Alastair Clarkson, to the frustration of SuperCoaches Australia-wide, used Sicily inside 50 and as a lockdown defender on the opposition’s best forward at times, it wasn’t on show consistently last year.
In total, Sicily posted nine SuperCoach tons but also six scores of 77 or less.
But Clarkson is back in the good books, at least for now, after, through his list management team, adding key-defender Sam Frost and tall-forward Jon Patton to his side in the trade period.
In 2018, Sicily averaged the second-most intercept possessions and metres gained in the competition and averaged 105 points per game before injury ended his home-and-away season in Round 15.
With what appears to be an opportunity for Sicily to play the SuperCoach-friendly role of the floating-tall across half-back, the 105-point mark is in sight again.
But can we trust Sicily himself to stay focused on the task at hand?
THE PHANTOM’S VERDICT: It all comes down to trust. Is there enough? Because there’s more-than-enough ability. If you’re brave, you might be handsomely rewarded.
NEXT GEN
Zac Williams (GWS)
$551,700
Whether it was dashing off half-back or winning the ball through the midfield – in the absence of a number of star teammates - Williams was a prolific SuperCoach scorer in 2019.
After missing the entire 2018 season through injury, Williams bounced back in a big way, posting 11 SuperCoach tons – five in excess of 120 – in a career-best year.
The 25-year-old then impressed in the Giants’ finals campaign, with two performances in particular highlighting further his ability in different areas of the ground.
In the semi-final win over Brisbane, Williams starred in defence, tallying 17 disposals – all of them effective – eight intercepts, six tackles, 456 metres gained and a game-high 137 points.
A week later in the preliminary final, the long-kicking right-footer was, arguably, the best midfielder on the ground, finishing with 25 disposals, 16 contested possessions, 10 clearances and 115 points.
He may not feature in the centre square as often in 2020, given the return of Callan Ward and Stephen Coniglio, but, on recent form, that’s unlikely to affect his SuperCoach scoring.
THE PHANTOM’S VERDICT: And that means he’s a SuperCoach must-have in defence at some stage this season. It just all comes down to balance – and personal preference – in your starting squad.
Caleb Daniel (WB)
$537,200
The skilful 23-year-old tallied 30 disposals or more eight times last year and scored in excess of 85 SuperCoach points in 13 of his 17 matches.
It was a super-consistent first season as a playmaking defender, to say the least.
After a glimpse of the new role at the end of 2018, Daniel’s efficiency and ability to influence the game, standout traits of an impressive junior career – which featured a huge 171-point average at the 2014 under-18 championships – finally came to the fore at the top-level last season.
The 168cm right-footer was the ninth-ranked player in the competition for effective disposals in a year which was interrupted by a hamstring injury in Round 15.
And more music to the ears of SuperCoaches, Daniel played-on from 85 per cent of his kick-ins.
THE PHANTOM’S VERDICT: Daniel won’t win you a head-to-head match-up with a 150-point performance but he might be as reliable as any in 2020 for a three-figure score.
Tom Stewart (Geel)
$533,200
In his third season in the competition, if you include the finals, the 26-year-old tallied more kicks, rebounds 50s and metres gained than any other player in the competition.
In a regular season, which earned him the second All-Australian jacket of his short career, Stewart scored 87 SuperCoach points or more in 18 of his 22 matches, passing the 100-point mark on eight occasions.
Of all defenders, only Lloyd finished with more points in 2019, as the intercept star added 13 points to his average.
He was so influential last year, Eagles coach Adam Simpson deployed Mark Hutchings to play a defensive forward role on him in the semi-final.
But he still tallied 24 disposals and 92 points.
THE PHANTOM’S VERDICT: Can he get even better in his fourth season? Stewart is a great starting selection but he’s unlikely to make you hurt if you leave him out to begin.
MORE SUPERCOACH NEWS:
Which player at your club could emerge as a SuperCoach star in 2020?
KFC SuperCoach 2020: The Phantom’s must have player in each position for 2020
UNDERPRICED?
Dan Houston (Port)
$484,800, MID
For a while, Port Adelaide’s midfield has had little problem winning the ball but it’s what it did away from the stoppage which was a problem in 2019.
Enter Dan Houston.
If the 22-year-old’s pre-season – along with senior assistant coach Michael Voss’ glowing endorsement on Monday – he’s set to play a midfield role on a permanent basis in 2020.
And it all started in China last year.
In his first appearance in the Power’s engine room, which resulted in 98 SuperCoach points, Houston recorded then career-high disposals (28), effective disposals (22), clearances (7) and loose-ball gets (7) after attending 22 centre bounces against the Saints.
But, along with his efficient ball-use, what stood out the most was Houston’s clanger count.
He didn’t register one.
The smart right-footer played eight more matches as a pure midfielder, following coach Ken Hinkley’s experiment in Round 11, averaging 24 disposals and 94 SuperCoach points in those games.
THE PHANTOM’S VERDICT: With 22 games in the midfield, Houston is a very, very likely top-eight defender.
Jordan Dawson (Syd)
$467,800, FWD
Two years ago, with one senior game to his name, Jordan Dawson arrived for day one of pre-season, as he put it, “a bit too fat”.
Fast forward two years and the 22-year-old crossed the line first in the club’s opening two 2km time trials of the 2019 campaign.
He’s fit and full of confidence after finding his place – and cementing it – across halfback in Sydney’s best 22 last season.
But, he didn’t just cement it.
After the Swans’ bye, despite two stints forward in Rounds 19 and 22, Dawson spent 77 per cent of game-time in defence and ranked second at the club for effective kicks, fourth for metres gained and ninth for disposals, uncontested possessions and handball-receives.
And the long-kicking left-footer booted seven goals and scored 93 points or more in six of the final nine matches of the year, four of them SuperCoach tons.
THE PHANTOM’S VERDICT: It’s a lot to pay if it doesn’t come off but three-figures is on the cards for a player who could become one of the game’s next statistical beasts.
SUPERCOACH SUMMER FORMGUIDES: Essendon | Hawthorn | Carlton | Collingwood | Western Bulldogs | Richmond | Geelong | St Kilda | Sydney | Brisbane Lions | West Coast | Fremantle | Melbourne | GWS Giants | Adelaide