Tom Mitchell injury could open the door for Chad Wingard’s permanent move into the midfield

The injury to Tom Mitchell will leave a giant hole in, not only Hawthorn’s midfield but in SuperCoach teams across the country. Who replaces Mitchell at the Hawks? And which premium should you go with in SuperCoach? The Phantom investigates.

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The injury to Tom Mitchell will leave a giant hole in, not only Hawthorn’s midfield but in SuperCoach teams across the country. Who replaces Mitchell at the Hawks? And which premium should you go with in SuperCoach? The Phantom investigates.

Friday’s are meant to be fun, right? Not this one.

It wasn’t nice waking up to the news that Brownlow Medallist Tom Mitchell has broken his leg at Hawthorn training and is expected to miss the entire 2019 season.

While the Hawks and Mitchell himself will feel it the most, it’s also a devastating blow for the SuperCoach community.

The ball magnet averaged an enormous 129 points per game in 2018 and scored 213 more points than this next best midfielder.

Only star Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy was better.

Mitchell posted 18 SuperCoach tons, nine of them in excess of 148, making him one of the safer captain options for the year.

Despite a price tag of $700,800, it would’ve been hard to start without the 25-year-old.

Unfortunately, we now have no choice.

But, there’s a silver lining.

There’s a giant hole in the Hawthorn midfield and someone needs to step up.

And that could be new recruit Chad Wingard, who is a $481,100 dual-position forward-midfielder in 2019.

Is it time for Chad Wingard to become a permanent midfiedler?

After a slow start in his last season at the Power, Wingard moved into the midfield in Round 12 and averaged 24 disposals, 12 contested possessions, five clearances, five inside 50s, five tackles and 103 SuperCoach points per game, while also booting 11 goals.

The skill and talent is undeniable and it could be coach Alistair Clarkson who gets the best out of him.

Although, on his day, he can be one of the best match-winning forwards in the game, a permanent midfield move could pave the way for Wingard to become the SuperCoach premium he’s threatened to be for so long.

It also brings tough second-year Hawk James Worpel ($395,700 Fwd/mid) into the picture. The 20-year-old averaged 88 SuperCoach points and ranked third for disposals at the Hawks from Round 18 onwards.

And in the SuperCoach midfield, the replacements are even easier to find.

Expect Bulldog Jack Macrae’s SuperCoach ownership to rise in the wake of the Mitchell news.

If you take out an injury-affected score of 51 in Round 13, Bulldog midfielder Jack Macrae ($689,700) averaged 131 points per game – a figure that would’ve made him the highest-averaging player.

Despite missing three games, Macrae ranked ninth for overall points.

For good reason, expect his ownership to soar.

In the next bracket of pricing, sit a number of young stars, who all have the ability to push pass the 120-point mark this year.

Patrick Cripps ($648,200), Clayton Oliver ($622,600), Nat Fyfe ($618,100) and Josh Kelly ($617,800) are all elite SuperCoach premiums.

If Fyfe can stay fit, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he finished 2019 as the highest-scoring player.

Fitness was also a concern for classy Giant Kelly in 2018 but by all reports, he’s tracking well over the pre-season and is every chance to better his 114-point average of the past two years in 2019.

And Oliver has posted the second-most scores of 100 more, behind Mitchell, since 2017.

Or maybe you might prefer to save even more money and replace Mitchell with an underpriced Dustin Martin ($563,800) or Matt Crouch ($551,300) and use the extra cash to upgrade a mid-price player elsewhere.

After a quieter 2018, compared to his Brownlow year in 2017, Tiger Dustin Martin is underpriced in SuperCoach this season.

Potential midfield unique selections Elliot Yeo ($585,500), who has lost his dual-position status in 2019, and Collingwood jet Adam Treloar ($594,200) are also worth some thought.

And how will Lachie Neale find life at Brisbane?

It’s incredibly disappointing news but SuperCoach team selection just got a lot more interesting.