Will Patrick Dangerfield recover to face North Melbourne? Plus news on Lance Franklin, Lachie Whitfield and Tom Liberatore

Josh Dunkley made a welcome return to the Western Bulldogs midfield in Round 7, however it came at the expense of Tom Liberatore. See the stats which reveal the role change between the pair and get the latest SuperCoach whispers.

Patrick Dangerfield will need to prove his fitness after hurting his knee in Geelong’s win over Essendon. Picture: AAP Image/Richard Wainwright.

A third of the way through the SuperCoach season and in the middle of the peak downgrade period of the year, it’s vital you stay up to date with the latest team gossip.

From Josh Dunkley and Jack Ziebell’s increased midfield minutes to the possible return of a key trio at GWS and Patrick Dangerfield’s knee concern, there’s plenty to consider when selecting your team for Round 8.

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Here’s the gossip you need to know before making your all-important trades:

Patrick Dangerfield will need to prove his fitness after hurting his knee in Geelong’s win over Essendon. Picture: Getty

Will Dangerfield recover to face North Melbourne?

After one of the lowest scores against his career (26) against Essendon, Geelong and more than 140,000 SuperCoaches will be sweating on the fitness of the game’s most popular selection Patrick Dangerfield this week. Coach Chris Scott addressed injury concerns regarding Dangerfield in his post-match press conference on Sunday, saying it was a knee complaint, rather than an ankle concern, which had troubled the Cats star. Dangerfield provided an update on his injury on Tuesday, telling SEN: “I wouldn’t say in doubt. I think it will be a late call. We’ll assess it (on Tuesday) once we have our reviews and rehab. It’s a little bit sore at the moment, which is to be expected.”

Bevo at match committee...
“The #SuperCoach nerds can have Dunkley back in the midfield...but it will cost them Libba” pic.twitter.com/z9WLfcKDHq

— The Phantom (@ThePhantomSC) May 4, 2019

Does Dunkley’s midfield time spell trouble for Libba owners?

Josh Dunkley’s increased midfield time against Richmond resulted in a return to the scoring heights he produced in the second half of last season, cranking out 134 points from 35 disposals to improve his average for 2019 to 92.7 points. While Dunkley’s 16,660 owners were rejoicing, the 87,000 coaches who selected Tom Liberatore were planning a rage trade. Libba eked out 58 points against the Tigers, losing $26,000 after his lowest score of the season. Champion Data statistics back up the role change between Dunkley and Liberatore. To Round 6, Dunkley spent 40 per cent of time in midfield and Liberatore 78 per cent. Against the Tigers, Dunkley was on the ball 64 per cent and Liberatore 59 per cent.

Josh Dunkley’s midfield time spiked in Western Bulldogs’ Round 7 win over Richmond at the expense of Tom Liberatore. Picture: Scott Barbour/Getty Images.

Does Wines injury means more midfield time for youngster?

Don’t trade Willem Drew out yet! The Port Adelaide rookie on-baller opened the season with scores of 90 and 103 but has only managed one hundred since skipper Ollie Wines returned to the side in Round 3. As tempting as it might be to upgrade Drew ($322,400, Fwd-Mid) to a premium forward, news that Wines will miss at least a month with a broken ankle means the youngster should get more midfield time. Watch this space. Meanwhile, Robbie Gray (hand) is still three weeks away.

Popular forward rookie Willem Drew has come close to his peak SuperCoach price. Picture: Sarah Reed.

Roos rookie cops VFL setback

Popular SuperCoach rookie Bailey Scott appears unlikely to feature in selection discussion for North Melbourne this week after he was concussed in the VFL. Scott only had five disposals in the Roos’ VFL loss to Northern Blues and the coaches using him as a loophole in midfield can do so with confidence this week. North Melbourne takes on Geelong on Sunday, so Scott could be used to loophole players such as Michael Gibbons, Zak Butters or Noah Answerth who play earlier in Round 8. Northern Blues midfielder Frank Anderson copped a two-week suspension as a result of the tackle which left Scott concussed.

Will Whitfield, Kelly return for Giants?

GWS will give midfielders Lachie Whitfield and Josh Kelly until at least Thursday to prove their fitness after the star pair missed the club’s victory over St Kilda. Giants coach Leon Cameron was coy when asked about Whitfield’s possible inclusion on the Superfooty Podcast, only confirming the SuperCoach defender who features in more than 67,500 teams was in the mix to return from a corked thigh against Hawthorn. Cameron said the club would take no risks, adding Whitfield and Cameron would need to complete training on Thursday to be considered.

Ziebell having greater impact in on-ball role

Jack Ziebell has gone from playing as an almost permanent forward to a full-time midfielder for North Melbourne in the past two weeks, a switch which has been reflected in his SuperCoach scoring. Between Rounds 1 and 5, Ziebell had a SuperCoach average of 71.6. In the past two weeks, he has pumped out scores of 101 and 112 and spent 100 per cent of time as an onballer. He has also attended 79 per cent of centre bounces in the past two games. If this trend continues, the Roos captain could be a bargain forward pick at $421,200. His move has had another SuperCoach benefit by opening a spot for rookie forward Nick Larkey ($123,900), who is on the bubble this week after scoring 75 and 40 in his first two games.

Ziebell has spent 100% of game time as a midfielder in the past two rounds - up from just 7% in Rnds 1-5. An obvious change in role. He is way under the odds. #SuperCoach #AFLFantasy

— Fantasy Freako (@FantasyFreako) May 5, 2019

McGrath expected to feature for Dons

Essendon expects No. 1 draft pick Andrew McGrath to face Sydney Swans on Friday night. Coach John Worsfold provided an update on a reported knee concern for the defender on Tuesday, saying he was optimistic McGrath would tackle Sydney. “Precautionary scan. He felt something in his knee but finished the game out and has pulled up really well.” McGrath, ($389,700, Def-Mid) who features in more than 23,000 SuperCoach teams, has an average of 75.3 points this season.

Woosha: We’re expecting Andy McGrath to be OK for Friday night.

— Essendon FC (@essendonfc) May 6, 2019

Lance Franklin still no guarantee

Buddy Franklin’s possible return to Sydney’s side is likely to be determined on Wednesday at the club’s main training session. Franklin ($435,400, Fwd) has missed the past two weeks with a hamstring issue, yet still features in 4593 SuperCoach teams. “He’s a chance. He did some running (on Monday), he did some running on Saturday in Brisbane and we’ll see how he is on Wednesday. We can’t give a yes or no just yet, but we’re going to give him every chance,” coach John Longmire said.

Franklin has only averaged 70 points per game this year and would be a risky pick despite losing $108,100 off his starting value.

.@Buddy_Franklin is a chance to play, will monitor at training this week and give him every chance.

— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) May 6, 2019

Tigers father-son in mix for senior debut

Richmond has provided some of the top SuperCoach rookies of the season and Patrick Naish could be next in line after Sydney Stack, Jack Ross and Liam Baker. Naish ($123,900, Def) has been a standout for the club’s unbeaten VFL team this year and had 122 ranking points in the Tigers’ victory over Williamstown on Sunday. He hasn’t dipped below 90 points in the VFL this year and opportunity could be knocking after Daniel Rioli and Nick Vlastuin copped knocks in Richmond’s loss to Western Bulldogs. “He ended up with 23 disposals, but the pleasing part of it is his 10 contested possessions and he’s just playing great footy. He’s setting us up with inside-50s and clearances,” Tigers VFL coach Craig McRae said.

Originally published as Will Patrick Dangerfield recover to face North Melbourne? Plus news on Lance Franklin, Lachie Whitfield and Tom Liberatore