SuperCoach Round 9 gossip: Lachie Whitfield to face fitness test, Joel Selwood to return, Stephen Coniglio spending more time in attack
Stephen Coniglio is one of the top fallen premiums of the year, dropping to just above $500,000 before facing Carlton. But you need to be aware of the amount of time he’s been spending in attack. SUPERCOACH WHISPERS
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Cross your fingers and toes Lachie Whitfield owners.
The prolific SuperCoach defender is set to face a fitness test in coming days as he pushes to return from two weeks after due to a corked hip sustained in the Sydney derby.
His teammate Jeremy Cameron will feature against the Blues in a welcome boost to those who traded the Coleman Medal favourite in last week.
Cameron spent plenty of time up forward alongside Stephen Coniglio last week, who has been spending more time than in recent years in attack during the past month.
Meanwhile, Joel Selwood, Braydon Preuss and Connor Blakely are in line to make SuperCoach-relevant returns in Round 9.
Get all this week’s top SuperCoach whispers below.
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CAMERON CLEARED, WHITFIELD TO FACE TEST
Mixed news out of GWS Giants, with key forward Jeremy Cameron cleared to take on Carlton this week but SuperCoach defensive general Lachie Whitfield and ruckman Shane Mumford set to face fitness tests. Cameron copped a knock to his left shoulder in Sunday’s loss to Hawthorn but the 15,000 coaches with the Coleman Medal favourite will be relieved to know he’s “pulled up even better than he did last week,” according to Giants general manager of football Wayne Campbell. Whitfield, who has missed the past two weeks due to a corked hip suffered in the Sydney derby, is expected to return, barring any training setbacks. Mumford is also likely to take on Carlton this weekend after a knee concern but will need to get through training to be considered.
HOFF SET TO REPRISE ‘MR FIX-IT’ ROLE
He’s often been a ‘Mr Fix-It’ for Port Adelaide, although Justin Westhoff’s flexibility doesn’t always equate to positive SuperCoach scoring. The Power veteran started forward in the showdown and struggled, then spent time on a wing and was eventually thrown into a key defensive role during the second half. The suggestion had been that with Todd Marshall back in the side Westhoff would play a more advanced role, which had been reflected in scores of 92 and 109 in rounds 6 and 7. But Westhoff crashed back to earth with 41 against the Crows and it’s clear he’ll continue to be thrown around. “The beauty of Westy is his leadership and his flexibility — he’s hugely important as a piece for us to move around,” assistant coach Brett Montgomery said this week.
15.6 - The number of kilometres travelled by Westhoff on Friday night
— Port Adelaide FC (@PAFC) May 7, 2019
Round 7 by the numbers âž¡ï¸ https://t.co/XGfuXNITag #weareportadelaide pic.twitter.com/sB0IpaaOgR
HOW LATE GOALS BOOSTED HOLMAN, HORE SCORES
Nick Holman was so nearly the hero for Gold Coast at the weekend against Melbourne before Demons defender Marty Hore answered his late goal to tie the scores. Tom McDonald’s point then earned Melbourne a dramatic win which appeared unlikely less than a minute earlier when Holman put the Suns six points ahead. Holman’s goal was worth 10.08 ranking points, while Hore earned 10.26 points for his major. McDonald’s matchwinning point only equated to 1.29 points. Most of Hore’s 89 points came during the last quarter, while Holman managed 128.
PREUSS SET TO PARTNER GAWN FOR THIRD TIME
Ruckman Braydon Preuss is in the frame to make his AFL return against West Coast Eagles on Friday night after returning through the VFL from a shoulder injury. “West Coast had a pretty good plan against Maxy (Gawn) previously, so that is something that we’ve worked on as a club to make that function better for us,’’ Demons coach Simon Goodwin said. “We will be pretty well prepared whether it’s Braydon or someone else that partners Max.” In the two games former North Melbourne big man Preuss and Gawn have played together in Rounds 4 and 5, Gawn scored 113 and 126 SuperCoach points, so Preuss’ possible return is hardly reason for panic.
CONIGLIO’S FORWARD TIME HURTING SCORING
Stephen Coniglio started the year as one of the most expensive SuperCoach midfielders at $588,600 and opened the campaign in a blaze of glory with 154 points in Round 1. But a mix of taggers and an increased forward role have caused his price to fall to $505,500 with a break even of 130 this week. Coniglio only attended nine centre bounces for the Giants against Hawthorn on Sunday and spent a season high 34 per cent of time playing as a forward. Coniglio has five scores above 100 in eight games, but hasn’t reached 105 since Round 1. He’s still well worth consideration if he drops under $500,000 heading into Round 9.
Stephen Coniglio spent an = season-high 34% of game time up forward today. Just 9 CBA's - ranked 4th for the Giants.
— Fantasy Freako (@FantasyFreako) May 12, 2019
SELWOOD LIKELY TO RETURN FOR CATS
Could popular rookie Cat Charlie Constable be squeezed out again? Constable was a surprise late inclusion after Geelong captain Joel Selwood was included in the team to face North Melbourne when Sam Menegola withdrew, only for Selwood to be a late withdrawal an hour before the first bounce. Constable responded with 27 disposals and 10 marks. He’d be stiff to miss out on those numbers, but with Selwood likely to face Western Bulldogs at least one Cat will miss out. Meanwhile, Patrick Dangerfield told Geelong radio station K Rock he would continue to play through knee soreness. “It’ll still be a little bit sore, but it will progressively get better over the next few weeks,” he said.
CROUCH CALL TO BE MADE IN COMING DAYS
It will be a busy few days for Adelaide’s fitness staff with prolific midfielder Matt Crouch one of four players to be tested before Round 9. Crouch suffered a hip injury in the second quarter of the showdown and played on before the Crows ruled him out for the rest of the game when he had 54 SuperCoach points. “He’ll work really hard this week to get up for main training on Thursday and be assessed on Thursday or Friday,” Adelaide’s Steve Saunders told the club website. Paul Seedsman (knee) and Richard Douglas (ankle) are the other senior regulars who will be assessed.
From Adelaide FC regarding Matt Crouch's injury:
— SuperCoach Bandit (@SC__Bandit) May 13, 2019
“Matt sustained a heavy contusion early in the game to his left hip... We expect him to make sufficient progress to be available for next week’s game.â€#SuperCoach
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DUNKLEY’S BROTHER IMPRESSES ON VFL DEBUT
His older brother Josh is flying after returning to the Western Bulldogs midfield in the past two weeks and Kyle Dunkley has been touted as one of the likely selections in this month’s mid-season draft. Dunkley made his VFL debut for Footscray on Sunday and kicked 3.1 from 13 disposals, also laying three tackles to finish with 78 ranking points. Dunkley has been linked with Carlton and looms as a potential mid-season downgrade if he lands on an AFL list.
FORT MOVES CLOSER TO FIRST AFL GAME FOR CATS
There was plenty of talk he’d be Geelong’s No. 1 ruckman this year and Darcy Fort continues to mount a strong case for an AFL debut. The ruckman, who is in more than 30,000 SuperCoach teams, booted three goals and had 13 disposals playing predominantly as a forward for the club’s VFL team against North Melbourne. Zac Smith did the bulk of the ruckwork for the Cats’ seconds, finishing with 27 hit-outs, while Ryan Abbott had 17. Fort was named on an extended bench last week before Geelong’s AFL game against the Roos.
CONNOR BLAKELY IN LINE FOR FIRST GAME OF SEASON
The forgotten defender of SuperCoach is set to return. Connor Blakely, a $461,800 defender who has averaged 89 and 85 in the past two years, will play his first game of 2019 for Fremantle against Essendon, according to reports from Western Australia. If he returns after two matches in the WAFL, Blakely will be a trade-in target for Round 11. The difficulty with adding him that week is his price would either rise or fall the week before the Dockers have a bye in Round 12.
Originally published as SuperCoach Round 9 gossip: Lachie Whitfield to face fitness test, Joel Selwood to return, Stephen Coniglio spending more time in attack
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