SuperCoach trade guide: Who to bring into your team for Round 18

Lachie Whitfield is back and ready to dominate SuperCoach scoring in the run home, but his price is still falling. Should we jump now or wait? This week’s top trade targets.

Is this the week to do the Dunkley double?

Bulldog Josh Dunkley has become the second player this season to post a 200-plus score thanks to 39 disposals, 15 tackles and two goals against the Demons.

After averaging a modest 85.8 SuperCoach points over the first six rounds, a move to the midfield has sent his scores skyrocketing - with an average of 129.7 from Rounds 7-17.

Dunkley is in more than 55,000 teams, but that’s just 27 per cent of SuperCoach entries. Is it too late for the other 73 per cent of the competition to get on board?

Finding $625,000 won’t be easy, but Dunkley’s little brother might do us a favour. Kyle Dunkley has made a solid impression in his first two games for Melbourne after being recruited in the mid-season draft, and represents perhaps the last real downgrade target for the season.

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At just $102,400, a trade from a non-playing rookie like Oskar Baker, Jackson Hately or Brett Bewley will free up more than $100,000 to put towards Josh. If you can cash in a Sam Walsh, Will Setterfield or Sydney Stack type, you’re laughing.

Here are the best trades for Round 18.

TOP TARGETS

Josh Dunkley $625,000, Fwd/Mid, Avg: 113.3, BE: 69

Is it a bad idea to chase last week’s points? Yes. Should we buy a player who was available for $100k cheaper a couple of months ago? Ideally, no. But the problem for the 73 per cent of coaches without Dunkley in their side is they are giving up a huge head start every week to teams with the third-ranked forward, who is about to gobble up No.2 Travis Boak. And his price is still going up.

Kyle Dunkley $102,400, Mid, Avg: 49.5, BE: -38

Dunkley Junior is the pick of the rookies this week after scores of 58 and 41 in his first two AFL games. You shouldn’t be starting rookies on the field at this stage of the season so the biggest priority is job security for bench cover – something that has left plenty of SuperCoach players exposed in recent weeks. We *think* Simon Goodwin will keep playing Dunkley. Magpie Isaac Quaynor also looks like a solid choice but his $153k price tag is a bit off-putting.

Josh Dunkley is finishing the season on fire — just like he did last year. Picture: Michael Klein.

Ian Hill, $117,300, Mid/Fwd, Avg: 60, BE: -50

Trading in rookies after just one game is fraught with danger but “Bobby” Hill looked very lively against the Tigers, kicking three goals on his way to 60 points. His biggest selling point is dual-position status that can provide vital bench flexibility for the run home, swinging him between the midfield and forward line to cover for our other DPP stars.

Jack Crisp $489,900, Def, Avg: 92.7, BE: 72

Crisp hasn’t reached last season’s heights in 2019 but he is showing major signs in recent weeks of recapturing those numbers, posting 109, 99, 99 and 122 in his past four. That’s a very nice price but Friday night was just the second time he has been deployed as a full-time midfielder this season – can he keep it up?

Zach Merrett $497,100, Mid, Avg: 106.6, BE: 129

Merrett rebounded from a poor game against Sydney with 109 points against North Melbourne, but non-owners will enjoy the benefits of a $60,000 price drop over the past fortnight. The Bombers have a tough run home but a player averaging over 105 for under $500k is hard to pass up.

Rory Sloane $544,600, Mid, Avg: 108.7, BE: 129

If you’re looking for a more reliable option, and have a bit more cash in the bank, then Sloane remains the top choice. A favourable run home includes matches against Carlton and St Kilda, but will he cop the Dylan Clarke tag this week? Other options to replace injured Giant Stephen Coniglio include Elliot Yeo ($539,600, BE 131) and Adam Treloar ($561k, BE 111).

Toby Greene $420,900, Fwd, Avg: 83, BE: 43

Picking Greene is always a gamble but at that price it could be worth the risk if he moves into the midfield to cover missing stars Josh Kelly and Stephen Coniglio (and Callan Ward). That’s exactly what he did against Richmond and he responded with a season-high 138 points.

Can we trust Toby Greene?

Shai Bolton $339,900, Fwd, Avg: 73.2, BE: -31

Hear us out. Bolton isn’t the sort of player you’d be trading in if you’re clear on top of your private league, but for desperate players short on trades, cash or both and looking for a late-season point of difference, it could just pay off. A move to the midfield has resulted in scores of 122 and 112 in the past two weeks. Can he keep it up? At that price it might be a risk worth taking.

WAIT A WEEK?

Lachie Whitfield $538,900, Def, Avg: 109.9, BE: 156

Whitfield shed $25k after his return game and should drop a similar amount after playing the Pies this week as his break even remains high. But with just six rounds remaining, how long can we wait? The smart play might be to bite the bullet now and pay a little extra and hope he runs rampant against Collingwood on Saturday.

CHOPPING BLOCK

Stephen Coniglio $540,000, Mid, Avg: 101.2, BE: 165

Darcy Moore $398,400, Def/Fwd, Avg: 75.7, BE: 117

Reilly O’Brien $520,300, Ruc, Avg: 94.6, BE: 159

Matt Parker $265,100, Fwd, Avg: 54.8, BE: 59

Xavier Duursma $353,200, Def-Mid, Avg: 71.3, BE: 96

Connor Rozee $342,100, Def-Fwd, Avg: 75.2, BE: 89

Jackson Hately $238,300, Mid, Avg: 68.8, BE: 48

Marty Hore $357,600, Def, Avg: 76.3, BE: 135

Willem Drew $316,600, Mid/Fwd, Avg: 70.7, BE: 79

Coniglio and Moore are must-trades after injury and it’s time to cash in Reilly O’Brien (and cross your fingers we don’t need ruck cover between now and Round 23) to make the most of his $383,500 appreciation — he lost $23,900 this week and is on the way down. If you’ve still get rookies with some value cash them in while you still have time to get something for the deal. More than 36,000 coaches still have Marty Hore. Why?!

HOLD

Dylan Clarke $277,800, Mid, Avg: 71.7, BE: 33

Jordan Clark $322,100, Def, Avg: 60.5, BE: 52

Noah Answerth $271,100, Def-Mid, Avg: 55.7, BE: 34

Sydney Stack $447,800, Mid, Avg: 83.2, BE: 85

Will Setterfield $318,300, Fwd-Mid, Avg: 59.6, BE: 46

Sam Walsh $430,000, Mid, Avg: 89.8, BE: 68

Brodie Smith $397,200, Def, Avg: 85.4, BE: 43

Clarke is the fifth-most traded out player this week which is a sign of how desperate we are to find money. All of the players listed above are scoring well enough to keep but could be traded if needed to get another superstar into your side. Just beware of the danger if leaving dead wood on the bench (remember last week?!). Brodie Smith has rebounded from his form slump with scores of 97 and 98 in his past two games but the real test will come against top-four teams – fortunately, he only plays two of those for the rest of the year (West Coast and Collingwood).

Brodie Smith has rebounded from his form slump.

BARGAIN BIN

Under 500k

Tom Stewart $481,500, Def

Lachie Hunter $481,100, Mid

Luke Dunston $476,800, Mid

Kane Lambert $473,400, Fwd

Robbie Gray $472,500, Fwd/Mid

Ed Curnow $463,300, Mid

Robbie Tarrant $463,200, Def

Marc Murphy $462,500, Mid

Bachar Houli $452,500, Def

Under 450k

James Sicily $447,600, Def

Trent Cotchin $443,300, Mid

Jack Riewoldt $434,100, Fwd

Hunter Clark $370,200, Def

Shai Bolton $339,900, Fwd

Jayden Short $333,200, Def

Originally published as SuperCoach trade guide: Who to bring into your team for Round 18