KFC SuperCoach 2021: The Phantom answers the burning questions ahead of Round 8

The form of Patrick Cripps is frustrating more than 40,000 KFC SuperCoaches. Here’s why his scoring has been so poor, plus The Phantom’s verdict on whether to trade.

I’m back.

Straight in, you don’t play your stars in the reserves.

It’s time to take a look at KFC SuperCoach’s burning questions ahead of Round 8.

Tim Michell was great in my absence, but we’ll push him forward, again, this week and play him out of position.

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Josh Kelly scored a season-high 129 KFC SuperCoach points on Saturday. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Like Josh Kelly, Phantom?

It’s like you read my mind. It’s a very good question. The smooth-moving left-footer posted his first KFC SuperCoach ton of the season, on the back of 27 disposals – a season-high 16 kicks – 10 marks and 10 score involvements against the Crows.

With Brett Daniels, who has been playing through the midfield this year, injured early in the game, Lachie Whitfield returning to the side and the addition of Jesse Hogan to the forward line, Kelly played 72 per cent of the game on a wing on Saturday – up from 15 per cent across the opening five rounds. The move away from the forward line allowed the 26-year-old to win 45 per cent of his possession in the defensive half of the ground.

But will it continue? With Leon Cameron’s track record, who knows!? Despite a season-low 69 points, however, the role change occurred the previous week against the Dogs, with the left-footer spending 71 per cent of time playing off a wing in Round 6, without those three personnel changes.

Role change alert. Josh Kelly is back on the wing.

Rnds 1-5 - 15%
Rnd 6 - 71%
Rnd 7 - 72%#SuperCoach#AFLFantasy

— Fantasy Freako (@FantasyFreako) May 3, 2021

Is it enough to jump on?

For $500k, it’s close. Ideally, you’d wait and see what happens against the Bombers this weekend, but, with a number of the top cash cows starting to lose money, some KFC SuperCoaches won’t have time. With a breakeven of 105, though, there will still be plenty of value in Kelly’s price ahead of Round 9, even with another decent score on Saturday.

Is there any other fallen premium options to consider?

Um. Yeah. And, in a difficult year, when many KFC SuperCoaches are struggling with cash generation, it’s important to take advantage of the value.

At the top of the tree this week are defenders Steven May ($408k) and Caleb Daniel ($412k). Two top-eight contenders at less than $415k is unbelievable buying. Some are even calling May, the Melbourne defender who scored 145 in Round 7, the KFC SuperCoach bargain of the century. And I’ve got no argument against that statement.

TRADE GUIDE: ALL THE OPTIONS TO CONSIDER AHEAD OF ROUND 8

Demon Steven May, right, is the value buy in KFC SuperCoach ahead of Round 8. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

So, which one?

Both are terrific options and you can read the full debate – written by the versatile Michell – here.

They are both efficient, especially by foot. If you take out May’s injury-affected game, when he only tallied five total disposals, the Melbourne defender’s 15.8 effective kicks per game ranks fifth in the competition of all players to have played more than one match.

In no surprise, Daniel’s season-high 117 KFC SuperCoach points was on the back of the diminutive Bulldog hitting the target with 15 of his 16 kicks.

May, however, also has the ability to win the ball back off the opposition in the air.

So, despite having the dreaded Round 14 bye and the slight concern he may have to revert to a one-on-one role with Adam Tomlinson going down, May gets the nod for me.

Fingers crossed Tom McDonald stays back.

Is either worth picking over Jordan Ridley next round?

In simple terms, no. But it’s not a simple question. If you have one spot available in defence, ideally, you would be saving it for Ridley. There’s even Giant Lachie Whitfield, who returned in Round 7, to think about – that’s a discussion for another day.

But Dockers cash cow Heath Chapman lost $18k after the loss to the Eagles and is set to drop again with a Round 8 breakeven of 85. And the quicker you can get your rookies off field, the better.

Personally, like many, I’ll be making the obvious move from Chapman to May. And, then, after he falls close to $500k, on the back of a huge breakeven of 202, I’ll pounce on Ridley. It will force a Liam Duggan or Changkuouth Jiath to the bench, or maybe even out of the team, but that will be a good problem to have.

So is a CJ a true premium?

After three KFC SuperCoach tons to start the year, the breakout Hawk has posted scores of 72, 99 and 49 in the past three rounds. He was dragged deep into defence at times against the Saints and his 13 disposals was his equal-lowest for the year.

But you shouldn’t be trading him yet. Again, you have bigger problems, like on-field rookies.

Patrick Cripps has recorded the second-most clangers in the competition. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

What about Patrick Cripps?

While I think you should still be using your trades elsewhere at this stage, things aren’t getting better for Cripps owners in KFC SuperCoach.

Despite recording 25 and 24 disposals in each of the past two matches, respectively, the Carlton co-captain has finished with scores of 64 and 65.

And it’s all to do with his errors. Of all players to have played at least four matches, Cripps still ranks 10th in the competition for contested possessions. But his 41 clangers is the second-most in the league – only Lion Dayne Zorko (45) has recorded more.

Cripps has given away 15 free kicks in 2021 – ranked seventh – but it’s his kicking which is the biggest concern.

His kick rating of -8.9% ranks 247th of the 253 players to have recorded 50 or more kicks this season.

Yeah, that’s bad.

Speaking of impact by foot, Tom Mitchell?

Not Tim Michell. Tom Mitchell, the Brownlow Medallist, who averaged 113 points per game last year after missing the entire 2019 season with a broken leg.

With four KFC SuperCoach tons this year, including a 135-point effort in Round 1, Mitchell is averaging three figures – but only just. Scores of 76 and 90 in the two rounds before his 105 against the Saints, has resulted in a significant fall with Mitchell available at more than a $100k discount on his starting price.

One of history’s best KFC SuperCoach scorers, who is still averaging 102, at $508k is also a bargain, right?

Sure, but the form of his team, along with those two scores are concerning.

Mitchell had 32 disposals against the Demons in Round 5, but failed to reach the 80-point mark.

Unsurprisingly, he’s having no trouble finding the footy but his contested possession numbers are the lowest they have been since 2015 and Mitchell is not driving the ball forward on the outside.

His average of 9.6 metres gained per disposal is the third-lowest rate of the top-50 ball winners across the competition this year.

But does he still pass three figures more often than not from here? Probably. And that makes him worth a big look.

Like Kelly, though, a breakeven of 108 means you can watch closely again in Round 8.

Is Andrew Brayshaw still worth jumping on?

Yes. I’d pick him over Kelly and Mitchell this week – while you wait – too.

WHAT ABOUT TOM GREEN?

*Inserts eyes emoji here.*

Is Shai Bolton a top-six forward in 2021? Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Seriously, though, Phantom, no forwards?

Well, I’m just not sure about any of them yet. Only one of the top seven overall scorers after seven rounds passed three figures on the weekend. Richmond’s Shai Bolton was great on Friday night, and still presents some value, while Dayne Zorko recovered after a slow start against the Power.

But can we trust the next group of Bailey Dale, Jack Darling, Tom McDonald, Kozzie Pickett and Nick Hind? Just read those names back to yourself again and you’ll have your answer.

I like the idea of giving Rowan Marshall another week or so and waiting for Zak Butters and Patrick Dangerfield to return, while improving other parts of my side in the meantime.

Is Frederick a must-have this week?

The Port Adelaide defender’s breakeven of -88 – and his scoring in his first two games - suggests he is.

But my good friend The Hipster isn’t sure about his long-term job security and believes Frederick could be the one to make way for Lachie Jones in a few weeks. So, don’t hesitate to upgrade if you can without him, especially if you already have Tom Highmore sitting dormant on the bench.

Collingwood’s Nathan Murphy might be more locked into his role at the Magpies, while young Tigers midfielder Riley Collier-Dawkins, after a long-awaited – and impressive – debut is on the bubble next week.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach 2021: The Phantom answers the burning questions ahead of Round 8