KFC SuperCoach 2023: The Phantom’s burning questions and all the late mail ahead of Round 7
Another week, another round of KFC SuperCoach carnage. Should you trade LDU? Will Rory Laird play? What about the rookies. Get all the latest news and advice here.
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Just as KFC SuperCoaches thought they had come out the other side of the carnage that was Round 6, more bad news arrived.
Star Crow Rory Laird left training early with a calf issue on Thursday and Luke Davies-Uniacke was withdrawn from the Kangaroos side less than 24 hours later.
And that all came after Gold Coast confirmed Touk Miller would miss ‘a fair portion of footy’ with a knee injury and Fremantle dropped downgrade option Corey Wagner.
So what should we do?
The latest word from West Lakes is more positive with Laird named and a chance to take his place against Collingwood on Sunday if he can pass a fitness test at training on Saturday.
“Nah it’s all right, mate, I should be sweet,” Laird told Channel 9 in Adelaide after being quizzed on the injury following training yesterday.
Have those midfield emergencies ready, but don’t worry about factoring him into your trades plans at this point.
Davies-Uniacke might be a different story, however, with the gun midfielder already ruled out of Saturday night’s game against Melbourne with a heel problem.
After exploding out the blocks with consecutive 150-point scores in KFC SuperCoach, Davies-Uniacke was a late withdrawal in Round 3 and hasn’t looked the same since.
But the club is hopeful the 23-year-old will only miss one game, given North Melbourne’s Round 8 clash with St Kilda is on Sunday.
There’s no guarantee and, at $560k, he’s within striking distance of Marcus Bontempelli, whose price is about to sky rocket after the huge 182-point score last week.
That’s a big boost to your team this week and it’s unlikely Davies-Uniacke’s scoring exceeds the Bulldogs skipper’s in the run home. But how many trades do you have left?
How many trades do you have left in #SuperCoach?
— The Phantom (@ThePhantomSC) April 27, 2023
If it is just one week, swapping a premium for a premium – albeit a very good one – might not be the best use of your trades, especially with many KFC SuperCoaches planning to execute a value upgrade in the form of Will Day or Stephen Coniglio.
Some KFC SuperCoaches will consider using Davies-Uniacke as a way to bring both in, by going down from LDU to one and using the cash to upgrade a rookie to another.
And that could work.
But, unless we hear any more news over the next 24 hours, The Phantom suggests pushing on with that one proper upgrade – both of those players are unlikely to be this cheap again – and bench Davies-Uniacke this weekend.
Your team will – hopefully – be better off for it heading into Round 7.
Hawks to provide two more downgrade options
Hawthorn has given KFC SuperCoaches another two downgrade targets to consider after naming defender Josh Weddle and ruck-forward Max Ramsden to debut on Saturday.
Weddle was one of the most popular KFC SuperCoach rookies of pre-season but missed out on round 1 selection. In three VFL matches this season, the No.18 draft pick has averaged 22 disposals and 91 ranking points.
Weddle was mooted to play a wing role in his debut year and will be on the bubble come round 9.
Ramsden was taken by the Hawks in last year’s mid-season draft and at 202cm will likely start forward and provide ruck support for Ned Reeves.
Ramsden has averaged 90 ranking points in four VFL games this year, but will need to keep Lloyd Meek out of the side to be an option in KFC SuperCoach. Ramsden is a $123k RUC-FWD, so could be the perfect downgrade for teammate Fergus Greene in a few weeks.
The Keays to stopping Daicos?
It has been one of the most-spoken about topics all season and after six weeks of freedom, Nick Daicos is set to come in for more attention on Sunday.
Crows coach Matthew Nicks confirmed the Brownlow Medal favourite would be targeted.
Ben Keays, who has played as a defensive forward at times since midway through last year, looms as his likely opponent.
Keays was seen pushing up to stoppages alongside running defender Patrick Parnell at Crows training on Thursday, in what might have been preparation for the job on Daicos.
“The less he has the ball in his hands the better for us because he’s so good with the footy. It (the tag) is not easy to do though,” Nicks told reporters.
“We’ll definitely put some time into Nick, but they are where they are because they are an outstanding footy team. Nick is a part of that and he’s an outstanding footballer...”
Daicos is so popular in KFC SuperCoach it might not be much a factor in your head-to-head match-up anyway.
But, a possible tag needs to be considered when choosing your round 7 captain and vice-captain.
With the Adelaide-Collingwood clash the final game of the round on Sunday afternoon, banking on Daicos as captain might come with, at least, some risk this week.
Daicos features in 99 per cent of teams in the top five per cent on the overall rankings.
#supercoach C this week?
— Tim Michell (@tim_michell) April 28, 2023
The Phantom answers the burning trade questions
- The Phantom
Let’s not talk about last round.
No, seriously. This time, it’s not just a figure of speech.
It’s Thursday and we need to look forward, friends. It all starts again on Friday night.
And it’s still only round 7. If you’re just joining us, that means there are 17 to go after this weekend.
If you thought last Friday to Tuesday felt like a long time, you might be in for a shock.
Who are the best targets this week?
With KFC SuperCoach teams being hit from every angle – more than 7000 traded in Touk Miller last week – taking advantage of value when it’s available is becoming even more important.
Don’t compromise on quality, but take the underpriced premiums when they are on offer, especially with cash generation starting to dry up.
Will Ashcroft and Harry Sheezel should get you to a big name over the next month, but getting them off your field is unlikely to be your biggest problem.
Thankfully, there’s quality on offer at a great price this week.
Will Day ($454k DEF) is set to return to Hawthorn’s side after serving a two-game suspension for a dangerous tackle. In his past three games, the young Hawk has posted KFC SuperCoach scores of 98, 139 and 107 after cementing his place in the Hawthorn midfield.
Day attended a season-high 82 per cent of centre bounces against the Cats and finished with 14 contested possessions, six clearances and eight tackles. He recorded only 26 per cent of CBAs in the opening round against the Bombers, winning most of his footy on the outside and down back to tally 60 KFC SuperCoach points. But his three-round average of 115 – that coincides with the more permanent shift to the inside – ranks third in defence.
If his body holds up, and the role remains, he’s a good chance to finish in the top eight. I’m jumping on.
At the other end of the ground, Giant Stephen Coniglio ($499,200 FWD-MID) presents obvious value. With Tom Green missing, Coniglio led the way against the Lions, finishing with 136 KFC SuperCoach points – his highest score since round 1 – on the back of season-highs for disposals (38) and contested possessions (15).
Sure, Green is back this week, but it’s not about the role.
Coniglio attended more centre bounces a week earlier against the Hawks with Green in the side. It was returning midfielder Harry Perryman who picked up Green’s slack in round 6.
It’s more Coniglio’s, at times, erratic ball-use that causes some frustrating scores.
But it’s hard to see him missing the top-eight in the forward line, making that $499k price tag a very good one.
What about Danger?
Now, that’s a good question.
While we were all waiting – and hoping – to take advantage of some serious KFC SuperCoach value in one of the young guns – or mid-price options – who had been earmarked to replace Joel Selwood in the Geelong midfield, Patrick Dangerfield was plotting a return to his best.
The 33-year-old is the No.1 centre bounce midfielder at the Cats this season after attending a season-high 83 per cent against the Swans last week.
The result was a season-high 31 disposals, 14 contested possessions, 13 score involvements and 144 KFC SuperCoach points – his highest score since round 1 last year.
Importantly, he’s moving well, and Chris Scott definitely doesn’t need him in a Jeremy Cameron-led forward line.
So, $544k is great buying for a player with his scoring history and the eighth-highest three-round average in the competition.
At 3.4 per cent ownership, I like it as a point-of-difference play, but with Geelong proving the need to peak at the right time last year is vital, how many games does he play?
Jack Sinclair?
There’s value, as spoken about last week, but, with a Break Even of 117, you don’t need to jump this week if it doesn’t suit. Coach Ross Lyon, again, used him in the middle after halftime to good effect against the Blues. But for consistency in KFC SuperCoach, we still want him in defence, where he had nine effective disposals in the first term.
I’d pick Day over him if you’re trading there this round.
Jack Macrae?
Another 130 and we might have to jump on. I’ll be watching closely this week, even though his centre bounce numbers haven’t increased significantly.
Maybe after tallying 14 clearances and 20 contested possessions against the Dockers, he’s adjusted and they don’t matter for him as much, after all.
OK, what about over the next couple of weeks?
Get Clayton Oliver and Jordan Dawson now, it is your only chance, they said over the past two weeks.
Don’t worry, I was a nervous non-owner of Oliver, too, but, as the long weekend of footy showed, one quieter week changes everything.
After failing to hit three figures against the Tigers, Oliver’s price fell by $30k and faces a round 7 Break Even of 171.
Sure, he scored 178 in his last meeting with North Melbourne, but Oliver scored 168 – his exact Break Even – in his previous clash with Richmond.
Plan for him now.
Also keep his teammate Max Gawn right in your thinking, too.
After registering an injury-affected 0 – yes, it still hurts – against the Lions in round 2, the Melbourne skipper returned with 98 points in the Anzac Eve clash.
His price dropped $54k as a result and he faces another Break Even in excess of 200 against the Kangaroos this week.
Gawn under $500k – maybe with dual-position status? It’s a chance.
After, again, spending more time forward and sharing the ruck contests – 35 each – with Brodie Grundy, Gawn’s forward percentage sits at 34 per cent, just one below Champion Data’s threshold for change.
Also keep an eye on St Kilda ace Jack Steele, who looked underdone on his way to 54 KFC SuperCoach points against the Blues. He’s now priced at $555k and is set to face big back-to-back Break Evens.
Grundy out then?
Grundy attended 70 per cent of ruck contests in round 5 without Gawn. Against the Tigers, he attended 48 per cent. It might not be your biggest issue on-field, but it’s one you will need to eventually address – and probably before his price drops.
I’m rich Phantom, I can get anyone…
Get Marcus Bontempelli. As above, I won’t say this is your only chance, but, with a Break Even of 50, and after scoring 182 against the Dockers, the Bulldogs skipper’s price is about to explode.
He only scored 89 in Round 3 because of 13 clangers – six of them free kicks against.
OK, so who do I trade out?
My friend Al Paton has outlined who you should hold and who has to go here.
So you wouldn’t trade out Will Ashcroft or Kade Chander?
I’m not against it, especially Chandler.
He seems to love the MCG, scoring 93, 90 and 85 in his three games there this season – and the Demons have North Melbourne there on Saturday night.
But you’re not going to lose if you trade him to Stephen Coniglio this week.
Sure, you might miss out on another $40k if the young Demon can post another solid score, but Coniglio’s price could rise even faster. Take the premium, if in reach.
It’s a similar story with Ashcroft. If you have enough cash to, say, get Bontempelli, then you’re unlikely to look back on it as a mistake.
But, as last week showed, which rookies can you trust on field? The young Brisbane star would have to be close to the top of that very short list – and that’s why I’m holding.
Sheezel?
Yes, Aaron Hall is back, but Sheezel was sore last week and was tagged early in the game. But just remember, it was his sixth game of AFL footy. Give the kid another go, at least. Surely, you have bigger on-field issues.
Should I trade his teammate Luke Davies-Uniacke?
No. Again, try to get your rookies off field first. Now is not the time to be burning trades on luxury upgrades.
I do, however, share the concern that maybe he isn’t completely fit – he certainly doesn’t look to be moving in the blistering fashion he was in the opening two rounds.
And Rory Laird?
If you haven’t heard, the star Crow is in doubt for this weekend’s clash with calf tightness. Laird will be named but Matthew Nicks said on Thursday “it might be better for him to miss one than three or four”.
Don’t trade him, but it’s OK to be angry.
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Originally published as KFC SuperCoach 2023: The Phantom’s burning questions and all the late mail ahead of Round 7
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