KFC SuperCoach: Should you pay $1.4 million for the ‘set and forget’ ruck duo Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy?
Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn are massive SuperCoach scorers, and come with price tags to match. There are some much cheaper options this year, but can you afford to leave out the big two?
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I’ll get him after their bye.
It was a common line before the start of 2019 from SuperCoaches who were unwilling to fork out $1.4 million to start Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn.
The plan seemed sound enough. Surely one of the premium ruck pair would be $50,000-$100,000 cheaper halfway through the season.
Gawn scuppered those plans when he pumped out scores of 144, 149, 158 and 153 in consecutive weeks before the bye, surging to $706,000 — $13,900 more than his starting price.
Grundy was $22,000 cheaper than his starting quote of $708,200, but you have to wonder whether that saving was worth hundreds of points which went begging.
By Queen’s Birthday, Grundy and Gawn had clearly established themselves as the No.1 and No.2 ruckmen of the season.
The Demons star ranked No. 1 at the bye with 1553 points, 43 more than the year’s eventual No. 1 scorer Grundy (1510).
At Round 13, the season’s third ranked ruckman Todd Goldstein had 1219 points, highlighting the huge gulf between the best and the rest.
Of course, you could make up those 300 points by spending the money saved on premium scorers in other positions.
New GWS ruckman Sam Jacobs ($348,400) and West Coast’s Nic Naitanui ($457,800) will be popular for bargain hunters, raising the possibility of starting with one of the big two and a cheaper second ruck with a plan to upgrade to the other one after they share the Round 13 bye.
Naitanui has been a premium SuperCoach scorer in the past and so has Jacobs — that was a few years ago but he’s likely to be the No.1 big man again at GWS. Both will be tapping the ball to elite midfields and are likely to rise in value.
But can they hit the heights necessary to bridge the huge gap to Grundy and Gawn, even if the Pies and Demons big men suffer a small price drop?
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Last year the cheapest you could get Grundy (before the final two rounds) was $655,100 in Round 9. Gawn’s lowest price was $639,900 in Round 6. That’s too early to make much money from a rookie you would need to cash in as part of an upgrade — it would have cost $136,000 to turn Todd Goldstein into Grundy and $107,200 to turn him into Gawn.
And Nic Nat and Jacobs are starting from way behind where Goldstein was last year.
Save yourself the hassle of when to trade in Grundy and Gawn and pay top dollar to start them.
It’ll mean sacrificing in other positions, but the star duo will more than make up for it.
SIX REASONS TO GO WITH THE ‘SET AND FORGET’ RUCK SET-UP
1. TWO CAPTAINCY OPTIONS
Play your captaincy smartly and you’ll have choice of either Gawn or Grundy as captain most rounds. The Magpies and Demons only have overlapping fixtures five times in the current fixture and the vice-captain loophole doesn’t get much simpler than looping Gawn into Grundy, or vice-versa.
2. MONSTER SCORING POTENTIAL
Grundy scored 140-plus in eight matches last season with a high of 174, while Gawn went 140-plus seven times with a best of 212 in Round 23. It doesn’t get much better than that in SuperCoach grand final week!
3. SAVING TRADES
If you don’t start Gawn and Grundy, the likelihood is you’ll need to burn two trades at some point to get either into your team (one downgrade, one upgrade). That’s two valuable trades you could better use elsewhere.
4. THE VALUE RUCKS ARE RISKY
Sam Jacobs SHOULD be No.1 ruckman at GWS, but the Giants still have Shane Mumford on their list and developing rucks Lachlan Keefe and Kieren Briggs. His job security won’t be a huge concern, but can he really score the numbers you need to gain $150,000-plus? Nic Naitanui’s injury history is enough to put me off.
5. CONSISTENT OUTPUT
There are no players who compare to Grundy and Gawn for sheer consistency. Their 2019 averages of 130 (Grundy) and 128.4 (Gawn) were more than five points a game higher than the No.1 ranked midfielder Jackson Macrae (123.2) and 12 points more than the best forward Josh Dunkley (116.5). Between them they have missed one game to injury over the past two seasons.
6. YOU SHOULD HAVE COVER IN ROUND 13
The AFL hasn’t done SuperCoaches any favours by giving Gawn and Grundy Round 13 off together. But it’s a scenario we’ve run into before and if you plan the rest of your team accordingly, you should still be able to field the required 18 players in week two of the byes.
WHO ARE THE EXPERTS PICKING?
Tim Michell: Gawn, Grundy and loophole Matt Conroy are locked in.
Al Paton: I’m a boring Grundy-Gawn man. The bench is more interesting, normally I go for the cheapest ruck available (Conroy) but I think Darcy Cameron ($123,900 RUCK/FWD) is a chance to get games at the Pies.
Gilbert Gardiner: Grundy-Goldstein but football department inquiring with Nic Nat’s people.
The Phantom: I’ve given in. Gawn and Grundy for me.
Dan Batten: Grundy/Nic Nat (Conroy) for now
Originally published as KFC SuperCoach: Should you pay $1.4 million for the ‘set and forget’ ruck duo Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy?