SuperCoach Draft 2020: The Phantom’s top 50 player rankings - January edition
If you’re playing SuperCoach Draft in 2020, start here. The Phantom unveils the January edition of his top-50 player rankings and predicts how a draft might ufold
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If you haven’t played SuperCoach Draft before, you’re missing out.
Arguably, it’s a fun, more-exciting way to play our favourite fantasy game.
Take part in a league with your mates – or join any available public league – and select a unique SuperCoach team through a live draft where each player is only available once.
You can then trade players with other teams throughout the season and pick up any undrafted player from the free agency pool as you go.
League settings – number of teams, squad size, trading and free agency options, gameplay and draft type, just to name a few – are customisable, allowing you to set up your competition your own way.
To begin, here is the January edition of my Top 50 player rankings. For new players, it will give you an indication of how a draft might play out.
GET STARTED IN SUPERCOACH DRAFT
The Commissioner’s guide to SuperCoach Draft
1. Brodie Grundy (Coll) RUCK
2019 Average: 130
The star big man has posted a SuperCoach ton in 38 of his past 44 home-and-away matches – 25 of them in excess of 130 – and has finished the past two seasons as the top-ranked player in the game. Don’t even think about doing otherwise.
2. Max Gawn (Melb) RUCK
2019 Average: 128
Gawn isn’t far behind, scoring 100 or more on 36 occasions in the past two years. By average, the third-ranked ruckman is 16-points adrift – there’s no such discrepancy in any other position.
3. Lachie Whitfield (GWS) FWD, MID
2019 Average: 111
The next biggest points differential between the top scorer and the rest of the field is likely to be in the forward-line, depending, of course, whether there’s another slow start from Dustin Martin or not. If you take out Whitfield’s two injury-affected scores last year, he averaged 119 from 15 matches.
4. Jack Macrae (WB) MID
2019 Average: 123
With the three best positional players gone, it’s time to take the likely No. 1 midfielder. Or, at least, the safest bet. Macrae is coming off consecutive season averages of 123 or more and posted SuperCoach tons - six in excess of 135 - in every game following the Bulldogs’ Round 12 bye.
5. Patrick Dangerfield (GEEL) MID
2019 Average: 115
For as good as Macrae has been in recent seasons, Dangerfield has scored 362 more points over the past three years. He averaged less than 120 for the first time since 2014 last year but the Cats have added to their attack and there’s no Tim Kelly in the midfield this year.
6. Nat Fyfe (Freo) MID
2019 Average: 120
Some might go after Lachie Neale and Patrick Cripps at this point but the 2019 Brownlow Medallist, who posted 17 SuperCoach tons, six of them in excess of 140, last year, should outscore both if he stays fit.
7. Lachie Neale (Bris) MID
2019 Average: 121
The 26-year-old averaged 121 points per game in a career-best season and has only missed two matches since 2013. And, don’t forget he averaged 117 points in his final 18 games as a Docker.
8. Patrick Cripps (Carl) MID
2019 Average: 117
There would be a strong argument to make the Carlton co-captain the first-picked midfielder after 18 scores of 120 or more over the past two seasons, nine of them in excess of 150. You should be taking one of the big five here, regardless.
9. Jake Lloyd (Syd) DEF
2019 Average: 109
After posting SuperCoach tons in 13 of the final 15 matches of the previous year, Lloyd passed the 100-point mark 15 times to Round 18, 2019. Concern over the effect of teammate Jordan Dawson shouldn’t deter you from taking the top-scoring defender, ahead of the next-best midfielder or forward.
10. Dustin Martin (Rich) FWD, MID
2019 Average: 100
Inconsistent start to the year SuperCoach-wise but if you include the finals series, Martin averaged 115 in the final eight matches of 2019. It might be hard to overlook midfielders Josh Dunkley or Josh Kelly but, at his best, Martin is an absolute gift as a forward.
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11. Josh Dunkley (WB) MID
2019 Average: 116
12. Josh Kelly (GWS) MID
2019 Average: 117
13. Clayton Oliver (Melb) MID
2019 Average: 109
14. Rory Laird (Adel) DEF
2019 Average: 97
15. Marcus Bontempelli (WB) MID
2019 Average: 115
16. Adam Treloar (Coll) MID
2019 Average: 113
17. Zac Williams (GWS) D EF
2019 Average: 102
18. Tom Mitchell (HAW) MID
2019 Average: DNP
19. James Sicily (Haw) DEF
2019 Average: 94
20. Todd Goldstein (NM) RUCK
2019 Average: 112
21. Michael Walters (Freo) FWD
2019 Aveage: 101
22. Tim Kelly (WC) MID
2019 Average: 103
23. Rory Sloane (Adel) MID
2019 Average: 103
24. Tom Stewart (Geel) DEF
2019 Average: 98
25. Devon Smith (Ess) FWD, MID
2019 Average: 69
26. Reilly O’Brien (Adel) RUCK
2019 Average: 95
27. Stephen Coniglio (GWD) MID
2019 Average: 101
28. Tim Taranto (GWS) MID
2019 Average: 102
29. Matt Crouch (Adel) MID
2019 Average: 104
30. Hugh Greenwood (GC) F WD, MID
2019 Average: 85
31. Isaac Heeney (Syd) FWD, MID
2019 Average: 94
32. Caleb Daniel (WB) DEF
2019 Average: 99
33. Dayne Zorko (Bris) MID
2019 Average: 107
34. Sam Docherty (Carl) DEF
2019 Average: DNP
35. Zach Merrett (Ess) MID
2019 Average: 106
36. Rowan Marshall (StK) RUCK
2019 Average: 110
37. Scott Lycett (Port) RUCK
2019 Average: 101
38. Jordan Dawson (Syd) DEF, FWD
2019 Average: 86
39. Jack Steven (Geel) F WD, MI D
2019 Average: 74
40. Toby Greene (GWS) FWD
2019 Average: 94
41. Jade Gresham (StK) FWD, MID
2019 Average: 84
42. Andrew Gaff (WC) MID
2019 Average: 107
43. Luke Parker (Syd) MID
2019 Average: 105
44. Taylor Adams (Coll) MID
2019 Average: 97
45. Dan Houston (Port) DEF, MID
2019 Average: 89
46. Elliot Yeo (WC) MID
2019 Average: 108
47. Nic Naitanui (WC) RUCK
2019 Average: 94
48. Hugh McCluggage (Bris) MID
2019 Average: 94
49. Shannon Hurn (WC) DEF
2019 Average: 103
50. Gary Ablett (Geel) FWD
2019 Average: 96
Originally published as SuperCoach Draft 2020: The Phantom’s top 50 player rankings - January edition