SuperCoach expert jury answer the key pre-season questions
Who will be the breakout star of 2020? Who takes the tricky F3 position? Which ruck set-up do you favour? Our jury of SuperCoach experts have delivered their all-important verdicts.
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The SuperCoach jury has spoken.
We asked eight of our SuperCoach team some of the key questions for 2020, from the rookie defenders they’re targeting to the player they expect to emerge as a premium scorer and the left-field pick they’d love to make.
The players are real. The verdicts are real.
And they could just be the key to nailing your SuperCoach selections.
Tim Michell (Herald Sun)
How many defensive rookies are you starting? One on-field. Hayden Young. Will Gould and Luke Towey on bench.
Who’s your D1? Jake Lloyd
Who’s your F3? Jack Steven
What’s your ruck set-up? Set and forget — Grundy, Gawn and Conroy. I’ll revise the plan and likely pick Sam Jacobs if Gawn is struggling to overcome a knee injury closer to Round 1.
How many midfield premiums do you have? Five (Nat Fyfe, Josh Dunkley, Patrick Dangerfield, Clayton Oliver and Andrew Gaff).
Are you picking Jack Steven? Yes if he gets through the rest of pre-season unscathed. He’s too cheap not to as a forward.
Will Dusty and Whitfield finish as F1 and F2? Nope. Whitfield will be No. 1 but Martin No. 3 or No.4.
Who will be the breakout star of 2020? Chayce Jones. Gave a glimpse of his talent with 86 points in Round 23 against Western Bulldogs. Matthew Nicks said recently he’s been destroying pre-season as he’s only $271,500 as a SuperCoach forward.
Which rookie will make more money? Marlion Pickett or Izak Rankine? Pickett but Rankine is a great F5 or F6.
Which player is most likely to drop out of your current side before Round 1? Andrew Gaff. Love him for consistency but I’m just as likely to squeeze out the extra money to start a top premium such as Patrick Cripps.
Which left-field pick would you love to take a punt on? I’m not game enough to pick him but really like Adam Cerra ($338,900, DEF).
The Phantom
How many defensive rookies are you starting? Will Gould and Stephen Hill on field at the moment but far from settled. Hayden Young a real chance.
Who’s your D1? Rory Laird
Who’s your F3? Hugh Greenwood
What’s your ruck set-up? Grundy and Gawn. I’ll be leaving any call on Gawn for a while.
How many midfield premiums do you have? Four at this stage with Matt Rowell at M5.
Are you picking Jack Steven? I’ve been trying to squeeze him but cooled after the news of the calf setback. Might still be hard to resist come March, though.
Will Dusty and Whitfield finish as F1 and F2? Yes.
Who will be the breakout star of 2020? Hunter Clark or Jordan Dawson. Hugh McCluggage to take another big step, too.
Which rookie will make more money? Marlion Pickett or Izak Rankine? Pickett. But only just. Rankine might close the gap but, to begin, Pickett will be the better scorer.
Which player is most likely to drop out of your current side before Round 1? I’m pretty set. Gawn is the one who comes to mind after the recent training incident.
Which left-field pick would you love to take a punt on? Gold Coast midfielder Will Brodie ($435,800, MID).
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Dan Begala (SuperCoach Investor)
How many defensive rookies are you starting? It’s only early days, but it looks as though the depth of rookies is slightly better in the defensive side of the balance sheet. I’m currently rolling with Jake Lloyd (D1), Rory Laird (D2), Sam Docherty (D3) and the remaining mix of rookies and underpriced talisman such as Tom Doedee and Stephen Hill.
Who’s your D1? Jake Lloyd. He’s the most consistent performer over the past two seasons and I don’t expect anything – not even Jordan Dawson – to change that.
Who’s your F3? It was initially going to bestow Isaac Heeney (F1 Whitfield, F2 Dusty) with that honour, however his pre-season setback (“thumb”) has left a temporary void in my forward line. Hugh Greenwood ($463K, MID-FWD) looms as a breakout candidate for this position, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on the Gold Coast games during the Marsh Community Series.
What’s your ruck set-up? Grundy. Gawn. As the saying goes, don’t stare a gift horse in the mouth.
How many midfield premiums do you have? I’m trying to jam-pack the engine room with five premium midfielders and the initial iteration includes Patrick Cripps, Nat Fyfe, Tom Mitchell, Patrick Dangerfield and Clayton Oliver. But would it truly be “The Begala Brigade” without The Bont? I’m sure he’ll weave his way into the side before Round 1.
Are you picking Jack Steven? Jack is a Begala Brigade favourite. I don’t suspect he’ll average 100-plus points, but I am confident he’ll oscillate between 85-95 points.
Will Dusty and Whitfield finish as F1 and F2? Whitfield is the standout forward – no doubt – it’s simply a matter of whether he can avoid the injury curse that plagued his 2019 campaign. F2, however, will be closely contested between Dustin Martin and Michael Walters, who I suspect, will raise his scoring average to 105 points following the loss of Brad Hill and Ed Langdon during the trade period.
Who will be the breakout star of 2020? Sam Walsh ($472K, MID). I think the Blues star will have a sophomore year akin to Clayton Oliver (2017) and drastically raise his scoring average from 86 (2019) to north of 100 points per week as Cripps’ sidekick.
Which rookie will make more money? Marlion Pickett or Izak Rankine? It’s going to be a photo finish, but I think Marlion Pickett will trump the prized draft pick from the Gold Coast given the experience (premiership player) and the mature body ready for the rigours of consistent AFL.
Which player is most likely to drop out of your current side before Round 1? My greatest concern is those underpriced stars that I have indicatively selected (Tom Mitchell, Devon Smith and Jack Steven) who loom as season-defining selections for most coaches. If they escape the Marsh Community Series unscathed, it would take a brave coach to overlook their services.
Which left-field pick would you love to take a punt on? I would love to take the punt of Brisbane’s Hugh McCluggage ($510K, MID), whose scoring trajectory is sure to spike. After season averages of 54 (2017), 77 (2018) and 94 (2019), I wouldn’t be surprised if the elite wingman raised the bar beyond 110 points.
Paige Cardona expects James Worpel (centre) to become a bona fide SuperCoach star. Picture: Michael Klein.
Paige Cardona (Fox Sports)
Who’s your D1? Jake Lloyd
Who’s your F3? Devon Smith
What’s your ruck set-up? Gawndy (Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy)
How many midfield premiums do you have? Five
Are you picking Jack Steven? At this stage, no.
Will Dusty and Whitfield finish as F1 and F2? No … I think.
Who will be the breakout star of 2020? Pat Lipinski
Which rookie will make more money? Marlion Pickett or Izak Rankine? Pickett based on more midfield minutes
Which player is most likely to drop out of your current side before Round 1? Dylan Roberton
Which left-field pick would you love to take a punt on? At a glance, I think SuperCoaches might’ve overlooked James Worpel to find another gear in 2020. He’s lost his DPP status and he’s priced at a premium ($527,000, MID) but I’d love to roll the dice on him again – he will be a SuperCoach A-Grader, mark my words!
Al Paton (Herald Sun)
How many defensive rookies are you starting? Five – three on field and two on the bench – if we are counting Docker Stephen Hill as a rookie.
Who’s your D1? James Sicily.
Who’s your F3? Dustin Martin (Michael Walters edges him for F2 on price)
What’s your ruck set-up? Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn. Hoping Max gets well soon because I don’t really have a Plan B.
How many midfield premiums do you have? Five with ‘cheap’ premo Clayton Oliver at M5.
Are you picking Jack Steven? Yes. If he becomes a keeper that’s a bonus but he should provide handy scores and make some money to the byes.
Will Dusty and Whitfield finish as F1 and F2? Whitfield clear No.1. I like Walters a lot but Dusty could blow them all out of the water with one monster game.
Who will be the breakout star of 2020? Hugh McCluggage. Can’t fit him in my side though.
Which rookie will make more money? Marlion Pickett or Izak Rankine? Pickett. No doubting Izak’s talent but he played two pre-season matches last year and scored 32 twice.
Which player is most likely to drop out of your current side before Round 1? James Sicily.
Which left-field pick would you love to take a punt on? Bailey Smith. Mark the Dog down as a SuperCoach Draft special.
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Gilbert Gardiner (Herald Sun)
How many defensive rookies are you starting? None on the field, technically. Taken bargain buys (Quaynor, Roberton and Hill) but truth be told they’re placeholders until the pre-season matches. Sit next to cricket and golf guru Russell Gould in the office so taken Swans Will Gould (no relation) also.
Who’s your D1? Jake Lloyd.
Who’s your F3? Devon Smith.
What’s your ruck set-up? Grundy-Goldstein. Set and forget.
How many midfield premiums do you have? Five. Neale, Kelly, Cripps and Tim Kelly.
Are you picking Jack Steven? He’s been picked. Can’t guarantee he’ll last though.
Will Dusty and Whitfield finish as F1 and F2? F2. Lachie Whitfield should be a top-three scorer in the game in 2020.
Who will be the breakout star of 2020? Ollie Florent. Saw glimpses of his best last season, will only get better and better and better.
Which rookie will make more money? Marlion Pickett or Izak Rankine? Good question. Pickett
Which player is most likely to drop out of your current side before Round 1? Throw a blanket over Quaynor, Hill, Steven and Smith.
Which left-field pick would you love to take a punt on? Kozzie Pickett. Will need to be clean and effective from limited disposals but he’s exactly what the Dees need.
JB (Doctor SuperCoach)
How many defensive rookies are you starting? Currently two on-field if we include rookie-priced Stephen Hill. Doedee at D4 makes it feel like a safe option for now.
Who is your D1? Currently Sicily but has also been Zac Williams for a large part of the pre-season.
Who is your F3? Jack Steven since SuperCoach opened! The pre-season competition should help determine the new Geelong Cat and Devon Smith’s value.
What’s your ruck set-up? Grundy and Gawn. This won’t change.
How many midfield premiums do you have? Currently five, due to a lack of mid-priced options in there.
Are you picking Jack Steven? If fit, yes.
Will Dusty and Whitfield finish as F1 and F2? It’ll be a shocking result if they don’t.
Who will be the breakout star in 2020? Brayden Sier. If he locks down a permanent position in that Collingwood midfield, he is every chance to put 2019 in the past and go back to his debut year scoring output.
Which rookie will make more money? Marlion Pickett or Izak Rankine? Likely Pickett due to his friendlier role. Rankine will have some incredible moments in games, but that unfortunately doesn’t always equate to big SuperCoach scores.
Which player is most likely to drop out of your current side before Round 1? Definitely James Sicily. The backline is wide open up the top and any mention of Sicily playing a role that doesn’t involve him floating across half back and he’s out.
Which left-field pick would you love to take a punt on? Call me crazy, but Brad Ebert. In his forward role last season, he averaged 100 before copping a concussion and thus derailing his season. Proven performer in the past with four of his last seven seasons averaging 95+ and now priced at just 415K.
Dan Batten (Herald Sun)
How many defensive rookies are you starting? Two at the moment – draftees Hayden Young and Will Gould, with Stephen Hill forward.
Who’s your D1? The ever reliable Jake Lloyd, who should finish as the No. 1 defender.
Who’s your F3? Jack Steven, but new Sun Hugh Greenwood is on standby after Steven’s injury setback.
What’s your ruck set-up? Grundy and Nic-Nat, pending a Max Gawn 150 in the Marsh Community Series.
How many midfield premiums do you have? Five – Fyfe, Cripps, Dunkley, Danger and Oliver.
Are you picking Jack Steven? Yes, if he isn’t restricted further by his injury. A refreshed Steven with midfield time is a steal at $361,700,
Will Dusty and Whitfield finish as F1 and F2? No. Whitfield, daylight, and then Michael Walters. Can’t go without Dusty, though.
Who will be the breakout star of 2020? Watch out for Patrick Lipinski. While the Bulldogs midfield is stacked as it is, Lipinski finished the year like a house on fire and could go to another level.
Which rookie will make more money? Marlion Pickett or Izak Rankine? Pickett given he will spend more time in the guts. In saying that, Rankine could be anything.
Which player is most likely to drop out of your current side before Round 1? Nic Naitanui’s spot is in limbo.
Which left-field pick would you love to take a punt on? Jack Steele, who is set to be released from his tagging duties under Brett Ratten. But I can’t do it to myself after starting with him last year …
Originally published as SuperCoach expert jury answer the key pre-season questions