KFC SuperCoach Plus Article: 11 things you need to know for Round 17

The best Round 17 captain options, numbers behind Jordan De Goey’s return to form and Darcy Parish v Ollies Wines explained. 11 secret stats you need to know.

Throw caution to the wind with a value option to finish your team or play it safe and conserve trades?

That is one of the big KFC SuperCoach questions of the week.

Everyone can look up the top averages in KFC SuperCoach, but to get the edge you need the extra nuggets you can get your hands on.

SuperCoach Plus provides a wide range of tools and exclusive access to weekly analysis articles just like this one.

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From price and score projections to the best captain options and a bargain forward’s return to the midfield, here are 11 things you need to know for Round 17.

TRADE GUIDE: THE BARGAIN BUYS TO FINISH YOUR TEAM

Jordan De Goey is back in Collingwood’s midfield. Picture: Michael Klein

1. Jordan De Goey spent just 21 per cent of the opening 10 rounds of the season in the midfield and averaged 62 KFC SuperCoach points per game. But with the return of Jamie Elliot to the forward line, De Goey is back in Collingwood’s engine room. He’s spent 67 per cent of his past four matches in the midfield – an increase of 46 per cent – and it’s had a direct impact on his KFC SuperCoach numbers, with the 25-year-old averaging 26 disposals and 97 points per game since Round 11. And De Goey has posted KFC SuperCoach tons in his past two matches, after equalling his career-best disposal count of 32 on both occasions. F6 anyone?

2. More than 1500 KFC SuperCoaches, as of Thursday afternoon, have taken the punt on De Goey. The most-traded-in player ahead of Round 17, however, is Patrick Dangerfield, with almost 8000 KFC SuperCoaches bringing the star Cat in after his 184-point performance against the Bombers. And, rightly so, too - $533k is still good buying.

3. Melbourne big man Max Gawn attended a season-low 36 ruck contests against the Giants in Round 17. His young ruck partner Luke Jackson contested a season-high 35, as the Demons continue to use Gawn forward. After scores of 103 and 100 in the past two matches, there may be better VC options than Gawn on Thursday night against the Power at the moment. Champion Data’s Fantasy Freako outlines Gawn’s decline in numbers.

Who goes big on Thursday night? Clayton Oliver or Max Gawn? Picture: David Crosling

MAX GAWN

STAT: Rounds 1-11 - Rounds 12-16
Ranking points: 125 - 115
Disposals: 19 - 17.5
Hitouts: 33.5 - 250
Hitout win %: 63.3 - 52.6
Hitout-to-advantage %: 33.9 - 32
Clearamces: 3.9 - 3
Score involvements: 5.6 - 4.2

4. Star midfielder Clayton Oliver is still worth some thought as VC, however, despite his four-round average of 98. In his past three matches at Adelaide Oval, Oliver has posted scores of 204, 137 and 205 – albeit against the Crows and North Melbourne.

5. Bomber Zach Merrett has gone 135 and 120 in his past two against Adelaide while teammate Darcy Parish’s 146-point five-round average is the highest in the competition. But will Ben Keays watch one of them closely on Friday night? He gave Lion Dayne Zorko little room to move when he was in the midfield in Round 16. Dangerfield was back to his brilliant last week, and has posted scores of 156 and 133 in two of his past three meetings with the Blues.

6. Sitting atop the list of three-game average against this week’s opponent, however, are Marcus Bontempelli (144), Nat Fyfe (138), Taylor Adams (123), Josh Kelly (123) and Lachie Whitfield (123).

7. St Kilda skipper Jack Steele is also in some serious form, posting scores of 154, 140, 126, 132 and 154 in his past five matches. The St Kilda skipper’s 11 first-half tackles against the Magpies last week was the most by any player this season. In total, he’s recorded 56 tackles since Round 10, and 126 for the year – only Sun Hugh Greenwood has more to his name. Then there’s also Collingwood big man Brodie Grundy to consider against a very undermanned Richmond ruck brigade.

Darcy Parish scored a huge 190 KFC SuperCoach points in Round 16. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

8. Back to Parish’s Round 16 score of 190. It’s been pointed out that both Parish and Port Adelaide star Ollie Wines had 43 disposals and 13 clearances. Apart from the pressure, result and the 43 other different players in each game, four key stats highlight why Parish was rewarded with more points.

Contested possessions: Parish +5

Effective disposals: Parish +9

Effective kicks: Parish +6

Intercept possessions: Parish +7

Inside 50s: Parish +7

Clangers: Wines +5

Only eight of Wines’ 26 kicks were effective.

9. In what should come as no surprise, North Melbourne’s Jack Ziebell is the No. 1 ranked player in the competition for effective kicks – 18.3 of Ziebell’s 21.7 kicks per game are effective. Given their kick-ins and high number of short kicks, fellow defenders, Daniel Rich, Tom Stewart, Shannon Hurn, Luke Ryan, Jake Lloyd, Jayden Short, Sam Docherty, Alex Witherden and Aaron Hall round out the top 10.

10. Young Blue Paddy Dow’s breakeven has dropped back below 0 after an impressive two weeks in the Carlton midfield. He attended a season-high 19 centre bounces in Round 16, to finish with 22 disposals – 16 of them in the first half – a game-high eight clearances, seven score involvements and 94 KFC SuperCoach points.

11. Hawk Ned Reeves aside, Gold Coast midfielder Jeremy Sharp’s breakeven of -72 is the lowest in the competition. He followed up his 20-disposal, 76-point performance in Round 15 with an impressive 79 points, on the back of 15 disposals and a crucial late goal, in the win over the Tigers. If you need a downgrade option, who should also give you some solid on-field cover, Sharp is your man.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach Plus Article: 11 things you need to know for Round 17