SuperCoach AFL top trade targets for Round 18
SuperCoaches with Jye Caldwell are scrambling for replacements after he was sent off for surgery with a syndesmosis injury. Here are some of the options – as well as some other trade ins.
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My father once told me a SuperCoach trade is a lot like a beer – they smell good, they look good, and you’d step over your own mother just to get one.
“Listen son,” he’d tell me as I sat on his knee. “You’ve got to be careful with your trades – if you burn through them or don’t treat them right, they’ll leave you when you need them most.”
Unfortunately, the week after telling me that he stepped out to get a packet of boosts and never came back so that was about as much SuperCoach wisdom as I got out of him but anyway, the point is — don’t use your trades unless you’ve got to, otherwise everyone who’s ever loved you will leave you sitting on the front step, waiting … waiting …
Anyway! If you’re one of the 14,992 other coaches with Jye Caldwell, we’re going to have use a precious trade. Here are some of the best replacements this week – with a few for if you have some cash to splash but most around his price point.
If you’ve got the cash to splash, Errol Gulden seems like a no-brainer here. Erroll is averaging 121 in the three games since he’s been back and despite a possible date with Marcus Windhager this week, he still has North Melbourne, Essendon and West Coast to come on the run home. Gulden is prone to the occasional 80, but his ceiling – and low ownership – could rocket you up the ranks if you have the cash to turn Jye Caldwell (or someone like Shai Bolton or Tom De Koning) into him.
Remarkable how a player who’s scored the most tons this season and is averaging 111 is flying under the radar but Touk is just getting it done. Miller only has two scores under 100 for the season – and they’re a 90 and an 85, far better than the low points of other premiums I don’t care to mention. Isn’t that right, Marcus B? Wait, that’s too obvious, we’ll go with M. Bontempelli. Yes, that’ll do. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Touk is good. The Suns don’t have the easiest run home but if you need someone reliable to balance out your more unpredictable Sam Darcy types, he could be your man.
From one Bomber to another? For less than 2000 of your measly dollars, you could trade one injured Don for a brand spanking new, fresh one – with higher upside! The question is if you’d rather a Bomber of the Midfield Variety or of the Everywhere vintage. Zach Merrett, with his whopping 110 average for the season and a fresh return to the midfield which is only cemented by Caldwell’s absence, is a pure midfield option, but may face as many as four tags on the run home but is still likely (in my humble opinion) to score more points. Martin, however, could well have TPP eligibility for how much he’s been thrown around, and is the perfect flex cover with defensive-forward eligibility. Don’t be scared off my that big break-even – he could well hit it against the Tigers on a Saturday night, when The Phantom thinks he could break the AFL disposals record.
If you figured out Miles Bergman’s move into the middle ahead of the rest of us, when he was less than $350k, then hats off to you – you’ve probably nabbed the bargain of the year. He’s scored 799 points in the eight games since Round 9 and is now a key part of the Power’s midfield. Take out his injury-affected 47 against the Swans and his record is even better. Importantly, he’s also cheap, and if you need to replace Jye Caldwell he should score about the same as we expected from Caldwell from here on out. Plus, he has added DPP.
We might be a week late on Jezza after the champion kicked his 700th goal on the weekend on his way to a 131 against the hapless Tigers. But the good news is he plays them again on the run home, alongside North Melbourne, Essendon, St Kilda and a Sam Taylor-less GWS this weekend. He’s a high risk, high reward play, and is every chance of dropping a 28, or a 36, or a 48 (all scores he’s dropped this year) – but that’s what flex is for!
Lachie Whitfield is due back this week after a concussion and while he’ll be cheaper next week, yes, he’s still phenomenal value for someone averaging 107 and scored 10 tons in his first 11 games. Adam Kingsley’s experiment with him up forward looks over, and 500k for a guy who could very easily average 115 on the run home seems like a no-brainer, right?
On the rookie front, you’re more than able to trade down to a 99k non-playing rookie at this point of the season, but if you want someone who might be able to jump on-field and help you out, here are two I like. Shanahan had massive raps coming into the draft last year and slid far more than experts thought he might, and has shone for the Eagles in his first two games. Cooper Harvey has spent more time in the system and his job security is a bit shakier, but has always shown signs he could be a SuperCoach gun at VFL and underage level. George Stevens also stunned on debut with a 90 but I wouldn’t be touching any Cats rookies – we’ll have another look next week if he holds his spot.
Originally published as SuperCoach AFL top trade targets for Round 18
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