SuperCoach rookies: Consensus verdicts on when to trade, buy popular cheapies

Which SuperCoach cheapies are must-haves ahead of round 4 and who can you afford to trade out? Our experts have their say on the rookie moves you should be making this week.

How do you know when a cash cow has truly fattened up?

That’s one of the questions which sets the best SuperCoach teams apart from the rest.

Knowing when a rookie has fallen out of favour, had a role change or simply won’t hit their Break Even, and making your move at the right time is crucial – especially when upgrade season is not far away.

Al Paton, Tim Michell and Dan Batten look at who you should be buying and culling ahead of round 4.

DAN SAYS: Riley Bice has to be the No.1 rookie target this week. The dashing defender was pivotal at the death in Sydney’s win over Fremantle with a ripping goal and the Swans will look to get the ball in his hands. The Swans’ injury list is a slight concern with a few small defenders to return in the coming weeks, but Bice gives them too much offensively to drop him anytime soon. Moraes entered his draft year as a potential top-five selection and showed his ball-winning ability in his first full game against the Bombers with 27 disposals and 94 points. That came after 17 touches and 52 points in 65 per cent game time as the sub the previous week. Reid was another draft slider, and he looks a great option if you have the cash with a 106 in his rolling average for the next two weeks. Then there’s Harvey Langford who oushone Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca in the Melbourne midfield with 26 disposals last week. The prized pick was a SuperCoach beast at junior level so a 75-point average from here certainly isn’t beyond him. Ted Clohesy has a -71 Break Even, but Shaun Mannagh looks set to return this week and I’m unsure of Clohesy’s long-term job security. That’s why I have Neil Erasmus narrowly ahead given he attended 39 per cent of centre bounces for a score of 80 points in round 3. Joel Hamling looks like a solid option on the surface, but might lose his spot to Lewis Melican in 1-2 weeks.

TIM SAYS: Riley Bice’s points-per-minute are huge and while we got away with fielding Zach Reid and Luke Trainor last week, I’m not sure that will the case when it’s best 22. Bice is a player I’d be happy to field each week in defence. The question mark about Moraes is how he will fare once Zak Butters returns, but I don’t think it will have a huge impact on his scoring. Langford is an elevated price but looked great against Gold Coast, while I prefer Clohesy to Erasmus due to DPP. Both don’t have great job security and are sub options though.

AL SAYS: I’ve got Moraes just ahead of Bice, but that’s largely due to my team structure. I’ve only got three rookie defenders (one on field), and my existing cheapies suddenly don’t look so bad. And there are more coming down the pipe in the form of Tobie Travaglia and Saad El-Hawli. If you have to field two cheapies back there, I think you need Bice – even if there is a slight question mark on his job security when players like Harry Cunningham return from injury in a couple of weeks. It’s easier to find midfield cheapies to trade out for Moraes, who looked great on the wing last week. The other name to keep in mind is Harvey Langford, who attended 16 CBAs for Melbourne last week.

DAN SAYS: The obvious sells are those out of team line-ups. While Paton is on the bubble, the Swans have the likes of Harry Cunningham (1-2 weeks), Callum Mills and Robbie Fox to come back. Camporeale and Leake were also dropped ahead of round 3 and parting ways with them for Bice and Moraes looks a shrewd investment. I still think it is only a matter of time until we see a spike game from Finn O’Sullivan, but for all the pirouettes and blind turns, he just isn’t getting enough of the ball off half-back. Jumping off him to Reid would give you a quick cash injection. After Jye Caldwell’s hamstring injury, I’m tempted to hold Tsatas given he is listed as a test on Essendon’s injury list following his broken hand. But if he is your ticket to Bailey Humphrey, Ryan Maric or a rookie, then go your hardest.

TIM SAYS: Pretty self-explanatory here. Leake doesn’t look like getting back into the Giants’ team any time soon and is a direct swap to Bice. Finn O’Sullivan will be a good player but isn’t scoring enough to hold. I like Ben Paton’s DEF-FWD status for the trade flexibility, but I don’t think he’ll be back for Sydney soon if you’re more interested in points on field. Knevitt has a Break Even of 30 after being used as sub last round.

AL SAYS: Paton to Bice is the most obvious move of the week, and James Leake is in a similar boat. I was enticed by Finn O’Sullivan’s role – we know how well Harry Sheezel and Colby McKercher scored at half-back in their debut seasons – but he just doesn’t rack up the pill like those two. Lindsay is a much tougher call. I would like to keep him given his prime role and proven scoring ability, but the cash gen has stalled for a few weeks and you could generate that money faster by moving him on.

CONSENSUS ROUND 4 TRADES: James Leake and Ben Paton to Riley Bice and Christian Moraes

ROOKIE WATCHLIST

DAN BATTEN: Tobie Travaglia ($172k DEF-MID)

I have a big watch on Travaglia, who was moved into the starting 22 last week after Jack Steele’s late out. The No.8 pick from the 20245 draft was thrown into the centre bounce mix at times and defied his slender build with 11 contested possessions to go with 18 disposals and 83 points. I had the classy ball-user locked in my side for most of the pre-season and if he produces a similar score again, I’ll be jumping on next week.

TIM MICHELL: Clay Hall ($129k MID)

Still unsure why he got dropped after scoring 88 SuperCoach against Brisbane two weeks ago. Of course, Andrew McQualter doesn’t base team selection off SuperCoach, but I thought Hall did a lot of good things. Think he’ll be a great bench MID option when he’s on the bubble.

AL PATON: Saad El-Hawli ($119k DEF-MID)

Is it possible to look great scoring 16 SuperCoach points? I don’t like coaches using debutants as the sub but it gives us another two weeks to assess the Bombers defender before he could be an ideal downgrade from a starting cheapie in DEF or MID as upgrade season starts.

Originally published as SuperCoach rookies: Consensus verdicts on when to trade, buy popular cheapies