SuperCoach Round 13 whispers: Did Ed Curnow expose a flaw in topscoring midfielder Lachie Neale’s game?

He kept Patrick Cripps quiet and scored 99 points himself, so Dylan Clarke is a great cheap option in SuperCoach — right? Don’t be so sure. SELECTION WHISPERS

Will opposition teams follow Carlton’s lead and send a tagger to Lachie Neale? Picture: Michael Dodge/Getty Images.

His tagging job on Patrick Cripps won widespread praise, but don’t bank on Bombers youngster Dylan Clarke retaining his place against Hawthorn.

The 20-year-old, available as a $147,700 midfielder in SuperCoach, held Cripps to just 11 possessions two weeks ago — while gathering 23 disposals, 10 tackles and 99 SuperCoach points himself — as the Bombers scored a 41-point win.

That makes him a tantalising SuperCoach prospect as a cheap midfielder who can play through the next two bye rounds and beyond — at least in theory.

Asked about Clarke at his weekly press conference yesterday, Essendon coach John Worsfold couldn’t guarantee he would keep his spot in the side for Friday night’s clash against Hawthorn.

“That’s a good question (if Clarke will play),” he said. “That’s really specifically around match-ups and roles that we want in the team.

“There’s no guarantee that we’ll use a tagger this week, but that doesn’t mean Dylan doesn’t play regardless.

“He has played as a run-with player in the VFL, but he’s also played as a ball-winner, so we’ll be weighing up the best team to take on the Hawks.”

John Worsfold stopped short of guaranteeing Dylan Clarke a second game.

The Bombers will likely have to find room for returning stars Dylan Shiel and Jake Stringer this week, with Orazio Fantasia also a chance to play against the Hawks.

Jaeger O’Meara looms as the most likely Hawk to be tagged if Worsfold opts to deploy Clarke in that role again. Essendon plays West Coast next week followed by GWS, Sydney and North Melbourne.

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DID CURNOW EXPOSE NEALE FLAW?

Lachie Neale was on target to eclipse his break even of 169 on Saturday against Carlton when he stormed to 87 SuperCoach points by halftime.

The Brisbane ball magnet and SuperCoach’s leading midfielder had 24 disposals to the main break, running amok as the Lions established an early lead.

But Ed Curnow played a crucial role in the second half after being sent to Neale, restricting him to seven possessions and a further 19 points.

It caused Neale’s price to drop by $27,900 and he’ll be available for $578,300 after his Round 13 bye.

But will more tagging attention come Neale’s way after he grew visibly frustrated with Curnow’s tactics?

“The more it continues, the more he demonstrates that he struggles to deal with it, then the more it will occur,” St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt said on SEN.

Neale potentially confronts Jack Steele (Round 14), Matt De Boer (Round 16), Daniel Howe (Round 19) and Touk Miller (Round 21) during the run home.

Will opposition teams follow Carlton’s lead and send a tagger to Lachie Neale? Picture: Michael Dodge/Getty Images.

ROCKLIFF TO FACE FITNESS TEST ON HAMSTRING

He travelled to China with hope of playing against St Kilda two weeks ago but Port Adelaide’s Tom Rockliff remains under an injury cloud ahead of Round 13. Rockliff has had the past two weeks off after injuring his hamstring against Hawthorn in Round 10. The latest injury update from the Power said Rockliff would have to be assessed this week before coach Ken Hinkley decides whether he will tackle Fremantle. An extended absence would be a blow for 43,725 coaches who held Rockliff in the hope he would help fill the void left by a host of absent Round 13 premiums.

MARTIN TO RECOVER IN TIME FOR CROWS CLASH

Richmond has finally got some good news on the injury front, with superstar Dustin Martin expected to overcome a cork to meet Adelaide on Thursday. Martin has been a consistent SuperCoach scorer since Round 5, scoring between 89 and 128. However, the Brownlow medallist only has three hundreds during that stretch and would be a brave trade-in with a break even of 100. You also need to factor in his Round 14 bye. Quizzed about Martin’s fitness on Tuesday, coach Damien Hardwick said: “He’s fine. This will be our first training session (on Tuesday), but our indications are he’ll play. No problems”. Key defender David Astbury won’t be back, but Brandon Ellis is available. Thousands of coaches who went early on Patrick Naish ($123,900, Def) will hope he holds his spot after scoring 78 on debut from 20 disposals.

PIES ADMIT GRUNDY PLAYED HURT

Give Brodie Grundy a pass mark for his score of 84 against Melbourne. While Max Gawn dominated the battle of the top SuperCoach scorers and assumed the No. 1 mantle for 2019, Grundy was “under the weather physically”. Grundy was listed as having an ankle concern in the lead-up to Queen’s Birthday and was outgunned by Gawn. “(He) did a really good job to get up. It wasn’t his ankle. He had a really sore neck and … for a long part of the week he might not have played. He was able to push through that,” coach Nathan Buckley said on Monday. Hopefully the week off has Grundy, who is in 112,302 teams, primed when he returns in Round 14.

Brodie Grundy almost missed the Queen’s Birthday clash with Melbourne due to a beck injury. Picture: AAP Image/David Crosling.

HATELY LIKELY TO REMAIN ON THE OUTER

Jackson Hately’s long stint in the NEAFL after two impressive AFL games has been one of the great SuperCoach frustrations of the year. Hately managed 95 and 85 in his first two matches and is projected to rise by about $80,000 when he next plays for GWS. Despite impressive NEAFL averages (29 disposals, eight marks and 6.5 marks) in the past month, the first-round draftee has been stuck in the reserves. As rumours swirled last week Toby Greene would be a late withdrawal against Adelaide, thousands of coaches held trades in the hope Hately would be called up. Daniel Lloyd instead got the nod and Hately’s chances appear remote for Round 13 considering the Giants expect Greene back this round. “He’ll need to get through training (this) week but we think that will happen,” coach Leon Cameron said after his team’s loss to Adelaide.

ROOKIE INJURY HITS AT WORST TIME

An untimely injury will leave more than 30,000 SuperCoach players another man down this week. If you were hoping Liam Stocker would return to boost on-field numbers in Round 13, you’ll need to make alternative plans after Carlton confirmed the teenager will miss a month with a foot injury. “He unfortunately has some low-grade bone stress in his foot,” Blues high performance boss Andrew Russell told the club website. “It’s not uncommon for a young guy of his age. It will probably mean he will miss three or four games, but he should come back strong and be able to finish the season.” With a break even of zero coaches would have hoped to hold Stocker, but he might have to make way to get as many bodies on field as possible this week.

HAS O’BRIEN DONE ENOUGH TO KEEP JACOBS AT BAY?

Reilly O’Brien has kept Sam Jacobs out of the Adelaide team in the past two weeks and he appears to have done enough to retain his place for Round 13. Patient coaches will have held onto the Crows No.2 in recent weeks in the hope he would fill the void left by Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy during their bye round. While it’s been frustrating to have him sit on your bench, this will be the week you will be rewarded if you held onto O’Brien while others cashed in. With a break even of 84, he might even make some money before having the bye in Round 14. “I thought last week against (Max) Gawn he was OK in the ruck without being dominant, but I thought tonight he was very good,” coach Don Pyke said post-match on Saturday. Forward Tom Lynch will miss again with a calf injury he sustained in the warm-up.

Kyle Dunkley celebrates a goal during Casey Demons’ win over Collingwood. Picture: Photo by Scott Barbour/AFL Photos/Getty Images.

WILL BENNELL COME INTO SELECTION FRAME?

Could there be a bigger SuperCoach risk this year than forgotten Docker Harley Bennell? Teammate Reece Conca this week said it was “exciting” to have Bennell and Stephen Hill back from injury and the former Gold Coast Sun has scores of 118 and 72 in the WAFL after gathering 30 and 25 disposals. Bennell is a $167,700 SuperCoach midfielder and although downgrade options have been rare this year, his injury history makes him too risky to consider.

MID-SEASON DRAFTEE STAKES CLAIM FOR DEBUT IN VFL

Kyle Dunkley ($102,400, Mid) pushed a strong case for a Melbourne debut with 21 disposals, three goals and 138 ranking points in Casey Demons’ VFL win over Collingwood on Sunday. The younger brother of Western Bulldogs midfielder Josh Dunkley, Kyle joined the Demons in the mid-season draft after playing for Footscray and Gippsland Power. “It’s been a pretty big couple of weeks for me, but the boys have welcomed me in really well,” Dunkley told Channel 7. Dunkley said Tom McDonald had taken him under his wing since he joined Melbourne.

Originally published as SuperCoach Round 13 whispers: Did Ed Curnow expose a flaw in topscoring midfielder Lachie Neale’s game?