Supercoach Round 3 whispers: Dustin Martin’s De Boer dilemma, Andrew Gaff set to return, Steven May injury, Mummy’s return

Thousands have already made the decision to move Brownlow medallist Dustin Martin on from their SuperCoach teams. The spectre of tagger Matt De Boer might make others follow suit.

Another tag could come Dustin Martin’s way this weekend when Richmond plays GWS Giants. Picture: Michael Dodge/Getty Images.

Thousands of coaches have already made the ruthless decision to move Brownlow medallist Dustin Martin on from their SuperCoach teams.

With a breakeven of 152, Dusty is all but certain to lose money from his starting price of $563,800 after Round 3.

The superstar Tiger was restricted to 66 points by Collingwood tagger Levi Greenwood in Round 2 and there could be more pain to come when he confronts another lockdown player this week.

News on Martin, Steven May, Andrew Gaff, Shane Mumford and popular rookie Noah Balta features in this week’s SuperCoach whispers.

Shane Mumford is tipped to make his comeback for GWS this weekend. Picture: Damian Shaw.

MUMFORD PUSHING FOR GWS RECALL AFTER SUSPENSION

Shane Mumford is pushing to make a remarkable return to the GWS team this weekend against Richmond after his suspension expired. Mumford retired at the end of 2017 and then spent time boxing and worked as a ruck coach with the Giants. He was set to be a popular SuperCoach pick after his comeback was announced before being sidelined to Round 3. The bonus is his price won’t start climbing from $320,200 until after Round 5. “He’s ready to play AFL footy if we pick him, what we have to determine is whether or not we play Dawson and him, or does Shane come in,” coach Leon Cameron said on Tuesday. Josh Kelly will play his first game of 2019, but forward Toby Greene remains in doubt.

WILL MAY INJURY OPEN DOOR FOR MARTY HORE’S RETURN?

More than 90,000 coaches were left in the lurch when Melbourne dropped defensive rookie Marty Hore after one game. But with Steven May ruled out of Friday’s clash against Essendon, could the former Collingwood VFL player be set for a recall? The Demons called in two defensive reinforcements after their Round 1 defeat against Port Adelaide, with debutant Jay Lockhart impressing. Keep an eye on the Tasmanian against the Bombers as his price will change in Round 4 and he’s only $102,400. “We had watched him pretty closely for a couple of years and he certainly had the right attitude and the right intent from the start. He was a positive for us,” coach Simon Goodwin said after Melbourne’s loss to Geelong.

JACOBS UNDER INJURY CLOUD FOR CROWS

Adelaide ruckman Sam Jacobs will be monitored in the lead up to Thursday’s game against Geelong after he sustained a knee injury in the club’s victory over Sydney. In more than 11,000 SuperCoach teams, Jacobs has battled to 86 and 48 in the opening two weeks of 2019. Teammate Josh Jenkins told SEN SA on Tuesday Jacobs’ scans “came back OK” and “it will just be whether the short turnaround stops him from playing”. Reilly O’Brien ($136,800) would be the likely replacement.

Andrew Gaff is available for selection at West Coast for this week’s grand final rematch. Picture: AAP Image/Richard Wainwright.

EAGLES KEEN ON IMMEDIATE GAFF RECALL

The news Dom Sheed owners have been dreading. Andrew Gaff is all but certain to be immediately recalled to the AFL this weekend after the end of his eight-match suspension. The star wingman is in line to play his first match since Round 20 last season in the grand final rematch against Collingwood. Mid-priced onballer Sheed has shone in Gaff’s absence, scoring three hundreds during last year’s finals series and posting 144 and 100 to start 2019. There will be much intrigue about how Adam Simpson integrates Gaff back into the side and what impact it has on the output of the club’s other on-ballers. “He’s been waiting for a long time to play, so I think he will be in the mix,” coach Adam Simpson said of Gaff.

WILL DUSTIN MARTIN COP ANOTHER TAG AGAINST GIANTS?

Dustin Martin was restricted to 66 points against Collingwood and thousands of coaches have chosen to trade the Brownlow medallist out of their teams. Dusty could confront another tag this weekend when the Tigers face GWS Giants. The Gaints have deployed former Docker in a lockdown role with great effect in the early rounds of 2019. De Boer shut down Elliot Yeo in GWS’ defeat against West Coast, limiting the gun Eagle to 23 disposals, five tackles and 72 SuperCoach points. “I thought it was a great duel, De Boer and Yeo. Matty played a great role for us last week, he’s hungry for it. Whether we play that every week, we’ll weigh that up. But his first two weeks have been really pleasing,” Giants coach Leon Cameron said after his side’s loss to reigning premier West Coast.

Josh Bruce has made a flying start to the season for St Kilda. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images.

BRUCE AN UNSUNG HERO OF SAINTS’ UNBEATEN START

Josh Bruce has never been a prolific SuperCoach scorer, with his best full season resulting in an average of 68.3 in 2015. Returning to St Kilda’s side after an injury-riddled 2018, Bruce has posted 95 and 97 against the Suns and Bombers, averaging 16.5 disposals and kicking five goals to Round 2. Bruce is only in 3% of SuperCoach teams and available for $268,500. His price will jump by $56,500 should he hit his projected score of 89 this weekend. “He took his opportunities. He is just such a strong competitor. He has enormous endurance so he is able top help defence, get back and reset as a forward. It’s really good to have him back out there,” Saints coach Alan Richardson said.

BALTA PRESSES CLAIMS TO FILL RANCE ROLE IN VFL

Richmond logged an impressive win over Collingwood in a VFL practice match on Thursday, with the club’s match report rating rookie Noah Balta as one of the Tigers standouts. Balta was a popular Round 1 selection but only scored 18 points against Carlton and was subsequently dropped. The Tigers’ VFL report said Balta ‘looked at home patrolling the defensive half’, where a vacancy has been left by Alex Rance’s season-ending ACL injury. Ryan Garthwaite, the other player mooted to fill Rance’s role, also featured in the 54-point VFL win over the Magpies. Balta is still in 30% of SuperCoach teams.

LIPINSKI, HAYES PUSHING STRONG CASE FOR BULLDOGS

The unbeaten Western Bulldogs team is hard to crack into at the moment, but Patrick Lipinski appears to be first in line if the Dogs make any changes in coming weeks. Available as a Mid-Fwd and in only 793 teams, Lipinski has racked up 36 and 32 possessions in VFL practice matches in the past two weeks. Mature-age draftee Will Hayes, a $117,300 midfield rookie, had 22 possessions in the Dogs’ seven-point win over Williamstown.

Former Cat Lincoln McCarthy has averaged 85 in his opening two games for Brisbane Lions. Picture: Jerad Williams

FAGAN’S PRAISE FOR LIONS RECRUIT ‘WITH UNTAPPED POTENTIAL’

Almost 10,000 coaches took a punt on Brisbane Lions recruit Lincoln McCarthy and have been rewarded with an early-season average of 85. McCarthy features in 9492 teams and had 11 disposals, four marks and kicked two goals in Sunday’s victory over North Melbourne. The former Cat started the season with a price of $247,500 but is about to jump significantly. A score of 80 against Port Adelaide would push him close to $300,000 after three rounds. Coach Chris Fagan said McCarthy was a player “with untapped potential”. “He’s had a great pre-season so far, (he) was able to play the practice games and in the first two games he’s been a player of real influence. He doesn’t need to get a lot of the ball to make a difference,” Fagan told SEN.

Originally published as Supercoach Round 3 whispers: Dustin Martin’s De Boer dilemma, Andrew Gaff set to return, Steven May injury, Mummy’s return