A guide on how not to trade if you want to be successful in SuperCoach

Think you’ve made a few SuperCoach trade blunders this year? You’re certainly not alone. Tim Michell shares some of his regrets after battling to recover from a horror start.

Let’s call this a lesson in how not to use your 30 SuperCoach trades.

Most of us start every campaign thinking 30 trades will be excessive.

Come the bye rounds, this attitude generally shifts to the first signs of panic and desperation in the rush to get to full premium status as soon as possible.

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My season represents a warning for other coaches.

I was battling from Round 1, when I scored 1935 and was ranked 92,549th overall.

I had only scored more than 2200 once to Round 10 and had made several trade blunders I’d be left to regret in an effort to climb the rankings.

In Round 2 (yes, after one game) I panic traded Gold Coast defender Sam Collins to Callum Wilkie from St Kilda.

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Collins then scored 79+ in three consecutive weeks and his price jumped to $311,600 by Round 7.

What do they say, patience is a virtue?

The next round I made the trade which haunted me for much of the year — punting Melbourne’s mature-age draftee Marty Hore.

Tim Michell’s final SuperCoach team for 2019.

As more than 40 per cent of coaches revelled in Hore’s run of seven scores of 86+ in eight games when he was recalled by Melbourne, I was left to ponder what might have been.

I downgraded Dustin Martin to Charlie Constable and effectively upgraded Hore to Jake Lloyd, who in hindsight would have been the perfect starting pick ahead of Rory Laird.

Constable was out of the Geelong team long before Hore’s price peaked at $423,800.

I traded Constable four weeks later in Round 7 to Western Bulldogs’ rookie Lachlan Young in order to bring in Nat Fyfe before the byes.

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This was one of nine times in 30 trades (disaster … I know) I used a trade on a player I had previously added — Constable (Round 7), Wilkie (Round 10), Reilly O’Brien (Round 10), Tom Rockliff (Round 13), Tom Liberatore (Round 14), Robbie Young (Round 15), Lachlan Young (Round 17), Oskar Baker (Round 19) and Patrick Naish (Round 20).

That’s 18 trades burned on adding and then parting with players.

The last five trades Tim made this year.

I also used two to get rid of Lachie Whitfield in Round 12 when he was injured then bring him back in Round 19.

That doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room.

The last mistake I made, albeit with slight misfortune, was thinking I had enough flexibility to sacrifice my final trades before Round 20.

By moving an injured Jeremy Cameron to Doulton Langlands and Naish to Hunter Clark, I had cover on all lines and the ability to use both Langlands and Ian Hill as forward line insurance.

That week, my F5 Jade Gresham and Langlands were injured, forcing me to field Hill at F6 in Round 21.

After GWS’ dismal effort in the Canberra snow, I’m expecting to have a forward line donut this round unless Gresham stages a remarkable recovery after being ruled out for two weeks.

It hasn’t all been doom and gloom, although league finals and rankings glory were off my agenda long ago.

From 44,984th overall at Round 11, I’ve climbed into the top 10 per cent at 15,748th with two rounds left.

It goes to show you can salvage your SuperCoach season, even if you make a series of trade disasters or are hit hard by injury.

Tim is holding out hope injured Saint Jade Gresham makes a speedy recovery.

FIVE LESSONS I’VE LEARNED

— Don’t be sucked in by one month of form: I convinced myself Tom Liberatore would be a midfield keeper and Charlie Constable was locked into the Geelong midfield as one of the cash cows of the season.

— Don’t pick key forwards: One of the cardinal sins of SuperCoach, yet I still traded for Jeremy Cameron in Round 12 when he was $483,400. He’s had six scores of 77 or less since then.

— Sometimes it’s better to cop a donut during the byes: I traded for Patrick Naish largely to avoid a donut during Round 12 and Round 13. He impressed during his two games but hasn’t won his spot back in a Richmond side priming itself for a flag tilt.

— Save trades: It seems obvious enough. But even if you think your team has the coverage to compensate for injuries late in the season, you’ll inevitably come across a curve ball you weren’t expecting. You should aim to have at least four left for the last month.

— Be patient with rookies: Of course it’s tempting to move rookies on immediately when they appear to have hit their peak price. While holding a player whose scoring is 20 points less than a premium isn’t ideal, it will save you a trade you’ll need at the business end.