AFL SuperCoach 2016: Luke Dahlhaus price too good to refuse, best captain, trade picks

LIKE an offer from a Calabrian businessman, Luke Dahlhaus’s price is just too good to refuse. Round 21’s best SuperCoach captain and trade picks.

Luke Dahlhaus at Western Bulldogs training. Picture: Michael Klein

LIKE an offer from a Calabrian businessman, Luke Dahlhaus’s price is just too good to refuse.

The Western Bulldogs star has returned from a knee injury a little rusty - with scores of 71 and 84 - but now is the time to jump on board.

It’s not like he’s gone missing, gathering 26 and 28 disposals in those two games.

Before his injury the midfield-forward had been averaging 104 points per game with six consecutive hundreds between Round 3 and 8 but a 29 the week he went down saw his breakeven skyrocket and price fall dramatically.

At just $388,100, Dahlhaus is only $15,800 dearer than Christian Petracca.

With all due respect to the Demons’ rising star, Dahlhaus is a proven SuperCoach scorer and is a pretty handy F6, if you’ve still got a hole in the forward line.

Western Bulldogs training at Whitten Oval. Luke Dahlhaus . Pic: Michael Klein. Friday September 11, 2015.

It’s perfect timing if you’ve still got Brett Deledio as well after the Tigers star was officially ruled out for the rest of the AFL season.

Amazingly, you’ll make a cool $100,000 if you trade down to Dahlhaus, allowing you to fix any addition issues in a week of cut-throat semi-finals.

Dahlhaus is clearly the most popular trade target this week and in four of the 10 most popular trade combinations this week as the likes of Petracca, Sam Kerridge, Tom Liberatore and Deledio make way.

Collingwood cash cow Rupert Wills and Adelaide superstar Rory Sloane round out the top three.

Scott Pendlebury out and Sloane in is the most popular combination overall with the likes of Dan Hannebery, Josh Kennedy and Matt Priddis also popular.

Tom Rockliff at Lions training. Pic Darren England.

CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN

TOM ROCKLIFF ($572,600, Mid) Brisbane

Remember when Tom Rockliff scored 204? Well he did that against Carlton, Brisbane’s opponent on Saturday. The Lions skipper has dined out on Carlton in the past few games and averages 148 in that time. He’s the ideal vice-captaincy choice given the game is early Saturday and has a 120, 154 and 130 in his past four games.

JOSH KENNEDY ($592,100, Mid) Sydney

The Swans star has demolished the Saints in recent games, averaging 140 in his past three. He’s in form as well. Let’s ignore last week’s 95 because before that Kennedy had posted 137, 127, 140 and a 117. Surprisingly, the Swans have only played one game at Etihad Stadium this year, in Round 2, when Kennedy scored 95,

PATRICK DANGERFIELD ($644,000, Mid) Geelong

It’s a mouth-watering prospect. Dangerfield going head-to-head with Dustin Martin. We all remember the Dangerfield-Nat Fyfe classic from last year and this could be just as lucrative for SuperCoach owners. Throw in the fact, Danger loves playing the Tigers, a team he’s averaged 134 against in his past few games.

DUSTIN MARTIN ($569,100, Mid-Fwd) Richmond

See above for the Danger-Dusty reasoning but Martin is a sneaky captaincy choice himself. The Tigers star has averaged 111 in his past few games against Geelong and won’t be copping a hard tag. Throw in scores of 123 and 152 in his past four games and Martin has the form to make him a captaincy contender

MAX GAWN ($609,100, Ruck) Melbourne

The Demons are playing interstate. That’s all you need to know. Gawn has averaged 145 outside Victoria this season and scored 167 the last time he faced Port Adelaide. Amazingly, he has a combined 33 hitouts-to-advantage in two games against the Power this season (including NAB Challenge).

MELBOURNE TRAINING Max Gawn & Jesse Hogan Picture:Wayne Ludbey

JUMP ON

LUKE DAHLHAUS ($388,100, Mid-Fwd) W.Bulldogs

The Bulldogs star is so damn cheap you can go from Christian Petracca to Dahlhaus for just $16,000. While he’s been a bit rusty since returning from a knee injury - posting scores of 71 and 84 - he’s certainly getting plenty of the pill, gathering 26 and 28 disposals in those games. The perfect fallen premium to round out your forward line.

RUPERT WILLS ($117,300, Mid) Collingwood

If you’re looking for a late-season downgrade, look no further than the Magpies youngster. Wills in on the bubble this week after posting impressive scores of 85 and 108 in his first two AFL games. The midfielder is a tackling machine and the perfect bench cover if you’re thread bare on the bench.

RORY SLOANE ($555,500, Mid) Adelaide

If there’s one spot open in your midfield - or you’re dealing with a Scott Pendlebury-sized issue - Sloane could be the way to go. The Crows superstar has been in rare form this year. If that doesn’t convince you what about scores of 137 and 141 in his last two games and six scores of 130-plus in his 10 games at Adelaide Oval.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 14: Scott Pendlebury of the Magpies handballs during a Collingwood Magpies training session at Gosch's Paddock on July 14, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

JUMP OFF

SCOTT PENDLEBURY ($573,500, Mid) Collingwood

This comes with a massive asterisk for two reasons. If Pendles does miss this week, you’d expect him to be straight back in the week after, so you don’t want to be wasting trades despite it being cut-throat semi-final weekend. Secondly, if he does play, how effective will he be? Will he play predominantly in the midfield? You’d doubt it.

BRETT DELEDIO ($489,200, Fwd) Richmond

If you haven’t already, you can now dump the Tigers star after it was confirmed he’ll miss the rest of the season. Sadly, injury has let Deledio and his owners down in the most important part of the season. If you’re looking for some fast cash, you’ll make more than $100k if you trade down to Luke Dahlhaus.

SAM KERRIDGE ($335,300, Mid-Fwd) Carlton

The Blues recruit has been an absolute warrior for our SuperCoach teams but it’s time. A 41 against St Kilda was bad enough but he tagged Jack Steven and held him to 58 just to add salt to the wound. Kerridge just edges out Christian Petracca who fared a little better, scoring 63 last week.