AFL SuperCoach 2018: Melbourne defeats North Melbourne

SUPERCOACH SCORES: Who starred and who struggled in Melbourne’s commanding JLT Series win over North Melbourne? See every SuperCoach score for every player from Saturday’s clash.

WHO starred and who struggled in Melbourne’s commanding JLT Series win over North Melbourne in Hobart.

No ifs, buts or maybes, Demons ruckman Max Gawn is simply a must-have for 2018 AFL SuperCoach.

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The All Australian starred in the 53-point win, while Christian Petracca, Jesse Hogan and mature-aged recruit Bayley Fritsch put in promising performances.

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Kangaroos captain Jack Ziebell and Todd Goldstein were the pick of the Shinboners, who failed to fire a shot after half-time.

Popular SuperCoach cash cows Harley Balic ($252,900 mid/fwd) and Paul Ahern ($123,900 mid/fwd) did not play.

MAX GAWN ($503,700) RUC

Not that we needed any convincing but Gawn — the most popular player in SuperCoach by some margin — could not have been more impressive against the Kangaroos. Gawn linked up brilliantly with teammates at stoppages. Set and forget.

MICHAEL HIBBERD ($545,200) DEF

Absolute ball magnet Hibberd picked up where he left off last season. The veteran defender finished with a game-high 27 disposals, playing across half back. Used the ball exceptionally well in gusty conditions and broke lines at speed.

BAYLEY FRITSCH ($117,300) FWD

A repeat performance in JLT 2 would guarantee his place in the best 22 for Round 1. The mature-aged recruit started slowly — three disposals, one goal to half-time — but gathered steam in the second half to finish with a game-high equal three goals. Has the finishing skills to make the most of limited opportunities.

CHRISTIAN PETRACCA ($433,300) MID/FWD

Rates highly after promising performance against the Kangaroos. Hit the scoreboard early and had an impact in spurts through the midfield. Finished with 19 disposals — 11 contested.

JESSE HOGAN ($383,200) FWD

Tend to avoid key forwards in SuperCoach — Lance Franklin excluded — but Hogan could be tempting at the price given the potential upside. He had the better of Majak Daw when isolated forward and did not look out of place during midfield cameos.

TEAM PREVIEW: MELBOURNE PLAYERS TO CONSIDER IN SUPERCOACH

TODD GOLDSTEIN $521,400 RUC

Tough day for big men with swirly conditions but Goldstein’s bagel in the marks column would be of major concern to the Kangaroos. Overall, a solid performance against the best ruckman in the competition right now but the Kangaroos were unable to make the most of the Goldstein service. He matched Gawn with 16 hit-outs to half-time, but the Demon drew clear in the second half to win the head-to-head battle 39-26.

LUKE DAVIES-UNIACKE $189,300 MID

Hmmmmm. Showed glimpses of his best but could not get his hands on the ball enough against the dogged Demons midfield. Looked comfortable at the level but given the price would want to see an improved performance in JLT 2. More kicks, less handballs.

LUKE McDONALD $461,100 DEF/MID

Talked about as a potential breakout candidate but failed to fire a shot against the Dees. Finished with nine disposals — seven contested — at 44 per cent efficiency.

ALEX MORGAN $123,900 DEF

Nice start but faded out of the game.

TEAM PREVIEW: NORTH MELBOURNE PLAYERS TO CONSIDER IN SUPERCOACH

MELBOURNE SCORES

Max Gawn 145

Alex Neal-Bullen 128

Michael Hibberd 121

Jake Melksham 119

James Harmes 117

Clayton Oliver 108

Jesse Hogan 106

Tom McDonald 99

Jake Lever 98

Bernie Vince 96

Tomas Bugg 86

Christian Petracca 82

Oscar McDonald 80

Jayden Hunt 77

Christian Salem 73

Bayley Fritsch 70

Josh Wagner 60

Mitch Hannan 58

Nathan Jones 58

Corey Maynard 58

Billy Stretch 54

Angus Brayshaw 35

Cameron Pedersen 34

Jordan Lewis 30

NORTH MELBOURNE SCORES

Jack Ziebell 102

Todd Goldstein 82

Marley Williams 78

Billy Hartung 76

Scott D. Thompson 75

Robbie Tarrant 72

Ben Cunnington 65

Shaun Atley 61

Kayne Turner 59

Ben Brown 59

Ryan Clarke 54

Luke Davies-Uniacke 52

Trent Dumont 46

Ben Jacobs 46

Ed Vickers-Willis 45

Shaun Higgins 44

Jarrad Waite 43

Majak Daw 41

Alex Morgan 34

Sam Durdin 31

Cameron Zurhaar 31

Luke McDonald 30

Nathan Hrovat 28

Mitchell Hibberd 26

Ben McKay 18

Nick Larkey 10