AFL SuperCoach: Is Western Bulldog Josh Dunkley worth monster price tag?
Fresh off a score of 173 against Carlton, Western Bulldogs midfielder Josh Dunkley has jumped to $596,800 in SuperCoach. Is it too much to pay or worth the investment? TRADE GUIDE
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Don’t be concerned about following the SuperCoach pack this week.
As appealing as it is to chance your arm by targeting point of difference players to give your team an edge, this isn’t the round to be different.
The two most popular trade ins ahead of this weekend will be midfielders Lachie Neale and Dylan Clarke — with good reason.
As of 8am Monday, about 12 hours after lockout lifted, Neale featured in more than 3500 trades and Clarke more than 5000.
Neale has the best average of any midfielder this year (123.8), yet is available for $578,300 — a $29,000 discount on his starting price.
Essendon tagger Clarke is on the bubble this week after scores of 99 and 76.
The prolific VFL on-baller has shut down Patrick Cripps and Jaeger O’Meara in his two games this year but also won 23 disposals in both matches.
His price of $147,700 isn’t ideal, but with a break even of -87 and solid scoring Clarke is the perfect Round 14 downgrade.
If you can use a player who has reached their price peak such as Noah Balta or Liam Baker to bring in Clarke and then upgrade to Neale, both trades will be of significant benefit to your team.
EXPERT COLUMN: FOUR OVERLOOKED TRADE GUNS
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The Bombers take on West Coast, GWS, Sydney and North Melbourne in the next month, all games where John Worsfold is likely to call on Clarke’s tagging prowess.
TOP TARGETS
Griffin Logue $164,300, Def, Average: 93, Break even: -88 (one game)
Logue has great job security after returning to Fremantle’s side in the place of injured key defender Alex Pearce, who will miss the remainder of the season. Logue had 24 disposals and eight marks in the Dockers’ victory over Port Adelaide and is a great option in defence despite his elevated price. Jump on this week or next before his price rises.
Dylan Clarke $147,700, Mid, Avg: 87.5, BE: -87
The Essendon tagger wasn’t guaranteed his spot last week by coach John Worsfold but surely is a certainty to play his third game on Thursday after shutting down Jaeger O’Meara. Clarke has had 23 disposals in both of his games this year and is proving an adept ball winner as well as a disciplined shut down player. He’ll be popular this week before his price rise.
Patrick Naish $123,900, Def, Avg: 72.5, BE: -71
The young Tiger has a bye this round, so only trade him in if you already have Logue and need a defensive downgrade. Naish has made a promising start to his AFL career, producing scores of 78 and 69 in his first two games. You would hate to bring him in this week and have him miss in Round 15, but his efforts against Adelaide should earn him at least one more game before several senior Richmond players are due to return.
Rowan Marshall $489,800, Ruc, Avg: 102.1, BE: 31
One of the SuperCoach revelations of the year, Marshall is one of the few players available for less than $500,000 with an average above 100. The young Saint has scored 139 and 122 in his past two games, impressing with his work around the ground. He also trumped Gold Coast co-captain Jarrod Witts in the hit outs on Saturday. Marshall has six hundreds this season from 10 games and has only scored less than 80 twice. He needs to be considered if you have a vacancy in your forward line.
Michael Walters $539,500, Fwd-Mid, Avg: 104.2, BE: 36
Walters might finally have shed his status as a SuperCoach burn man. The star Docker has amassed 110, 127 and 158 in his past three games, taking his average for the year to 104.2. Importantly, he’s only dropped below 70 once, a trend which has cost him a higher average in previous years. He won’t play many games like he did against Port Adelaide again, but Walters is capable of maintaining his triple-figure average for the rest of 2019.
Travis Boak $527,400, Fwd, Avg: 112.7, BE: 62
Boak regained his mantle as the No. 1 forward of the year on Saturday when he scored 121 against Fremantle. He was a popular trade option last week when he was available for less than $520,000 but should be considered again. He’s still only in 34.5 per cent of teams, somewhat surprising considering he was the value pick of Round 13.
Josh Dunkley $596,800, Fwd-Mid, Avg: 107.9, BE: 63
If you’ve got money in the bank, start planning how to bring in Dunkley. Since returning to midfield he has posted five scores of 119 or higher in six games and four above 130. His break even crashed to 63 as a result of his 173 against Carlton and you will have to pay more than $600,000 if you want him in coming weeks. Dunkley was electric against the Blues, compiling 41 disposals and laying 10 tackles.
Rory Sloane $511,000, Mid, Avg: 108.7, BE: 76
Sloane is one to note for next week. A player with an average of 109 should not be available for $511,000. The Crows star will be too cheap to ignore when his team returns from the bye in Round 15. Four of his past six scores have been 124 or better and he still managed 103 when blanketed by Matt De Boer.
Clayton Oliver $539,300, Mid, Avg: 106.8, BE: 85
Is Clayton Oliver back to his best? Despite an underwhelming year by his lofty standards, Oliver has averaged 106.8 to keep himself in the premium midfielder discussion. He’s only gone above 120 three times, but still has seven hundreds from 12 games. He’s in less than 25 per cent of teams, a bonus considering his scoring potential.
Nat Fyfe $623,600, Mid, Avg: 120.9, BE: 97
Fyfe’s statistics don’t need much selling. With six scores of 124+ in his past seven games he is a reliable captaincy option every week. If you’ve already got Lachie Neale and have money to spend, get the Fremantle skipper this week. He’ll vie with Neale and Josh Kelly to be the No. 1 midfielder for the rest of the year.
Lachie Neale $578,300, Mid, Avg: 123.8, BE: 124
The No. 1 scorer of the year available for less than $600,000? Don’t hesitate to jump on Neale this round, regardless of whether he’ll have Matt De Boer for company in a few weeks’ time. There’s every chance he’s learned from Ed Curnow’s shut down job and he’ll have a point to prove when the Giants stopper goes to him.
CHOPPING BLOCK
Michael Gibbons $304,000, Mid, Avg: 55.7, BE: 38
Sam Walsh $439,100, Mid, Avg: 89.8, BE: 70
Tom Liberatore $410,700, Mid, Avg: 88.1, BE: 131
Noah Balta $284,900, Fwd, Avg: 49.6, BE: 90
Will Setterfield $265,600, Fwd-Mid, Avg: 55.4, BE: 29
Brodie Smith $400,800, Def, Avg: 85.2, BE: 117
Liam Baker $363,700, Fwd, Avg: 77.9, BE: 100
Prioritise trading the players who have byes this week (Walsh, Gibbons, Liberatore, Balta, Setterfield, Smith and Baker). If you still have Liberatore and Walsh, you might be forced to hold onto the No. 1 draft pick for a few more weeks as a result of the Western Bulldogs midfielder’s knee injury. A refreshed Walsh should be capable of meeting his break even of 70 when Carlton next plays in Round 15, so trade Liberatore should he be ruled out for an extended period.
Mature-age recruit Gibbons has served his purpose as a bargain-basement rookie, making more than $200,000 from his starting price of $102,400. Cashing him in to Dylan Clarke will make a $156,300 profit. Richmond rookies Balta and Baker have high break evens and could also be traded directly to Clarke if you can use the dual-position swing.
Brodie Smith is an intriguing player. The rebounding Crows defender’s scoring has dropped off in recent weeks, only managing 48 and 74 in the past two weeks. His numbers before then suggested he would be capable of being a defensive keeper but the 83,389 coaches with Smith in their sides have a tough call to make on whether he lasts past Adelaide’s Round 14 bye.
HOLD
Reilly O’Brien $446,000, Ruc, Avg: 95.6, BE: -20
The plan for most coaches was to hold O’Brien as cover for Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy in Round 13 and then trade him during his bye. The only issue with that is the Crows ruckman has a break even of -20 after his monster score of 181 against Richmond and is about to jump in price again. If you’re prepared to be patient, you could trade O’Brien in Round 15 or Round 16 directly to a premium in any position when his price surges above $500,000. His job security isn’t the concern we expected with Sam Jacobs stuck in the SANFL.
BARGAIN BIN
Under 500k
Tom Stewart $496,800
Jacob Hopper $495,100
Jack Ziebell $492,300
Rowan Marshall $489,800
James Sicily $488,600
Jason Johannisen $488,000
Matt Crouch $488,200
Daniel Rich $476,500
Lachie Weller $473,500
Jack Billings $455,500
Jeremy Cameron $454,600
Under 450k
Isaac Heeney $447,600
Robbie Gray $436,600
Jade Gresham $428,600
Angus Brayshaw $423,000
Tom Papley $386,200
Kade Simpson $371,900
Lance Franklin $370,000
Marc Murphy $368,400
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