Doctor SuperCoach analyses the form of Dustin Martin and Kade Simpson ahead of Round 4

Suffering through less-than-stellar premium scores is one of the most painful things to endure in SuperCoach. Doctor SuperCoach analyses whether to trade Dustin Martin and Kade Simpson ahead of Round 4.

Is the anything worse that watching your premiums underperform during the all important early SuperCoach rounds? The answer is yes. Watching your captain get injured is much worse.

However, consistently suffering through less-than-stellar premium scores is one of the most painful things to endure in SuperCoach.

In this week’s edition of Doctor’s Orders, the expert team at Doctor SuperCoach has highlighted why you should consider cutting both Dustin Martin and Kade Simpson from your SuperCoach side before Round 4.

DUSTIN MARTIN

It’s hard to really describe just how incredible Dustin Martin’s season was in 2017.

Dustin Martin has put his hand up to be traded after a poor start to 2019. Picture: Michael Dodge/Getty Images.

He won virtually every award he was eligible for and (more importantly) recorded a career high SuperCoach average.

It was the second season he had averaged more than 30 disposals per game but what set his season apart was his ability to hit the scoreboard.

He averaged a career-high 1.5 goals per game in 2017, up from just 0.4 per game in 2016. The main reason for this was a role change.

In 2015 he graduated from half-forward to full-time midfielder and this meant tracking the ball around the field, even if it was deep in defence.

Martin was frequently generating drives out of the defensive 50, rather than being damaging through the middle of the ground.

This is in stark contrast to his 2017 role, when he was much more of an attacking midfielder. In 2018 he unfortunately reverted back to a semi-forward role, where he was used in during the 2013-2015 season, and the numbers are strikingly similar:

Dustin Martin

Year	Disposals per game	Goals per game	SuperCoach average
2013	24.5	1.0	101.8
2014	25.3	1.3	99.5
2015	26.1	1.1	105.3
2018	25.5	1.4	103.8

When played in his forward role he is unable to generate the type of SuperCoach scores we expect from someone of his pedigree.

While he has been used at centre bounces, Martin has spent about half his time-on-ground inside the forward 50 in the first three rounds.

DOCTOR’S VERDICT:His role, combined with a one-week suspension for striking, means he is a definite trade out leading into Round 4.

Doctor SuperCoach has urged Kade Simpson owners to have patience. Picture: James Ross.

KADE SIMPSON

Kade Simpson is a player that deserves more accolades.

In an era of soft tissue injuries and torn ACL’s, ‘Simmo’ has played less than 20-games in a season just once since 2005.

He has been one of the most durable SuperCoach relevant players ever.

He has never averaged less than 85 SuperCoach points in a season. Not once.

These numbers irrefutably class him as an all-star premium defender, however, year upon year he always has a low ownership in SuperCoach.

In 2019, we have been introduced to an unfamiliar Kade Simpson and there are a few factors that may be affecting his output.

The obvious factor seems to be the introduction of Nic Newman as the ex-Swan is the closest thing Carlton have had to a Kade Simpson clone.

For years, Carlton has gone to the reliable Simpson to rebound from the defensive 50, however, now that they have another genuine outlet, it means he is being used less. This is highlighted by the following numbers:

Kade Simpson

Year	Disposals per game	Marks per game	SuperCoach average
2016	27.1	6.9	106.3
2017	24	7.4	93.9
2018	26.1	5.5	105
2019	19.3	3.3	72.3

While this is a small sample size, another factor to consider is Carlton is finally becoming a more competitive team.

Greater competitiveness will have some affect on how many defensive 50 entries the Blues concede, leading to fewer opportunities for Simpson to accumulate points.

Kade has always been an inconsistent scorer.

In 2018 he registered eight scores of 82 points or less, with an incredible seven totals above 120.

In 2017, it was a similar story — seven scores of 82 or less and five above 110.

Due to this high variance, drawing a conclusion on the expected output from Simpson for the rest of the season after three games is almost impossible.

The final factor to consider with Kade is his age.

Yes, at some point even the greatest fall off the SuperCoach perch.

We are not suggesting a complete drop off the landscape, but at some stage, age catches up with everyone.

Year after year this argument is floated against Simmo, but it hasn’t slowed him down yet — or has it?

DOCTOR’S VERDICT:It is a small sample size and Kade has one of the most impressive scoring histories for a defender that SuperCoach has ever seen. We need more time and data to make a call, hold for now unless your team needs a significant restructure (including getting Jake Lloyd with just the one trade).

THIS WEEK’S DOCTOR SUPERCOACH PODCAST