Four POD power moves that could save your SuperCoach season

Need a bold move to catch up to — or get ahead of — the SuperCoach pack? The experts at Doctor SuperCoach have Marcus Bontempelli in their sights.

Marcus Bontempelli of the Bulldogs.

Starting your year with some point of difference picks can make or break your season. Trading them in could give you an edge over your competition, especially those that are refusing to acknowledge an unlikely bolter. Trading in the wrong one however, may cost you further trades down the line and immediate pain!

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So how do we differentiate between the good and the bad? There is an element of luck, but there is also an element of skill, as long as you are willing to analyse these underrated options.

Fortunately, the expert team at Doctor SuperCoach is here to eliminate one of those factors, with their analysis of some point of difference options who have started like a house on fire!

THE DEFENDER

SHANNON HURN $536,700 | Avg: 111.3 | Ownership: 9 per cent

Year after year this savvy veteran gets overlooked by coaches, despite the fact that Hurn was nestled in the top five defenders last season with an average of 96.4. Hurn has started the season brilliantly, averaging 25 disposals per game so far. The only other two times Hurn had averaged more than 20 disposals in a season, he recorded averages of 93.3 and 96.4 points per game – his two highest season averages!

Another feather in this rebounding defender’s cap is his impressive durability, having just missed one match in the past four seasons. Captain Hurn’s role is set in stone, his durability is impressive and if he continues to get fed the ball at a similar rate to what he’s seeing currently, it would be a shock to nobody to see him among the top six scoring defenders once again in 2019.

Marcus Bontempelli has made a flying start to the season.

THE MIDFIELDERS

MARCUS BONTEMPELLI $588,200 | Avg: 126.5 | Ownership: 6 per cent

The small number of coaches that took the plunge by starting Bontempelli are deserving of all the credit in the world. The Bont has been threatening to explode for years now, with his average of 115.2 in the final 16 rounds of 2016 the closest we’ve seen to a top-eight midfielder output thus far.

Having said that, we can’t count the chickens before they’ve hatched and unfortunately for current owners, we have seen this start to a season before. In 2017, Bontempelli started the season with an average of 123.5 across the first seven rounds and then proceeded to average 96.4 to close the season. It’s tough to tell as to whether we’re finally seeing Bontempelli break out like we know he can, or if we are just seeing another hot spell to start the season - before the inevitable drop back to reality.

What we can say though, is that the emergence of Aaron Naughton and Josh Schache, who are being complemented by the likes of Sam Lloyd and Billy Gowers, has given coach Luke Beveridge a plethora of forward options that he hasn’t had in the past. Should this keep Marcus in the midfield, we could very well be seeing Bont reach his full potential at last.

ZACH MERRETT $565,400 | Avg: 112.5 | Ownership: 4 per cent

After battling concussion and a number of opposition tags in 2018, Zach Merrett must have been looking towards 2019 as a fresh start and a chance to get back to his 2016-17 form – when he averaged 110 SuperCoach points over a two-season span. If we bypass Merrett’s Round 1 score that came in a 72 point loss to GWS in which only two Bombers reached the ton, then Zach has put together a nifty start to the season, boasting a three-round average of 127.6.

Although scores of 120 and 155 are standouts so far, Merrett’s Round 2 return of 108 is possibly the most relevant. This score not only came in a loss, but came with a tough tag laid by Jack Steele, something that Zach notoriously struggles to cope with. His score of 120 was also after being tagged, however the tag was dropped after the third quarter. This makes near enough two full games this season that Zach has shown he can perform through a tag, and if Essendon can continue its current win streak, it’s possible that Merrett could improve upon his career-high average of 111.2 to become a top eight midfielder.

Zach Merret is back to his best.

Travis Boak is enjoying his new role.

THE FORWARD

TRAVIS BOAK $561,300 | Avg: 128.0 | Ownership: 13 per cent

With great role changes comes great scoring and look no further for an example of this than Travis Boak. Now donning the nickname “Mr Consistent”, Boak has averaged 85-plus since 2010, with an overall average of 94.7 in that time. However, you’ll have to go back years since we have seen Boak play as a pure midfielder.

The now former captain of Port Adelaide is in a sweet spot of having relinquished captaincy duties, being just 30 years old and performing in a so far competitive team. Boak has opened the season with four monster scores of 119, 123, 136 and 134, putting himself in a position to be right in the mix of the top-six forwards, so why the sudden scoring prowess?

Boak is enjoying a nice role change with Brad Ebert being moved forward to accommodate the two-time All-Australian and, as a result, Boak is averaging career-high disposals with 33 per match. Should Travis hold on to his lucrative role, there is substantial evidence to suggest he will be a top-six forward this season. However, beware a potential Mark Hutchings tag this week!

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