Geelong Cats SuperCoach study guide: Best premium picks, mid-price risks and cash cows

Geelong is stacked with SuperCoach scoring power, but value is harder to find at the Cattery in 2019. Yet dig a little deeper and there are some potential gems in the blue and white hoops.

Geelong is stacked with SuperCoach scoring power, but value is harder to find at the Cattery in 2019.

But dig a little deeper and there are some potential gems for our squads in the blue and white hoops.

Here’s our take on the best premium, mid-priced and rookie picks at Geelong this year.

PHANTOM: GEELONG BEST 22 SUPERCOACH FORMGUIDE

FORWARD: ABLETT SET FOR ATTACKING MOVE

SKIPPER: HOW CATS PLAN TO EXTEND SELWOOD’S CAREER

PREMIUMS

Patrick Dangerfield ($660,500, Mid-Fwd)

Should be your No.1 picked player after Champion Data delivered a Christmas gift by handing him dual-position status for this season. Averaged 122 last year (a slip from 136 the year before), which would have made him the top-ranked forward by more than 15 points a game. Lock him in and throw away the key.

Geelong skipper Joel Selwood has been managed through pre-season. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Joel Selwood ($570,500, Mid)

Are Joel’s days as a SuperCoach premium over? His average of 105 last year was actually up three points on the year before and included four scores over 135. Will be a point of difference in the midfield.

Tom Hawkins ($552,900, Fwd)

Of forward-eligible players who played more than one game, only James Sicily had a higher average than Tomahawk in 2018. Risky to start with but you’ll want him when the Cats play Carlton at home in Round 23, SuperCoach Grand Final day.

Sam Menegola ($543,100, Mid-Fwd)

Raised eyebrows when he was listed as last year’s top-priced forward but ended up averaging 100 on the dot, despite some hiccups along the way. Dual-position Cat ended the season with an average of 117 over the final seven games.

Mitch Duncan ($576,500, Mid)

We say it every year but it bears repeating. Duncan is the forgotten man of the Cats midfield, making him a great point of difference in SuperCoach. His average of 106 last year was better than everyone else listed here apart from Dangerfield and Ablett - plus the likes of Dustin Martin, Marcus Bontempelli, Matt Crouch and Zach Merrett.

Mitch Duncan continues to fly under the radar. Picture: Jerad Williams

Luke Dahlhaus has crossed from Western Bulldogs. Picture: Tim Carrafa

MID-PRICE RISKS

Luke Dahlhaus ($418,300, Mid-Fwd)

Former Bulldog seems to have been forgotten in trade and SuperCoach talk after switching from the Kennel to the Cattery, but this is a guy who averaged 105 in 2015 and over 90 in 2016-17. He’s very affordable after a poor 77 average last year but you can back him to outscore that - guaranteeing a price rise - and he could do much better.

ROOKIES

Nakia Cockatoo ($190,500, Fwd)

On this list because it’s not often you see a top-10 draft pick available for under $200k entering his fifth season. But injuries have dogged Cockatoo early in his career so you’d have to be very confident he was over those struggles before taking the plunge. Has been sidelined by a spider bite in Bali during the off-season so maybe he’s just cursed.

Charlie Constable ($123,900, Mid)

The 2017 draftee didn’t break through for a senior game in his first season at the Cats but was close all season, eventually finishing top-10 in Geelong’s VFL best-and-fairest after averaging 24 disposals in 15 matches. The tall midfielder, who collected 34 touches against eventual premier Box Hill in Round 21, will be in the selection mix early as Chris Scott looks to rejuvenate his midfield. Watch his JLT Series closely.

Darcy Fort ($117,300, Ruck)

Is the 205cm giant the answer to Geelong’s ruck conundrum? The 25-year-old returns to his hometown after several seasons in the VFL and SANFL, where he dominated last year for Central District, averaging 123 SuperCoach points a game. Hopefully Scott will drop some big clues in the pre-season about where he fits into the ruck mix with Rhys Stanley, Zac Smith and Ryan Abbott. A big risk but would free up almost $600k if you pick him instead of Brodie Grundy or Max Gawn.

Geelong draftee Darcy Fort. Picture: Peter Ristevski

NO-GO ZONE

Harry Taylor ($262,800, Def)

After years as a stable SuperCoach defender Taylor battled injuries all last season and is no longer a walk-up start in the Cats’ best 22. Enters this season aged 32.

Gary Rohan ($261,600, Fwd)

Rohan will bring pace and pressure to the Cats but he’s never been a SuperCoach scorer; his highest average over nine seasons is 69 and last year it was just 48.

DRAFT SMOKIES

Gary Ablett (Midfield)

We can’t rely on him to play 22 games any more but keep the romance alive by picking him in Draft. Scored 158 in Round 21 last year. Has revealed he will play mostly forward this year.

Tim Kelly (Midfield)

Kelly was a SuperCoach revelation in his debut AFL season but you probably can’t start him in SuperCoach Classic this year. Draft is a different story, where any midfielder who can play 22 games and average 93 is very valuable indeed.

Zach Tuohy (Defence)

Has not missed a game in the past six seasons and has averaged between 80 and 88 in the past three.

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