KFC SuperCoach 2021 Round 2 trade guide: Experts reveal what they will do with Patrick Dangerfield, Matt Rowell
Time is running out to decide on your Patrick Dangerfield and Matt Rowell replacements in KFC SuperCoach. To help, our experts reveal their Round 2 trades.
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Time is running out to decide your replacements for the suspended Patrick Dangerfield and injured Matt Rowell in KFC SuperCoach.
From Dustin Martin and Isaac Heeney to Tom Mitchell and Steven May, there are plenty of names to consider - all of which can be found in the complete Round 2 trade guide below.
To help you make the final call, here is what our KFC SuperCoach experts are doing.
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AL PATON
MY TRADES: Patrick Dangerfield to Dustin Martin, Matt Rowell to Sam Walsh.
Two like-for-like trades that get me Dusty (who I should have picked in the first place) and Walsh, who looked fantastic against the Tigers and could average 110 this year. The other option I’m tossing up is Tom Stewart, who is $5k cheaper than Walsh and I can bring in by moving Rory Laird to the midfield. I think Walsh will outscore Stewart ... but Stewart could be a top-six player in his position. It’s a coin flip, really.
LEFT-FIELD: I could get Stewart and Walsh and pass on Dusty, or get Tom Mitchell and Zac Williams. Mitchell was awesome on Saturday night and I had Zac in my team until he was suspended. But how many Blues midfielders can we pick?
TIM MICHELL
MY TRADE: Patrick Dangerfield to Tom Mitchell...I think?
I’ve been tossing up between Dustin Martin, Jordan Ridley and Tom Mitchell as my replacement for the suspended Patrick Dangerfield. Martin is the safest option as his ownership is sky-high after dominating against the Blues in Round 1. He also provides cover in the forward line. But I’ve gone for the option I think will score the most points and that’s Mitchell. Most KFC SuperCoaches assume the prolific Hawk had a below-par season last year and he still averaged 113. Martin will no doubt have games where he dominates - like last round - but I’m more confident in Mitchell’s consistency. I could have grabbed Ridley via DPP but I’m content with playing Tom Highmore at D6 for now. Dangerfield to Mitchell means Braeden Campbell swings forward but I maintain a FWD-MID swing with Tyler Brockman on the bench. I was lucky to avoid Matthew Rowell so will only be making one trade this round.
LEFT-FIELD: Steele Sidebottom is the ultimate POD among the forward premos. He’s a bit more expensive than I would like at $588k after producing his best average in six years - 109.4 - last season. Ideally you’d wait a week or two and assess his role without Adam Treloar, but coaches with Dangerfield don’t have that luxury.
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THE PHANTOM
MY TRADES: Patrick Dangerfield to Dustin Martin, Matt Rowell to Callum Mills via Rory Laird
A premium forward out, a premium forward - it’s the best way to play the Dangerfield situation in KFC SuperCoach. I was set on holding if it was two weeks, and I still thought about it after the three-match verdict was handed down, but given it’s so early in the year, and upgrade season hasn’t started, it’s time to trade Danger. And, seeing as I already have Dunkley, Martin is the obvious choice. After his huge start, and the amount of KFC SuperCoaches who will jump ahead of Round 2, it’s the percentage play. That trade leaves me with $580k to find a Rowell replacement. I’d love Tom Mitchell but I can’t afford him and, although I’m big on Adam Cerra and Bailey Smith as players, are they legitimate top-8 contenders in the midfield this year? I’m more confident in picking a defender to finish in the top-scorers at that price. When I was only trading Rowell, May was the perfect swap for $12k, given his finish to last year, his intercept work against the Dockers and the fact he plays on with most of his kick-ins. But now that I’ve got the money from the Dangerfield to Dusty move, I think I’ll go with Mills. He was Sydney’s best midfielder against the Lions, attending 22 centre bounces and tallying 29 disposals and two goals. The time has - finally - come.
LEFT-FIELD: Rowell for Hunter Clark. I’ve already got him but, from what we saw in Round 1, Clark is very much in the top-eight mix in defence, playing as a full-time midfielder for the Saints. And the trade will make you $60k.
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DAN BATTEN
MY TRADES:Patrick Dangerfield and Matt Rowell to Jack Macrae and Hunter Clark, via Rory Laird DPP
I am leaning towards bringing in Macrae, who I would have loved to start, and Saints defender-turned-midfielder Clark. While I have flirted with Sam Walsh and Dustin Martin, an uber-premium midfielder that can come into captaincy calculations is a big plus. He was the top centre bounce player for the Bulldogs in Round 1, which was one of the question marks over him in the pre-season with Adam Treloar’s arrival. Walsh averaged 118 points in the back-half of last year and is very tempting after his 122 in Round 1, but the potential to buy Zac Williams in defence means I may be a bit Blues-centric, with Patrick Cripps already in my midfield. I’ll be left with just one forward premium after my proposed changes, which is somewhat of a downside, but my DPP flexibility should allow me to field solid rookies.
LEFT-FIELD: Sam Walsh and Jordan Ridley
TRADE GUIDE: ALL THE BEST OPTIONS
We are only one round into the season and KFC SuperCoach players are already facing their first big trade dilemmas of 2021.
And on Sunday night KFC SuperCoach players — and footy fans in general — copped another huge blow when Matt Rowell suffered a cruel knee injury early in Gold Coast’s clash against the Eagles.
Suns coach Stuart Dew said he hoped the injury wasn’t season-ending but it would rule out Rowell — who had scored just six KFC SuperCoach points when he was subbed out of the game — for “a few weeks”.
On Tuesday, Gold Coast confirmed Rowell will miss “an extended period” with a PCL injury but the club was hopeful the young gun would feature again in 2021.
In KFC SuperCoach you can hold a player for a one or two-week absence, bringing a rookie off the bench to take their place.
But anything longer than two weeks — such as Dangerfield’s ban — and it’s time to hit the trade button.
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A players’ value doesn’t change until after he has played three games so Dangerfield is still valued at his starting price of $611,900 and Rowell is still worth $495,100.
Both are in more than 48 per cent of teams, ensuring there will be plenty of action in the SuperCoach trade centre this week.
See our best Dangerfield replacements below and scroll down for the top trade options for Rowell.
Note: Player score and price projections plus ownership percentages, live trade data and a whole lot more are available in SuperCoach Plus. The free SC Plus trial expires this week — sign up here for a 12-month subscription!
BEST DANGERFIELD REPLACEMENTS
Dustin Martin $541,600 MID/FWD
The Tigers have been talking about how fit Martin is all summer and the superstar showed on Thursday night it wasn’t just hype. He got better the longer the game went on the way to 158 points against the Blues. Dusty is in 51 per cent of teams but if you started without him, this could be a chance to correct that mistake.
Josh Dunkley $560,200 MID/FWD
Dunkley has one of the highest scoring ceilings in KFC SuperCoach and is one of the few players to score over 200 points in a game. But the arrival of yet another elite midfielder at Whitten Oval scared off many coaches, who were worried about his midfield role. We didn’t need to worry. Dunkley was a key member of the Bulldogs’ centre square set-up on Friday night and finished with 30 disposals and 113 points against Collingwood.
Adam Treloar attended just 2 centre bounces for the match. So much for taking mid time away from the big four. #SuperCoach#AFLFantasy#AFLPiesDogs
— Fantasy Freako (@FantasyFreako) March 19, 2021
Dayne Zorko $525,800 FWD/MID
If you want to leave some cash in the bank to fix other issues in your team, Zorko is worth considering. He is always a bit of a scoring rollercoaster but has averaged over 95 in nine of his 10 AFL seasons and started with 114 points against the Swans, in a game where most of the Lions midfield was soundly beaten.
Tom Mitchell $610,000 MID
Most people have Dangerfield in the forward line but if you switch him to the midfield (by swapping with a rookie like Braeden Campbell) it opens up some more very enticing trade options. Mitchell was unsighted for the entire pre-season after shoulder surgery but clearly doesn’t need a lot of match practice. He was at his ball-winning best against the Bombers, Hoovering up 39 disposals and a 135 KFC SuperCoach points. Currently sitting in just 3.6 per cent of teams, he would be a massive point of difference.
Nat Fyfe $608,300 MID
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir admitted after the Dockers’ loss to Melbourne that he’s struggling to know where to play his superstar captain, but wherever he plays, Fyfe scores KFC SuperCoach points. He warmed into 2021 with a 109 and has averaged 113, 120 and 114 over the past three seasons. If you're nervous about his role or injury history, you could take a punt on teammate Andrew Brayshaw instead. After his breakout season last year he showed he could go to another level with 125 points against the Demons. And he’s just $544,200.
Sam Walsh (Carl) $543,300 MID
“You look at Sam Walsh tonight, the game comes to him. He had 30 (possessions), he just looks incredible, the way he covered the ground.” That was opposition coach Damien Hardwick talking about the former No. 1 draft pick after he scored 122 KFC SuperCoach points against the Tigers. Of course, it was no surprise to The Phantom, who has been telling us all summer how strong Walsh’s finish to last season was (average 113 over his final 11 games). On Thursday night’s evidence he seems poised to take over as the Blues’ No. 1 midfielder.
Isaac Heeney (Syd) $454,500 FWD
Heeney is priced at about an 84 average after injuries restricted him to just six matches in 2020, but that is way unders. This is a guy that has averaged 98, 98, 94 and 94 from 2017-2020 and pumped out 115 points from just 13 disposals on Saturday night. And the Swans might be much better than we thought.
James Rowe (Adel) $117,300 FWD
This would be the really big play, downgrading Dangerfield for the Crows small forward who scored 104 points on debut — and in the process saving almost $500,000 to deploy elsewhere on the field (you could adopt the same tactic with Sydney’s Errol Gulden in the midfield). Reducing your team by one proven premium is not generally the way we like to trade but every KFC SuperCoach team needs to include Rowe and Gulden before their prices skyrocket after Round 3 and this could be a way to tick that box and free up plenty of spending money.
BEST ROWELL REPLACEMENTS
Rowell is a midfielder in KFC SuperCoach but there is a good argument for making use of dual-position players in your team to swap him for a gun in another position.
For example you could trade out Rowell then substitute Rory Laird to the midfield and trade in a defender to fill Laird’s spot — or do the same with a forward like Dustin Martin or Josh Dunkley.
The defender: Steven May $507,900 DEF
The Demons interceptor carried on the red-hot form he showed at the end of 2020 with 117 points in Round 1 against Fremantle. May recorded 24 disposals, reeled in eight marks and posted eight intercepts. He’s taking kick-outs for Melbourne, too. May averaged 111 in the last seven rounds last season, emerging as a genuine KFC SuperCoach pick. You’ll need $12,000 in the bank to make the swap, but that shouldn’t be an issue if you have to trade Dangerfield as well.
The kid: Bailey Smith 494,600 MID
The topscorer in Western Bulldogs’ victory over Collingwood wasn’t Jack Macrae, Josh Dunkley or Marcus Bontempelli, but Bailey Smith with 123. Smith was incredible against the Magpies, amassing 36 disposals, eight marks and kicking two goals. There were doubts over Smith’s role after he was shifted to a wing in the pre-season, but he allayed any concerns with a dominant start to 2021.
The POD: Adam Cerra $484,800 MID
Featuring in just 0.5 per cent of teams, the rising star of Fremantle’s midfield — at least one of them — has gone to another level since becoming part of Fremantle’s midfield rotation. Cerra averaged 101 in the last eight rounds of 2020 and opened the new season with 122 against Melbourne.
The new Blue: Zac Williams $458,600 DEF
Remember this guy? The former Giant posted 64 points to halftime against St Kilda in pre-season and was set to be one of the most-popular starting defenders before being suspended for a high hit on Hunter Clark. Williams is set to partner Sam Walsh and Patrick Cripps in the Carlton midfield and his ownership is much lower than it would otherwise have been at 7 per cent. Swing Jordan Clark or Rory Laird to the midfield to make it happen.
The like-for-like: Tim Taranto $453,700 MID
The GWS midfielder opened his 2021 campaign with a score of 107, dominating in the second half against St Kilda after a slow start to back up his pre-season hundred. Taranto had 26 disposals and four tackles against the Saints and is priced at an average of 84, well below his potential output. He’s already in 27.5 per cent of teams and about to grow in popularity.
The bolter: Luke Davies-Uniacke $432,800 MID
The rising Roo led North Melbourne’s pre-season scoring with 122 points against Hawthorn and came close to that score with 114 in the club’s Round 1 loss to Port Adelaide. Ben Cunnington still has to return to North Melbourne’s midfield, but Davies-Uniacke is close to becoming the main man. He had 20 disposals, five tackles and kicked a goal against the Power. A breakout appears to be coming, just a matter of whether he can elevate himself to a 105-plus average.
The DPP: Tom Phillips $402,600 FWD/MID
KFC SuperCoaches who wanted to see Phillips in the same team as Tom Mitchell before jumping on would have been largely impressed by his output against Essendon. The former Pie had 21 disposals, seven marks and kicked a goal to register 90 KFC SuperCoach points — on par with his best season average. If he maintains those numbers for a full season he will be a contender to be a top 8-10 forward. The extra $90k from Rowell will help facilitate another upgrade, too.
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