Late Mail Round 11: All the latest KFC SuperCoach news and trade advice
Sam Flanders comes at an elevated KFC SuperCoach rookie price, but his junior numbers suggest the Gold Coast debutant could be worth the extra cash. See all the latest team whispers.
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Gold Coast will unveil first round draftee Sam Flanders ($162,300, FWD/MID) in the final game of Round 11 against Gold Coast.
Flanders, rated as a top-five selection in last year’s draft, was left on the board until pick 11, where the Suns swooped in with a live trade with Carlton to secure him.
The powerful midfield-forward looms as a KFC SuperCoach beast of the future, averaging 22 disposals, 10 contested possessions, six tackles and 113 points at the 2019 national championships for Vic Country.
Flanders has ready-made AFL attributes and is a rookie SuperCoaches should keep a close eye on – with his FWD-MID status sweetening the deal.
He is at an elevated price, so it is only worth jumping on if you can trust his job security and scoring, which we’ll get a taste of against the Bombers.
Meanwhile, more than 37,000 KFC SuperCoaches have been sweating on the fitness of breakout Essendon gun Jordan Ridley for the past few days and that’s likely to continue ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Gold Coast.
The defender has been named in John Worsfold’s 22 to take on the Suns, despite the Bombers medical team declaring they will take a conservative approach with the club’s new star.
“Jordan sustained a heavy knock late in the game (on Friday). We took a conservative approach with him and he didn’t return to play.” Bombers Head of Medicine David Rundle told the Bombers’ website on Tuesday.
“Given the short turnaround this week we’ll continue to be conservative with him with the view to potentially play him for the St Kilda game.”
The fact Sunday’s clash with St Kilda is mentioned specifically – and not the Round 11 fixture – is enough for KFC SuperCoaches to be concerned.
Sort out your emergencies – if you’ve got them – and keep a look out for Essendon’s final teamsheet which will be submitted an hour before Wednesday night’s match.
But given the best-18 scoring system in place for Round 12, it’s unlikely you would need to panic trade in the event he doesn’t play.
And let’s all be thankful for that system – Sam Draper owners especially.
With Essendon to back up and play again on Sunday – following its five-day break ahead of the Suns clash – the Bombers have opted to manage the exciting ruckman and leave him out of the Round 11 side, with Tom Bellchambers to return.
“We have got players on our list that their history would suggest they would struggle to play on Wednesday and Sunday so we’ve taken that into account,” Worsfold said on Tuesday night.
Draper spent a year on the sidelines with a knee injury before his debut and following the loss to the Giants, Worsfold acknowledged the club’s ruck depth would be important as they manage players through a testing period.
“We’re now, I think, in our best position we’ve ever been in since my time at the club having (Andrew) Phillips, Bellchambers and Draper, all guys that we would be comfortable to have as our leading ruckman in any game,” he said.
Draper features in more than 25,000 KFC SuperCoach teams.
At the Suns, coach Stuart Dew will unleash another debutant – the club’s sixth for the year – with the No. 11 pick from last year’s draft, Sam Flanders ($162,300 FWD-MID), set to play his first game.
The strong-bodied Flanders, who is terrific overhead, averaged 121 KFC SuperCoach points in the NAB League last year, playing through the midfield and across half-forward.
WILL GAWN, VINEY RETURN?
The KFC SuperCoach carnage hit with full force when Max Gawn and Jack Viney were left out of Melbourne’s team to face the Kangaroos.
Viney missed with concussion while Gawn sat out to rest the shoulder injury he talked about following the win over the Crows.
“I did tear something in my upper shoulder region (the lat muscle),” Gawn said on Fox Footy.
“I had to be careful and get as much advice as possible, we went to different people and (fitness boss Darren Burgess) called all over the world trying to find people that had the injury.
“We came to the decision that I could probably play … the first half did take me a while. At times I thought ‘why did I put my hand up?’, but I did get into it towards the end.”
TRADE GUIDE: ALL THE ROUND 11 KFC SUPERCOACH TARGETS
The Demons have six days to prepare for their next game, against Collingwood on Saturday – Good news for both players, especially Viney.
Coach Simon Goodwin said after the big win over the Roos that the former skipper had suffered “a really light concussion so he’ll be good to go next week.”
As for Max … “We’re really hopeful Max Gawn will play next week. He hasn’t done a lot of work since the game against Adelaide, but we’ll give him every chance to play.”
Watch this space!
NEW ROLE FOR SUPERCOACH STUD
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says more time closer to goal beckons for clearance specialist Nat Fyfe.
Longmuir wants to take advantage of his forward craft – a possible deterrent for those looking to trade in the Dockers superstar in KFC SuperCoach.
“It’s always been the plan to split his time a little bit between the forward line and the midfield,” Longmuir said.
“Early in his career he was a great forward coming through, so we really want to tap into that.
“His ability in the wet to win contests both at ground level and in the air is first class, so having someone like that in your forward line in wet conditions is really important.
“We’ll look to play him forward on Monday night as well.”
Two injury-affected scores see him priced at $588,200 with a monumental 158-point break-even to overcome in Round 11. He managed to score 130 and will cost about $570,000 before Round 12.
If his scores are that good despite the dual role it shouldn’t put us off trading in the dual brownlow medallist. Just hope his body holds together.
MORE SUPERCOACH ADVICE:
KFC SuperCoach 2020: The best rookie options and cash cows for Round 12
The greatest KFC SuperCoach burning questions of Round 11
Doctor’s Orders: Best KFC SuperCoach trade options coming off the Round 10 bye
KFC SuperCoach: Trade targets, rookie options and everything you need to know for rounds 10-12
Originally published as Late Mail Round 11: All the latest KFC SuperCoach news and trade advice