Should we pick Scott Pendlebury in SuperCoach this year?

HE’S SuperCoach royalty but plenty of SuperCoach players are passing on Scott Pendlebury this year. Is that a huge mistake? Al Paton rates the Pies captain’s fantasy potential. VOTE

HE HAS been one of the most reliable SuperCoach scorers of the past decade, but suddenly it seems Scott Pendlebury is on the nose.

The Magpies captain is currently the 63rd most popular player in the game, selected in just 8 per cent of teams so far. Is that a giant mistake or is Pendles past his best?

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Here’s our take on the pros and cons of picking Pendles in SuperCoach this year.

WHY WE SHOULD PICK HIM

PENDLEBURY is SuperCoach royalty. He has averaged at least 100 points the past 10 years in a row, with six of those 115-plus.

PENDLES didn’t earn the nickname ‘dependlebury’ for nothing. While some players can deliver a massive score one week and a stinker the next, Pendlebury has always been a safe premium who scores at least 80 points even on a bad day.

VALUE. Pendlebury’s starting price of $586,500 is $60k down on his price at Round 1 last year and the cheapest he’s been before a season started since 2011. Make the most of the discount he has been given after an interrupted 2017 season.

HE’S still a champ. He’s still the Pies captain, and will do everything in his power to lift them into the finals. He returned to training early (as he does every year) demonstrating his elite preparation, and his game is tailor-made for SuperCoach with almost every one of his disposals on target. Can’t see that changing much in 2018.

HE’S durable. Before his injury hiccup late last year, he had not missed more than two games in a season since 2012.

HE COULD be a unique starter in your team. With the likes of Patrick Cripps and Josh Kelly more trendy picks this year, Pendles is sneaking under the radar and remarkably could prove a very effective point of difference in your starting squad.

Scott Pendlebury works up a sweat at pre-season training.

WHY WE SHOULDN’T PICK HIM

IS THE halo slipping? Pendlebury’s season average in 2013 was 126, in 2016 it was 119 and last year he posted 107. He turned 30 in January and even champions can’t stay on top forever.

PENDLEBURY’S patented SuperCoach metronome has had a bit of a wobble in recent times as well. Wind the clock back to 2014 and he scored under 100 only twice for the season, with a low score of 88. The next year he dipped under three figures four times but his lowest score was 81, hardly a disaster. In 2017 Pendles played 16 games for eight scores of 100 or more, with a high of 149 and a low of 67 (one of three scores under 80). What’s going on?

WILL Adam Treloar go past him this year? That was the hot tip last year and it didn’t happen with Treloar experiencing challenges of his own. But the midfield jet will turn 25 on the eve of the season and is entering his prime. Taylor Adams and Jordan de Goey will also be itching for more midfield responsibility, which could come at the expense of the captain.

PENDLES hurt his finger during the International Rules series. It wasn’t the same finger he had operated on earlier in the year but there was some confusion about whether it was broken or not. Either way, it’s not ideal — hopefully he dominates a couple of pre-season games to dispel any doubts.