Should we pick Tom Rockliff in SuperCoach this year?

HE’S one of the highest scorers in SuperCoach at a club that hopes to challenge for the flag. But there are good reasons to be wary of Tom Rockliff. Here’s the case for and against.

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Tom Rockliff is one of the all-time SuperCoach studs, part of an elite group capable of reeling off monster scores on a weekly basis. But he can also cause massive frustration if he plays injured or out of position.

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Will you ride the Rocky rollercoaster this season? Here’s our take on the best reasons to get on board — and to steer clear.

WHY WE SHOULD PICK HIM

SCORING potential. When he’s on, there are few players in the competition who can score like this man. He averaged a crazy 132 in 2014 and 111 as recently as 2016. Last year he was averaging 123 before injury struck — that would have placed him behind only Patrick Dangerfield on overall averages at the end of the year.

SCORING ceiling. In that eight-week stretch last year his output included a 176, 148 and 147. The year before he cracked the 200-point mark against Carlton (and had two other scores over 150 for good measure). It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to think about what that means if you have him in your team and your private league opponent doesn’t. It also makes him a great captain option.

HIS game is very SuperCoach-friendly. Rockliff isn’t the most polished player in the competition but he wins his own footy and tackles — a lot. In that eight-round purple patch to start 2017 he had 11 or more tackles four times. That’s a great sign because it means he’s still scoring even if he isn’t getting the pill (which he usually is).

HE’S at a better team. After flying the flag for the Brisbane Lions, who won just 19 games in the past four seasons, Rocky is now at Port Adelaide (which has won 52 matches in the same period). In almost every game the winning team harvests the most SuperCoach points — not surprising since they usually kick more goals, have more score assists and win more of the footy. Rockliff will have a bigger pot to earn from and more highly skilled teammates to give him the ball.

PORT is also a good chance to go deep into September. If in doubt it’s usually smart to pick players from teams in finals — and especially premiership — contention. They are much less likely to play around with selection or player roles.

HIS price of $529,400 makes him the 39th-most expensive midfielder. Last year he started at $603,900 and peaked at $634,200. Value!

ROCKLIFF, along with every other Port Adelaide player, has a bye in Round 10 after the Power’s trip to China. You’ll have to find cover for him that week (when bye rules don’t apply so you need 22 scoring players) but the positive is he’ll be available for all three bye rounds when it’s harder to scratch together a starting 18.

Tom Rockliff wrestles with Brad Ebert during Port Adelaide’s intraclub hitout. Picture: Tom Huntley

WHY WE SHOULDN’T PICK HIM

SO WHY is Rockliff that cheap? Take a look at the second half of last season. In the final 12 home-and-away matches he topped the 100-point mark once and threw in a pair of 57s, a 59 and three other scores in the 60s. His SuperCoach owners — especially those who paid top dollar after his blistering start — were screaming “Never again!”

THERE was an explanation for that shocking drop-off. After the season Rockliff had a full shoulder reconstruction after carrying the injury for most of the year (he smashed it the final quarter of the Lions’ Round 8 clash against Hawthorn). The problem is Rocky has had shoulder problems before, along with other injuries including repeated hamstring tears and broken ribs. Can we trust his body to get through a full season? The last time he played all 22 games was 2012.

WHAT role will he play at Port? Rockliff is a noted goalkicker (31 in the past two seasons) which is great for SuperCoach owners — in bursts. Spend too long in the goalsquare and he misses out on all those hardball gets and tackles. Long-time Rockliff watchers still have bad memories of 2012 when he started the year priced at over $600,000 following his breakout season in 2011. He started like a house on fire before coach Michael Voss moved him forward and his scoring fell off a cliff (averaging 77 over the final nine games). One of Port’s biggest strengths in 2018 will be the ability to rotate Robbie Gray, Chad Wingard and Rockliff between the midfield and forward line. “There’s no doubt I’ll spend more time forward than I have in the past,” Rockliff said in November, adding “I’ll definitely be playing through the midfield as well.” Hopefully the pre-season matches will give us a clearer picture.

THE VERDICT

Al Paton: George W Bush once said “fool me once, shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” Wise words. But Rockliff’s high scores are too hard to resist. Just play him in the guts, Ken.

Gilbert Gardiner: Sorry Rock, but been burned too many times before to pick without any exposed form. Wait and see.