SuperCoach AFL 2024: Selection whispers, Champion Data form for round 10
SuperCoach teams banking on Jordon Sweet as a mid-season cash cow have been left with a huge problem after Ken Hinkley’s round 10 selection call. LATE MAIL.
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Ken Hinkley — so long the friend of SuperCoach teams — has turned enemy No.1.
The Port coach has left tens of thousands of SuperCoaches scrambling by opting to reward Dante Visentini’s performance against Geelong and leave Jordon Sweet in the SANFL.
The issue for SuperCoach teams is two-fold.
Sweet was supposed to be one of the best mid-season cash cows of the year after scoring 136 in his first game playing without Ivan Soldo.
A score of 74 the next week resulted in a price rise of more than $86k and Sweet is projected to make another $100k if he can average 86 in his next two matches.
The issue? Soldo is back in 2-3 weeks from a knee clean out and that timeline will become 1-2 weeks after this round.
Rowan Marshall ($525k, break even 28) and Tim English ($616k, break even 129) could cost more than $300,000 in an upgrade from Sweet if Soldo comes straight into the senior team.
The immediate concern for SuperCoach teams — namely those with Sweet at R2 — is finding a solution for round 10.
Luke Jackson is an easy swing from your forward line if you have Coen Livingstone or Finnbar Maley as RUC-FWDs, but otherwise it gets complicated.
Those who took a punt on Toby Conway were rewarded with a 90, while Todd Goldstein is only $371k and will get an extended run as Essendon’s No.1 due to Sam Draper’s knee issues.
Your other option is trading Sweet to Visentini, banking $100k and hoping the rookie ruck can take it up to Lloyd Meek.
Either way, it’s not great news.
WILL PIES BREAK SUPERCOACH HEARTS?
Good news on the injury front at Collingwood could be bad news for the most popular trade target in SuperCoach.
Magpies coach Craig McRae confirmed on Thursday morning that Jordan De Goey will return this week against Adelaide.
That could put pressure on mature-age recruit Lachie Sullivan, who has attended 15 centre bounces in the past two rounds with De Goey and Tom Mitchell missing from the Pies line-up.
“Jordy got through training well, he’s got a spring in his step. He looks like he’s got some power back in his running and he’ll be available,” McRae said.
He added that Mitchell will miss again with a foot injury but Lachie Schultz trained strongly and is available for selection after serving his one-match suspension.
“There could be some changes, we’ve got some guys that will be out with concussions, Jack Bytel, Harvey Harrison he got through training, we just weigh up whether he’ll be available or not. We’ll have to have a couple of forced changes,” McRae said.
Further complicating the picture, Harrison hurt his ankle against the Eagles, Bytel suffered concussion after coming on as the sub and Jeremy Howe is set to miss 2-3 weeks with a groin strain. Jamie Elliott, who was a late out last week, is several weeks away from a return. Beau McCreery (concussion) and Brody Mihocek (hamstring) will push to play in round 11.
Sullivan has a Break Even of -92 this week – the lowest in the game – after scores of 75 in each of his first two matches. SuperCoach Plus projects a $61,000 price rise if he scores 41 against the Crows.
SuperCoach bargain hunters are also very interested in the fate of Joe Richards, who scored 107 points on debut last weekend, and popular pre-season cheapie Finlay Macrae.
HOW LONG WILL McKERCHER MISS?
More than 66,000 SuperCoaches will need a plan for Colby McKercher after the North Melbourne young gun was ruled out for at least round 10 with a foot injury.
McKercher reported soreness after the loss to Gold Coast – his third game in a row recording 30 or more disposals – and scans revealed bone stress in his right foot.
He will miss this week’s game against Essendon and the Roos say his availability beyond that “will depend on his symptoms and progress”.
Appearing on Fox Footy’s AFL360 after he was nominated for the Rising Star award this week, McKercher described the injury as “just a bit of bone stress in my foot”.
“(I) pulled up a bit sore from the Gold Coast game, so, yeah, not the greatest thing, but nothing too serious,” he said.
“(I’m) going to rest up this week and ... see how it goes next week. It’s unfortunate but (hopefully) get back out there soon.”
McKercher is owned by 36 per cent of the top 5 per cent of coaches, who will hope he makes it back before the Roos’ round 12 bye.
His injury could result in Harry Sheezel returning to defence after a move to a mid-forward role the past two rounds.
The Kangaroos jet said on SEN radio on Thursday he could move back behind the ball this week in McKercher’s absence, but his future is up the ground.
“I probably haven’t had the shots on goal or score involvements just yet, but I’ve definitely enjoyed the switch,” he said.
“For me long-term I think that might be the role best suited to me, I understand I might not be lining it up with disposals at the moment, but I always knew that was going to happen and I’m OK with that.
“I don’t really care about disposals any more, I want to learn the role – it’s a very different role to half-back and I expected a little bit of a dip maybe in output, but I’m learning a lot. I was actually pretty happy, and the coaches were pretty happy, with how I went on the weekend. (I) fell away in the second half, but I think I’m improving and I think it’s the right role for me at the moment, but we’ll see what happens this week.”
SELECTION WHISPERS
In other teams and selection news ...
HAWTHORN has announced mature-age rookie Ethan Phillips will play his first AFL game this weekend. The 24-year-old was added to the list in February and is a $102,400 DEF in SuperCoach.
FOX Footy journalist Will Faulkner has flagged a possible rest for Sydney youngster Matt Roberts this week.
JORDON Sweet has recovered from the illness that forced him out of Port Adelaide’s win against Geelong. Connor Rozee (hamstring) and Jase Burgoyne (groin) face fitness tests before the team is picked to take on Hawthorn on Sunday.
SEAN Darcy is set to miss another game with a calf issue, which should boost Luke Jackson’s prospects against St Kilda.
ELLIOT Yeo is set to miss again with a groin issue, according to Channel 7 Perth reporter Ryan Daniels, despite Eagles coach Adam Simpson saying during the week: “Elliot’s pulled up really well, he was pretty much pain free halfway through last week.”
JAMES Sicily is also listed as a test as he aims to return to the Hawks line-up after hurting his shoulder and ankle in a matchwinning performance against the Bulldogs two weeks ago.
GIANTS stars Josh Kelly and Lachie Ash are both out for six weeks with calf injuries.
SETH Campbell has joined Richmond’s expanding injury list, set to miss 1-2 weeks with bone bruising on his knee.
GOLD Coast rested first-year forward Jake Rogers for Thursday night’s clash against Geelong in Darwin. Popular cheapie Will Graham was not named in the Suns side.
FANTASY FREAKO’S ROOKIE FORMGUIDE
There are plenty of dilemmas facing SuperCoaches ahead of Round 10.
We have been hit with a massive injury blow to Colby McKercher, who has been ruled out for an unknown period with a foot injury. It’s bad news for owners, especially those that jumped on last round. McKercher was in scintillating form, having racked up 30-plus disposals three games in a row – becoming the second-youngest player to achieve that feat behind Toby Greene.
What to do with Harley Reid is another quandary. He has a massive Break Even of 134 and a hefty price drop is a near certainty. For the optimists – both his SuperCoach tons have come at Optus Stadium, so for those looking to hold there is some hope that he at least reaches 90 against the Demons as a best-case scenario.
If he isn’t a long-term hold then you may as well just offload him now. There aren’t many viable options in the forwards, which makes trading him out that much harder.
Will Graham never made it to round 9 after Damien Hardwick dropped him. Teammate Sam Clohesy bounced back to form and scored 105 and now has a BE of just 30. Had Graham played, there would have been plenty of SuperCoaches that benched Clohesy’s score, so we got away with one there.
Jeremy Sharp was the bolter for round 9 after he racked up 28 disposals, two goals and 98 points to edge close to $350k. He has shown a keen eye for goal and has been goalless just three times this year. With a BE of 18, we can ride him for a few more weeks.
Looking at the round’s bubble boys, Lachlan Sullivan is the standout option at the basement low rookie price. He has played 65 per cent of game time as a centre bounce midfielder in his two games, booting one goal in each match. Sullivan has been consistent with a pair of 75s.
Bruce Reville is another option. A DPP, he has a couple of scores in the 50s after patrolling the wing. He has been handed limited game time, though, spending the second-most time on the bench of any Lion over the past two rounds.
Kane McAuliffe remains on the bubble, having not played at AFL level since round 5, but a return must be close after another Richmond midfielder succumbed to injury. McAuliffe has scored 97 and 156 in his two VFL games since getting dropped.
Calsher Dear is also worth a look – but he’s coming off 31 points with a scoreless match.
Joe Richards would be a far better option if you’re shopping in the forwards even after just one game, finishing with 18 disposals, 14 uncontested possessions, one goal and three score assists on debut. His long-term job security remains an unknown with the likes of Jamie Elliott, Jordan De Goey and Beau McCreery all expected to return before the mid-season bye.
As always, use BEs to guide your trading of rookies and best of luck for the round ahead!
CAPTAINS CORNER
Twelve players scored at least 140 points last round, and there could be more big scores incoming this week – the trick is nailing the best one as your vice captain or captain.
Luke Ryan starts in pole position – he has scores of 171, 81 and 156 in his past three games against St Kilda, and the Saints give up the most points to opposition defenders this season.
Ryan plays at the same time as the Lions tackle a badly depleted Richmond team that just give up four scores over 130 against the Bulldogs. Dayne Zorko and Josh Dunkley are both great options here, while Lachie Neale will be licking his lips after scoring 143 against the Tigers last year and 190 back in 2019.
Nick Daicos (three-round average 141.7) and Jordan Dawson (149 and 150 in his past two against Collingwood) could deliver on Saturday afternoon, and Marcus Bontempelli averages 128 in his past three against the Giants.
Tim English is also a strong chance to go large; he put 163 and 124 on GWS last year and Kieren Briggs has been giving up big scores to opposition rucks this season.
Zak Butters (five-round average 122) is another great shout against Hawthorn on Sunday, and the late West Coast-Melbourne game gives us the best possible back-up captain in Max Gawn. He is the third-highest scorer in SuperCoach and the Eagles are the easiest team for rucks to score against this season.
A look at Gawn’s past three scores against West Coast – 73, 91, 93 – might cause some alarm, but he hasn’t played the Eagles since 2022.
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Originally published as SuperCoach AFL 2024: Selection whispers, Champion Data form for round 10
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