SuperCoach Investor Dan Begala’s three keys to winning a grand final match-up
What does it take to become a SuperCoach premiership winner? Investor Dan Begala breaks down the three key criteria you need to win your league grand final.
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We’re about to embark on the most exciting week of the calendar, with the superCoach grand final (and in some cases finals) fast approaching.
It’s a week replete with nerves, excitement and sleepless nights as coaches across the land grapple with their final line-ups, loopholes and opposition analysis.
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You’ll need to demonstrate the upmost preparation, diligence and strategic guile if you’re looking to upset and dismantle your opposition on grand final day.
Study the form. Study the opposition. Prepare like a champion.
The SuperCoach Investor, Daniel Begala, signs off for 2019 with a final look at what it truly takes to triumph on the grandest stage of Australian sport.
The finals MVP
The most valuable player (“MVP”) of the SuperCoach finals series has been a fiercely contested accolade that looks all but certain to go down to the wire.
Josh Dunkley ($640K) sits in pole position and has one hand firmly positioned on the MVP trophy with a season-defining match-up against the Crows on Sunday afternoon.
He’s the quiet achiever of the Western Bulldogs’ midfield brigade, but Dunkley has leapfrogged his much-fancied teammates, Marcus Bontempelli, and Jack Macrae, when it matters most.
He is, however, shadowed by a breadth of players (Treloar, Worpel & Goldstein) who each — on their day — could trump the Bulldogs midfielder with an extraordinary grand final appearance worthy of the Norm Smith Medal.
Treloar, if the Bombers don’t elect to tag on Friday, looms as the most significant threat to his MVP honours, with Macrae ready to swoop if he can rekindle the form from his last meeting with Adelaide (R9, 2018) where he amassed 177 SuperCoach points.
There is one familiar face, Dustin Martin ($524K), who has surged into the MVP calculations and looms as a game-breaker and significant point-of-difference (12.6% ownership) if you’re chasing that elusive flag.
If you — like I — have lost all faith in Matt Crouch ($523K), it’s the perfect sideways manoeuvre (to Martin) that will make or break your premiership pursuit.
The 2019 MVP, Brownlow and Norm Smith Medallist are itching to be crowned.
Premiership coaching
Premierships are won and lost by the decisions and non-decisions in the coaches’ box.
You’ve got an entire week to prepare, so don’t get swept up in the festivities of grand final week and focus on the key roadblock that stands between you and SuperCoach immortality.
Review, scrutinise and walk around in the shoes of your opposition.
Do they feel nice? Do they suit you? Do they have tricks up their sleeve?
It’s integral that you pre-empt their every move so that you are not presented with any adverse surprises (such as last minute trade-ins) that thwart your opportunity to hold the premiership cup aloft.
(1) The Emergencies
If team selection is favourable to both sides and you’re looking to deploy your final trade(s) and liquidity, it’s worth considering the likes of Angus Brayshaw ($370K, MID) at M9 with only a small cash injection required to transition Dylan Clarke ($303K) into the resurgent Demon.
Brayshaw is the ultimate “emergency” and 23rd man.
The Demons feature early in the round (Saturday, 2.10pm), so Brayshaw serves as the perfect bench cover and “loophole” candidate if he thrives in Tasmania and warrants selection in your ultimate Grand Final side.
Anything (and everything) can happen in Grand Final Week, so come prepared.
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(2) The hard decisions
There are also hard, difficult and unfathomable decisions that need to be made in grand final week.
These are career defining and the heartbreak stories that are etched in football folklore.
You will need to review your weakest links in your premiership side, which for the SuperCoach Investor are James Sicily ($443K, DEF) and Tom Lynch ($463K, FWD) who each boast challenging opposition this week, West Coast and Brisbane.
If you suspect the towering Eagles forward line is likely to extinguish the intercept marking capabilities of Sicily it’s pivotal that you consider sideways trading he, or Tom Lynch (vs. Harris Andrews), to a player with a more favourable match-up.
This decision — albeit “luxury” — will either blow-up in your face or pivot the tie in your favour.
(3) Captaincy 101
The other key decision affecting coaches and defining grand finals is the captaincy conundrum, which akin to last week, is likely to feature popular vice-captaincy candidate, Brodie Grundy, on Friday night.
If the match-up sits on a knife’s edge and you suspect your opponent has pole position on Sunday, it may prove a premiership-defining decision to throw caution to the wind and bestow captaincy duties on one of the Bulldogs trio (Dunkley, Macrae or Bontempelli) who may assist in generating an additional 20-30 points.
Fortune favours the brave and premiership coaches are never forgotten
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