The case for and against picking Western Bulldogs young gun Josh Dunkley in SuperCoach

Josh Dunkley came home like a SuperCoach freight train last year but can the Western Bulldogs young gun back it up in 2019? We look at the case for and against picking him.

Josh Dunkley is available as a midfielder and forward in SuperCoach. Picture: Michael Klein

The Bulldogs’ gameplan is harder to pick than a broken nose.

However, Josh Dunkley came home like a SuperCoach freight train last year and if he can continue that scoring trend will be one of the bargains of the year.

We look at the pros and cons of picking the young gun in your forward line or even midfield.

PROS/CONS: WHY MUMMY COULD BE WORTH THE WAIT

PROS/CONS: CAN LIBBA GET BACK TO PREMIUM STATUS?

PROS/CONS: IS LYNCH SUPERCOACH GOLD AT TIGERLAND?

WHY SHOULD I PICK HIM?

We often talk about a player having a good rookie season, then the second year blues and then a third-year breakout.

This is exactly the path that Josh Dunkley has taken. His first year was a 74 average, then a 60 average and last season a breakout of 95 average.

We just need this trajectory to continue and he will be a great up forward for us.

Josh Dunkley is available as a midfielder and forward in SuperCoach. Picture: Michael Klein

While he got off to a slow start last season averaging 77 across the first nine weeks of the season - and this included a couple of scores under 60 - there was also two scores over 100. However, when we look at the back end of the year we see a much different story.

His last 10 weeks of the season saw him average 111.3 which was how he ended up with a great average for a third-year player.

Not only that, his last five games of the season saw an average of 131 with three scores over 130.

Dunkley made his way into the midfield after the bye rounds on a permanent basis. This is what triggered his increase in scoring.

Given his increase in average disposals in this period to be 27 against his season average of just under 22, he is likely to have retained this role within the team.

It is simply a bonus for us that we can select a player like this up forward this season.

WHY SHOULDN’T I PICK HIM?

To be honest it is hard to find a reason not to pick Dunkley this year.

He is on the rise in a team that needs to develop its youth to get back on track but there are a couple of minor things as to a possible reason that you could choose to validate a decision not to start him.

Dunkley’s move to the midfield came as a result of other players being injured and other circumstances.

There was no Liberatore for the season, Macrae was injured and McLean’s was starting to struggle after a great start to the season and the Dogs needed a spark in the mids. It was at this time that Dunkley emerged.

While he did keep his role in the mids and did it well when Macrae came back, we don’t know what Bevo’s plans are for this midfield group this season.

CONCLUSION

Being able to select Dunkley in the forwards is a gift to us this season.

If it wasn’t for Danger being available as a forward and the unknown that is Bevo he would be the biggest lock up forward.

If you have the cash then you should seriously consider locking Dunkley there right alongside Dangerfield.

This is especially if he looks to be retaining that midfield role throughout the JLT Series.

He is a gun on the rise and with Macrae likely to get most of the attention from opposition taggers he should be safe to post some great scores for us this season.