The Phantom’s Round 22 SuperCoach review blog: The good, the bad, the ugly

THE Phantom has stumbled over the line a little bruised and battered after a tough SuperCoach season. Join him here live from 12.30pm Tuesday and leave your grand final questions below.

The Phantom

3 min read

August 22, 2017 - 9:30AM

The Phantom's year in review

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FINALLY, it’s over — well, almost.

Don’t get me wrong, The Phantom loves the footy season as much as anyone but, let’s face it, if your SuperCoach team is stumbling over the finish line — just like mine — it can drag on.

But the truth is, I was never really in the race.

It sounds harsh but you can only get better if you learn from your mistakes.

THE PHANTOM’S SEASON IN REVIEW

The Phantom has always preferred a stacked starting midfield but, this year, it came at the expense of a shallow defence, which turned out to be the biggest mistake of all.

Taylor Adams has been great but he was the only premium in the starting squad. The Phantom had hoped Callum Mills and Kade Kolodjashnij — who were selected at D2 and D3 — would elevate themselves into premium status but they’ve gone the other way.

Picking the players, usually in the mid-price range, who take the next step can be the key to a strong SuperCoach team — think Clayton Oliver this year — but, as The Phantom learned, it can also be the downfall. The trades — and time — used in correcting these mistakes had my side chasing tail from the outset. Especially with a number of other premium defenders — Sam Docherty, in particular — going big.

Hawthorn’s Tom Mitchell was one of the top SuperCoach performers The Phantom missed. Picture: Chris Kidd

... As was Richmond’s Dustin Martin. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

The need to make up ground by trading quickly and taking advantage of the value — rather than going for the best — only made things worse. It meant settling for Joel Selwood, Ollie Wines and Tom Rockliff and missing out on Tom Mitchell and Dustin Martin, the second and third-ranked players in the game. I don’t even want to think about how many points I missed out on.

However, I did get one absolutely right.

The Phantom backed in Josh Kelly from day one of pre-season and, with one round to go, the star midfielder is the sixth-highest scoring player in the game.

Will I take the risk on this type of player next year? Yes. Will I take the risk on as many? Unlikely.

The Phantom finally let go of long-time favourite Brodie Smith but kept the faith in Blue Patrick Cripps, even though he failed to complete a full pre-season.

Patrick Cripps was late to get going, then his season ended early. Picture: Nicole Garmston

While the 22-year-old eventually found form, an average of 89 across the opening five rounds proved costly. Avoiding underdone players — no matter who they are — is a rule The Phantom usually abides by but, this time, temptation won. But next year it won’t.

Again, 2017 reminded us that we must not sideways trade premiums in the first month of the year. Back your players in because, otherwise, you will run out of trades very quickly. Just think of every popular player who has missed a game through injury or suspension in the second half of the year. If you’re making a list, you’ll need a big piece of paper. And it always happens.

While, The Phantom ran out of trades after Round 21, it would’ve been a lot earlier if I gave up on Adam Treloar, after a slow start, for example.

Yes, you need plenty of luck in this game but, more importantly, you need to nail your starting squad. That’s why The Phantom can’t wait for the 2018 SuperCoach pre-season to begin.

If you’ve enjoyed a more successful year and made it into a Grand Final, best of luck to you.

Take a gamble if you’ve got the trades. Port Adelaide, Sydney and Essendon take on battlers Gold Coast, Carlton and Fremantle respectively and are all pushing hard for percentage. Players from those sides could be the difference.

For The Phantom, it’s already about next year and finding the next Josh Kelly.