Why rookies who debut after Round 1 can be the key to SuperCoach success
Nail your starting SuperCoach rookies and you are halfway to success. It’s the calls on the cheapies you bring in later in the season which will decide whether you stay in contention.
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Nail your starting SuperCoach rookies and you are halfway to success.
Those who started with Charlie Constable, Willem Drew, Matt Parker and Bailey Scott were rewarded with standout Round 1 performances which will result in a hefty price rise after Round 3.
If you want to push for league glory or a top ranking come the end of the season, you also need to capitalise on the rookies who make their debuts later in the campaign.
Last year, seven rookies made their debut after Round 1 whose price climbed by more than $200,000.
Ed Richards ($227,700 profit), Jack Higgins ($255,900), James Worpel ($242,000) and Paul Ahern ($227,900) were the pick of the cash cows who debuted later in the campaign.
There is a proven history of cash cows emerging in the middle of the season or later in the campaign who can boost your bank balance and also provide valuable bench cover when trades are at a premium.
Hugh Greenwood debuted for Adelaide in Round 9 of 2019 and averaged 84.6 points for the rest of the season, making coaches who jumped on before his price skyrocketed $287,200.
Luke Ryan achieved similar success that year after making his first appearance for Fremantle in Round 11, while Alex Witherden was a late-season bargain who averaged 87.1 during the run home.
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One of the first players to prove the value of late rookie downgrades was now Brisbane Lions captain Dayne Zorko in 2012.
Zorko was called into the Lions team for the first time in Round 7 and eyebrows were raised when he scored 16 on debut.
He managed 10 hundreds in the rest of the campaign and his price had soared from $113,200 to $502,100 by Round 20.
Jeremy McGovern had to wait until Round 6 in 2014 to debut for West Coast, rewarding those who paid $123,900 to bring him in with an average of 82.5 in his maiden AFL season.
The secret to building your bank and having the right rookie cover is making a decisive call on when to part with your starting rookies and look at other options.
There will come a point this season when Sam Walsh, Zak Butters, Jordan Clark and other popular picks have a break even which exceeds their average.
It’s then up to you to decide whether they can push their break-even lower and make more money or whether the time has come to move them on.
Players such as Harrison Jones (Hawthorn), Zac Clarke (Essendon), Darcy Fort (Geelong), Brett Bewley (Fremantle), Ben Cavarra (Western Bulldogs) and Liam Stocker (Carlton) might not have debuted in Round 1, but it doesn’t decrease their SuperCoach value.
Keep monitoring their performances at state league level and strike when the time is right.
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