AFL Supercoach: $1.4 million ruck combination Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn pose a problem with below-par scores in Round 1
It hasn’t taken long for the SuperCoach Gods to test our patience, with expensive ruck combination Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn failing to reach 100 in Round 1. What do we do now?
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It hasn’t taken long for the SuperCoach Gods to test our patience.
One round into the 2019 season, top-priced ruckmen Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn have left thousands of coaches scratching their heads.
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EVERY SUPERCOACH SCORE FROM THE OPENING ROUND
Grundy, priced at $708,200, was outplayed by Geelong big man Rhys Stanley on Friday night and restricted to 81 points.
It was the Magpies ruckman’s lowest score since Round 17, 2017, when he managed 77 points, as he recorded 18 disposals and 34 hit-outs against the Cats.
If those who forked out $1.4 million of their SuperCoach salary cap were concerned when they went to bed on Friday, they’ll be in for a few more sleepless nights after Max Gawn’s score of 87 on Saturday.
Gawn and Grundy averaged a combined 258 points per week last year, which is why thousands of coaches used selecting the two expensive rucks as a starting point.
Their combined return of 168 points in Round 1 was 90 down on their average output from 2018.
Only five ruckmen topped the ton in Round 1, led by Justin Westhoff who tallied 149 after booting five goals in Port Adelaide’s victory over Melbourne.
Toby Nankervis (127), Rhys Stanley (108), Todd Goldstein (102) and Ben McEvoy (102) were the other big men to manage triple figures.
The saving grace with Gawn and Grundy is history suggests they will bounce back swiftly.
When Grundy posted 77 late in 2017, he responded with 125 the next week and scored tons in three of the last four games of the season.
It proved a springboard to an outstanding 2018 campaign which enabled him to be crowned the No. 1 SuperCoach ruckman for the first time with 20 hundreds in 23 games.
Max Gawn failed to reach 100 four times last season, but rebounded with scores of 117, 140, 130 and 156 the next week.
Realistically, you paid the big bucks for Gawn and Grundy with an eye to keeping them for the full season.
It’d be a rash and likely fatal decision to move either on, despite the likelihood the pair will tumble in price after Round 3.
Despite this, about 500 coaches had traded the pair out by Monday morning.
The coaches who chose to start without Gawn and Grundy will be smiling this week, but they will soon face the conundrum of when to pick them up.
Do you jump early if their prices fall or try to wait until after the byes?
Sometimes in SuperCoach you pay for peace of mind and having the two players who are still likely to finish as the topscoring rucks at the end of 2019 gives you exactly that.
HOW THE RUCKS SCORED IN ROUND 1
Justin Westhoff — 149
Toby Nankervis — 127
Rhys Stanley — 108
Todd Goldstein — 102
Ben McEvoy — 102
Callum Sinclair — 99
Andrew Phillips — 98
Max Gawn — 87
Jarrod Witts — 87
Sam Jacobs — 86
Dawson Simpson — 85
Stefan Martin — 82
Rory Lobb — 82
Jon Ceglar — 81
Brodie Grundy — 81
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