The Phantom’s Round 8 review: The good, the bad and Rocky’s big night

ANOTHER week, another SuperCoach turning point? In Round 7 it was Dayne Zorko and at the weekend, Tom Rockliff reminded us all just what he’s capable of. LISTEN to the latest episode of The Phantom’s Lair Podcast

The Phantom's Round 8 SuperCoach review

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ANOTHER week, another SuperCoach turning point?

Last weekend it was Dayne Zorko and Round 9 may have been the week Port Adelaide recruit — and future SuperCoach hall-of-famer — Tom Rockliff turned the corner.

In his first four games in Power colours, Rockliff tallied a combined 48 disposals, 15 contested possessions, eight tackles and 175 SuperCoach points.

The 28-year-old’s price fell to a staggeringly low $388k after a 29-point performance against the Bombers in Round 4.

Remember, this is the same player who started 2015 priced at $709k after averaging a career-high 132 points per game in 2014.

Rockliff then missed the Power’s next three matches after a calf injury lead to a two-game stint in the SANFL.

But in his first Showdown at the weekend, the former Lion reminded us what he’s capable of and just why Ken Hinkley and co brought him to Alberton.

Back in the midfield, Rockliff, who attended the third-most centre bounces for Port Adelaide, tallied 31 disposals, 12 contested possessions, nine tackles and 98 SuperCoach points, in a display that caught the attention of astute SuperCoaches.

It was evident at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night that Rockliff’s ability to get to contest after contest and put himself in the right position to win the ball had returned.

And he still lost a further $15k off his price tag and heads to China with a breakeven of 98.

If Rockliff, who is now worth $373k, can post similar numbers in the Power’s clash with the Suns on Saturday, he’s worth considering after the following week’s bye.

Ideally, if you can make it work, Rockliff would be a perfect midfield bench loophole option for the run home.

Not that you would on current form but trading Tim Kelly to Rockliff in a few weeks’ time could make you up to $80k.

Keep it in mind, bargain hunters.

THE GOOD

The performance of rookie-listed Swan Ben Ronke, right, was one of the highlights of Round 8.

THE RONKE! Rookie-listed Swan Ben Ronke booted seven goals, on his way to 120 SuperCoach points, in a performance enjoyed by everyone — except maybe Hawthorn coach Alistair Clarkson — on Friday night. Ronke, who posted scores of 92 and 66 in his first two games for the year, has already added $90k to his price tag but, with a breakeven of -57 and great scoring potential, trading him in this week is still worth some thought.

After last week’s 164-point performance, The Phantom wanted to see if Dayne Zorko’s return to form was real before considering. And, after four goals and 121 points, despite close attention from Bulldog Mitch Honeychurch for most of the night, I’ve seen enough. If you’re interested, get on this week, given a Round 9 breakeven of -9 should see Zorko’s price shoot back past $500k.

Bulldogs dynamo Jack Macrae. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

For the second week running, Bulldog ball magnet Jack Macrae topped the SuperCoach scoring list after 156 points, on the back of 47 disposals, 18 contested possessions and eight tackles, against the Lions. Macrae now has a huge three-round average of 162 but just keep in mind the Dogs have played three of the bottom-five sides in that time. At $676k, the ship has sailed for now, anyway.

North Melbourne’s Ben Cunnington amassed 32 contested possessions against the Tigers in Round 9, breaking Patrick Dangerfield’s single-game record of 29 against Fremantle in 2015. In that game, playing for the Crows, Dangerfield tallied 188 SuperCoach but, as a result of a 12 clangers, Cunnington’s score of 144 didn’t reach the same heights.

Speaking of Dangerfield, the Geelong star posted a season-high 137 points against the Magpies, which has seen his breakeven fall to a manageable 119. But he’s still spending majority of his time forward, attending only six centre bounces for the Cats.

THE BAD

The bloke wearing No. 15 for St Kilda and his third consecutive score of less than 60.

But, fortunately for him, his performance wasn’t the worst of the weekend. That award goes to The Phantom’s SuperCoach team, which produced its lowest ever score of 1855.

Yes, 1855. That was not a typo. Everything went wrong and it wasn’t a good week to go in with a Nic Naitanui donut. I need to lift.

Bomber Zach Merrett couldn’t break free from Carlton’s Ed Curnow in Round 8.

After three consecutive SuperCoach tons, Bomber Zach Merrett looked to have put a slow start to the year behind him but he’s struggled, again, with opposition attention in the past two weeks, failing to score more than 80 points.

In a positive, the Bombers play Geelong in Round 9 and the Cats gave up eight SuperCoach tons to the Magpies on Sunday and did not assign a direct tag to any of Collingwood’s midfielders. Merrett scored 137 points in the corresponding fixture last season and The Phantom’s fingers are crossed for a repeat.

Giant Jeremy Finlayson has been one of the best SuperCoach cash cows of 2018, adding more than $230k to his starting price tag in the opening six rounds.

This time last week, The Phantom hoped Finlayson would bounce back after being used forward against the Cats in Round 7 but a third score of less than 65 in as many weeks resulted in a $12k price drop. The time is right for an upgrade.

While his real coach would be thrilled, SuperCoaches were again unhappy with Master tagger Ben Jacobs after he restricted Brownlow Medallist Dustin Martin to just 16 disposals and 64 points at the weekend. And a score of 64 was a good result given it was looking far worse at three-quarter time. Look out, Stephen Coniglio.

With a Round 9 breakeven of 162, Martin, who started the year at $656k, could be available for less than $500k next week.

THE PHANTOM’S MENACE:

Simon Goodwin (Melbourne)

Hey, Goody, get Christian Petracca back in the midfield. If his finger isn’t right, don’t play him.

Originally published as The Phantom’s Round 8 review: The good, the bad and Rocky’s big night