KFC SuperCoach Round 13 late mail: Max Gawn will miss third-straight game with PCL injury
Max Gawn will miss a third game with a knee injury but Demons coach Simon Goodwin has revealed when his star ruckman will be back. Plus what does Round 13 selection mean for your KFC SuperCoach team? LATE MAIL
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Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has declared captain Max Gawn a certain starter for next week’s clash with St Kilda as the ruckman prepares to sit out a third-straight game against the Western Bulldogs.
Gawn did not take to the training track on Friday as he continues to battle a knee injury, but Goodwin said the three-time All Australian was only a matter of days away from full fitness.
“He’s an important player that we need to get right and make sure that PCL’s healed properly and another seven days will enable us to do that,” Goodwin said.
“He was very, very close. He just had to tick off a couple more things and within a couple of days he would have been right to go. But we didn’t want to take that risk.
“There’s no doubt for next week.”
Back-up ruckman Braydon Preuss will again shoulder the ruck duties against the Bulldogs, having proven his fitness after leaving the track early on Wednesday with a minor hip complaint.
The Demons have won their past three games against struggling sides Collingwood, North Melbourne and Adelaide.
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His KFC SuperCoach ownership has plummeted since he missed Melbourne’s Round 11 match-up, with 19,000 coaches trading him out.
His 37,000 owners will face a difficult decision whether to hold him for yet another week, risking losing more points to their opposition – or potentially a crucial league win.
Averaging a remarkable 141 points per game this season, Gawn faces four underwhelming ruck outfits in the run home in Sydney, Fremantle, GWS and Essendon.
He is the second-most expensive player in SuperCoach at $721,000 and has a mammoth 244 break even to contend with when he returns.
Back-up ruckman Braydon Preuss will shoulder the ruck duties for a second-straight game, having proven his fitness after leaving training early on Wednesday with a minor hip complaint.
“He’s fully fit,” Goodwin said.
“He’s coming off his first game in a long, long time and a quiet week certainly didn’t hurt Brayden. He’s a little bit sore in his hip, but he’s fully fit, trained today and he’s ready to go. So thankfully we’ve got a ruckman ready to go.”
Goodwin said there was “no doubt” over Gawn being available to be return against the Saints next Saturday.
“He’s 100 per cent committed to next week,” Goodwin said.
Bombers deliver at selection
Essendon selectors delivered relief for SuperCoaches after rumours swept through the fantasy community on Friday that defender Jordan Ridley would miss Saturday night’s clash against Richmond.
The Bombers made seven changes but Ridley held his spot, and so did young ruckman Sam Draper.
Devon Smith returns after being rested last round while Jake Stringer is also back and Irving Mosquito ($123,900 FWD) will make his AFL debut in the Dreamtime in Darwin game. Mosquito is a small forward known for his tackling.
Adelaide will unveil another debutant in Round 13. Jordan Butts ($123,900 DEF) is a key defender who ranked second at the Crows’ SANFL side for intercept marks and intercept possessions in 2019, his fist year on the rookie list. He played one game in the Marsh Series, scoring 55 KFC SuperCoach points.
The other first-gamer we know about in Round 13 is Docker Liam Henry, pick 9 in last year’s draft. Henry is an exciting forward who averaged 133 KFC SuperCoach points in the WA Colts last year.
Eagles warn of stars being ‘managed’
West Coast will this week assess the fitness of veterans including Nic Naitanui and Josh Kennedy as it plans for a stretch of five games in 19 days.
Naitanui has been in barnstorming form in the past three rounds, producing KFC SuperCoach scores of 146, 129 and 153 to soar to $566,800.
Should he be rested for the Eagles’ Round 13 clash with GWS Giants, it would be a big blow for SuperCoaches who have traded injured Melbourne skipper Max Gawn to Naitanui in the past two rounds.
Naitanui’s ownership jumped by 3.7 per cent last round as coaches jumped off Gawn when he spent his second game on the sidelines with a PCL issue.
He rewarded them with 35 hit outs and 14 disposals, but is now in some doubt as the premiership contender prepares to manage its biggest stars.
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Asked whether players such as Naitanui and Kennedy could be rested on Channel 7, coach Adam Simpson said: “I haven’t had that discussion yet with the boys on how they have pulled up from the weekend.
“We know we have got a seven-day break into the Giants and then I think it’s four days with travel.
“We’ll have to work through that from a list management point of view and see what availability we have got and how they pull up. That will be a week-to-week thing.”
West Coast hosts GWS on Sunday before a four-day turnaround for its clash with Richmond on August 27.
Tom Hickey or young ruckman Bailey Williams would be the likely replacement should Naitanui be rested, with Nathan Vardy out injured.
Simpson said the Eagles were hopeful midfielder Elliot Yeo would return by “back end” of the season.
HOUSTON OWNERS, WE HAVE A PROBLEM
Dan Houston and teammate Pete Ladhams are the latest players to be banned for breaching COVID-19 rules Houston will miss two matches while Ladhams has copped a three-match ban.
It’s been a rollercoaster year for Houston with his ever-changing role, playing mostly as a defender through 2020 to the frustration of his owners.
He has averaged 86 points per game but with three sub-80 scores in his past five games, it may be time for SuperCoachess to give him the boot if he is banned.
Ladhams, on the other hand, has been a fantastic point-of-difference pick, averaging 116 points in his past three games including scores of 123 and 138.
Owners of both will need to find replacements bearing in mind Port Adelaide also has a bye in Round 15 so Houston will be back in Round 16 at the earliest.
IS WILL GOULD A MYTH?
The debut KFC SuperCoaches have been waiting all year for won’t happen in Round 13.
Sydney coach John Longmire dropped popular SuperCoach rookie Will Gould's name during a press conference on Tuesday as he was asked how the Swans could replace injured backman Dane Rampe for the rest of 2020.
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“We’ve got a couple of blokes we can consider coming back in — Aliir is one that can come back in to the team,” Longmire said.
“Obviously missed last week with an injury. We feel we’ve got a few options there. We’ve got a couple of young fellas too that we can use in that particular role, Will Gould, those guys, in the coming weeks if not this week, are players that once again will certainly be putting their hand up to try and get an opportunity to play senior footy.”
Taken at pick No. 26 in last year’s national draft, Gould is a $117,300 KFC SuperCoach defender and already features in more than 40,000 teams.
But when the teams dropped on Friday night the sSwans made just one change, with Josh Kennedy returning to replace Rampe.
Gould was named as an emergency alongside Justin McInerney, Ryan Clarke and Aliir Aliir. In better news, Zac Foot was named on the interchange bench for his second game and Sam Wicks was named in a forward pocket.
AL PATON’S CAPTAINS
Lachie Neale
If Neale maintains his 145 average it will be the best KFC SuperCoach season in history - by a big margin. The only concern this weekend is a possible tag from Jack Steele but the Saints midfielder isn’t doing those roles so much any more and Neale has scored over 150 in four of his past five games.
Patrick Cripps
Who loves a Friday night VC? After a slow start to the season by his standards Cripps has returned to his best with a three-game average of 120. He could go bananas against the Suns, a team he scored 169 against the last time they met.
Jake Lloyd
If you’re looking for a low-risk choice look no further than the star Swans interceptor, who could be a fresh recruit for many teams this week. His past four scores are 137, 133, 126 and 147 and he hasn’t scored under 100 since Round 1. He has a good record against the Dockers, too, scoring 121 and 173 in his past two against them.
Patrick Dangerfield
Will Chris Scott unleash Danger against his old side? It might not matter, he’s capable of a massive score whether he’s playing in the guts or out of the goalsquare against a Crows team that gave up scores of 199 (Marcus Bontempelli), 150 (Bailey Smith) and 141 (Lachie Hunter) last week. It’s Danger time.
Christian Petracca
There are a wealth of choices in the Dees v Dogs game including Bont, Jack Macrae and Clayton Oliver but we think it’s time Petracca got due recognition for his incredible season - improving his average from 81 to 123. He has hit the 160 mark twice this year and with a spot in the top eight on the line and no tags in sight, he could threaten it again on Saturday.
Brodie Grundy
Once a super reliable captain pick, Grundy has fallen out of favour a bit this year but he’s still going very nicely, scoring 148 against the Demons last week. But his opponent this week is a lot tougher - Todd Goldstein - and the last game of the round isn’t ideal timing, either. I’d take one of the other options above instead.
MORE KFC SUPERCOACH ADVICE:
KFC SuperCoach Round 12 burning questions: Best James Sicily replacements
KFC SuperCoach’s ultimate Round 13 trade guide: Top targets, rookies and players to punt
Doctor’s Orders: Four left-field trade options with a Round 14 bye
Originally published as KFC SuperCoach Round 13 late mail: Max Gawn will miss third-straight game with PCL injury
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