SuperCoach 2016: Best trade, captain picks for Round 17
ONE superstar or two? There are two solutions to the Gary Ablett problem and your choice will determine your SuperCoach fate this season. BEST TRADE, CAPTAIN PICKS
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ONE superstar or two?
There are two solutions to the Gary Ablett disaster, and the path you take will decide your SuperCoach fate in 2016.
As we all know, the little master is done for the season after hurting his shoulder last weekend. That means most coaches have to make at least one trade this week.
Many are also carrying Bulldog Tom Liberatore, who is set to miss the Dogs’ clash against Gold Coast after copping a painful knee in the back. He’ll most likely return the following week, but the Ablett injury could present an opportunity to swap him for a higher-scoring midfielder — if you are ever going to trade Libba, now is the time to do it with his price set to take a dive on his return.
UNIQUE PICK: COULD HODGE BE THE SUPERCOACH SAVIOUR?
This leaves most SuperCoaches with two distinct options.
The first is to use all (or most) of the Ablett cash to grab a super premium who can score 120 points a week for the rest of the year.
The second is to find a bit more value in a cheaper premium, leaving enough cash to swap Libba for another premo.
One 120-point player plus Libba (total about 210 most weeks) or two 105-point players (total ... you guessed it).
The former option has the clear advantage of saving a trade, but it means you’ll need to find cover for Liberatore for this week at least.
The second idea can be modified to keep Liberatore and upgrade a player like Marcus Adams or Sam Kerridge who might be weighing down your defence or forward line.
Which way will you go?
Fun choice is Bont for Gaz with Petracca covering for Libba. Or can use same cash to get Parker + Priddis. #torn @Supercoach
— Al Paton (@al_superfooty) July 14, 2016
OPTION 1: STRAIGHT SWAP
Trade Ablett to one of these elite midfielders. Requires bench cover for Liberatore to avoid a zero on field.
Scott Pendlebury $606,000 (av 119)
Rory Sloane $592,200 (av 110)
Lachie Neale $574,000 (av 114)
Marcus Bontempelli $568,800 (av 106)
Dan Hannebery $539,700 (av 115)
OPTION 2: DOUBLE DIP
Trade Ablett ($589,200) plus Tom Liberatore ($452,600) to give you $1,041,800 to spend on two of the following:
Luke Parker $521,300 (av 111)
Matt Priddis $518,400 (av 105)
Trent Cotchin $516,700 (av 106)
Callan Ward $490,400 (av 107)
Adam Treloar $498,200 (av 106)
Steele Sidebottom $491,400 (av 106)
Luke Hodge $466,200 (av 85)
JUMP ON
Jack Silvagni $117,300 forward
Need some cash? This might be one of the last chances to build the bank. Son of Steve is set to jump in price by about $47,000 after his third game following scores of 70 and 49 in his first two games and should provide safe bench cover for the rest of the season.
JUMP OFF
Gary Ablett $589,200 mid
The champ is done for the season — again. The big question is will Ablett ever be the SuperCoach king again? The Suns say he will have surgery and be ready for day one of pre-season — prepare for a very interesting debate next pre-season.
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Patrick Dangerfield
With a lowest score of 110 in his past six games, Danger deserves first crack at the double points. His 188 against the Dockers last year provides cause for optimism but beware the Michael Barlow tag.
Dan Hannebery
If you like the idea of giving someone the VC in the first game of the round, the Swans present plenty of options. Hannebery is probably the No. 1 choice, averaging 117 in his past three against the Hawks. In that same time frame Luke Parker averages 115 and Josh Kennedy 109. The last time these teams met Tom Mitchell blanketed his namesake Sam, holding him to just 52 points.
Dustin Martin
Dusty had 38 disposals last week but butchered the ball, ending with 111 points — the same score he managed against the Bombers in Round 10 this year. His form has taken a sharp upturn since then. Teammate Trent Cotchin has scored 122 and 136 in his past two against Essendon.
Scott Pendlebury
After his huge 161 Pendles had a modest 100 points last week. But he could go big again against the Crows after scoring 126 and 128 in his past two against them.
Max Gawn
Now the clear No. 1 ruck in SuperCoach, Gawn is averaging 117 points a game after a 141 against the Dockers last week. Can he produce a score like that against the Saints? A 96 against St Kilda earlier this year and a career average of 78 from eight matches at Etihad Stadium is cause for concern.
Todd Goldstein
Is Goldy back in form? He had a crazy 65 hitouts and a goal last week and this week faces a Port Adelaide team not noted for its strength in the ruck department.
Matt Priddis
He has gone under the radar a bit but Priddis has scored under 100 just once in his past eight matches. Coming off 122 and 126 in his past two games, he could have a field day against the Blues.
CHAMPION DATA MATCH-UPS
Replacing Gary Ablett and, to a lesser extent, Tom Liberatore will be central in SuperCoach trading this week.
The numbers all point to the Giants midfield, with the likes of Callan Ward, Dylan Shiel, Stephen Coniglio and Tom Scully all putting in sub-par performances last week against Collingwood. They come up against a Brisbane side this week that give up the second-most points to midfielders of any side, which firmly brings the under-priced Ward and Shiel into the selection mix.
Tigers skipper Trent Cotchin is also a trade in option and with an ownership of just 3 per cent, he could be the difference in a close SuperCoach final. He comes up against an Essendon midfield that allowed Jack Steven to run rampant last week on his way to 41 disposals. Cotchin has also scored 136 and 121 points respectively from his past two games against the Bombers.
Steele Sidebottom ticks all the boxes in terms of value and scoring potential, however, he comes up against the stingiest side for conceding points to midfielders, with Adelaide conceding 81.1 points per game. In saying that, he dominated against them when he last played at Adelaide Oval in 2015, finishing with 31 disposals and 122 points.
Exclusive @championdata matchups - points conceded in every position by every team. Worth trading in a GWS mid? pic.twitter.com/P8A0SnxGrZ
— SuperCoach AFL (@Supercoach) July 14, 2016
ROOKIE WATCH
A couple of young Tigers headline the rookie options this week, with Oleg Markov and Jason Castagna both making headlines last round.
Markov has the lowest break-even score of any player for the round (-79 points) after his eye-catching debut against the Bulldogs, collecting 75 points. His ball use was a feature of his game, especially in the defensive half of the ground where he hit 14 of 15 targets by disposals. Damien Hardwick was full of praise for Markov in his post-game press conference which all but assures his short-term job security.
Teammate Castagna is another option, even though he has already risen in price. He finished with 19 disposals and booted two goals against the Dogs, finishing with 88 points. He was direct with ball in hand, gaining the fourth-most metres of any Tigers player.
Thursday night teams promise to throw in some curve balls, so one must always be prepared for the left-field omission of resting. What we already know is that Kieran Collins is a very strong chance to return to take on Gold Coast’s twin-towers in attack, especially with Marcus Adams still sidelined through injury.
Elsewhere, Ryan Clarke is every chance to hold his place in the North Melbourne side, while fellow debutant Reuben William also did enough to earn a second game for the Lions.
— Champion Data
PERFECT 9
After a tough Round 16 wiped out all entrants before the final game, the jackpot this week is up to a huge $90,000.
All you have to do is pick (or guess!) the top SuperCoach scorer in each match and the cash is yours — the names above are a good starting point.
Register now and pick your Perfect 9 line-up.
Originally published as SuperCoach 2016: Best trade, captain picks for Round 17
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