SuperCoach AFL 2024: Late mail, selection news and whispers for round 9

GWS coach Adam Kingsley speaks about Tom Green’s ankle, Port Adelaide’s bargain big man ruled out plus the best SuperCoach rookie and captain advice.

Adam Kingsley is confident that Tom Green will be fit to play in Saturday’s top-eight showdown against Essendon.

Green’s ankle was caught up in an awkward tackle last weekend against the Swans. He came from the ground for an assessment in the first quarter and was eventually subbed out of the game before halftime.

Scans cleared the 23-year-old of any major damage with swelling being the concern throughout the week.

After being managed through training, the midfielder had a light session including some low-key running drills and goalkicking on Thursday. Kingsley felt he saw enough that his contested-ball magnet will take the field at Marvel Stadium.

“I expect he will (play),” Kingsley said. “He had a light run today and got through no problems from my assessment.

“We’ll see how he pulls up this afternoon and tomorrow morning, but I would expect him to play.”

Green was in positive spirits for most of the session and was part of a group including Lachie Ash who are being managed through training this season.

In another boost for the Giants’ midfield, Stephen Coniglio is certain to make his return following a knee injury he suffered against St Kilda in round 5.

Coniglio was close to playing against the Swans last weekend but has benefited from an extra seven days of rehabilitation and was a full participant in training on Thursday morning.

It’s likely Coniglio will be the one change for the Giants with Callum Brown dropping out of the side following his three-game suspension for his hit on Tom McCartin.

However, Conor Stone continues to push for a return to the AFL side after scintillating form in the reserves. Stone has kicked 14 goals in five VFL games this year, playing mainly in the midfield, and could be in line to make his first appearance in the senior side since round 9 last season.

Tom Green could play this week after suffering an ankle injury against the Swans. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Stone also trained alongside the Giants’ main forward line, taking Brown’s role, at training on Thursday.

“His last month has been really strong,” Kingsley said of Stone. “He’s had really good games from a pressure perspective at VFL level.

“And then being able to finish his work, I think he might have kicked three goals in each of the last four weeks. He’s certainly putting pressure on that forward line group to come in.

“We certainly look at guys in that position, particularly given Browny is out, can he come in and play a role? He’s in good form, nothing should change really but we’ll see.”

After just their second loss of the season against their cross-town rivals, Kingsley is excited for the challenge of taking on the Bombers on the road.

He knows that Brad Scott’s side has lifted to another level in 2024 and he expects an exciting match-up of two teams who bring relentless pressure around the ball.

“They’ve really ramped that up this year, around the ball, their pressure is significantly better than what it has been, particularly in the front half,” Kingsley said.

“It’s going to be a really difficult game, particularly at Marvel where it’s going to be dry, we know that. We know they thrive in those conditions, so we need to be up for the fight.”

SWEET AND SOUR

The SuperCoach gods have a cruel sense of humour.

In a fantasy bombshell broken by Simeon Thomas-Wilson on The Phantom’s Lair podcast, Port Adelaide ruckman Jordon Sweet will miss Friday night’s clash against Geelong with illness one week after he was traded into more than 50,000 SuperCoach teams.

He is one of four forced outs for the Power this week alongside Jase Burgoyne (adductor/groin), Connor Rozee (hamstring) and Lachie Jones (hamstring).

Coaches with Sweet on the bench will miss a week of cash generation, but the situation is far more serious for those using him as an on-field ruck.

If you have a dual-position ruckman like Luke Jackson in your forward line, swing him into the ruck and bring a forward rookie onto the field.

Coaches who don’t have that option will be facing the difficult choice of accepting a zero score this round, or trading Sweet out for an $86,000 profit. A sideways swap to his replacement in the Power side, Dante Visentini ($143,100 RUC) is not advised – he could be straight back out of the team next week and scored 7, 24 and 65 in his three matches last season.

The break glass option would be trying to get Sweet to Tim English, whose price is heading skywards after bottoming out at under $600k. This is likely the cheapest we’ll get English for a long time, but making the move would require trading out a high-priced premo somewhere else in your team. Tom Green, perhaps?

Zac Williams is out this week with injury. Picture: Michael Klein

BLUES MAKE WILLIAMS CALL

The 52,000 coaches who have held Zac Williams through to round 9 won’t have to watch the Blues play this week with the possibility he will be subbed out with injury for the third time in a month.

The Blues made the decision to trade Williams easy for most owners by leaving him out of the side to face Melbourne with glute soreness.

A small drop of $8900 last round makes it a $109,500 profit for the season for the popular defender, who started the season in more than 100,000 teams.

Williams is one of four changes by Carlton for the Thursday night clash, with David Cuningham, Orazio Fantasia and Lewis Young dropped to make way for Jack Martin, Mitch McGovern, Ollie Hollands and Brodie Kemp.

Melbourne made one change, with Jake Bowey replacing Bailey Laurie.

REID ALL ABOUT IT

There was a rare sighting at Essendon training this week.

After hurting his hamstring in round 1, injury-cursed defender Zach Reid is listed as a test to return this weekend.

Despite his early injury he is still sitting on the bench in defence for more than 44,000 SuperCoach teams.

Full training for Reidy today 👀 pic.twitter.com/dSgG21lteR

— Essendon FC (@essendonfc) May 8, 2024

FANTASY FREAKO’S ROOKIE FORMGUIDE

In a round full of carnage for most last weekend, Darcy Wilson was the saviour after he racked up a season-high 126 points from 21 disposals, eight marks, three goals and six score involvements. If you fielded or even looped him, it was the best-case scenario. But if you missed his score, it wasn’t ideal as most of the other rookies bombed.

Wilson has another favourable match-up in Hawthorn this round but will be playing his first game at Univsity of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston.

Colby McKercher continued his resurgence. He thrived in defence minus Harry Sheezel and backed up his 32-disposal game from the previous round to rack up 30 touches and 135 points. McKercher now has a Break Even of -61 and will enjoy another significant price rise after his next match. Is he an option? Yes, as he has for more upside than others in his price range.

Darcy Jones has the lowest Break Even in SuperCoach this year. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Another popular rookie who some SuperCoaches still own is Ryley Sanders. He was dropped after round 6 but has performed well in the VFL, so he is some chance of returning to replace Tom Liberatore ahead of a clash with Richmond on Saturday night.

No rookie has made more money for SuperCoaches than Matt Roberts, but after a season-low 14 disposals, one mark and 50 points, his BE has spiked to 107 – a figure he has only exceeded once in 2024. Will he drop in price after his next match? More than likely. Is that a reason to trade him out? Possibly not. Conditions were poor against the Giants, but he should have more freedom on the fast Optus Stadium track in round 9. Fremantle concede the third-most points to defenders this season.

Whether you trade or hold Roberts depends on other issues in your team. If you still own Zac Williams, then he is more of a priority to offload.

Champion Data’s top rookie picks for round 9.

If we turn our attention to this round’s bubble boys, Darcy Jones is hot property after scoring 75 and 70 points respectively in his first two games, and already has thousands of new owners. But, as we saw with Harvey Thomas in round 8, Jones could find himself as a sub as Adam Kingsley looks to keep his kids fresh. But it shouldn’t deter you in any way.

Harvey Harrison (BE -29) and Daniel Turner (BE -12) are also options worth exploring, but both have elevated price tags for rookies.

One-gamer Lachlan Sullivan shouldn’t be discounted, either. He became one of just 10 debutants to lead his team for score involvements on their AFL debut with eight against Carlton. He was also the sixth-ranked player on the ground after his first stint on the ground.

With Jordan De Goey and Tom Mitchell missing again, there is every chance that Sullivan begins the West Coast match on the field.

As always, use BEs to guide your trading of rookies and best of luck for the round ahead!

CAPTAINS CORNER

There is no shortage of options when looking for a big captaincy score this weekend, with favourable match-ups for a number of highly-owned premiums with big ceilings.

Max Gawn stormed home to save many SuperCoaches last round, and he starts the round against Carlton on Thursday night. Gawn hasn’t scored below 111 since Opening Round but he does face the double-pronged Blues ruck set up of Marc Pittonet and Tom De Koning.

On Saturday Zak Butters faces Geelong, a team he scored 137 points against in their last meeting. Butters has scored at least 117 points in six of his eight games this year and has played twice at GMHBA Stadium for returns of 118 and 137.

Luke Ryan has to be considered after his 197 points last round made him the highest-scoring player in SuperCoach this year. He averages 122.5 at Optus Stadium this season, but one possible red flag – James Jordon held Lachie Whitfield to 19 disposals and 54 points last round. Could he be sent to Ryan on Saturday? Caleb Serong (season average 129.3) is another great option in this game.

Gold Coast’s midfield was smashed by Brisbane last round but expect some big bounce-back games against North Melbourne on Saturday night. The Kangaroos are the second-easiest midfield to score against this season and Matt Rowell averages 126.7 in his past three against them and scored 159 on his last visit to TIO Stadium.

Champion Data’s top captain picks for round 9.

One complication for Rowell owners is he plays at the same time as the Bulldogs tackle Richmond – and this game presents three standout captain candidates on its own.

Tim English has a three-round average of 127.7 and Richmond gives up the third-most points to opposition rucks.

But the Tigers give up the most points to opposition defenders and midfielders, which could mean bulk points for Marcus Bontempelli and Bailey Dale on Saturday night.

The Bont scored 153 last time he faced Richmond and averages 137 in his past three against the Tigers. Fresh from a season-high 142 last round and with the Dogs under pressure, expect the captain to deliver.

But Bailey Dale owners might be tempted to try a left-field option this week. Dale has the highest three-round average in the competition (141) and he averages 119 in four career games against Richmond – the only team he averages over 100 against. And he faces a forward line that just gave up 197 points to Luke Ryan. Jake Lever, Jack Sinclair and Jake Lloyd have all scored 120-plus against the Tigers this season.

If you have a late loophole player and can wait until Saturday night to deploy your VC, there is a safe fall-back captain on Sunday in Nick Daicos. The Magpies star has a three-round average of 137 and has scores of 123 and 125 in his two career games against the Eagles. West Coast has given up big scores to opposition midfielders in the past two weeks – Darcy Parish (148), Noah Anderson (151), Touk Miller (149), Matt Rowell (136) – and Daicos should restore his standing as a go-to captain in SuperCoach.

Originally published as SuperCoach AFL 2024: Late mail, selection news and whispers for round 9