SuperCoach AFL winners and losers from round 5

Rookies outscored some of the most expensive players in SuperCoach in round 5 – at least those that dodged the sub vest. See all this week’s heroes and villains here.

Tim English of the Bulldogs warms up.

SuperCoaches copped it from all fronts in a chaotic round 5.

Some premiums scores matched their price tag but there were more hits than misses, and it was a mixed bag on the rookie front, with some 100-plus scores and the sub rule wreaking havoc.

Here are this week’s heroes and villains.

WINNERS

Jake Waterman – 176 points

The POD of the century is in just 144 teams of almost 175,000 in this year’s competition. The Eagles forward scored over 100 just twice in his first 88 career games but he had a day out against Richmond with 13 marks and a career-high six goals.

Sam Walsh – 166 points

Walsh appeared in plenty of pre-season SuperCoach teams but was scratched after being ruled out of the early rounds with a back injury. After 34 disposals and 13 tackles in his first game for the year, he’ll be back in the selection discussion this week.

Sam Walsh hit the ground running. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Harry Sheezel – 159 points

Where would the Kangaroos be without Sheezel? The second-year star is making a case to be the topscoring defender in SuperCoach after an outstanding start to the season, capped off with a 38-disposal game against the Cats. Remember to keep him in mind when picking your captain each week.

Max Gawn – 138 points

Gawn was captain or vice-captain for 35 per cent of teams this week and he delivered when it mattered, coming home with a big last quarter to lock in many loopholes. Given the success rate of some of the popular back-ups (16.7 per cent of coaches had Marcus Bontempelli as captain and 12.3 per cent relied on Tom Green) his score is even more valuable.

Shai Bolton – 129 points

With debate and frankly, confusion, around who the topscoring forwards will be this year, don’t forget about the supremely talented Tiger. Bolton is prone to dropping occasional poor scores, but his last three have been 119, 133 and 129. Make him a priority after Richmond’s round 6 bye.

Sam Clohesy – 124 points

Even the 67,750 coaches who recruited Clohesy after his 108-point first-up performance last week would not have expected this. The mature-age Gold Coast rookie is still $102,400 – jump on this week if you haven’t already and strap in for one of the biggest price rises in SuperCoach history.

Harley Reid – 108 points

The first career SuperCoach ton of many for the No.1 draft pick, who sparked the Eagles’ goalkicking run in the second quarter against Richmond. Showed why recruiters all over the country were raving about him, and why he’s destined to be a lucrative SuperCoach pick after a slow start to the season.

Harley Reid had 27 disposals against the Tigers. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Mykelti Lefau – 108 points

A surprise silver lining on a dark cloud for the Tigers, and a massive win for the 640 coaches who traded him in this week. Lefau played his third game last week and increased in value by a modest $21,500. That means he was still very affordable as a forward rookie option. This week you will have to play a lot more, but with growing confidence and a secure role in Richmond’s injury-depleted forward line, he’s worth consideration.

Massimo D’Ambrosio – 94 points

A bounce-back game from the Hawks wingman, who was traded out by almost 6000 impatient coaches last week. D’Ambrosio added $20,000 to his price tag and is set to make a lot more over the next few weeks.

Zac Williams – 92 points

Season-high score for the Blues defender, who overcame an injury cloud to be one of the Blues’ best players against Adelaide. He has now made almost $100,000 since round 1 and is getting better every week.

LOSERS

Marcus Bontempelli – 73 points

You have to go back to the 2021 season to find a lower score from the Bulldogs champ. The Bulldogs in general had few answers against Essendon and that included Bontempelli, who the Bombers had clearly put plenty of time into. Back him to bounce back, but he’s one of several big names coming down in price.

Tom Green – 72 points

Lost the head-to-head battle with fellow Canberran Jack Steele. His stats weren’t terrible – 24 disposals and a goal – but he didn’t have his usual impact, and had just one effective tackle. Price is coming back down after hitting a high of $664k.

Tom Green has slowed down after his huge start to the season. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Jordan Dawson – 64 points

The Crows skipper finally got a win but his SuperCoach stocks hit a new low with his fifth score in a row under 100 points. He has now lost $130,000 off his starting price – if you stuck by Dawson it’s time to wear the loss and trade him out.

Christian Petracca – 59 points

Continuing the theme of usually reliable scorers who had an off week this round. Petracca had 20 touches against the Lions but they came at just 60 per cent efficiency, while he had only one tackle and kicked 0.1. The score wiped $36,300 off his price tag and he needs to score 156 after the Demons’ bye to avoid another drop.

Tim English – 58 points

Disaster for the 3000 coaches who traded English in last week, paying almost $700,000 for last year’s topscoring ruckman. English was given an old-fashioned bath by veteran Todd Goldstein on Friday night, and a late shot at goal that sailed out on the full summed up his night.

Ryley Sanders – 46 points, Jack Carroll – 26 points, Jhye Clark – 2 points

All victims of the sub rule, with Sanders subbed off for the second time this year and Carroll and Clark starting as the substitute. The trio’s all-important cash generation will take a bit hit from the poor scores, putting them in the conversation to be traded out as soon as this week.

Max King failed to fire against the Giants. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Max King – 9 points

King was also subbed out but he had almost no impact in the three quarters he was on the field against the Giants. The Saints spearhead has had a strong start to the year but hit the target with just one of his four disposals and kicked 0.1 for the day. At least he has been cleared of serious injury.

Colby McKercher – 6 points

The gun rookie enjoyed three rounds as a freewheeling defender before being handed a new role last week by Alastair Clarkson. He was back in the centre square against the Cats but didn’t make it to quarter-time, floored by a crunching bump from Jeremy Cameron that had him sent to hospital as a precaution. Watch North Melbourne’s injury report but he might be traded much earlier than we had planned.

Originally published as SuperCoach AFL winners and losers from round 5