The Phantom: Make Gazza’s pain work for you with canny trades

THE Phantom reckons there is never a good time for a Gary Ablett injury — but his loss could be a blessing in disguise for clever SuperCoaches. Replay the Phantom’s blog here.

Gary Ablett is out for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury.

THERE is never a good a time for a Gary Ablett injury, especially at this stage of the season, when trades are hard to find for many SuperCoach teams.

But with a lot of sides — midfields in particular — looking very similar and with Ablett in almost 50 per cent of them, this may be your chance to get the jump you have been after.

If you find yourself treading water in the overall rankings or need to register a couple of late-season victories in your head-to-head league, this is the time to add a point-of-difference to your midfield.

Think Marcus Bontempelli (WB), Josh Kennedy (Syd), Steele Sidebottom (Coll), Steven Coniglio (GWS). Or even the fifth-ranked player in the game, Lachie Neale (Freo), who is somehow only in 8 per cent of teams.

You don’t win by playing it safe so who do you have your eye on this week?

The Gold Coast skipper and SuperCoach master, priced at $589,200, sits in almost 50 per cent of teams, but now will miss the rest of the year with a shoulder injury.

Let’s examine some options:

Marcus Bontempelli (WB) $568,800 Ave: 106 BE: 75

The Phantom talked up ‘The Bont’ last week as a great point-of-difference and, after 140 points at the weekend — his fourth score of more than 120 in the past five games — he is becoming harder to ignore. The 20-year-old is already one of the most influential players in the game and, out of all midfielders, only Patrick Dangerfield and Scott Pendlebury have scored more SuperCoach points than the young Bulldog star since round seven. ‘The Bont’, who boasts a five-round average of 126 and is in only 5.4 per cent of teams, will be making his way into The Phantom’s side this week

MARKET WATCH: WHAT TO DO WITH ABLETT AND LIBBA

Scott Pendlebury (Coll) $606,000 Ave: 119 BE: 105

Have a little cash in the bank and don’t already have the Collingwood skipper? Then this is your move. Pendlebury, the second-ranked player in the game, has cracked the SuperCoach ton in 13 of his past 14 matches, posting seven scores in excess of 120 in that time. There is not a more reliable player in the game and, after this week’s trip to Adelaide Oval, the Magpies are in Melbourne for the rest of the season.

Rory Sloane (Adel) $592,900 Ave: 110 BE: 138

The Crows are running hot and so is their midfield general, who has posted scores of 114, 106, 145, 114 and 139 in the past five games. Sloane boasts a career average of 118 at Adelaide Oval and, with the Crows to play five of their last seven games — four of them against bottom-eight sides — at the venue, expect some big scores in the run home.

Lachie Neale (Freo) $574,900 Ave: 114 BE: 123

It doesn’t matter the opposition or the result, Neale just keeps finding the football. Playing almost a lone-hand in the Fremantle midfield, Neale leads the competition for contested possessions and has had 24 more disposals than anyone else in the game. The Dockers have only won three games but Neale has registered 13 SuperCoach tons this season, dropping below 92 only once.

Dan Hannebery (Syd) $539,700 Ave: 115 BE: 97

The Sydney star is cheap. Hannebery may be the fourth-ranked player in 2016 but, after round 16, there is 22 players who are more expensive. With only two scores of less than 100 this year — 86 and 92 — Hannebery has become one of the most consistent scorers in the SuperCoach game.

Callan Ward (GWS) $490,400 Ave: 107 BE: 96

Need to make some money to fund another move? A trade involving the Giants co-captain, who has experienced nine consecutive price drops, could prove a masterstroke. While Ward has scored less than 80 in three of his past six games, the Giants face the Lions, Power, Tigers and Suns in the next four weeks and we all know, when on-song, Ward can score like the best of them.

Marcus Bontempelli is The Phantom’s pick to replace Ablett. Picture: Hamish Blair

SOMETHING DIFFERENT ...

Josh Kennedy (Syd) $548,400 Ave: 108 BE: 113

While all of the attention — from a SuperCoach point-of-view — has been on teammates Hannebery and Luke Parker, Kennedy, who has twice averaged more than 114 in a season, has not scored less than 95 since round one. The contested-ball specialist, who is in less than five per cent of teams, has posted nine SuperCoach tons for the year with seven coming in the past eight games. If Kennedy’s finish to last season, when he averaged 117 in the final 10 games, is anything to go by, he could give you the jump you need.

Steele Sidebottom (Coll) $491,400 Ave: 106 BE: 86

The highly-skilled Collingwood midfielder, who is in just six per cent of sides, started 2016 in impressive fashion, averaging 116 points in his first six appearances. But it was in the following five-game stretch where his value fell. While Sidebottom scored more than 80 in each match, he didn’t pass 95 and his price fell to a season-low $487k after round 15. The hard-running midfielder bounced back against the Giants in round 16, registering 28 disposals — at 86 per cent efficiency — and 127 points and, at that price, presents tremendous value. Yes, it was almost two years ago now, but Sidebottom did average 122 in the final nine games of 2014 before injury interrupted his 2015 campaign

The Phantom’s R16 score: 2337

Overall Ranking: 1442

Top 5 teams on Advertiser.com.au

Missy’s Marvels 34958

Mr_Nyah 34837

THAFARCUES”” 34820

tunas 34768

Free Spirit 34752

Originally published as The Phantom: Make Gazza’s pain work for you with canny trades