Don’t panic SuperCoach coaches, it’s only round one

THERE were plenty of similarities between The Phantom’s SuperCoach team and GWS after the opening round. An ordinary first-up performance and a low ranking but, importantly, no panic just yet.

THERE were plenty of similarities between The Phantom’s SuperCoach team and GWS after the opening round.

An ordinary first-up performance and a low ranking but, importantly, no panic just yet.

The Phantom’s Round 1 score: 2085

Overall ranking: 64,463

If you are in the same boat, just remember to remain calm and don’t make any rash decisions.

It’s a long season and you cannot judge a player on one game. If one of your premiums struggled, back them in – you picked them for a reason.

Imagine if GWS coach Leon Cameron dropped co-captain Callan Ward, who led a midfield that was beaten by the Crows. No good coach would do that.

And, as disappointing as they were, give the rookies another crack, too. Some were playing their first game of AFL footy, just remember that.

If you didn’t have any of these issues, well done.

But also remember that it also works in reverse. Don’t go chasing last week’s points – especially when we’ve only got such a small sample.

Of course, injuries are different.

St Kilda’s Nick Riewoldt was injured against the Demons.

Nick Riewoldt

The St Kilda star, who scored 105 before a knee injury ended his game early, is a tough one.

The Saints hope that Riewoldt will only miss 1-2 weeks so he is not a must-trade.

But, given the lack of bench cover getting around, the temptation is there.

However, 30 trades will be gone before you know it.

For what it’s worth, The Phantom would be holding Riewoldt if he owned him.

If you can’t resist the temptation, Eagle Josh Kennedy ($532k), after a round-high 174 points, is hard to ignore.

Just be ready for the odd low score. If you want to make some cash off the trade look at Riewoldt’s team-mate Jack Steele ($347k), who backed up his pre-season form with 113 points against the Demons.

Aaron Vandenberg, Jack Trengove, Joel Smith and Cam Pedersen at Melbourne training.

Joel Smith

The rookie-price Melbourne defender didn’t last long in his debut, dislocating his shoulder in the first quarter.

Smith is different to Riewoldt and needs to go but wait another week and let the other rookies audition for his spot. Player prices do not change until after a player as played three games.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Dustin Martin $588,300, mid

IT”S said every year; don’t ignore the SuperCoach star who loses dual-position status and becomes a midfielder only. They are still a SuperCoach star.

But, just as happened with Patrick Dangerfield, Robbie Gray and Luke Parker over the past few years, the majority overlooked Martin, who has averaged more than 105 in the past two years, in a deep midfield pool.

The 11 per cent of teams who started with the Tiger star were rewarded with a huge round one score. Martin dominated the Blues to finish with 33 disposals, four goals and 159 points.

And Bomber Zach Merrett (126 points), who also lost his dual position status in 2017, wasn’t far behind.

TIMELY REMINDER

MAGPIES skipper Scott Pendlebury mustn’t have liked hearing all the chatter – orchestrated by The Phantom – throughout that pre-season that Adam Treloar was going to de-throne him as Collingwood’s SuperCoach king in 2017.

While The Phantom still believes Treloar’s sheer weight of numbers will see him pass his skipper, it was vintage Pendlebury on Friday night.

The Rolls Royce tallied 35 disposals, 24 contested possessions, 10 clearances, two goals and 146 points.

WHAT RUCK CONCERNS?

The masses jumped back on Demon Max Gawn after Jake Spencer wasn’t named in the final 22 and he delivered with 128 points against the Saints.

It was a slightly different story at North Melbourne with ruckman/forward Braydon Preuss named alongside No. 1 ruckman Todd Goldstein.

But the result was similar. Goldstein finished with 13 disposals, 32 hitouts, three goals and 105 points.

Popular mid-price ruck selections Toby Nankervis (114 points) and Aaron Sandilands (107 points) also came through with the goods.

And to think we wasted so much time worrying about them.

Originally published as Don’t panic SuperCoach coaches, it’s only round one