No Gawn, no Goldstein, no worries, The Phantom has the tall men with real value to your SuperCoach side

ATTENTION bargain hunters, if you think Max Gawn and Todd Goldstein will break your bank, here are The Phantom’s four potential value options.

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ATTENTION bargain hunters, if you think Max Gawn and Todd Goldstein will break your bank, here are The Phantom’s four potential value options.

Port Adelaide’s Patrick Ryder at training. Picture Sarah Reed

Patrick Ryder FWD (Port Adelaide) $418,100

After Matthew Lobbe’s disappointing 2016 season, the returning Ryder should, again, become the No. 1 ruckman.

The last time the 28-year-old lead the ruck brigade was at the Bombers in 2014, when he posted 11 SuperCoach tons to finish with a triple-figure average.

While Ryder’s average of 85 in his first year at Alberton in 2015 is respectable, sharing the ruck duties with Lobbe and spending considerable time forward, severely affected his output.

In rounds 20 and 21 of that year, Lobbe missed, allowing the mobile big man to take the lead.

And the numbers showed. Ryder registered 17 disposals, 46 hit-outs and 111 points against the Giants before collecting 40 hit-outs and 100 points against the Hawks a week later.

But after a year out of the game, just how quickly he can recapture this form, remains to be seen.

Fremantle’s Aaron Sandlilands at Dockers training.

Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle) $308,200

The 211cm giant only managed five games last season after a nasty collision resulted in broken ribs and collapsed lung in round three.

But in the previous two years, the 34-year-old played 21 games, averaged 108 points and posted 12 scores of 100 or more in both seasons.

While Sandilands suffered a minor calf strain at training Monday and will miss the start of the JLT series, he should be ready to, again, join forces with superstar-midfielder Nat Fyfe in 2017 and, at $308k, at this point, if you are not splashing out the cash on a set-and-forget combo, the veteran Docker is your man.

Sandilands gave us a subtle reminder of his scoring ability in the final round of last year, registering 15 possessions – 14 of them contested – 35 hitouts and 105 points.

UPDATE: The Dockers revealed last night Sandi will miss the start of the pre-season competition with a calf strain. Make sure he’s fully recovered before comitting.

Former Geelong Cat Nathan Vardy at training during the 2016 season.

Nathan Vardy (West Coast) $265,500

With superstar Nic Naitanui out for the year and Scott Lycett still a while off, is the former Cat the ruck saviour at the Eagles?

While he might not quite be the saviour, the injury-prone big man, who only managed 21 games in his six years at Geelong, has been impressive in his first pre-season in the West.

The versatile ruckman-forward, who has two career SuperCoach tons to his name, is back in full training and should get a start in the JLT series. Is his luck finally about to change?

Western Bulldogs Tom Boyd at training.

Tom Boyd FWD (Western Bulldogs) $290,300

The 21-year-old has only scored more than 80 points three times in his three-year career but it’s hard to forget his influential performance in last year’s grand final.

The key-forward, who pinched-hit in the ruck, finished with 14 disposals, eight marks, three goals, 14 hit-outs and 99 points.

Those numbers — and his sub-$300k price — put him on the watchlist..

Originally published as No Gawn, no Goldstein, no worries, The Phantom has the tall men with real value to your SuperCoach side