SuperCoach AFL 2024 round 20 trade guide: Who to target for final five rounds
Trades are running low, but key rucks are out injured and other popular players are on the chopping block with five rounds to go. See the best replacements here.
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SuperCoaches have big problems to deal with as we hit the most important stage of the season.
Concussion protocols will force Toby Nankervis, Nathan Kreuger and Jordan Dawson to miss round 20 after incidents last weekends.
The news is worse for Tom De Koning, who will miss the rest of the home-and-away season after suffering a collapsed lung and fractured foot against North Melbourne.
There’s the horribly out of form Zac Fisher and Matt Rowell.
Fisher returned from the VFL on Sunday and was subbed out with just 13 disposals and 38 SuperCoach points. He lost $29,400 in value after lockout and has a Break Even of 156 this week – if he keeps his spot in the Kangaroos line-up.
Rowell’s price has plummetted to $421,000 after a season-low 51 points against the Giants.
Dawson is another tricky call, missing this week and with a five-round average of 84.4.
Those are numbers you can’t afford entering SuperCoach finals. With trades at a premium, who are the best trade targets this week?
RUCK REPLACEMENTS
TRISTAN XERRI $604,700 RUC
If you didn’t start Xerri at $407k or trade him in during any of the ruck emergencies we’ve seen over the season, this could be the time. Coaches with De Koning or Nankervis in the ruck and Nathan Kreuger (concussion) as insurance, you could be staring at a zero on field this week. Xerri has been ultra-consistent all season, averaging 111.8 points a game and only going below 90 once all year. To top it off, North Melbourne has the easiest run home of any team for rucks, starting with a clash against Geelong and part-timer Sam De Koning, who just conceded 139 points to Tim English.
TIM ENGLISH $568,700 RUC
The No.1 SuperCoach ruckman of 2023 has had a rollercoaster 2024, perfectly illustrated by his past five scores – 136, 70, 137, 85, 139. The pattern could continue this week with a tough match-up against Brodie Grundy at the SCG, and it doesn’t get a whole lot easier after that, with Gawn looming in round 21. But when he’s on, English doesn’t need a lot of hitouts to score well, bringing in most of his points from link-up play around the ground. He finishes the year with a clash against the Giants at Mars Stadium in Ballarat, where he averages 117.9 from seven career appearances.
MAX GAWN $599,000 RUC
Roughly 40,000 coaches have traded out Gawn in the past two weeks while 63,000 held firm. They should be rewarded with the Demons skipper expected to return this weekend after missing two matches with a chipped fibula. Will he be underdone, or will he return breathing fire? It could be a scary prospect going into SuperCoach finals without one of the SuperCoach greats.
FISHER, ROWELL, DAWSON REPLACEMENTS
Most Fisher owners have him in the forward line, but you could use DPP swings to replace him with a midfielder or defender. Here are 10 players to consider.
DYLAN MOORE $519,500 FWD
Speaking of match-ups, Hawthorn has the easiest run home of any team for general forwards, including playing three of the five easiest opponents in the last three rounds. Moore can be a frustrating own because his output doesn’t always match his undoubted ability, largely due to the role he’s used in on any given week by Sam Mitchell. But mixing his time between the midfield and forward line he’s always in dangerous positions. He has three scores over 100 in his past five and a big ceiling as demonstrated by his 169 point return against the Crows in round 12.
JYE CALDWELL $575,200 MID/FWD
Essendon is wobbling and the Bombers’ midfield match-ups are getting tougher, but it doesn’t seem to bother Caldwell, who has a fantastic role in the midfield. His 100 points against the Crows was major unders – he was on track for another 120-plus score before being subbed off following a heavy knock early in the last quarter (he actually lost about 10 points due to scaling after missing the close finish). He was cleared of any serious injury and will be right to go against St Kilda on Saturday. More than 40,000 coaches have traded in Caldwell over the past three weeks and been rewarded with premium-level scoring – it’s time to get on the bandwagon.
BEN KEAYS $490,800 FWD
Who loves a POD? Who has any money? Who trusts forwards? If your answers to these questions are me, not me and no one, then Keays could be your man. Someone who watches the Crows closer than me can possibly explain why he caught fire four weeks ago after averaging 64 in the first 14 rounds, but you can’t argue with form – 120, 93, 123 then a monster 158 against the Bombers from 22 disposals, five goals and eight tackles.
Four weeks ago Ben Keays was 337k.
— Tim Michell (@tim_michell) July 20, 2024
He has since averaged 123.5 #SuperCoach and will have made about 150k in a month.
For context, there are only six players averaging more than 123.5 in the past 5 weeks.
TOM STEWART $527,000 DEF
Does Stewart have the best role in SuperCoach? Over the past month he has become a permanent member of Geelong’s centre bounce set up, then appears to have licence to float behind the ball without an opponent. That gives him the perfect opportunity to use his skills reading the play and intercept marking – and has freed him from the attention of taggers he was copping for most of the first 14 rounds. The veteran is averaging 109 over his past five and is still affordable.
JACK SINCLAIR $612,500 DEF-MID
In the depths of Melbourne winter, no one loves getting under the roof at Marvel Stadium more than Sinclair – and he doesn’t have to leave the venue for the rest of the season. If you take out his 88 in a downpour against Adelaide, Sinclair is averaging 135 points in his last five games. His actual five-round average including that game is 123.2, placing him right behind Cripps. He did as he pleased against West Coast and should score well again against Essendon before a mouth-watering match-up against the Tigers in two weeks’ time.
ADAM TRELOAR $571,800 MID
Arguably the POD of the season, Treloar is in just 3 per cent of teams despite averaging over 115 points a game. The Dogs are on a finals charge and when he’s on, Treloar doesn’t just make it to 100 points, he blasts well past that – his 148 against Geelong was his fourth total over 140 for the season. That came off the back of 31 disposals, eight tackles and three goals. The Dogs have the fifth-easiest run home for midfielders, including some great match-ups in SuperCoach finals, and Treloar is somehow $30k cheaper than he was in round 1.
PATRICK CRIPPS $615,000 MID
Carlton might have taken a while to shake off the Kangaroos on Sunday but the Blues’ inspiration skipper is going from strength to strength. He has gone on red-hot runs in the past and is in the middle of another one right now, peeling off 144, 144, 115 and 114 in his past four matches – his five-round average of 123.2 is ranked No.4 in the comp – with surprise stints in the ruck providing another scoring avenue for the contested ball beast. Cripps appears in more teams than Treloar (9 per cent) but is still likely to set your team apart in a league final.
LACHIE WHITFIELD $577,400 DEF
If you want a player in form, it’s hard to go past Whitfield. Since the Giants’ bye in round 12 he has averaged 117 points a game, with a low of 107 and a high of 137 – which he posted against Gold Coast on Saturday. Whitfield monopolises the kick-ins at GWS, wins a mountain of the footy – his past four disposal tallies are 41, 30, 35 and 40 – and is dodging the taggers and injuries that have caused headaches for his owners in the past.
STEVEN MAY $486,500 DEF
May flew the flag for Melbourne in Perth on Sunday, scoring 127 points from 23 kicks, three handballs (a great SuperCoach ratio), nine marks (two intercept marks) and a stack of behind kick-ins. That’s his biggest score since round 8, but it was far from out of the blue – seven of his last eight have been 90 or above, including two big hundreds in his past two games. And he won’t break the bank.
JAMES SICILY $611,000 DEF
A proven SuperCoach premium, it’s something of a mystery why Sicily has fallen out of favour with coaches this year, featuring in just 9 per cent of teams. A slowish start didn’t help, averaging 96 to round 13. But he has gone up several gears since then, averaging 128.5 in his past four games. Even when he was hurt against the Dockers he was thrown forward and showed he can score there, too. And he also has that Richmond match-up – the most lucrative for defenders – in SuperCoach prelim final week.
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Originally published as SuperCoach AFL 2024 round 20 trade guide: Who to target for final five rounds
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