SuperCoach AFL 2024: Which rookies to buy, hold and sell for round 3

This is the week to nail your rookie picks to set up a year of SuperCoach success. Who are the must-have cheapies, and who isn’t going to cut it in the elite 2024 rookie crop?

Oliver Dempsey of the Cats. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

After an early opening last week, the SuperCoach stock market is in full swing heading into round 3.

Players from the six teams that featured in opening round have experienced one price rise already, now the rest of the competition – including Carlton and Brisbane, coming off their bye last round – are about to follow suit.

That means trading now to get the right rookies is crucial – and we have a lot more information to base our decisions on.

So, which cheapies do you need to get before round 3 – and who can we pass on?

Here are our full rankings.

MUST-HAVES

1. Colby McKercher (MID) $202,800 | Av: 92 | Break Even: -68

2. Ryley Sanders (MID) $184,800 | Av: 71 | Break Even: -37

3. Matt Roberts (MID) $225,800 | Av: 80 | Break Even: -35

4. Darcy Wilson (MID-FWD) $130,800 | Av: 63 | Break Even: -51

5. Harley Reid (MID-FWD) $207,300 | Av: 71 | Break Even: -24

6. Blake Howes (DEF) $194,100 | Av: 74 | Break Even: -22

Most coaches have this super six but if you’re missing one (or more), fix that before you do anything else this week.

McKercher is on track to be the best cash cow of the season and Sanders showed what he can do when given a full game with a score of 99 against the Suns. Start both on the field every week. Ideally get Roberts on as well; he has already jumped $69,000 in value but still has a negative Break Even and is worth using a trade on this week.

The same goes for Howes, who in any other season would be too expensive now after his first price rise but has to be considered given the severe lack of cheap defenders who aren’t on their team’s injury list.

All these guys will make a lot of money (McKercher could be worth $300,000 in a few weeks) but we won’t be looking to trade them out for a while as they continue to put up strong scores for our sides.

Didn’t start with Colby McKercher? Fix that now! Picture: Michael Klein

ROUND 3 TARGETS

1. Jack Carroll (MID) $123,900 | Av: 70 | Break Even: -69

2 Toby Pink (DEF) $123,900 | Av: 51 | Break Even: -32

3. Oliver Dempsey (FWD) $148,400 | Av: 78 | Break Even: -71

4. Marty Hore (DEF) $123,900 | Av: 36 | Break Even: -2

5 Jeremy Sharp (MID) $123,900 | Av: 67 | Break Even: -63

6. Jackson Mead (MID-FWD) $199,800 | Av: 62 | Break Even: -11

Carroll could have one of the best roles of any rookie this season, starting at 52 per cent of centre bounces for the Blues in round 1 after scoring 60 points in a quarter in opening round (after starting as the sub). With Sam Walsh is listed as indefinite on Carlton’s injury list, Carroll should continue to get opportunities in the middle, where he can get his hands on the ball and score lots of SuperCoach points – and make us lots of money (a projected score of 43 against the Roos this week would net a $51k price jump). As a final level of insurance, we can wait until the final team sheets are lodged on Good Friday just to make sure.

Dempsey booted three goals on his way to 96 points in round 1 and showed he can still score even without kicking any goals with a 56 in round 2.

He will score more points than Pink and Hore, but coaches are searching for reinforcements (again) in the backline after Nick Coffield became the third popular defence rookie to suffer a long-term injury in two weeks.

Carlton midfielder Jack Carroll. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

North Melbourne defender Toby Pink. Picture: Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Pink seems safe for 40-50 points every week, hopefully he can jag a higher score to get his cash generation moving.

Hore started as the sub last weekend and scored 12 points but we know he can do much better – he averaged 70 for the Demons in 2019. Injuries to Steven May and Jake Lever would improve his job security, but Lever (knee) is a chance to play this week and May (broken ribs) might not be out for long.

TRADE OUT?

1. Nick Coffield (DEF) $123,900 | Av: 26 | Break Even: 18

2. Nick Watson (FWD) $189,300 | Av: 41 | Break Even: 25

3. Finlay Macrae (FWD) $152,600 | Av: 20 | Break Even: 46

4. Caleb Windsor (MID-FWD) $211,500 | Av: 40 | Break Even: 8

5. Charlie Lazzaro (MID-FWD) $181,100 | Av: 54 | Break Even: -1

6. Zane Duursma (MID-FWD) $193,800 | Av: 62 | Break Even: -14

7. Jhye Clark (MID) $123,900 | Av: 37 | Break Even: -3

8. Shaun Mannagh (MID-FWD) $117,300 | Av: 43 | Break Even: -20

9. Tom Berry (FWD) $208,200 | Av: 63 | Break Even: -10

10. Alex Sexton (FWD) $182,800 | Av: 61 | Break Even: -6

If you need to find space in your squad for the rookies listed in the first two sections, someone has to go.

If you have anyone on your bench who is injured (Coffield), not getting games (Dan Curtin, Nate Caddy and Henry Hustwaite still feature in many teams) or have shown sketchy job security or scoring potential (Finlay Macrae, Nick Watson), they are the first players on the chopping block.

There is one exception here – if you have more than one injured rookie in defence you could afford to keep one at least through the early bye rounds.

Next up are cheapies who have played two games and are about to rise in price – but not by much.

Players like Charlie Lazzaro, Zane Duursma, Jhye Clark and Shaun Mannagh are not must trades, and any one of them could kickstart their cash generation with a breakout game. But at this stage they look more like slow burn bench options. There’s nothing wrong with having a couple of players like that, but if it helps you improve your team you can move them on without any regrets.

Jhye Clark is getting strong midfield minutes for the Cats. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Some coaches will be tempted to cut ties with Gold Coast rookies Berry and Sexton following disappointing scores in round 2. But the smart play is to hold them over their bye this week, get at least one more price bump then assess their roles. Sexton has the potential to make a lot more cash – as long as he stays in defence. He spent some time in the forward line against the Bulldogs and if that becomes a permanent shift, we can cut and run.

GWS forward Aaron Cadman won’t play this week, but he’s a big HOLD with a Break Even of -52.

WATCH LIST (ONE GAME)

Sam Darcy (FWD) $123,900 | R3 score: 109

Tom Brown (DEF) $154,200 | R3 score: 63

Karl Worner (DEF) $134,100 | R2 score: 63

Darcy couldn’t have been more impressive in his first game for the year and is likely to find his way into some teams this week, but we can afford to get another look at him before committing. However, it’s worth keeping him in mind when making trades this week – do you need to save a spot in your forward line?

Brown could have reasonable job security given Richmond’s injury issues. Worner, meanwhile, was very impressive in round 1 until he was knocked out halfway through the third quarter. If he comes back into the Fremantle team this week or next week he could be a saviour for our besieged backlines.

Originally published as SuperCoach AFL 2024: Which rookies to buy, hold and sell for round 3