Final say: Round 4, trade plans + tactics

This week we saw the average score settle down from 2200+ to anywhere from 2000-2150 making plenty of owners happy.

Angus Brayshaw (although not entirely relevant) put on an absolute clinic, where he collected 20 marks on his way to 176!

Tim English is fast becoming my favourite ever Supercoach player, and he continued his incredible form by notching up a whopping 152. It’s ridiculous how lucky I am to have started with English; with his FWD status, I can throw him forward and trade someone up to Gawn when he bottoms out (or downgrade someone to Preuss and play him R2!)

Stephen Coniglio finally scored his first ton of 2022, and it’s so good to see him back playing some really elite footy. Anything over 90 from Cogs is something to be happy about, but a 149 makes me cry tears of joy. Go Cogs!

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Tom Green is slowly starting to cement himself as a bonified premium after his 147, taking his season average up to 139. We saw glimpses of his scoring power last year, but his inconsistency eventually caught up with him; hopefully he continues in this form for the rest of the year.  He’s got a breakeven of just 45 so if you’re looking for some cash flow, a POD, or scoring power, you’ve found the perfect guy.

While there were scores to marvel at, there were also scores that I would happily enjoy watching burn in a fire – never to be seen again.

Albeit on my bench, Dylan Stephens scored 23 which not only puts a halt to his cash flow, but also probably puts his spot in the Swans’ 22 in jeopardy.

Owned by 74.1%, Josh Rachele did not reward his owners (especially those who had him on field) by scoring a measly 36. His breakeven is now at an awkward 42, meaning that we might be in the final few games of his cash production.

Rowan Marshall proved to everyone that he can’t share ruck duties; so, for as long as Patty Ryder is in the Saints team, Marshall should be out of your Supercoach team.

Zac Butters threw up (vomit joke haha) an absolute vomit score of 58. Was he hurt? I’m not actually too sure but a 58 against the lacklustre Crows isn’t acceptable.

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GAME PLAN

This week I scored 2220 which moved me up 9000 spots to 16,997^th.

Obviously, the score is impressive and I’m very happy about it; but what I’m most happy about is that I don’t see any gaping holes in my team that need replacing.

I decided to make all the proposed trades I had in mind; so, I used my trade boost and brought in Bowey for Whitfield, Brayshaw for Berry, and Xerri for McGovern.

The main positive out of all this was that in just one week, I generated $161.9k from just those three players.

However, Brayshaw scored an underwhelming 96 which is a tough pill to swallow for me given all the other options around his price. It’s hard to be mad though because he put on an unreal performance to even get above 80 after being tagged for majority of the game. He’ll probably have another tough matchup this week after Lachie Ash’s unreal effort to completely shut down Touk Miller last week.

I’m never a big fan of downgrading premiums, especially someone of Whitfield’s calibre; but despite him still scoring more than Bowey, I think the trade turned out a success. All aboard the Bowey train!

After seeing McGovern not named in the squad, bringing in Xerri was an absolute no brainer. Just wish I started the season with him!

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The only potential trade that is really sticking out for me is getting rid of Rachele, but the catch 22 is that no players come to mind that I can bring in. For most of the week I’ve been thinking about Thompson Dow who looks like he can make that Richmond midfield his own, and as of next week he’ll start making a fair bit of cash. However, with limited trades I’m not sure if I want to go round sideways trading my rookies just for the fun of it.

The main man on my watchlist (and probably a lot of others) is Brayden Preuss. The big man made his long-awaited Giants debut with a massive 109! There isn’t any real rush to get him because he won’t start making cash for another week anyway so if you don’t get him this week, you’ll probably want to get him in next week.

So, in saying all this, I think the most likely trade I’ll do this week is no trade at all. I’ll give Rachele one more week to show his worth to me and hope that his cash cycle resets, but then the week after it’ll most likely be him or Dylan Stephens making way for Preuss; with Brodie going up to my midfield, English going down to my forwards, and Preuss coming in at R2. It’s still a long way ahead, and anything could happen between now and then, but that’s what I’m looking at!

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PODs & SUPER PODs

Generally, PODs are anyone who is owned by less than 10% of the competition, and Super PODs are anyone owned by less than 2%. Here’s my top 3 for each (based on who I think is the best to take a punt on).

Top 3 PODs

1. Tom Green ($502,400, 139, 6.5%) – I touched on it before, but Tom Green is in the form of his life and now is the time to pounce. With such a low breakeven, even if he doesn’t reach the lofty heights of his current 139 average, the worst-case scenario is he makes you a ton of money and then you cash in when he reaches his highest point. He’s currently a Supercoach GUN!

• Andrew Brayshaw ($613,700, 137.3, 9.5%) – There is absolutely no denying that Andy is one of the brightest young players in the competition; shown by his remarkable 189 score two weeks ago. I admit, me bringing him in was a bit reactionary, but the kid is insane. He somehow scraped his way to 96 after being tagged up until 3QT last week, and while I probably wouldn’t advise bringing him in this week, he should absolutely be in your trade plans at some point this year.

• Travis Boak ($621,000, 146, 2.4%) – Just quietly, Travis Boak is averaging 146… I literally had no idea he was playing this well until I looked at the player rankings and saw him as the second highest averaging player. What an absolute jet! Unfortunately, he’s going to cost you top dollar, and I’m not quite sure about his longevity, but you should absolutely go for it. What a POD!

Top 3 Super PODs

1. Ben Keays ($586,300, 130, 1.2%) – I know I’ve already made this joke, but there are three certainties in life: Death, Taxes, and Bean Keays always being an insane POD. Is there an actual reason why Keays is consistently so underrated by the Supercoach community? I might write my thesis on it.

• Jeremy McGovern ($515,100, 120, 1.6%) – I picked the wrong McGovern lol. The BETTER McGovern (aka Jeremy) has completely flown under the radar this year, and has gone 115, 117, 128 on his way to an average of 120.

• Jy Simpkin ($522,200, 99.3, 0.7%) – There’s no doubt that Simpkin is North’s main midfielder and ball winner, and although it’s taken him a little while to warm up to the season, he should be fit and able to pump out some huge scores from here on.

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CLOSE WATCH

Here’s my top 3 players that you shouldn’t be buying JUST yet, but should definitely have an eye on for the weeks to come:

1. Brayden Preuss ($204,700, 109, 11.3%) – He’s absolutely #1 on my watchlist (as mentioned before). If I see him score 70+, get through unscathed, and not get suspended, he is 100% my R2 for Round 5.

• James Tsitas ($102,400, 0, 9.7%) – I’m not a religious man, but a basement price rookie playing in the middle of the season is without a doubt an act of God. He had 25 touches, 2 goals, and 9 tackles on the weekend in the VFL, and considering the Suns’ poor start to the season, he could be in line to make his debut quite soon.

• Dayne Zorko ($548,400, 82.3, 0.3%) – I definitely won’t be buying Zorko as a MID, but there’s a bit of chit chat that he could get DEF status in Round 6… He looked lost in his new role in Round 1, but he’s found his groove and managed to pump out 116 and 105 since then.

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CHARLIE’S ANGELS – SKIPPERS

It’s hard to go against Macrae this week who plays the heavily depleted Richmond midfield. After his 149 last week, Stephen Coniglio could be a POD captain option against the Dockers.

Jack Steele finally found some form, and should have a field day against the Hawks. Likewise, Touk Miller could very easily go 150+ against the Blues if he manages to avoid a George Hewett tag.

Top 3 Captains

1. Jack Macrae
2. Jack Steele
3. Touk Miller

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TOPSPORT BETS of the WEEK

*Gamble Responsibly*

Lock Bet:

• Demons WIN @1.38
• Magpies WIN @1.35
• Bulldogs WIN @1.51

Multi @5.98

Disposals Multi:

• Christian Petracca 30 or more Disposals @1.83
• Jack Crisp 30 or more Disposals @2.88
• Jack Macrae 30 or more Disposals @1.33

Multi @7

MEGA Multi:

• Demons 1-39 @2.10
• Swans 40+ @1.72
• Magpies 1-39 @2.10
• Bulldogs 1-39 @2.10
• GWS 1-39 @2.40

Multi @38.22