Final say: Round 9 tactics, trades, skippers

My team is going so badly that I seem to have unlocked a new level of SuperCoach unhappiness. Here are the rungs of satisfaction with your SuperCoach team as I see them:

1. My team is good and I have a clear strategy
2. My team is good but I’m scrambling a bit
3. My team is alright
4. My team is bad, but I know where my deficiencies are and how to fix them
5. My team is bad and I have no freaking idea what to do

I’ve hit level 5. 2,287 in Round 8 was enough for 34,500th in the weekly standings and I’ve slipped back 1500 spots to 20,000th overall.

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That’s fine – but the perplexing part is that I thought my team was on track for a decent week. Only a couple of terrible on-field scores (McKenna 46, Ashcroft 37, Chandler 57), a few monstrous tons (Bontempelli 164, Dunkley 149, Gulden 156) and 13 triple digit scorers is usually a recipe for a solid weekly ranking. The worst part is (unlike previous weeks) I can’t even blame my captaincy decisions, with Oliver (136) proving his credentials immediately upon entering my side.

Just a head scratcher all round, and unnerving to say the least. Onwards and upwards! 

Plenty of intriguing decisions and attractive options heading in to Round 9. Let’s take a look.

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The Round 8 Positives

Mega Scores

Leaving aside my own ranking issues, boy it was nice to see some monster SuperCoach scores dropped in Round 8. 

It’s a joy to watch the Bont go about his footy at the moment. He’s having the best season by a midfielder since peak Gary Ablett Jnr (according to Champion Data) and is able to control a game off his own boot like very few others.

Josh Dunkley had a point to prove against the Blues at his favourite Marvel hunting ground, and boy did he deliver. It’s not often you see Patrick Cripps helpless and outmanned at every turn, but that’s what the pure power of Dunkley is able to do.

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Downgrade Options

Going in to this week I was worried about our collective cash-gen potential. Suddenly we’ve got rooks coming out our backsides!

Josh Weddle, Will Gould and *shudder* Rory Atkins all look like decent [short-term] moneymakers this week.

Harry Sharp, Tom Berry, and Blake Drury all hit the bubble next week

We’ve got options!

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Owning Clarry

I sold the farm last week to get Oliver in to my side. My god it’s a relief.

With the Dees playing the lowly Hawks this weekend, if you haven’t got the mighty ranga in your team at this point you might be waiting a while.

Gone are the days spent dreading what ridiculous score Clarry is about to drop. I can just sit back, relax and watch another 130+ masterpiece.

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The Round 8 Negatives

Mason Redman

Second week in a row the Red Dog gets a spray here. Sideways trades like this are what can completely undo your season. 

A 76 from Redman could have been much, much worse after he started with a donut in the first quarter against Port, recovering nicely over the remainder of the game.

What impact does Jordan Ridley out of the side have on him this week? Who knows – what I do know is that I’m behind the 8-ball thanks to sideways trading. Don’t do it!!

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Sean Darcy

Sorry Shrek. You’ve actually been very good for most of this year. It just becomes glaringly apparent on certain occasions that you’re not Tim English and won’t ever be.

A 50 point difference between my R1 and 44% of teams’ R1 is exceedingly painful.

The good news is that Timmy has a 156 breakeven and has slipped down to $654k, which might be as affordable as he is for quite some time. How long can I resist?

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Rory Laird

This might seem harsh on the back of a 102, and with a season average of 109, but I paid up for Laird at the start of the year and these are not the returns I expected.

The Garden Gnome is the 14th-highest averaging mid. He needs to finish the year at least top 6 to justify the preseason decision to invest in the most expensive player in the game.

I can’t see it happening. The Crows are seeing too many strong returns from their young guys in the guts (Soligo, Rankine, Rachele) to rely on Laird like they have in seasons past.

Another position in which I’m leaking weekly points.

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Trades

Jacob Van Rooyen -> Josh Weddle

Darcy Wilmot -> Sam Docherty

I’ve reached desperation stations when it comes to getting rookies off the field. Am I convinced on the prospects of either Weddle or Docherty? No. Is the end result (Docherty replacing Wilmot on field, Cincotta swinging up to M8, Gulden forward to get Pedlar off the field) worth the risk? Yes.

I had lined up Darcy Parish as my number 1 target this week, then he somehow did a calf on a beautiful sunny training day at Windy Hill. Docherty has back-to-back tons since his return from injury and is as cheap as you’re going to get him, with a breakeven of 71.

After slandering Rory Atkins all week on the pod and on Twitter, did the thought of bringing him in cross my mind? Honestly, yes. The role is friendly and if he was sub $130k it’d almost be a no-brainer. Unfortunately at $200k and with plenty of question marks around his job security, it doesn’t feel like a winning move to me. All power to you if you go with it though!

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Eddie’s Captains

Not a heap to look forward to on Friday night from a captaincy perspective, but still a couple of gentlemen worth keeping an eye on.

Tim Taranto has a five round average of 126 and comes up against a Dangerfield-less Cats midfield, while Tom Stewart (who’s going to get booed in to oblivion) dropped a 161 on the Tigers last time out. If you think the Cats will get the job done comfortably against a battling Richmond outfit, Jeremy Cameron at the ‘G is always an interesting prospect.

In the other Friday night game there are.. Uhh.. not many options. Noah Anderson can’t go without a mention though after his monstrous 189 against Melbourne last week. As long as Touk remains out of action, Anderson is always a chance to go large.

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Melbourne’s matchup against the Hawks promises to be a very profitable game from a SuperCoach perspective. Clayton Oliver is the obvious option – he’s gone 119, 139, 115 in his last three against Hawthorn – but it’s Max Gawn that really takes my eye. The Beard has two 170+ outings against the poo and wee in his last three games and is coming off a 130 against a traditionally stingy ruck in Jarrod Witts. The Hawks also leak points to ruckmen, giving up 126 to Luke Jackson last week.

I know this because I’ve seen it too many times – Lachie Neale LOVES playing the Bombers. He put up 198 against us in 2022 and 157 in 2021. Without Darcy Parish to contend with, the Brisbane midfield should be able to run amok, which makes Josh Dunkley a viable option on the back of his murder of Patrick Cripps last week.

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You’d be a brave man to bet against the Bont, even though Carlton are proving reasonably adept at curtailing opposition mids (Dunkley last week the notable exception). The Bont is operating on a different plane to most guys at the moment, making him a valid option each and every week.

Last and definitely not least – the Crows have a tasty SuperCoach matchup against the Saints at the Oval on Sunday. St Kilda leak points to backmen (Jack Ziebell’s 179 last week a prime example), which makes Jordan Dawson a prime captaincy candidate. Dawson averages 140 at the Oval this season and likely won’t see any close any attention from Ross Lyon’s men. Rory Laird is always a safe bet too.

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Vice Captains

1. Max Gawn
2. Clayton Oliver
3. Tom Stewart

Captains

1. Jordan Dawson
2. Marcus Bontempelli
3. Lachie Neale