Final Word: Trades, tactics, weather

We had an eventful round of SuperCoach action with plenty of players notching big scores.



The Cooma Stallions bounced back after a poor week to record 944 points, leading to a rise into 1,446 overall.



Mujeeb, Cutting (skipper), Khawaja and Short all cracked triple figures for me, while my big POD pick Malan couldn’t capitalise on his start once again.



We’re back into respectable territory and can hopefully crack into that top 1,000 with a strong performance this round.



Here’s the Final Word ahead of Round 9, starting at 7.15pm on Monday in Adelaide.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WEATHER WATCH</h2>



All weather is courtesy of the Bureau of Meteorology as of Monday, 1pm. All times are in AEDT. Forecasts are subject to change.



MONDAY



7:15PM: Strikers v Stars, Adelaide Oval



Forecast: Partly cloudy, 37 degrees, 0% chance of rain.



TUESDAY



7:15PM: Scorchers v Hurricanes, Optus Stadium, Perth



Forecast: Mostly sunny, 33 degrees, 0% chance of rain.



WEDNESDAY



7:15PM: Thunder v Sixers, Manuka Oval, Canberra



Forecast: Partly cloudy, 36 degrees, (20%) chance of a shower or thunderstorm in the afternoon and evening.



THURSDAY



7:15PM: Heat, v Renegades, Manuka oval, Canberra



Forecast: Mostly sunny, 35 degrees, 30% of 0-0.3mm of rain.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">LOOKING AHEAD</h2>



We get a very brief reprieve from double game weeks in Round 9, with no sides playing twice.



Round 10 will see the Scorchers and Stars on the double, and both have a serious number of genuine SuperCoach keepers that we can hold for the remainder of the season, so start factoring these sides firmly into your trade plans.



After this, there will be no more double game weeks or byes, so it’s about locking in keepers to your side for the run home.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SUPER PODS</h2>



Each week one of our contributors will provide a full analysis on the point of difference (POD) players to consider.



In the Final Word, we’ll look at the super POD options, the players at under 5% ownership (or around about) that could send you soaring (or falling) up the overall ranks.



They come with big risk, but the reward is immense if it comes off.



In last round’s article, Nicholas Pooran struggled with just 16 points, however that was largely due to the rain shortened match, while Jason Roy also flopped with 14 points.



The article prior listed Sam Billings as the super POD to target, the Thunder import went ballistic with 174 points!!!



Jackson Bird



Bird was a late starter to the tournament, but has tasted success in his three games this campaign.



Most recently he bagged two wickets for 73 points against the Heat.



Last year he averaged 44.4 points with a high score of 126, indicating he has a decent ceiling which is what we’re after in a super POD.



He may not go as large as some others, but he does tend to be a fairly consistent scorer in the game.



Owned by just 1.3% of teams, Bird could be a very low-ownership option to get you a big jump up the ranks.



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Haris Rauf



Another late comer to the tournament, Rauf is owned by just 218 teams entering Round 9.



His first game was rain affected, resulting in just 1 point scored, so he has a monster breakeven of 126.



He’ll come into plenty more sides before the double game in Round 10, but at almost $200k the price will scare off plenty of coaches.



He took 20 wickets in BBL09, showing he has the potential to go very large.



The smart move is probably to wait a week to get him in at hopefully a discounted rate, but he could prove a savvy play to go a round early if he can go large and avoid a price drop at all.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TRADES/SKIPPERS</h2>



At this stage I’ll be looking to move on Max Bryant, James Bazley and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.



The former two have done a superb job and made some valuable cash, while Mujeeb’s form speaks for itself.



He’s expected to play one more game on the 14th before moving on to international duty for Afghanistan.



I’d really love to hold him for that game, but at over $200k with a breakeven of over 100 the trade will allow me stacks of cash in my cap to make some big trades over the next two weeks.



Marcus Stoinis has a breakeven of -34 and will rise significantly in value for the double game week in Round 10, so he is a must-have this round in my opinion.



He comes in along with Mitch Marsh who has a breakeven of -3, is batting at five and is bowling plenty of overs for the Scorchers.



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He’ll also rise in value quite a bit this round, so they’re two serious inclusions.



Despite burning me early in the season, ‘The Spiceman’ Andre Fletcher will come back into my side too.



The Stars play the first game in the next two rounds, so Fletcher is a perfect acquisition to my side.



I’ll sit him as my auto-emergency option on the bench, so if he scores well I’ll implement the loophole, but if he doesn’t he can just sit there.



I’m not exactly bullish about his scoring prospects on current form, but his T20 record is strong and at just $65k with a double next week he looks a great way to free up cash with scoring potential.



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I’m thinking I’ll bypass Jhye Richardson at the massive price of $224k. I know it’s risky in his current form, but it’s such a massive price to pay for a bloke who is getting very minimal opportunity with the bat.



My vice-captain this week will be from the Stars in game one, I’ll be running with Glenn Maxwell who already has 3x 140+ scores this season.



My skipper will then be on D’Arcy Short who has struggled with the bat by his standards, but has been on fire with the ball.



If he can combine the two with strong efforts in the sole game he could go 200+.

Final Word: Trades, tactics, weather, RD 9

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