Tim Williams
SC Playbook founder, 2nd NRL 2020, 43rd BBL 21/22'
Final Word: Round 7 skippers, tactics, weather
We have the final say on the major Round 7 plays, including weather reports, breakevens, super PODs, captains and more.
Final Word
December 30, 2021
- SC PLAYBOOK PODCAST: Round 7/8, Stars analysis, Canes to sell
- ANALYSIS: Strongest, weakest clubs by SC points scored/conceded
It was a rollercoaster round of SuperCoach BBL action with plenty of highs and lows, most notably Hobart Hurricanes opener Ben McDermott pumping out two centuries.
The round really was divided into those who captained McDermott, owned McDermott, and didn’t own McDermott, as he produced one of the highest SuperCoach rounds of all-time with an absurd 347 points!
For reference, Marcus Stoinis has the record with 376 points across a double game week.
Weather again proved chaotic with fairly substantial rain and storms predicted for the Brisbane Heat’s opener not eventuating.
Once again the Cooma Stallions played accordingly to the rain, and it didn’t pay off, having an underwhelming week of just 840 points to drop to 1,800th overall, a fall from grace from around 300th a few weeks back!
Not to worry, what it shows is that SuperCoach BBL is a fickle game and significant overall ranking changes can occur on any given week.
I did sell Josh Philippe who dropped $50k in one round and now sits with a breakeven of 176, so that cash is looking very handy at the moment.
With no teams on the bye or double in Round 7, it’ll make for an interesting round of trades.
Embed from Getty ImagesTwo quick notes, plenty of Melbourne Stars (Round 8 double) players have very high breakevens this week, so it may be worth waiting till next round to chase certain guys like Glenn Maxwell and Adam Zampa.
Further, as spoken about on the Round 7/8 podcast, I like the idea of recruiting either Seb Gotch or Baxter Holt as non-playing auto-emergency loophole opportunities at WKP/BAT.
This round in particular would open up a plethora of opportunities for enhanced scoring, with most people’s auto-emergency option in Cooper Connelly playing in the first game.
Do note Gotch also plays the first game this round so he’s more a play going forward.
Let’s take a look at Round 7.
Embed from Getty ImagesWEATHER WATCH
All weather is courtesy of the Bureau of Meteorology as of Thursday, 10am. All times are in AEDT. Forecasts are subject to change.
THURSDAY
7:15PM: Scorchers v Stars, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Forecast: Sunny, 33 degrees, 0% chance of rain.
Verdict: All clear
FRIDAY
7:15PM: Strikers v Thunder, Adelaide Oval
Forecast: Very hot and sunny, 38 degrees, 0% chance of any rain.
Verdict: All clear
SATURDAY
4PM: Hurricanes v Heat, Blundstone Arena, Hobart
Forecast: Becoming cloudy, 28 degrees, 20% chance of any rain.
Verdict: Looking clear
7:30PM: Sixers v Renegades, Coffs International Stadium, Coffs Harbour
Forecast: Shower or two, 25 degrees, 60% chance of 1-4mm of rain.
Verdict: Showers possible, monitor closely in coming days.
Embed from Getty ImagesLOOKING AHEAD
There are no teams on the double or bye in Round 7.
Round 8 will see the Melbourne Stars playing twice, so think about including at least one of their players in your trades this week to open up options next week.
The highly popular Hurricanes have the bye in Round 8, so you’ll likely need to part ways with one or two of their contingent.
The following week in Round 9, the Scorchers and Strikers are on the double.
If you find you’re not too keen on Stars players, don’t be afraid to look ahead at Scorchers or Strikers players, it may well pay to think ahead.
SUPER PODS
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.
Last week, Saqib Mahmood and Nathan Coulter-Nile delivered mixed results with 57 and 26 points respectively.
George Garton – 5.7% ownership
Garton is still very low-ownership, and with the Strikers on the double in Round 9 I don’t mind the idea of going early on him.
He has a terrific role, batting at six and often bowling his full allotment of overs, or at a minimum three.
The top order of the Strikers aren’t very convincing, so he’s likely to get plenty of opportunities.
He’s already scored 19 twice, narrowly missing out on the all-important strike-rate bonus.
Note the high breakeven, so if not this week, next week could be the play.
Shadab Khan – 0.3% ownership
Khan enters the BBL with serious form behind him, and he won’t be in super POD range for long.
Going early on him could pay massive dividends. If he matches the hype his price has the potential to get out of hand quickly.
Refer to the statistics in the video above to see what he has to offer.
Embed from Getty ImagesBREAKEVENS
Each week we’ll list the top 10 players with both the highest and lowest breakevens, plus a few additional players worth noting, to help track your cash movement.
LOWESTS BREAKEVEN (Money-makers)
Ben McDermott (-93)
Joe Clarke (-76)
Hilton Cartwright (-48)
Sam Harper (-39)
Colin Munro (-36)
Ben Dwarshuis (-30)
Matt Renshaw (-25)
Dan Hughes (-23)
Jason Sangha (-21)
Chris Green (-20)
Hayden Kerr (-19)
Sean Abbott (+10)
Chris Lynn (+15)
Embed from Getty ImagesHIGHEST BREAKEVEN
Josh Philippe (176)
Glenn Maxwell (171)
Tanveer Sangha (142)
Dan Worrall (111)
Mitch Marsh (110)
Moises Henriques (107)
Nic Maddinson (105)
Ashton Agar (104)
Matt Wade (99)
Matt Short (98)
George Garton (95)
Aaron Finch (94)
Rashid Khan (93)
Nathan Ellis (90)
Kane Richardson (87)
Tymal Mills (87)
Embed from Getty ImagesSKIPPERS
With no teams on the double it presents a terrific opportunity to implement the vice-captaincy loophole to get two cracks at getting a skipper right.
However, as mentioned above, it’s not as easy as it sounds this week.
With no teams on the bye, and popular non-playing AE Cooper Connelly playing in game one, many SuperCoaches won’t have a player to use should their vice-captain go off.
Anyway, for anyone that does, your VC should come from the first two games, being the Scorchers v Stars and Strikers v Thunder.
For good reason, Mitch Marsh should be either your VC for anyone with loop opportunity, or just straight captain him if you don’t.
Embed from Getty ImagesHe failed with the bat at Manuka Oval, yet still managed 52 points thanks to two wickets.
With the form he’s in, along with his role, he is far and above the best option at the moment and it’d take a brave SuperCoach to go against him.
If he combines a few wickets with a big score with the bat, it could be anything…
For anyone who can loop, I like Daniel Sams as skipper this week.
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He had a slow start to the tournament form-wise, but showed his SuperCoach class with an average of 56.2, including scores of 99 and 107.
Five of his six scores have been 40+ showing his reliability.
He’s starting to click with ball and bat. With the willow, his last four scores have been 10, 28, 1 and 22.
I think he has a big tonne in him coming up.
Gotch won’t play cricket again. That’s why they got Nevill.
Exactly, making him the perfect man for the auto-emergency and vice-captain loophole.