POD Hunter: Low ownership picks to set you apart, Rd 9

As we grow further into the season, each week becomes continuously more important to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Some of you may need to make a high risk/high reward decision, and especially nearing the byes, a gun POD can be the difference from top 10,000 to top 1,000 spot.

Let’s have a look at two of my favourite PODs from each line, and analyse their price, three round average, and upcoming fixtures.

Sign up to SC Playbook for stacks of extra premium articles across the AFL season, including access to our contributor inclusive Whatsapp group where your SuperCoach dilemmas can be answered minutes before kick off!

Embed from Getty Images

Defence:

Nick Vlastuin ($503,300, 121, 5.6%)

Beginning his year in round 5 due to a pre-season injury, Vlastuin took off like a house on fire in his new role, scoring 98, 155, and then 110 in his first three games.

He missed last week due to illness, but should be back this week to face the Hawks, and then he’ll play Essendon the week after who have let in an absolute truckload of points to opposing defenders: Sicily (132), Dale (113), Crisp (103), Pendlebury (109), Scrimshaw (109), and even Daniel (108) to name a few.

He’s got a breakeven of just 29, so he should make a lot of cash for you in the meantime.

Isaac Cumming ($554,500, 116.7, 0.7%)

Without a doubt, one of my top trade targets is this bloke. As a result of Whitfield’s move to the forward line, Cumming has fully taken on the role of main distributor off half-back, and his scoring is reflecting that role change in a significant way.

Since Whitfield’s exclusion from the GWS defence, Cumming has scored 135 and 128 against the Crows and Cats respectively.

Even before that, he put up 127 vs the Tigers, 94 vs the Suns, 119 vs the Dockers, and 87 vs the Saints.

Specifically, in the next three games, he plays the Blues, the Eagles, and the Lions.

Surprisingly, defenders loveeee playing against Carlton: Dawson (134), McDonald (98), and Ryan (109) have all scored well in the last three weeks.

Quite unsurprisingly, the Eagles absolutely leak SuperCoach points to defenders: Short (152), Vlastuin (110), Zorko (123), Rich (117), Houston (124), and Rioli (100) all dominated the Eagles’ defence.

I genuinely think Cumming could score 150+ against them in a couple weeks’ time.

Embed from Getty Images

Midfield:

Hugh McCluggage ($575,800, 125, 1.6%)

I hadn’t even realised McCluggage was SuperCoach relevant until I looked at his stats.

Not only is he averaging 108.9 for the year, but in his last four games he’s scored 129, 113, 108, and 154.

He’s got a dream run of games coming up, including the Crows and Hawks in the next two weeks who both give up a lot of points to midfielders, including: Cripps (151), Oliver (119), Mills (214), Parish (139), Dunkley (142), Kelly (153), and Liberatore (137).

Honestly, the list goes on… And it’s actually quite remarkable how many points these two teams give up.

Especially with Neale in the team (and susceptible to a tag), McCluggage could be freed up to score BIG in the next two weeks.

Rory Laird ($629,500, 120.7, 1.1%)

Laird needs no introduction… He’s a SuperCoach gun and is as consistent as they come.

He’s averaging 120.7 in his last three, and 119.7 for the season, and has only scored under 120 twice this year; once was a 93 in his first game back from a broken hand, and the other was a 116… He is an excellent option.

Embed from Getty Images

Rucks:

Sean Darcy ($595,600, 131, 2.3%)

Coming off a MASSIVE 178 against the Roos, Sean Darcy has completely turned his season around with scores of 121, 94, and 178 in his last three games.

Let’s not forget that this is a guy who averaged 118 last year… In the next two weeks, he’ll come face to face with Jarrod Witts and Darcy Cameron (who has been giving up a lot of hit-outs to opposing ruckman: Witts (136) and Nankervis (121) have taken advantage of the inexperienced ruckman, and Darcy will do the same.

Todd Goldstein ($456,500, 111.7, 1.3%)

In the blink of an eye, Goldy has wound back the clock to his prime days and has scored 125 and 142 in his last two games.

The injury to Tristan Xerri has allowed him to come back in and play more minutes in the ruck, and this is working wonders for his scoring.

Coming up this week, he plays Port who have the four gamer, Sam Hayes, as their #1.

It’s fair to assume that Goldy will absolutely bully him around the oval all day, and he should absolutely continue his vintage form.

Embed from Getty Images

Forwards:

Tom J. Lynch ($491,700, 131.7, 1%)

Look, I definitely would never normally encourage picking up a key forward, but the man is on an absolute HEATER right now!

He’s scored 13 goals in his last two games, accumulating 167 and 184 points respectively.

The reason why I’ve got him on the list, is that in his next four games, he plays some pretty average defensive teams: Hawthorn, Essendon, and Port.

Last week, Peter Wright scored six goals against the Hawks, Gunston scored 2.4 against the Bombers, and Naughton scored 4.2 against the Power.

It’s pretty safe to assume that Lynch is a better forward than all those blokes, and thus, who should go absolutely ballistic against these teams.

If Two-Metre-Peter can kick six against the Hawks, Lynch can genuinely kick 12.

Pat and George from Mortgage Choice SCW are experts in all types of loans, so if you’re looking to purchase your first home or chase the lowest refinance rate, call on (02) 9521 1611, mention ‘SC Playbook’ for your FREE tailored expert advice session!

Tom Liberatore ($542,700, 110.3, 1.4%)  

Libba has been incredibly inconsistent this year which has been incredibly annoying for the small amount of his owners.

He is still yet to score two 100’s in a row, but when he does ton up, he tons up well. His four 100+ scores this year have been 131, 115, 137, and 107; while his four scores below 100 have been 56, 78, 83, and 87 – which honestly isn’t toooo bad.

He does, however, have a super enticing few fixtures coming up, including Collingwood, Gold Coast, and West Coast that he should definitely score large in.

In the last three weeks, the Pies have let Neale (117), McCluggage (129), Merrett (123), and Parish (133) all dominate.

Gold Coast managed to restrict Neale (108), and Mills (60), but Libba won’t cop the tag like those two.

With Neale and Mills tagged out of the game, it allowed McCluggage (113) and Warner (105) to roam free, and Libba should do the same while Macrae or Bailey Smith most likely get tagged.

I don’t really need to re-iterate how many points the Eagles have conceded to opposition midfielders, but Libba will 1000% dominate against them.