Final say: Round 11 tactics, trades, skippers

If Round 9 showed signs of life then Round 10 was a full blown Cambrian Explosion (little joke for all my Evolutionary Biologists out there).

A massive (or at least I thought it was massive) 2,526 was enough for 10,000th spot in the round rankings, and resulted in a nice little 4,000 spot boost in my overall ranking up to 14,000th. 

It’s been a bit of a weird situation this season, knowing that every single 50/50 call I make is going to go the wrong way. Some (read: Niko) would say this is me getting my just desserts after hitting every single call last year, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less! 

Rookies on the field continue to hurt my scoring ceiling. Last week it was Conor McKenna (53) and Harry Sharp (47) pulling me downwards. Priority number 1 has to be getting these guys off the field, although an injury to Clayton is throwing a spanner in those works…

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The Round 10 Positives

Sam Docherty

Another strong week for Doch, moving his three-round average up to 113.3 after entering my team a fortnight ago. 

The Carlton stalwart played as a majority half-back with occasional stints in the midfield, which is the perfect situation for him from a SuperCoach perspective. I’m firmly of the belief that (despite some indifferent scoring at the start of this season) Doch can be one of the top 3 defenders by the end of the year.

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Hawthorn Rooks

In a marvellous turn of events, it appears we’ve unearthed two mid-season SuperCoach cash cow extraordinaires in the form of Seamus Mitchell and Josh Weddle!

SMitchell has been taking kick-ins over the last two weeks, resulting in a two-round average of 78 and some assured cash-gen for at least the next fortnight.

Weddle has been the true surprise though, backing up his serviceable 65 last week with a monstrous 114 against the worst team in AFL history, the Eagles. 28 possessions, 7 marks and 2 goals is nothing to sniff at against any opposition, though, which makes the option of being able to loop Weddle on at D6 an extremely attractive one moving forward.

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Big Dog Mids

It’s just lovely seeing the game’s best mids do their thing.

Massive scores from the likes of Zach Merrett (162), Josh Dunkley (153), Rory Laird (145), Jack Steele (135) and Jack Macrae (145) were the backbone of a monstrous week across the board, with many scores cross the 2,600 mark and one team even touching a mythical 2,900.

Seeing big scores is why we love SuperCoach!

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The Round 10 Negatives

Zac Butters

Boy, is this kid something special.

Niko remarked in our Contributors chat that Butters’ performance on Friday night reminded him of “peak GAJ” and it’s hard to argue. 41 touches, 6 marks, 3 tackles and 2.1, at 78% disposal efficiency, in a torrential storm, is as good as it gets.

When you enjoy watching a guy this much, and don’t have him in your side, it creates a conflicting internal environment. I may have to change that this week…

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Clarry

I can’t tell you how reassuring it is to own Oliver. The lack of stress involved in watching him put up 120+ scores week-on-week is just.. *chef’s kiss*

Whatever this hamstring injury entails is a real doozy. There’s a distinct lack of information coming out from the Demons, which concerns me. I think Oliver needs to be traded, but he’s also going to need to be traded back in at some stage if you’re serious about making a late-season charge.

Not an ideal situation.

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Trades

Luke Pedlar -> George Wardlaw

Clayton Oliver -> Tom Stewart (via Will Day DPP)

Kade Chandler -> Lachie Neale

The one benefit of Clayton Oliver’s injury is that it gives you the pick of the bunch when it comes to mids.

I like three options here; Christian Petracca, Lachie Neale or Andrew Brayshaw. It sounds a bit strange given Brayshaw and Neale are only $11k different in price, but in the end for me this decision came down to a lack of funds.

Doing the trades above (which I’m pretty sold on) leaves me with just $3k in the bank, so that $11k difference is big enough to play a role. Neale hasn’t quite had the season we’ve come to expect from him, but an average of 109 and two straight tons is promising. He’s too good of a player to not average 110+ from here.

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Tom Stewart is a straight-up bye play. His Rd 13 bye is invaluable, which makes him just slightly more of an enticing option for me than James Sicily. 

I’m going early on Wardlaw, but loved what I saw from him last week. He is going to be a seriously good AFL player, so the only worry here is injury / rest. Given the circumstances (my ranking, general rookie carnage, Wardlaw’s high ceiling) I’m happy to go early here.

Chaos is a ladder!!

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Eddie’s Captains

Can only start with one man – Errol Gulden’s remarkable preseason performance, where he scored 188 points against Carlton, was what peaked the interest of many coaches for this season. Guess who the Swans play this weekend! Friday night is the perfect time to put the VC on Errol.

Jack Steele has had an injury-riddled season but delivered a superhuman effort against the Giants last week, amassing 135 points. The Hawks have a tendency to surrender points to midfielders, which makes him an enticing option.

Rowan Marshall has a five-round average of 122.2 points, so is absolutely worth a look, but the Hawks have an uncanny ability to limit opposition rucks. Even TEnglish didn’t ton up against them. I would probably avoid.

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Christian Petracca assumes the role of the Dees’ main man in the midfield, especially with Clarry likely to miss the next few rounds. Facing a Dockers team that tends to leak points to mids, Trac stands out as one of the premier VC options for the week.

Tom Green has a huge opportunity against Geelong, with the Cats battling with midfield injuries. Marcus Bontempelli continues to impress week after week, and his match against the Suns should provide ample scoring opportunities. Zach Merrett appears also a safe choice despite the Eagles not minding a tag every now and then.

Nick Daicos is going to destroy North. Jordan Dawson’s recent form might be subdued, but his return to the Oval, where he averages 131 points this season, makes him an intriguing choice.

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Rory Laird also provides a reliable option at home. Lachie Neale has destroyed the Crom recently and loves playing in Adelaide. Lastly, Josh Dunkley is also worth a look in that game.

Vice Captains

1. Errol Gulden
2. Christian Petracca
3. Jack Steele

Captains

1. Rory Laird
2. Marcus Bontempelli
3. Zach Merrett