Final word: Skippers, weather watch, super PODs Rd 9

The Supercoach Bash season has arrived at its finale.

The new champion will be crowned on Wednesday night as round 9 concludes.

Good luck to all those in the hunt.

The Cooma Stallions have had a very disappointing year, by far our worst in a long time.

We’re sitting in 4,900^th overall after starting on the back foot from early in the season with a few underwhelming Stars and Renegades purchases who failed to fire in the first few rounds.

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It stunted any cash growth and had the squad playing catch up from the get go.

With a shortened season, there was far too much work to do in too little time.

Not to worry, a down season will happen from time to time.

It’s been a ball of fun as always and a reminder to take the bad with the good because Supercoach is full of highs and lows.

Thanks to all who have supported SC Playbook for yet another great season.

Let’s take a look at the Final Word for Round 9.

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Weather Watch

All weather is courtesy of the Bureau of Meteorology as of Sunday, 2PM. All times are in AEDT. Forecasts are subject to change.

Sunday

7:15PM: Thunders v Strikers, Manuka Oval, Canberra

Forecast: Shower or two, 23 degrees, 60% chance of 0-3mm of rain.

Verdict: Potential showers may threaten the fixture, monitor closely in the hours leading into the game.

Monday

7:15PM: Stars v Hurricanes, MCG, Melbourne

Forecast: Mostly sunny, 28 degrees, 20% chance of any rain.

Verdict: All clear

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Tuesday

7:40PM: Scorchers v Sixers, Optus Stadium, Perth

Forecast: Mostly sunny, 39 degrees, 20% chance of any rain. The chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon and evening.

Verdict: Likely clear, monitor any thunderstorm activity on Tuesday night.

Wednesday

7:15PM: Thunder v Renegades, Sydney Showground Stadium

Forecast: Showers, 29 degrees, 80% chance of 0-10mm of rain. The chance of a thunderstorm.

Verdict: Concerning considering the first Thunder game is also under threat of rain. Being the last game of the round we’re likely going to have to cross fingers and hope it stays clear.

Looking ahead

There’s nothing to look ahead to being the final round, but we can assess the current round.

The Sydney Thunder are on the double, so load up on the men in green.

The Brisbane Heat are on the bye, making their players valuable for loopholing in round 8. So it’s worthwhile holding one or two pending how your side is set up.

The Strikers, Stars and Hurricanes play the opening two games alongside the Thunder, so they’re the obvious loophole options.

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Super PODs

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.

Generally speaking I’ll look to single game week players, with doubles upcoming, as the low-ownership double game round players on that given week tend to sky-rocket out of super POD territory once the round begins and trades are locked in.

Last week, Sean Abbott and Akeal Hosein both delivered with 55 points and 74 points respectively.

Both players remain great picks this week, especially with Hosein on the unpredictable Sydney Showground deck.

Adam Zampa – 9.2% ownership (top 10% overall rank)

Zampa isn’t quite in super POD range, but he’s still very low ownership.

Like Hosein, Zampa could do a tonne of damage on the Sydney Showground deck if it offers spinners as much as it has in recent games.

He’s not had the greatest tournament by his lofty standards, but there’s no reason why he can’t finish with a bang.

Hayden Kerr – 2.2% ownership (top 10% overall rank)

A strong Supercoach player last season, Kerr hasn’t had much opportunity in BBL13 due to the Sixers depth.

He’s back in the side due to the injury to Tom Curran, batting at number seven and bowling his overs.

He impressed with 2/25 last game and has plenty of upside with his current role.

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Skippers

I’ve tried to find a way to go against Daniel Sams who will be extremely popular in captaincy conversations on the double for the Thunder, but I can’t find any reason to do so.

He comfortably has the best role in the team, batting at number six and bowling death overs.

There’s no other player I can really justify putting the vice-captaincy on.

To not loop him in as skipper would require a very low score, probably sub 20 to even think about going for another skipper.

If he does go low, there are a number of great captaincy options on single game weeks.

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Once again Glenn Maxwell is an obvious choice playing at the MCG, however he did just bowl the one over in the last fixture.

As a result, I actually think Aaron Hardie is the pick while batting at number three and bowling regularly again.

The injury to Jhye Richardson saw Hardie bowl four overs last game, including at the death, it’s a remarkable role for a player of his ability.