MJ’s Final Picks

With SC finals now upon us, ‘The Fallen Premiums’ articles that I’ve been bringing since the byes are no longer as relevant when making your final few trades, so they’ve done their dash for the year. In what will be my last post for 2012, I’ll be drawing on Motts’ handy ‘Finals Runs’ article, brought to us mid-July: http://supercoachtalk.com/finals-runs/

It was established that Adelaide, St.Kilda, Geelong, and North Melbourne had the best fixtures in SC finals, which should translate into good SC point scoring potential. With a good final 4 games, and solid recent form, there are plenty of options from these teams you should be considering for your final all-important season defining trades.

 

Adelaide Fremantle (H), Brisbane (A), Melbourne (A), Gold Coast (H)

‘A+  Four teams from outside the 8, Freo at home, and a GC GF’

(MID/FWD) Patrick Dangerfield $564,700; 3 Rd Ave 132.67, BE 91. In ridiculously good form at the moment after a relatively lean patch. One of the most selected players in the game, so if you don’t have him you’d be worried heading into finals, as you’d be lucky if your opponents don’t have him.

(MID) Rory Sloane $526,500; 3 Rd Ave 114.67, BE 124. Talked him up massively over the preseason, only to restrict myself to a pure guns ‘n’ rookies strategy, meaning the Sloane Ranger missed out. He could be the POD that gets you over the line in a few finals.

(RUC) Sam Jacobs $548,600; 3 Rd Ave 112.33, BE 143. Big Sauce has been tainted as the All-Australian ruckman and should dominate weaker opposition teams in Brisbane, Melbourne and Gold Coast.

(MID) Scott Thompson $511,700; 3 Rd Ave 92.00, BE 134. Don’t rule out this champion despite his recent drop off in scoring. Scored 147 against the Suns in Rd1, which would be perfect for your GF if he could do it again in Rd 23.

(FWD) Taylor Walker $449,100; 3 Rd Ave 91.67, BE 105. His comeback game from suspension was nothing special with a 39 down in Geelong, but scored the match winning goal against Essendon for a 135 last week. Has hit the 100 in 8 of 13 games played this season, including games against Fremantle and GC.

 

St Kilda Melbourne (H), Geelong (A), GWS (H), Carlton (A)

‘A  4 games in-state, 3 at ES, and Melbourne & GWS thrown in – great run’

(MID) Lenny Hayes $537,400; 3 Rd Ave 114.67, BE 92. In the last 6 games Lenny’s averaged over 118! If you want a guy in fantastic form, look no further.

(MID) Nick Dal Santo $471,100; 3 Rd Ave 107.33, BE 42. Been in my side since midseason and it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but NDS is hitting his straps at the business end of the season. 137 and 112 in his last two bode well for his SC finals campaign. Still very affordable at $471k.

(MID) Leigh Montagna $499,000; 3 Rd Ave 107.00, BE 79. Only 1.44% of coaches are enjoying his good form. You can be sure he’d be a POD for your final games, but don’t expect him to go massive as his top score this year is 123.

(RUC) Ben McEvoy $521,500; 3 Rd Ave 104.67, BE 100. A very solid ruck option smashing out a 126 against Collingwood on the weekend. Scored 117 and 106 against GC and Melbourne respectively earlier on in the year, when he wasn’t in great form, so you’d expect him to improve those numbers in the next few weeks.

(DEF/MID) Brendan Goddard $445,800; 3 Rd Ave 102.00, BE 27. Back to his best after 127 and 122 in his last two games. Seriously, just get him in if you’re one of the few without him. Still at a ripper price.

(DEF) Sam Fisher $387,900; 3 Rd Ave 97.67, BE 39. Has delivered for all those who picked him up at his low point a few weeks ago, with 92, 97 and 104 in his last 3. It must be noted that the 104 against the Pies may be inflated due a close finish in the last quarter, as Sammy was only on 30-odd at 3QTR time. Nevertheless he’s still a great buy at the affordable price of less than $400k.

 

Geelong West Coast (A), St Kilda (H), Dogs (H), Sydney (H)

‘A  The first game is a shocker but their last 3 at home including the PF & GF at Kardinia Park’

(FWD) Tom Hawkins $522,200; 3 Rd Ave 140.33, BE 42. We all know how good his form is. Very expensive now at over $500k, but if you think he can maintain his current form he definitely justifies selection with 139, 135 and 147 in his last 3.

(MID) Joel Selwood $550,300; 3 Rd Ave 113.67, BE 84. Loves playing at Simonds Stadium. The stats back up his love for the Cattery, as he has hit the 100 in every one of his last 15 games there, so you can expect nothing less in his final two games. A dead set bargain at $550k.

(FWD/MID) Paul Chapman $468,800, 3 Rd Ave 93.67, BE 82. Not a massive 3 round average, but he’s bottomed out at $468k and has scored 100s in his last 2 games. FWD/MID flexibility could come in handy when trades are in short supply as well.

(DEF) Corey Enright $464,200; 3 Rd Ave 87.00, BE 115. A sneaky defensive pick, Enright has hit the 100 in his last 8 games down at Kardinia Park, so you should be able to rely on him amongst the unpredictability of defenders this season.

(FWD) Steve Johnson $473,600; 3 Rd Ave 82.00, BE 184. Take out the match where he was ejected from the game after 5 seconds and his 3 Rd average jumps to 130.33! Has scored over 150 on two occasions at Simonds stadium this season and scored the famous 199 against Melbourne there last year, so he may just be the difference for your side in the final 2 rounds.

 

North Melbourne Essendon (A), Collingwood (A), Fremantle (H), GWS (A)

‘A  Even tho the 1st 2 weeks are tough they’re at ES which the Roos love and a GWS GF’

(FWD/MID) Brent Harvey $495,500; 3 Rd Ave 120.67, BE 54. Proved the doubters wrong when I brought him in just before the byes at a mere $402k. Boomer just keeps on keeping on. Ripped the GWS a new one last time out with a 137 in Rd2, and faces them again in the SC GF.

(MID) Andrew Swallow $555,000; 3 Rd Ave 114.67, BE 93. The Kangaroos captain is in pretty good form with 3 130+ scores in his last 6 games. In only 5.36% of teams so could be an effective POD.

(FWD) Drew Petrie $550,500; 3 Rd Ave 111.67, BE 168. 168 and 161 in rounds 16 & 17 demonstrate his point scoring capacity. Challenging for the Coleman medal, you can bet he’ll be out to score plenty of goals in the final few rounds and could very well claim it in Rd23 with a massive game against GWS.

(RUC) Todd Goldstein $501,200; 3 Rd Ave 106.33, BE 88. His two biggest games this year have been at Etihad (153 and 142), where the Roos play their next three games. A very solid POD ruck option, and McIntosh’s season ending surgery may just validate his inclusion to your side.

 

If on the odd chance you’ve enjoyed browsing through my Fallen Premium articles this season and feel the need to give something back in return, consider sponsoring me for the Marathon I’ll be running on October 14 to raise valuable funds for kids with Cerebral Palsy. http://melbournemarathon2012.gofundraise.com.au/page/MarkJeffery

Thankyou, and all the best for your finals campaign, whether it be slugging it out for ultimate bragging rights against the top 8, or making up the numbers in the ’nuffie’ finals!

Tagged as: final, finals, MJ, picks