Rare Gems – Round 6

Written by The Salamander on April 25 2019

They say if you can’t be a good example, you should be a horrible warning. Certainly, these are words I like to live by. Finding good rare gems has been a bit tricky this week; most of the good ones are no longer rare, and the bulk of the ones that are still rare have by now been shown to be fit only for costume jewellery. So, I’ve taken a slightly different tack this week: instead of recommending players, I’m going to warn you off them. These are players who have been going well, but are unlikely to keep it up. Some of you may be tempted to bring these players in as PODs. Don’t. And if you do, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

 

Player Name (Club, Price, Ownership, Average)

DEFENDERS

Brad Sheppard (WCE, $469,500, 0.6 %, 99.6)
Turns 28 this year, and has never averaged more than 77 for a season. Not only that, he’s also only averaged over 70 twice. You have been warned!

Dane Rampe (SYD, $463,800, 1.3 %, 93.4)
Averaged mid-80s in 2015/16; has averaged mid-to-high 70s since. At nearly 29, a breakout season seems unlikely. If you do pick him, make sure you’re doing it for the moustache and not the points.

MIDFIELDERS

Ricky Henderson (HAW, $544,800, 0.6 %, 115.6)
Where to begin? He turns 31 this year, and has never averaged more than 85, and that was back in 2013. Since then? Ricky Henderson season averages, 2014-18: 60, 77, 77, 77, 82. He’s also had streaks like his current one before: in 2013, from rounds 14 through 18 he had scores of 101, 85, 106, 160, and 110. That was the year he averaged 85. Just don’t do it.

Ben Cunnington (NMFC, $562,100, 1.3 %, 112.2)
Official Admiral Ackbar™ “it’s a trap!” checklist: Old? Yep, he turns 28 this year. Never been any good at SuperCoach before? Again, yep: he’s averaged 90-something every year bar one since 2013. And the year he didn’t, he averaged 81. Had streaks like this before? Yep, most years.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s a trap.

RUCKS

Matthew Kreuzer (CAR, $432,900, 0.5 %, 106.0)
His 106 average may be inflated by him having only played one game for the season, but having been the no. 1 SuperCoach ruck two years ago, this is one pick that actually has a vague chance of working out. However, he’s missed a whopping 53 games (out of a possible 138) through injury over the last six-and-a-bit years. And that includes two seasons in which he managed 21 games! If you take those two seasons out, he’s missed 53 percent of his possible games during that time. He’s also only ever averaged 100+ for one season (and 90+ for a further two). Personally, I don’t like those odds.

FORWARDS

Michael Walters (MID) (FRE, $513,000, 3.0 %, 104.2)
Has missed 9 games in the last two years, and, at 28, has never managed a 90+ average for a season. Could he be getting some of Lachie Neale’s points? Possibly. Is he likely to end up being worth it? No.

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (ESS, $430,100, 1.8 %, 80.0)
With a three-round average of 110, some people on this site have seriously discussed bringing him in. At 26, he’s just young enough to have a breakout year, but given that he’s been playing in a forward pocket all year, it’s unrealistic to expect this sort of scoring to continue – it’s just not a SuperCoach-friendly role, unless you can kick lots of goals every week. For the last three weeks, he’s done just that: 4 goals for 104, 7 goals for 143, and 2 goals for 82. Over the first two weeks of the season, he kicked 0 goals for scores of 43 and 28. Finally, just for reference, he’s averaged 68, 74, and 72 across his career to date. You can do better, people.

 

Do you have any of these players in your team? Convince everybody it’s a good idea in the comments below!

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11 thoughts on “Rare Gems – Round 6”

        1. Steele has already been featured this year, Houli and JJ have a small sample size (3 and 2 games, respectively), and Suckling is injured. They could all potentially work their way in over the coming weeks and months, though.

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    1. Hooker: small sample size (2 games), and hasn’t posted a premium average since 2015. I need to see a bit more before endorsing him.
      SPS: shortlisted; will appear in a future edition if he can keep averaging 90+.

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