In this ten-part series we’ll try to find you that elusive breakout contender, the underpriced and undervalued gem who could decide your Supercoach season’s fate. Some basic criteria (which are a little flexible):
- Player is entering their second, third or fourth season in the league,
- Starting price somewhere between $350K and $500K, and
- Averaged somewhere between 70 to 90 ppg the previous season.
First up is a Crows defender with so much upside….
Tom DOEDEE (ADE)
2021 Starting Price: $457 900 defender
Scoring History (most recent first): 85.2 (9 games), 56.0 (1), 82.2 (20)
Why he will BREAKOUT this year: Taken at pick 17 in the 2015 national draft, Doedee spent his first two years at the Crows developing his game in the SANFL before bursting into the AFL in 2018. The athletic defender finished runner-up to Jaidyn Stephenson in the Rising Star that year, with his strength in one-on-one contests and sound positional play the highlights. After missing almost all of the 2019 season rehabilitating from a knee injury, Doedee returned last year in impressive fashion and averaged 85 from nine games, which included five tons. Now 23 years of age and touted as a future club captain, Doedee is primed to move into the realm of the league’s premium defenders in 2021.
Why he won’t: That 2019 season we mentioned earlier? As you may recall, Tom snapped his ACL in the opening game of the season against the Hawks and went through the standard gruelling routine of reconstruction and rehab. While he managed those nine games in his comeback season, he also missed multiple games due to a recurrent hamstring injury that was related to his previous surgery. There’s also the question of role affecting his scoring, as occasionally he will have to play a lockdown role and turn out the odd sub-50 point bomb as a result (three times in 2020).
VERDICT: I can see Doo-day averaging close to 90 this season, which is consistent with his starting price tag. But how many games will he play? More importantly, how many will he miss?
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Great write-up, Chillo. Had a peak at the rest of the Breakout City series, looks fantastic.
As for Doedee, think he’ll comfortably do something in the 90s. Just think at that price and given his injury history it’s better to drum up another 100k and grab Stewart, Laird, etc.