So, what a crazy round! Maybe the byes aren’t quite over after all! I’m sure some of you have at least some combination of Preuss, English and Butters. Most of you will need to trade at least one of these guys to avoid a donut. Let’s see if I can find you a Rare Gem or two to help you on your way.
Legend: Name (Club, Price, 3 Rd avg, Ownership %)
DEFENDERS:
Christian Salem (MELB, $467 400, 64, 0.4%) Once again Abs has trumped me with this one in Fallen Premiums this week. Come on, Abs, leave the PODs to me, mate! I digress…and will keep this short. Salem is cheap and if you need a D6, and don’t trust Whitfield, he could be your man. I did check to see if his scores had been inflated by kick-ins and was surprised to find he only took two. Hibberd took the majority with May missing. Salem’s scoring stream seems pretty solid and with a Gawn-less Melbourne over the next month, this should only improve with more ball in defence expected. Salem could be just the man to help you make a finals run this year.
MIDFIELDERS:
Dylan Shiel (ESS, $445 400, 108.7, 2.0%) Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking: Shiel is a trap, yada yada yada. Well, maybe you’re right? Still Dylan has been great the last few weeks and outscored the more fancied Merrett by a handsome margin, for a fraction of the price. Shiel is back playing purely midfield, and the Bombers looked better for it. Essendon have looked very one paced at times and Shiel at least brings some breakaway speed to their midfield rotations. The fact he can find a goal or two every week only adds to his appeal. If your really struggling for cash and need a M8-9, Shiel should at least average you ~100 with some upside if the Bombers can string a few more wins together. That’s really is a bargain at his current price. His very low BE of 20 means he won’t be this cheap for long, so it’s really now or never if you want to take the risk.
RUCKS:
Todd Goldstein (NTH, RUC/FWD, $532 900, 108.3, 3.8%) A few of you may have noticed I’m in the market for a Ruck this week, as I posted in Trade Talk. My DPP ruck line of English and Cameron and the demise of Teakle early means my plans to get Bont is on hold for now. My initial thought was Darcy. As much as I love the big man, a plethora of red flags have unfortunately turned me away at this stage: huge BE, sharing duties with Meek, injuries and my lack of trades make it very hard to go there. Next was ROB, a big man with a huge heart, I’m just not sure he’s the best man to run out the rest of the season. Looking back to last year, he tailed off quite badly so he’s a pass. Big O is cheap, but one tall going down for Brisbane and he’s sharing with Fort again. So It looks like Goldy is my man! From Round 15 onward last year he scored: 139, 120, 126, 113, 122, 77, 115, 92 and 79 to finish the season. True, he was solo rucking, but if he can get even close to those numbers this year he’s a bargain. DPP only helps to sweeten the deal. Who’s with me on the Goldy train ?
FORWARDS:
Jack Graham (RICH, $489.000, 108.0, 0.7% ) So you’re low on cash and need a Butters replacement ? Maybe Heeney’s on your “never again” list and you want to try something different ? Have I got an idea for you. Enter Jack Graham. An “aerobic beast”, this guy really is a mega POD only in 1164 sides. I had planned to mention him last week but I thought I’d wait a week too make sure the role was still there. Jack seems to have the Kane Lambert role, he starts as a high half forward, then comes up to stoppages when Dusty rolls forward. He has put up massive tackle numbers the last few weeks and seems to get involved in scoring chains as well. With the Tigers in good form, and decent run home, maybe Jack could be worth a shout in your final team.
Well that’s it for another Rare Gems. I’m coming to Melbourne to watch the Freo-Blues match this weekend so let me know if there’s any great spots near the city (I’m in Little Collins Street) to grab a steak and a beer and watch the Friday night game.
Thanks for reading .
Cheers FT.
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Love the Jack Graham Love.
Had a interrupted preseason but rounding into fitness and form.
Nice on FT. Graham a seriously interesting one! Won’t be going there unless it gets seriously dire but don’t mind it at all!!
Garden State Hotel and Beer Deluxe Fed Square some decent options for ya steak and pint too
Thanks Nelson will check them out. cheers.
Have had Goldy for a while and enjoying it! But with Xerri improving his fitness and getting more time on the ball it’s a risky option – potential for high reward
Try the The Crafty Squire – good food
Cheers Matt.
Will check out the Crafty Squire sounds great.
I’m here at the crafty squire. Foods great.
Maybe crazy POD but how about Peter Wright.
Only 330k R/F has a high ceiling. Down 100k from his starting price and Essendon seems to be playing faster which will result in more opportunities.
Has west coast this week and a low break even….
JSG
Two meter Peter is cheap. I just don’t have the trades to take the risk atm.
I think he could make a great D7/R3 and use him for English cover if you have the cash.
I think I’ve narrowed down to Goldy or Greene, but Goldy is so tempting considering ruck coverage. If it was purely a scoring-based decision, who gets more points from here on in?
I would just feel much safer with Goldie.
Greene has that ceiling but you never know when he’s going to do something stupid. Goldie all day for me.
Look i love Goldy more than the average person, it’s bordering on man crush territory if it’s not already. BUT, i feel there’s a slightly cheaper, slightly more POD, also DPP player to target in the rucks.
Blicavs is $525,900, has a 3 rd avg of 100 and a 5 rd avg of 101 and is in only 2% of teams. He’s coming in at R2 for me with the theory that if a defender goes down later in the season i’ll swap him to defence and potentially upgrade my ruck spot to a discounted Gawn or Grundy on the return from injury.
Hey Roo bloke.
I have had a few discussions about Blicavs in the trade talk thread. I just don’t have the trades to get in another D/R player to open up his DPP swing. It seems a bit of a waste having a player like him that can’t cover at least both lines.
One of the reasons I like Goldie is at least he can cover forward as well. The other unknown with Blic is if the Cats give Ceglar a run anytime soon. There just a few too many unknowns for me to take that risk at this stage.
Best of luck if you go down that road .
Also just want to throw out the ultimate hail mary POD for discussion. Like you i haven’t been incredibly across the Eagles this season. I knew this guy was struggling but hadn’t realised how much he’d fallen.
I am not bringing this guy in BUT i feel he’s worthy of discussion at the very least.
Josh J Kennedy has somehow fallen to $203,300 and is currently in only 783 teams! Prior to the bye his scores ranged from a season low of 18 to a season high of only 62. Last week in the first game post bye he scored an improving 73 and now has a BE of 19. He’s basically an expensive rookie.
If you’re SUPER ballsy and you’ve maybe been lucky with trades thus far he could be an astute F7 pick up cause he’s always capable of that one big score.
Would have to be super ballsy to pick JJK! But do think there will be some great pickups from the eagles in the next few weeks. They’re getting key players back, have had a refresher / reset with the bye and are coming from a low base. Don’t think they’ll be the easybeats in the second half of the season they have been so far, which might translate to SC.
Nic Nat apparently a chance this week and if not will be next. Also requires a large sack but may solve some ruck dilemmas!
Yeo looks good off half back and if he gets going could be a sneaky value pick – just wait for him to bottom out in price in a week or two.
On JJK ..
He is super cheap but the Eagles Forward line has been a very hard place to score this year. Maybe Nic Nat back may help create a bit more ball forward for WC.
I think I’d rather just save the trade for injuries at this stage.
Salem doesn’t stay on the field long enough. Most defenders averages 100mins there.
Salem averages 71mins in 2 games?
Presti
Nice pick up, but..
He’s coming back after a long lay off. Most players ease back in after missing such a big chunk of the season. I see it as a positive that he has still scored quite well from limited time on ground. I’m sure he will start to increase his TOG as his fitness improves. I still see him as a solid pick at his current price.
I agree. Melb have hardest games and probably have lot of defence actions. Amma Salem it up!