Rookie Review – Round 13

Rookie Review – Round 13

Last Week Was a Reality Check

Last week was a pretty good reminder that just because rookies exist, doesn’t mean we should get excited about them.

Our top downgrade target Jack Ison was brought in by 47,270 coaches and rewarded them with a score of 42. Charlie Banfield was even more popular, finding his way into 64,021 teams before managing just 36. Noah Roberts-Thomson at least played, but his 33 wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire either.

And spare a thought for those who followed our Round 11 recommendations and brought in Bodie Ryan and Wade Derksen, both of whom were omitted last week.

Welcome to rookie season in June. Where a score of 55 feels like a premium, a negative break even gets everyone excited and surviving team selection is considered a genuine skill.

The problem isn’t necessarily finding rookies anymore. The problem is finding rookies who can actually score and keep their spot in the team.

At this stage of the season most clubs are managing players, experimenting with roles and giving opportunities to youngsters. The result is plenty of rookies appearing on team sheets, but very few giving coaches any confidence.

The good news is there are only two teams on the bye this week, GWS and Richmond, so fielding 18 players shouldn’t be a major issue for most coaches.


The Rookie Landscape

With only GWS and Richmond on the bye this week, most coaches won’t be desperate for numbers.

That means we can focus on finding cash generation rather than simply chasing warm bodies.

Although at this point of the season, the difference between the two is often surprisingly small.

Rookie Targets

 

Cameron Nairn – Buy

Nairn is another Hawk who has been handed an opportunity.

He was Hawthorn’s highest draft selection last year and the club views him as more of a long-term development player than an immediate contributor.

I can easily see him getting a few more games before returning to the VFL for further development.

Like most of Hawthorn’s younger players, he is being used in that half-forward role that occasionally rolls back into defence.

The role isn’t ideal for SuperCoach scoring, but at $118k and with a negative break even we are mainly chasing games and cash generation.

His MID/FWD DPP is also handy and adds a bit of flexibility during the bye rounds, which makes him a perfectly reasonable downgrade option.

Not a perfect rookie, but there are not many perfect rookies around in June.

Tom Anastasopoulos – Buy

Anastasopoulos is a small forward for Port Adelaide, which immediately comes with the usual SuperCoach health warning.

Small forwards and SuperCoach generally mix about as well as pineapple on pizza.

His first two scores of 44 and 37 are probably about what we should expect going forward. I wouldn’t be expecting regular 70s and 80s.

The attraction here is price and opportunity.

Port Adelaide play West Coast this week and if there was ever a game for a small forward to find a couple of goals and a bit of confidence, this might be it.

At under $120k he doesn’t need to become a star. He just needs to stay in the team and make some money.

The concern is job security beyond the next few weeks. Sam Powell-Pepper is expected back in the coming weeks and Port will eventually start getting some of their experienced players back into the side.

That should still give Anastasopoulos enough time to generate some cash, but I wouldn’t be viewing him as a long-term hold.

Then again, if he can make us $100k before that happens, we’ll probably be thanking him for his service and moving him on anyway.

Bailey Macdonald – Buy

Macdonald is probably the pick of the bubble boys this week.

He played six games for Hawthorn last season, although all six were as the starting sub, which explains why his price remains so low.

As a Hawthorn supporter, I actually thought he might have received a senior opportunity much earlier this season, but Perez, Ryan and Dalton all found themselves ahead of him in the pecking order.

That probably tells us something about his JS.

The Hawks have a lot of young players they are trying to expose to AFL football this year and it feels very possible Macdonald gets another couple of games before making way for the next player in line.

At $122k with a BE of -34, we are not exactly looking for perfection.

At this stage of the season, if a rookie is cheap, breathing and not named as the substitute, they are already halfway onto our shopping list.

Bodie Ryan – Watch Teams

Ryan was omitted last week and that immediately puts him into the watch teams category.

The omission probably reminds us that his JS was never as strong as we hoped. I still think he is a reasonable chance to return, particularly given the defensive role he was playing for Hawthorn, but I wouldn’t call the JS strong anymore.

Ryan spent a lot of his last AFL game doing a lockdown role on Josh Rachele, something coaches generally value far more than SuperCoach coaches do.

Unfortunately, SuperCoach doesn’t award points for making coaches happy, otherwise Ryan would have tonned up.

If he is recalled, he remains a perfectly reasonable rookie option.

But after last week’s omission, we need to see his name on the teamsheet first.

Wade Derksen – Watch Teams

Derksen remains one of the more frustrating rookies in the game.

When he has played he has actually looked reasonably good, but getting selected has become the challenge.

The BE remains attractive and if named he immediately comes back into consideration.

But after being omitted last week, we really need to see his name on the teamsheet before making any plans.

For now, he sits firmly in the watch teams category. Which is SuperCoach code for “I want him, but I refuse to get hurt again.”

Andy Moniz-Wakefield – Pass

Moniz-Wakefield is an easy pass.

He left the ground late in the fourth quarter with a leg injury and had only managed around 50% TOG before then.

Even if the injury proves minor, the scoring profile has not been there and the BE has already climbed to 31.

At $145k there are simply better options available. Sometimes the best rookie trade is the one you don’t make.

Charlie Banfield – Buy

The score of 36 last week wasn’t ideal, but the BE remains very attractive.

Then again, compared to some rookie scores we’ve seen recently, 36 almost qualifies as a serviceable contribution.

The concern continues to be the Saints injury list and who returns over the next few weeks.

Still one of the better downgrade options if you don’t own him.

Jack Ison – Buy

The 42 wasn’t what coaches wanted after jumping on board last week, but it wasn’t a disaster either.

His JS still looks good and he should continue generating cash.

Not quite the must-have he looked seven days ago, but still one of the better rookie options available.

Twelve months ago a rookie averaging 40 would have been ignored.

In June 2026 we’re describing them as “must-have cash cows” and convincing ourselves everything is fine.

Richmond Rookies

There are plenty of Richmond rookies coaches will be looking at this week given the Tigers have the bye.

The temptation will be to move them on immediately, but there is another side to the argument.

Particularly if you’ve spent the last month staring at their scores and wondering whether the cash generation is worth the emotional damage.

Richmond players are likely to provide useful coverage through the remaining bye rounds simply because so many of them are still getting games.

The question is whether that coverage is actually worth much.

Last week was a perfect example of the rookie landscape right now. Plenty of rookies played, but very few produced meaningful scores.

A lot of them are effectively providing 30 to 50 point cover and little else.

Which is useful, but only in the same way that a spare tyre is useful. You’re happy it’s there, but you really don’t want to rely on it.

Patrick Retschko – Hold ($293,300 | BE 31)

Still making money and still scoring well enough.

If he was wearing a different jumper and playing for a top-four side, we’d probably all be talking about him a lot more.

There is no rush here.

Sam Cumming – Hold ($243,600 | BE 14)

The low BE means there is still cash generation left.

The BE of 14 automatically makes him one of the more exciting rookies in the competition right now. The bar has become incredibly low.

An easy hold for another week or two.

Mid-season Draft Rookies

One thing to keep in mind over the next few weeks is the AFL Mid-Season Draft.

All 18 draftees will enter SuperCoach at just $99,100 and while I wouldn’t be rushing to trade them in before they’ve played, a few look capable of getting games very quickly.

At this stage of the season, a basement-priced rookie with decent job security can be worth his weight in gold. Not because he is going to score 100, but because he might allow you to finally get that premium you’ve been staring at for three weeks.

Personally, I’d still like to see at least two games before jumping on. We’ve spent most of the season discovering that getting a game and keeping a game are two very different things.

Still, names like Jaxon Artemis, Kye Annand, Oliver Fancou and Marcus Herbert are worth keeping an eye on over the next few weeks.

 

thanks fellas