Good afternoon everyone! Despite my best efforts to locate them, traditional Fallen Premiums are extremely difficult to find this year. A combination of a tricky bye structure and distinct lack of “rebounding” players means I’ve had to look a bit further afield to find some value this week. I’ve picked out a few gems who I consider to be under-priced and deserve your consideration for that final upgrade based on value for money. Think I’ve missed someone? Let me know in the comments!
DEFENDERS
Brad SHEPPARD (WCE), $439 100 (-$16.6K), avg 91, BE 49 – He’s been the cornerstone of my defence in the SCT Draft League all season, and now I’m sitting here thinking I could’ve done a lot worse than picking him up in Classic as well! The perpetually under-rated Eagles defender has once again barely put a foot wrong this season, playing every game and topping triple digits in 5 games, including the past two. The one thing stopping him from becoming a genuine elite Supercoach scorer has ironically been the same thing that makes him such a good player – his versatility means he often sacrifices the SC-friendly rebounding role for a more accountable one on an opposition forward. The Eagles are truly flying high at the moment though, so Sheppard is more than worthy of your consideration for that final upgrade in your defence.
Steven MAY (MEL), $432 100 (-$47.9K), avg 88, BE 36 – Gross, Chillo! Why are you suggesting trading in key defenders at this time of year? Well the boots can lie ladies and gentlemen, but the numbers always tell the truth, and Mr May’s recent ones are exceptional. Since round 4, the Dees’ backline general has scored below 90 only once in nine games. Without checking all contenders, I can’t imagine too many other defenders matching that statistic! An outstanding one-on-one defender and a noted kick-in merchant, you get experience and reliability if you take a punt here and back in the Melbourne vet at this accomodating price tag.
Just quickly – If you’re not playing for rank and only interested in league glory, then the obvious choice this week is still Tom Stewart $483 800, avg 94, BE 72, who is a genuine Fallen Premium and is playing very solid footy right now. He has the bye in round 15 with just about every other viable Supercoach star but that’s also the round where league games are put on ice. Definitely bring him in if you’re focused on H2H this year.
Backing it up…..
Rory Laird, $576K, BE 151
Bachar Houli, $481K, BE 147
Nick Haynes, $504K, BE 140
MIDFIELDERS
Matt CROUCH (ADE), $546 300 (-$16.7K), avg 105, BE 65 – Potentially unpopular opinion: the younger Crouch plays better when big brother isn’t in the Crows lineup. Since Brad succumbed to yet another hammy twinge, Matt’s scorecard reads 82, 112, 100, 132 and 133 for a five round average of 112, which is good scoring at a relatively budget price. The main knock on Matt is that he’s not always the most constructive of players, but he could find the footy in his sleep and just recently he seems to be running into some handy form. The Crows have the bye this week but Crouch is a huge POD and one to consider in your trade plans during Footy Frenzy 2.
Scott PENDLEBURY (COL), $528 500 (-$38K), avg 108, BE 79 – Even though he has spent his entire career playing for the wrong footy club, I’ve always loved watching Pendles go about his work. He’s far from the halcyon days of being a Brownlow fancy and the permanent Supercoach VC, but the old man of the Pies midfield can still roll out a tidy 140 as he did on Monday night against the Roos. Still averaging 26 disposals per game at 32 years of age and still running rings around blokes who grew up watching him play. Less than 2% ownership!
Just quickly – Travis Boak ($513 200, avg 107, BE 65) was here last week and duly saluted with a massive 148. The mid-season lull is well and truly over for the Port veteran and it’s time to jump on now before the Travis Train departs the station!
Limbo land…..
Lachie Neale, $698K, BE 216
Clayton Oliver, $689K, BE 179
Jarryd Lyons, $590K, BE 173
Josh P. Kennedy, $450K, BE 170
Stephen Coniglio, $520K, BE 166
RUCKS
The big news in the ruck department this week is that Gawn finally looks set to return to the Dees’ starting lineup, although there are still plenty of questions here. How fit is Max? Will Preuss play alongside the Melbourne skipper? And just how the hell do I find the cash to turn Draper into Gawn in a couple of weeks time?
I know someone will ask this question and it will probably be me, so here are some (very) rough price projections for the players in question for the next two weeks*:
GAWN ($721 000, BE 244) in the next two weeks scores:
80/80…..price $593K, BE 195
100/100…..price $617K, BE 170
120/120…..price $642K, BE 145
140/140…..price $666K, BE 120
DRAPER ($271 500, BE -21) in the next two weeks scores:
60/60…..price $334K, BE 80
80/80…..price $358K, BE 55
100/100…..price $383K, BE 30
120/120…..price $407K, BE 4
* Please note that when it comes to price calculations I am most definitely not Father Dougal. I therefore waive all responsibility for the accuracy of these figures, which are intended only to be a useful approximation! I took them from a spreadsheet that I spent about 13 seconds preparing just now so hopefully they are helpful.
FORWARDS
I think most forward lines are settled by now, and look something like a combination of Dusty, Whitfield, Petracca, Simpkin, Bailey Smith, Brayshaw, Greenwood and Sonny Walters. Fair? There is one popular pick that I’ve left out of that lot, and just because I’m feeling a bit cheeky here he is:
Devon SMITH (ESS), $396 500 (+$60.7K), avg 81, BE 63 – He started the season with back-to-back tons and then produced six consecutive weeks of utter garbage, at which point I dropped him from my team like a piece of utter garbage. Since then he has returned scores of 105, 64 and 113, the most recent score being an exceptional (and exceptionally infuriating) effort against the Tigers that included 27 possessions, most of them collected on the halfback flank. Is this a role change that we should be paying attention to? Could you really bring the Giant-Bomber back into your team if you sacked him only a couple of weeks ago? Or has this wild and woolly season of footy finally driven me completely mad?
Just quickly – You could possibly wait one more week and bring him in during the monster bye round, but Jack Martin ($435 200, avg 93, BE 101) might be the best candidate this week for that final forward upgrade. Returned from injury last week with a magnificent 144 against the Suns and that dual position status is Supercoach finals gold.
Forward thinking….
Toby Greene, $491K, BE 180
Christian Petracca, $629K, BE 173
Andrew Brayshaw, $562K, BE 151
Michael Walters, $503K, BE 151
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Fritz Smith! HAHA classic
Smith’s still in my team
hope he goes back to back tons for the rest of the year