The Rookie Review – 2021

Hello Supercoachers, and welcome to the Rookie Review for the final time this year.

With rookies largely redundant at this time of year, there’s very little meat on the bone when it comes to discussing the cash cows. If you have the likes of Madden, Sharp, Bramble and Weightman providing backup on your bench at this stage of the season, you’ve done extremely well. The other side of that coin is that you really want to avoid playing these guys on field if you possibly can, as evidenced by the puke that some of these guys put out the last weekend.

As a final thought, I’ve compiled a “best 22” of the rookie options this season. The usual disclaimer applies that selection in this team is very subjective, mainly because it’s difficult to define what a good rookie is. How does an initially expensive, slow-burning, high-scoring option compare to a cheaper player who bursts onto the scene and makes cash quickly, but then gets dropped/injured after only a few games? Does someone who scores well but has poor job security have more value than a poor scoring option who gets a game every week? How do we line up rookies who started the season against the midseason downgrade options?

So, a lot of my choices here are based on gut feel (and a few numbers, of course – it’s still Supercoach!). Disagree? Let me know in the comments!

SCT All-Rookie Team of 2021

FB:	Thomas HIGHMORE	Jordon BUTTS	Jacob KOSCHITZKE
HB:	James MADDEN	Nik COX	Trent BIANCO
C:	Jeremy SHARP	Errol GULDEN	Lachlan BRAMBLE
HF	Deven ROBERTSON	Cody WEIGHTMAN	Miles BERGMAN
F:	James ROWE	Caleb POULTER	Chad WARNER
R:	Matt FLYNN	Tom POWELL	James JORDON
IC:	Anthony SCOTT	Lachlan MCNEIL
	Matthew OWIES	Riley THILTHORPE

DEFENDERS

Honourable mentions: LJones, Chapman

The problem with rookie defenders in Supercoach this year is that quite a few of them aren’t actually forwards! Cox and Koschitzke were both great in their own ways, Cox playing on the wing for the Bombers, and Kosi as a key forward. Highmore was fantastic WHEN HE ACTUALLY PLAYED, Butts was under-rated and very consistent early on when he was needed most, and Madden and Bianco have been useful mid-season DPP downgrades that many of us are still relying on for bench cover.

MIDFIELDERS

Powell and Jordon were easy selections to play on the ball, while late-season specials Bramble and Sharp occupy the wings. Gulden burst onto the scene and then missed weeks with a shin injury, but his form late in the season has been a full demonstration of his talent.

RUCKS

Honourable mentions: Coleman-Jones, Reeves

The biggest no-brainer of this whole exercise! Flynn had to work within the machinations of the Giants’ selection policy, but his efforts when he did play were ideal for the R3 spot. Fell just short of the magical $300K profit mark at his max price – the best of any rookie this year.

FORWARDS

Honourable mentions: HJones

Rowe and Warner were must-haves early in the year and did what we needed them to do. Warner went down with injury, but by that time he had already made up plenty of dough. Bergman was a less popular option but did well to establish himself in the strong Power 22, while Poulter came in as a DPP option and proved very handy (note: I’m aware he’s not a full forward, but I couldn’t find anyone else to put there!). Weightman and Robertson came in later in the year, and provided some big scores to go with that critical mid-season cash generation.

BENCH

Scott and McNeil were basement-priced options that broke into the super-strength Doggies squad, and while inconsistent each played their share of good games to make enough money to be viable. Owies has been promising in the VFL for a couple of years and finally got a decent shot at showing what he can do in the AFL, while Thilthorpe is a superstar in the making and was nicely handled by the Crows this year in a development period.

Thanks for reading this year, I hope you found these reviews helpful in informing you on what is a crucial part of the game. More Reviews to come in 2022!

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