After one round, plenty of SuperCoaches have hit the rage trade button already while there’s been a few voices on social media flagging they’ll be using their trade boost right away. But is that wisest move?

Indeed, after one round of data, it’s easy to get misled given the small sample size, if that means giving up on someone or jumping on another, who impressed that you didn’t own.

Trades, of course, are reversable between rounds, but the early data shows 3.9% have dumped premium defender Jack Crisp along with 2.2% trading out gun mid Jack Steele. Kaine Baldwin, Josh Ward, Jarrod Berry and Cam Rayner are among that highest percentage of traded-out players too.

On the flipside, 17.3% have jumped on Nic Martin and 9.7% on Jack Hayes after their stunning debuts, followed by 7.6% bringing in Matt Rowell and 6.4% grabbing George Hewett.

Dan Houston, Christian Petracca, Josh Rachele, Pat Lipinski, Sam Docherty and Tom Green are also players who impressed in Round 1 who’ve been heavily traded in.

With prices frozen for the first two rounds in SuperCoach, there is the ability to take stock but also the opportunity to get ahead of the price rises, by making early trades.

So we’ve asked experts Casey McDonald, aka ‘NaCheers’, who is an ex-SuperCoach round winner, three-time top 1000 finisher, Honeyball scribe Chris Leitch, 2020 top 150 finisher Janath Fernando and Grady Just, who was ranked 141st after Round 1 in SC 2022 with a whopping score of 2506.

HB: Thanks for offering up your opinions experts. Who, if any, are your Round 2 SuperCoach trade targets and why?

CMc: Just remember you are pulling the trigger on a trade that you have put months of research into and it’s an extremely small sample size. I personally am not doing any corrective trades at this stage. What I would look at doing is targeting Nic Martin (SC $102k FWD), Josh Rachele (SC $184k M/F) and Jack Hayes (SC $102k F/R) if you don’t have them.

I’ll be holding my correctionals until just before the price rises and look at using a boost trade then. This allows a bigger sample size to make judgements off. Martin seems to have a very SC friendly role and now has definitely cemented his spot in the team with 28 possessions and five goals at $102k, just get him in!

Hayes was everywhere! Not a lot of hit-outs but hit the scoreboard and managed a huge 18 disposals at 89%.

I didn’t see Rachele play but he has managed seven goals in two games (including the AAMI Series game) and is DPP as well which is very handy to have the ability to flick if needed.

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CL: The first thing is, don’t go chasing last week’s points! If you went with Zac Bailey (SC $459k F/M) or Adam Treloar (SC $483k M/F) up forward instead of Josh Dunkley (SC $558k M/F) or Isaac Heeney (SC $454k FWD), resist the rage trade and remember why you backed your boys in the first place.

But I will be watching a few players closely who have opened my eyes to their potential, in the hope they can back it up. Premium forwards are at, well, a premium, which is why I’m eyeing Heeney. He had 25 disposals, six tackles and three goals, but also six clearances, and his work through the midfield is what I’m excited about. I really want to pick him but I’ve been burnt before, so I’m biding my time.

I’ll wager I wasn’t the only one stunned by Matthew Kennedy’s (SC $440k MID) form for Carlton. The midfielder clocked up 33 touches in the Blues win, including a whopping 14 contested. Like Carlton’s win, there was so much to enjoy about Kennedy’s performance, including seven inside-50s and 11 score involvements. After just 41 games in four seasons, it might finally be the year that his luck turns around.

🤔 Are correctional rookie trades the only worthwhile moves ahead of R2?

Should you really chase Houston, Petracca, Lipinski, Doc & Green? 📈

Our experts weigh in on early season trading & the #SuperCoach trade targets 🤓

Read here 👉👉 https://t.co/sUNFNi70it pic.twitter.com/fOlgL9xFHy

— Honeyball AFL 🍯 (@HoneyballAFL) March 23, 2022

JF: I’ll be the first to say that trades are like diamonds and that making impulse trades off the back of one week is not advisable. However, I would be lying if I said that a couple of players didn’t catch my attention.

North Melbourne defender Luke McDonald (SC $372k MID) scored 140 against the Hawks, accumulating possessions out of the back half and intercepting at will too. He is back to the SC friendly role he played at the back end of 2020 (average 118.4 from Rounds 8-18), and with likely DEF/MID DPP around the in R6, seems a viable option for coaches looking to bolster their midfield, and eventually their defence.

Is it finally Tim English’s (SC $482k F/R) time? The Bulldogs ruckman seemed to move with ease around the ground, accumulating 123 points, albeit aided by eight free kicks. English poses a premium option in the forward line that has the potential to challenge for the much-vaunted SC F1 spot. Keep a watch on him to see if he can back up his performance in R2, as well what impact may be had on his scoring output if Stefan Martin returns back into the side.

Personally, I am holding off on making any Round 2 trades, and at the moment am only planning to make rookie corrective trades the first price changes (end of Round 3). Although tempting, with the effects of COVID-19 on the AFL landscape already seen at West Coast, Carlton and Sydney, having ample trades throughout the season will be of vital importance.

GJ: The only reason you use any trades this week is if you play for league glory only and don’t care about your overall rank. With head to heads starting this week it gives you a chance to get ahead of the other more conservative players and bank some early round wins. However with the option to use a trade boost after round 2 it’s still better to wait and see another week.

George Hewett (AF 557k SC $399k D/M) was a shining light in defense Round 1 however with Sam Walsh named to play this Thursday it gives us a chance to see how it might affect his scoring before prices change. However note that Adam Cerra will not be playing so we still won’t see how the full Carlton midfield operates together.

If you don’t have Matt Rowell (AF $508k SC $342k MID), start working out how you can restructure your team to bring him in. With a full preseason he will generate a heap of cash or even better yet become a serviceable M8 for the back half of the season.

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