In the first week of upgrade season for many coaches after we were hit with the Sam Docherty and Will Day bullets, coaches set their sights on some players, but in a lot of 50/50 calls, who should coaches go for?
Trade Ins
Seamus Mitchell vs Matt Roberts
Seamus Mitchell ($229k D/F – traded in by 12.8k coaches)
Matt Roberts ($213k M/F – traded in by 9.5k coaches)
The two most popular rookies in coaches sights this week are Hawthorn’s Seamus Mitchell and Sydney’s Matt Roberts. Mitchell played his first game for the Hawks last week and looked quite good, recording 17 disposals, 4 marks, 3 tackles and 64 points. Matt Roberts also played well in a younger Sydney lineup after being giving a full game as he was the sub in his first 3 games this season. He too had a pretty good statline, recording 14 disposals, 4 marks, 4 tackles and 64 points also. It’s a tough decision to split these two as they will both make some decent cash, but I just lean towards Seamus Mitchell as I see him staying in Hawthorn’s team for longer.
Verdict: Seamus Mitchell
Jason Johannisen vs Chayce Jones
Jason Johannisen ($494k D/F – traded in by 1.3k coaches)
Chayce Jones ($486k DEF – traded in by 3.5k coaches)
A couple of midpricers have put their hand up in defence where they are cheap enough for us to sideways a rookie to them. Chayce Jones had the best game of his career against Carlton, gathering 28 disposals, 9 marks and 108 points, the first ton of his career. He also had a good game against Fremantle, and even had an impact when coming on as the sub against Port Adelaide. Jason Johannisen has also performed well of late after Bevo has moved him back to the backline, where he was a decent scorer. Had a good scorer against port Adelaide last week in the wet, recording 28 disposals and 6 marks for 98 points. Both are good options and will make quick cash while scoring at a decent rate, but I just lean towards Johannisen as I have seen it before, and has a good role down back, but both will be good.
Verdict: Jason Johannisen
Jack Ziebell vs Tom Stewart
Jack Ziebell ($732k D/F – traded in by 1.5k coaches)
Tom Stewart ($730k DEF – traded in by 2.3k coaches)
Moving to two defenders that have had very different starts to the season. Jack Ziebell has been a rock for North Melbourne down back, recording 3 tons in his first 5 games (78 and 87 his two games under 100) and gaining defender status, which is great for flexibility as he is now a defender/forward. He has gained a fair bit in price, but coaches are still looking to jump on after a good start to the season. Compare that to Tom Stewart, who sustained a knee injury in the first of Round 1 against Collingwood. After he was set to miss a month of footy, he only missed the one game and returned against Gold Coast with a big 128, then followed up with a 70 and 98 last week. He has now bottomed out in price, with coaches looking at him as a target. When deciding between these two, I am picking Tom Stewart. Not only does he have the perfect Round 13 bye, but I am also worried about Aaron Hall coming back into the North Melbourne team.
Verdict: Tom Stewart
Touk Miller vs Rory Laird
Touk Miller ($922k MID – traded in by 949 coaches)
Rory Laird ($911k MID – traded in by 1.2k coaches)
Two of the best premium midfielders are on coaches targets this week, 2022’s highest priced player Touk Miller, and this year’s highest priced player Rory Laird. Touk Miller may have been in more starting teams, if not for a slight hamstring injury in the preseason, ruling him out of many sides. He has been solid to start the season, with 4 tons in his first 5 games, but only one of those hundreds more than 110. He has dropped a little bit in price, has a great run of fixtures coming up, along with the perfect Round 13 bye. Rory Laird has had a very frustrating start to the season for coaches that started the year with him. 3 of his first 5 games have been below 90, while his two 100+ scores have been over 115. He has dropped a stack of cash and is now priced cheaper than Touk Miller. Both of these guys are great options if you are looking for a premium midfielder that’s also a captain option. I would choose Touk Miller because of his great run of fixtures and the fact he has the Round 13 bye, which is going to really helpful through the byes.
Verdict: Touk Miller
Trade Outs
Reuben Ginbey vs Cam Mackenzie vs Kade Chandler
Reuben Ginbey ($489k D/M – traded out by 9k coaches)
Cam Mackenzie ($444k M/F – traded out by 10.1k coaches)
Kade Chandler ($460k FWD – traded out by 5.9k coaches)
The big decision for a lot of coaches is what rookie should they move on to a fallen premium or to one of the midpricers like Chayce Jones and Jason Johannisen who are scoring well and making decent cash. Reuben Ginbey has been great to start his career at West coast, but was subbed out against Geelong last week through management, but only scored 43 points. This has caused his price rise to stall as a result. Another player that was impacted by the sub was Cam Mackenzie, who started as the sub last week. Came on at the start of the 2nd half and only scored 20 points, which has also stalled his cash gen. Kade Chandler is the other popular rookie coaches are moving on, after a season low 41 points against Essendon in the wet. I think all of these guys can stay for another week or two as I think all can keep scoring well, but I would cull Kade Chandler first. He is playing a pure forward role, compared to Ginbey and Mackenzie who are both playing midfield roles. I would be most keen to keep Ginbey out of the three of them, so I would rank them as Chandler, Mackenzie, Ginbey in terms of who I would trade first.
Verdict: Kade Chandler
