Josh Dunkley’s one-two week injury has left SuperCoaches a little rattled, especially given it was initially hoped Clayton Oliver would miss a similar timeframe, only to be out for 6-7 weeks. Surely, you hold right? Maybe not.
Josh Dunkley Replacements
Now unfortunately Josh Dunkley has been ruled out of the clash against the Eagles this week which would have seen him score monster points. But alas coaches now are scrambling to their benches to find sufficient cover. Now rather than going with obvious options (Butters, Rozee, Taranto etc) to replace him – who most own anyway – why not have a look at some of these suggestions especially if you’re looking to get ahead of the pack? If you’re running low on trades however then I’d suggest holding Dunkley as he is only listed as a 1-2 week injury.
Read our forward mid-pricers discussion about replacing Fyfe
Read who’ll likely get DPP additions after Round 17
Charlie Curnow (SC $444k Fwd)
Key position players are generally a large risk when it comes to picking them, however, Curnow may be one of those few exceptions given that he can get up the ground and take plenty of marks whilst still managing to bag himself a few goals each week. What’s interesting to note is that when Carlton wins, Curnow ends up averaging 117.3 in contrast when they lose he only averages 88.25.
Now with Carlton playing themselves into a bit of form, I can see a world where Curnow is required to take on a large mantle to carry them into September. With that being said their run home isn’t super easy with the likes of Port, Collingwood and the Dees to play but he does get a free pass when he plays the Eagles and Suns. This year we have already seen that he has the ability to score huge with a 186 against the Eagles in round 7. If you want a huge pod to go into your SuperCoach finals series then he could be one to consider.
Jackson Macrae (SC $581k Mid/Fwd)
Not a POD but between Rounds 9 to 14, Macrae was shifted to the wing/half-forward role, which worried owners. However, you could argue that in that time frame, he had his best month of footy with an average of 113.3. Now while he is down on his average from previous years, he still has the capability to hit a huge ceiling with multiple 145s in Rounds 10 and 11. The big upside is that even in a “less ideal fantasy position” he’s still scoring at a rate of 110+. So if he does get pushed back into the midfield, he could go even bigger than what we’ve just seen.
Touk Miller (SC $593k Mid)
After being listed as available this week, Miller should slot back into the Gold Coast midfield which would produce one of the PODs on the run home. We’ve seen how good he can be as a hard-working midfielder when he averaged 120 in back-to-back years. This season he’s still continued that trend for the first five games of the season before suffering a long-term knee injury. Now you could wait and hold off for this week to maximise the amount of cash you get but he’s a proven gun scorer and may go straight into a 120.
POD Picks
Need some point of difference to beat your friends? Well, why not consider trading in some of these players who might give you the edge when it comes to winning your league or wanting to take a risk to push your rank one final time?
Dan Houston (SC $559k Def)
I had to do a double take when I saw his last six games, but he’s toned up in five of them which includes two huge scores of 146 and 156. Now there is a questionable 47 in the mix but for the most part, Houston is an integral part of the Port defensive structure and managed to rack up plenty of kicks and marks each week. Even though he isn’t on kick-in duties, it is an added bonus that he doesn’t need these cheap stats to boost his score. Only owned by 2.3% of players, he could be one final defender that separates you from the rest of the competition. especially if he shows his large ceiling.
Hugh McCluggage (SC $506k Mid)
The addition of Dunkley and Ashcroft has meant that McCluggage hasn’t had the need to go nuclear like he did in patches last season so he’s played more of an outside game as well as a high half-forward. In his last five games though he’s found some better form scoring two huge tons as well as a 97 and an injury-affected 79. Now with Dunkley out of the side, it seems like it’s time for McCluggage to step up into that midfield role he had last year and fly home. You can also guarantee that he won’t get any defensive attention with the likes of Neale on the side anyways.
Brad Crouch (SC $547k Mid)
We’ve all known both Crouch brothers to be great accumulators, but Brad has always had the knack to fumble his disposal a little which causes him to turn a 30+ disposal game into a sub-100 score. However, since Jack Steele has fallen off a cliff throughout this season. Crouch has managed to step up in his absence producing five tons in a row. Even if he does butcher the ball a bit he’s becoming more of a tackling machine picking up 10 and 17 tackles in his last two games. Now coming into the pointy end of the season he’ll have to keep up these performances. I mentioned last week that St Kilda had the easiest run home in terms of SC opponents so he could be great to target.
Liam Henry (SC $330k Mid/Fwd)
Henry had struggled to make the wing role his own early on this season but his last 3 games have shown vast improvement and the potential that saw him drafted at pick 9. While he’s playing a pure outside game, he’s shown that he can get plenty of the footy with back-to-back 30+ disposal games against the Bombers and Dogs. If you’re stuck with Fyfe or want to make some cash late in the season he could be a nice option to jump on given he’s also got a handy mid/fwd status.
2024 watchlists
It’s never too early to start your 2024 shortlist, especially if you’re season is dusted. So why not get ahead of the curve with some of these names I’ll be listing down for the last eight weeks of the season? Many of us are running low on trades and are saving for any potential injuries so there are not many bargains to target this late into the year.
Bailey Smith
Unfortunately, he’s been left out of the star-studded midfield at the Dogs but if you look back to last year he managed to average 98.6 in 16 matches in which he managed to break through into an inside midfield role. UInofruatenytl this year he’s been pushed out of the inside midfield for Adam Treloar and even in stages Caleb Daniel and that’s after Dunkley had left. We saw a small snippet of what he could do with a true centre-bounce midfield role in rounds 9 and 10 replacing Treloar where he scored 102 and 121. Obviously, if he doesn’t earn mid/fwd then we should ignore him but considering the number of top forwards that will be mid only next year. He could be one of the few that we may have to choose because of value and DPP
Luke Davies Uniake
Injuries have robbed LDU of having an epic breakout season after scoring 143 and 155 in his first 2 games this season. He then suffered quite a few soft tissue setbacks which have both limited his scoring and the games played. While owners this year may say never again, I prefer to look on the positive side and say that this is another opportunity to pick him up at a cheaper price than last year. We saw what he can do when he’s in the park with his first 2 games this season as well as the back half of 2022. With an ever-improving North side, there will be less stress on LDU to pick up the workload and instead, he can impact the game in larger quantities.
George Hewett
Unfortunately for Hewett, he’s had a shocking run with injury, that dates back to the second half of last season when he suffered a season-ending back injury which partially derailed Carlton’s season. This season he’s had a very slow start with a thumb injury and concussion not allowing him to play consistent footy. He’s been the sub in 2 of the last 3 games where he was able to accumulate a 0.9 PPM showing he can still score quickly. He should be available for quite cheap in comparison to the start of this season and assuming he gets through preseason unscathed and Carlton aren’t terrible to start the year he could be a very nice POD to pick.
