Things are starting to HEAT UP and get serious now… No more hiding behind your ‘Best 18’, all your Best 22 scores count, and we can no longer get away with fielding trash scores. This week is pivotal to get your rookie on field structure correct and your trades MUST have this in mind.
Hugo Garcia – $117k (MID/FWD) – 5%
Hugo looks the pick of the rookie bunch! Over his first two games (one being sub), he is averaging 41% of CBA’s which shows the role is quality. There are still quite a few people to come into this side, with Crouch over the next week or so being the main worry. So, I don’t want to say his spot in the team is secure, but the fact the Saints were pumped, and he was one of the few who could hold their head high after 9 tackles, I think he has brought himself some time in the side. Ross Lyon is a very defensively minded coach, so the fact Garcia is such a pressure and tackling type, I think he’d be loving what he saw from him. He’s definitely not a home run selection, but the DPP is handy, and I think he’s the best downgrade option we have this week. TARGET.
Sam Walsh – $576k (MID) – 13%
He’s the talk of the town at the moment. Every man and his dog seem to be purchasing this man and with reason! Scores of 166 and 130 for an average on 148 on 76% CBA’s shows his role this year is much nicer than last year. The obvious elephant in the room is his back injury which could flare up at any time, but the fact he had a full pre-season for the first time up until the week before the season, suggests he’s in a good spot physically. It’s definitely a tread with caution pick, but at his price and with his scoring potential, it’s worth the risk. The Adelaide midfield are easy to beat up, so we wanted to see him perform against good opposition and he did it against the Giants as well on the weekend. UPGRADE.
Bigoa Nyuon – $123k (FWD) – 8%
The stocks on this pick definitely took a hit this weekend. Not only did he score 46 points, but his overall performance wasn’t great. There is always going to be question marks on his job security with Dawson due back in 1-2 weeks, Logue in 6 weeks and while Pink is running around the twos. The small positive was Clarkson threw Combon forward, albeit it failed, but if he keeps this up there may be a better chance Biggie stays in. His profile suggests scoring could be on the cards, but I’m not confident enough in him to take him. I’d prefer Garcia I think. IFFY.
Jordan Dawson – $533k (MID) – 8%
One of the biggest burn men in all of 2024 Supercoach goes on his redemption arc. 168 points on 80% CBA’s after a poor first term as well… 22 kicks, 9 handballs, 7 marks, 9 tackles and 2 goals got the job done. His tackle, kick and mark numbers have been there for the majority of the year, he has just been let down by uncharacteristically bad disposal efficiency. The issue with this bounce back score was it was done while Crouch was suspended and out of the side. Ever since Crouch entered the team late last season, Dawson’s numbers have taken a hit. Its important to note that Dawson had a role change the previous two weeks as well which saw him only attend 59% and 48% of CBA’s when Crouch was still in the team. With Walsh on the market for 45k more, its tough to advocate this over him. Class is permanent though, and Dawson with a BE of 73 coming up against North this week could be a serious POD play over Walsh. WATCHLIST.
Kane McAuliffe – $117k (MID) – 2%
This rookie is incredibly tough to get a read on. He was the talk of the pre-season out of Punt Road and was even rumoured to be close to a Round 1 debut which never eventuated. Fast track 5 weeks, and he’s made his way into a side that has been absolutely decimated by injuries. His VFL numbers are good, but he only managed a 58 in a really poor 69% TOG against the Eagles. He does seem very raw and has Prestia 2 weeks away and Hopper is a test. I’m just not sure if he stays in. The good news is he plays the first game of the round, so we can make sure he is in and not the sub before going him. But at the moment, I probably rank him 3rd of the downgrade options we have available this week. PASS.
Jack Macrae – $480k (FWD/MID) – 3%
Is Jack Back? Macrae seems to have taken offence to whatever part of his game that Bevo doesn’t rate. He has come back with some spark and intensity. Even his defensive side of his game looks better and that’s not something we ever really saw from Macrae. I know a lot of people are concerned about the fact his 123 points were without Libba, but deeper diving into this, Macraes role still wasn’t that great even without him. Over the last two weeks his CBA’s have been 29% with and 34% without Libba. So, let’s not get confused here, we aren’t paying for prime centre bounce attending Jack Macrae here. We’re buying a half forward with ball winning ability. Although, the forward line is pretty dire, all we really need from Macrae is 93-95+ and at this price he’s probably a success. I think we can do it and he’s at an enabling price that easily allows us to get some forward rookies off the field. TEMPTED.
Zac Williams – $327k (DEF) – 58%
This one is a big watch on injury news and something we probably have to wait until Tuesday injury lists before we can commit to anything. I think its as simple as if he’s fit, you keep him, if he’s out for a period of time, we trade him. He was showing signs of getting back to his best the week before and he’s a consistent solid scorer we can comfortably field at D6 while we fix other issues in our sides. But he’s definitely expendable and not scoring well enough to tempt you to hold him through an injury that’s for sure. If he’s out, he has decent money on his head to enable your upgrades elsewhere. If he’s named, hold him as your D6. WAIT.
Massimo D’Ambrosio – $348k (DEF/MID) – 58%
I think if both Massimo and Williams are named this week, Massimo might be the one you offload first. The role just isn’t perfect and now Mitchell has shown he’s on the list for a tactical subbing. He gets back to the MCG which he clearly has shown he prefers this year, and his breakeven is only 45… So, he’s far from must trade territory, but again that $350k cash on his head is huge when it comes to getting your ideal upgrade in. Its line ball between Williams and Mass, but I expect most teams will be trading at least one of these two out this week. EXPENDABLE
Jeremy Sharp, Oliver Dempsey, Aaron Cadman & Buku Khamis –
Ding Ding Ding. These Cash Cows are ripe for the picking! Breakevens of 72, 66, 36 and 36. I’m perfectly fine with offloading any of these guys to help facilitate your upgrades this week. I think Sharp is definitely the one to go first, the $340k that you get with him is huge and that big score has left his price cycle. His role isn’t nice enough to hold and out of the two, I think Dempsey is far more likely to spike a score to kick start some extra cash generation on top. Buku and Cadman are fine holds as well, but it’s probably not worth rinsing them dry for every cent possible. With Biggie and Garcia being the main downgrade targets, it makes sense to drop one of these two forwards.
