MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 14: Clayton Oliver of the Demons in action during a Melbourne Demons training session at Gosch's Paddock on December 14, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Martin Keep/AFL Photos for AFL Photos)
The finish line is fast approaching with only six rounds remaining in the 2024 SuperCoach season. Four of those six rounds fall under the SuperCoach finals bracket, so fixture analysis suddenly becomes the key to success.
A mental switch from bringing in the best of the best, to those with a favourable fixture run for their position instead, can be extremely beneficial to your side and lead to a late season finals push.
Today, we’re breaking down the all important remaining fixtures in reference to players, positions and teams to target or avoid all together! Whether it’s to cover an injury or for a final luxury upgrade in your side, I’ve got you covered!
One of the most important things to gauge in a SuperCoach fixture analysis, is what is the primary position of your player you’re trading IN or OUT? The three main positions that lead to the SuperCoach powerhouse of scoring are ‘Rucks’, ‘Inside Midfielders’ and ‘Designator Kickers’. You’ll find that almost all your premiums will fall within one of these three main categories which is what will be targeted in this analysis for you today.
RUCKS
Looking at the recent SuperCoach data over the last 10 games, there are obvious teams to target, and to avoid based on the premiums primary position. Regarding ruckmen, there are 5 clear easy matchups to target, they are Geelong, Carlton, St Kilda, Hawthorn and Port Adelaide with the Power being by far and away the easiest over the last 5 games. In terms of who to avoid, any ruckmen coming up against North Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney are the most restrictive by a long way and are in for a very tough day, with Brodie Grundy being the most difficult by a big margin!
INSIDE MIDS
In regard to inside midfielders, the West Coast Eagles have emerged as the easiest matchup by a landslide after earlier on in the year being a middle of the road side. After the Eagles, things get much tighter with the next two easiest matchups being Melbourne and Richmond. The tag frenzy is definitely a nightmare to consider, although tag aside, if your premium is playing Fremantle, Brisbane or the Swans, you should be expecting a subpar score overall.
DESIGNATED KICKERS
For designated kickers, this one becomes a little more unexpected. The #1 team to target remains with Richmond, as it has been for the majority of the year, although Fremantle and Melbourne actually come in as the next two easiest matchups. The restrictive matchups come with some surprise too, the days of “target the easy teams” is no longer a valid theory. The 3 toughest matchups over the last 10 games are Essendon, Adelaide and North Melbourne, two of which are bottom 4 teams…
Now we’ve identified who are restrictive and who leak points to opposition, which premiums are in for a tough, or a free ride home? I’ve got you covered with that too!
RUCKS
The ruck line has been an absolutely nightmare for most coaches this year and I think its probably unlikely you’d need to make another move here. Although, if you do its important to note that Rowan Marshall – $532k has 3 of the toughest ruck matches all in a row starting this week.
Meanwhile, Tim English – $550k has a mixed bag all the way home, starting off with Geelong this week who makes him prime captain material, followed up by Grundy next week who is on the complete other end of the spectrum. If Max Gawn – $599k does manage to get over his injury, he has one the best ruck runs home with 4 positive and only 1 negative matchup to come.
Sam De Koning $420k and Tom De Koning $653k both have incredible runs if they can keep or lock back down the #1 ruck roles at their respective sides, with both only having one tough matchup left coming against Tristian Xerri $613k who also finds himself with a gimme run of fixtures on the run home.
MIDS
The midfield is where things start to get very interesting. Jordan Dawson – $490k has one of the worst fixtures imaginable and is definitely someone who could be on luxury trade watch. Isaac Heeney $593k and Chad Warner – $512k have a weirdly average run home, with no one too difficult, but no juicy matchups to target either. Although, if you’re after a midfield premium, Luke Davies Uniacke – $603k and Jack Steele – $512k both have the easiest runs for all inside midfielders, meanwhile recent SuperCoach studs in Lachie Neale – $674k and Josh Dunkley – $641k are on the opposite side of the coin with only two positive matchup’s left.
Clayton Oliver – $417k is right behind the Saints and North with the next best fixture run which could kickstart his form back in the right direction. Sam Walsh’s – $566k next four games are very tough, meanwhile Caleb Serong – $527k contrasts this with his very favourable next four fixtures which could also kick him back into gear. Matt Rowell – $452k is an owner’s nightmare lately, although its important to note he has the best SuperCoach finals run of any inside midfielder which means holding him could be beneficial!
DESIGNATED KICKERS
The designated kicker bracket is something to consider wrapping your ahead around, as the old fashioned generic good “half back” matchup can be misleading. The designator kicker category can still be that player sure, but it can also be an interceptor or even a winger from a team’s side as well. On the run home, Bailey Dale – $534 has by far the toughest run home with only one positive matchup to come.
Meanwhile, Nic Newman – $541k could be a serious unique to ride with only one negative matchup coming this week and then the remaining five all being great for him. Jack Sinclair – $624k has been an expensive and highly targeted premium recently but unfortunately looks to have had most of his positive fixtures recently already, leaving him with four negative matchups and only one positive remaining.
Lachie Whitfield – $565k has turned his form around and is fast becoming sought after, but his run home is definitely a mixed bagged and I’m not sure its a run you want to target. Jeremy McGovern – $554k is due back from his injury this week, although he has the worst four-week finals run of any designated kicker. In contrast, Dan Houston – $514k only has two negative matchups left, so you can expect a nice run of scores if you’re an owner. Lastly, Errol Gulden – $596k has one of the worst 6 game runs as a designated kicker, just behind Dale, which is definitely something to think about if you were considering him.
Now with all that in mind, if you still need to make a luxury trade, or you’re struck with more premium injuries, you should highly consider this fixture analysis rather than just filtering by average with such a small period of the season left to play out!
