Luxury trade season is well and truly upon us which is often a time that will either make or break your season. Finding those uniques with the best draw will be important, but the challenge remains who is it that goes out? Round 19 we saw premos underperform, return to form and blitz it, so how do we decide who to cut?
Flip now
Of all the articles I have written this year, this next section would have to be the most difficult. Take what I say with a grain of salt, because my unwavering opinion on good players is that they are good players for a reason and any form slump they may appear to be in could just be coming to an end this week (case in point Caleb Serong…). So who could be the premiums you flip on this week?
Sam Walsh ($867k, Mid)
This goes against my original statement, but Walsh is just struggling to get going at the moment. No coincidence that Carlton’s slump has coincided with Walsh’s. If you think he can turn it around then great, otherwise time to go Sam.
Hayden Young (769k, Def/Mid)
Young has been ultra reliable this year and there is no real issue with holding him. The reason you might flip though is he is struggling to hit the tonne and the backline is stacked with guys going big which is what you want this time of year.
Nick Daicos ($863k, Def/Mid)
Has a horrible potential tag run coming and has been struggling for form anyway. A great name on paper, but moving on might be the difference you need.
Luke Ryan ($817k, Def)
This guy has been an issue for a while and if you are still rolling with him I feel for you. Just cut your losses and try to get to one of the big dogs.
Lachie Whitfield ($1.034m, Def)
What are you doing you idiot!? This guy is not only the form player in defence, but the form player in the competition! Well if this is what you are saying now, you are totally correct, but I thought I better stick to my guns and flag this guy. Form has been unbelievable, which inevitably means a slump is coming. Whether that is teams putting more time into him or an injury or change in game plan it always comes eventually. (Maybe next year?)
Flop them in
The big trade targets on the way home should not be difficult to find, but as we saw with Josh Dunkley on the weekend, it is easy to get burned. The highly vigilant coaches will delve into the stats and look at specific positions to find the best match ups (positions, weather, lineup, ground, etc. etc.), but based purely on who I think is going to finish the year off well, here are my best suggestions for the remainder of the year.
Defence
- Harry Sheezel
- Tom Stewart
- Nic Martin
- Max Holmes
- Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera
- (Probably Whitfield number 1 lets be honest)
Midfield
- Adam Treloar
- Marcus Bontempelli
- Errol Gulden
- Zach Merrett
- Andrew Brayshaw
- Tom Green
Rucks
- Tristan Xerri
- Tim English
- Rowan Marshall
Forwards
- Sam Flanders
- Dayne Zorko
- Jye Caldwell (fitness pending)
- Isaac Heeney
- Charlie Curnow
- Josh Treacy
Happy trading coaches!
Monty
