NOTE THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN UPDATED – CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST ROOKIE DEFENDER UPDATE

Any good football team is only as good as the defence they have out on the field.

The exact same is true for you and your Supercoach team. And in 2015 our Supercoach defence is looking like one of the tricker lines we’ll have to sort through.  Nailing our picks, especially our rookie priced picks, might just help us avoid some of those nasty mid priced booby traps that we can all fall into. Supercoach defence rookies are going to be very important this season.

So let’s go see what we have available to us.

 SUPERCOACH ROOKIE DEFENDERS

Note: All players are sorted by price (lowest to highest) and then alphabetically by last name.

PRIORITY WATCHLIST

REAL POTENTIAL FOR ROUND 1 ACTION

Hugh Goddard – St. Kilda – $122,300

Touted as a potential top 10 pick, Goddard fell all the way to #21 to the Saints. St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson says “The decision is long-term with Patty and Hugh. They are potential bookends for 10 years so we have found ourselves some players. Hugh is a really impressive guy, too. They are both very good people with real leadership potential and people that get the best out of themselves.” Read Maso’s analysis of Hugh Goddard here.

Shaun Edwards- Essendon – $123,900

21 year old. Spent the year in the VFL after being traded from GWS. Neil Craig says “The thing I’ve really liked about Shaun this pre-season is I think there’s starting to be a change in mentality. I think he’s starting to develop an elite mindset about what’s required to be able to perform at this level, and sometimes it takes different individuals different amounts of time to be able to get that picture in their head. At the moment, with the way he’s applying himself, he’s actually giving himself every opportunity to be selected.”

Nathan J. Brown – Collingwood – $146,900

Missed most of last year with a shoulder injury, Nathan Brown says “Most guys are complaining about training long days but I’m sort of right into it (with a) bit of energy and really happy to be out there and the body’s feeling great.” Is aiming for a Round 1 debut, but he hasn’t averaged above 50 Supercoach Points over the past 3 years. Could be a desperation pick only.

Brendan Whitecross – Hawthorn – $198,700

Missed all of 2014 with a knee injury suffered late in 2013. Averaged 84 in 2012, still need to see if he’ll be brought straight back or via the VFL, so there’s a solid chance he could still be bumped down from here. Read General Soreness’ analysis of Brendan Whitecross here.

Aidan Corr – GWS – $205,600

Played 14 games over 2 years, but missed 2nd half of 2014 with a shoulder injury.

POTENTIAL WATCHLIST

MAY NOT PLAY ROUND 1, BUT MAY GET SOME EARLY GAMES

Daniel McKenzie – St Kilda – $117,300

Interesting prospect who’s a heck of an athlete. Saints could surprise and play him early. Read Pieman’s analysis of Daniel McKenzie here

Dillon Viojo-Rainbow – Carlton – $117,300

Rated as having an elite left foot kick, Rainbow has said he’s aiming to line up against Richmond in Round 1. Read Pieman’s analysis of Dillon Viojo-Rainbow here

Nick Holman – Carlton – $123,900

Debuted against Port Adelaide late in the year, whether that was just a once of cameo for a young player or a sign or more to come remains to be seen.

Jake Kelly – Adelaide – $123,900

Still on the rookie list, but with the retirement of Ben Rutten and long term injury to Andy Otten means there’s scope for him to be brought up if Hartigan struggles and the Crows decide Level isn’t ready yet.

Henry Schade – Gold Coast – $123,900

Pick #24 back in 2011, he has spent 3 years developing in the NEAFL. Key defender who may get a shot now that Bock and Warnock are out of the way.

Tom Clurey – Port Adelaide – $150,000

Won the 3km time trials for first-to-fourth year players at the start of pre-season training. Debuted in Round 1 last year, but spent the rest of the year in the SANFL. Hope the same doesn’t happen again!

Update 17/01 – With Port Adelaide Defender Jackson Trengove going in for shoulder surgery and potentially being out for Round 1, Port Adelaide Defence Coach Matthew Nicks says “Tommy Clurey’s probably the first guy that comes to mind in terms of a young up-and-coming key defender … he now gets even more of an opportunity to show he’s up to it. It was hard for him last year, he was playing a slightly different role [in the SANFL] to what he would have played with us. We were playing him on key forwards, he’s probably a second or third tall defender because he’s got an elite engine. With ‘Jacko’ out, whether that takes Tom Jonas to step up and play key back and allow Clurey to come in and play as a third defender – that’s the sort of thing you start to look at.”

The signs for a repeat of last year are happening!

Jake Lever – Adelaide – $157,300

Rehab from his knee reconstruction is done and dusted and is now into full training. Looks likely to be physically ready for Round 1, but others ahead of him likely to be given first crack at replacing Rutten.

Darcy Moore – Collingwood – $182,300

Has had injury setback, spending 3 weeks in a protective boot due to a toe injury. Could potentially delay his debut, but with Jesse White also injured he could be bumped up the depth chart again.

Zak Jones – Sydney – $182,800

Debuted in the middle of 2014 and played a handful of games. Will likely be given a chance again in 2015, the biggest question is when?

Caleb Marchbank – GWS – $197,300

Drafted with Pick #6 in the Draft, GWS have never been afraid of bringing the kids in early (probably because they usually don’t have an alternative). You’d think guys like Corr, Davis and Bugg  get first crack, but Lachie Plowman’s injury could bump up his chances.

Brodie Murdoch – St.Kilda – $193,500

Was given a couple of chances last year, but was subbed a fair bit when he did play. St Kilda still rebuilding, so he fits the age profile they’ll be looking at.

MAYBE LATER ON

UNLIKELY TO PLAY ROUND 1, MAY GET GAMES LATER IN SEASON

Tom Fields – $102,400

Adam Saad – $102,400

Mitchell White – $102,400

Harris Andrews – $117,300

Brayden Maynard – $117,300

Oscar McDonald – $117,300

Josh McGuinness – $117,300

Josh Watts – $117,300

Kaiden Brand – $123,900

Ciaran Byrne – $123,900

Darcy Byrne-Jones – $123,900

Matthew Dick – $123,900

Cameron Giles – $123,900

Joel Hamling – $123,900

Jordan Kelly – $123,900

Jake Kolodjashnij – $123,900

Jonathan Marsh – $123,900

Adam Oxley – $123,900

Alex Pearce – $123,900

Xavier Richards – $123,900

Sam Siggins – $123,900

Tanner Smith – $123,900

Michael Manteit – $124,400

Billy Gowers – $128,400

Lauchlan Dalgleish – $145,100

Sam Durdin – $147,300

Ariel Steinberg – $169,900

Sam Colquhoun – $188,300

That’s all for now – I’ll update these rookie posts regularly throughout the preseason so keep the ear to the ground!

Hit me up on Twitter or in the comments below

Barron Von Crow

@BarronVonCrow

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