The Rookie Scout: Round 9

It almost feels like the season has started anew for us in fantasy football in terms of rookies.

We’re moving out an old batch and we have a nice helping of fresh  rookies being served up to us. For every Callum Mills or Mitch Brown we move out we’ve got a Danny MacPherson or Ben Keays coming in and we’ve already heard the news that Rhys Mathieson will be debuting this week for the Brisbane Lions.

We’ve also had some returns via the lower leagues, with Michael Apeness and Caleb Marchbank both returning from injuries to play in the WAFL and NEAFL respectively last week, both of whom could be future rookie options we look at later in the year.

And the good news continues with a MASSIVE 6 CoachKings games on offer this week, which means there will be plenty of rookie options to pick up for your sides this week.

HUGE WEEKEND OF COACHKINGS KICKS OFF SOON! CONTESTS HERE

MIDFIELDERS

Callum Mills

It’s time to move the young fella out if you haven’t already. He’s just dropped 15K in SC and now has another high BE of 95. His ownership percentage has fallen to just 25.2% and it looks like plenty of people are moving him out this week, with 31% of trades involving Mills being downgrades to Jacob Hopper and 26.6% downgrading to Darcy McPherson. I’d go for McPherson this week myself, who’ll gain you an extra 91K and is on the bubble, while downgrading to Hopper can wait another week.

Clayton Oliver

12 of his 15 disposals were handballs, which is what hurt his SC scores a tad this week and saw him lose $800. He also won less contested ball than usual too, prior to last week he has averaged just over half of his possessions being contested, but was down to just 4 contested possessions last week, or 26.6%, so half as many as usual. That’s probably to be expected since he played more across the wing than centre. His BE is 43 this week though, so he’s capable of beating that and has Brisbane this week, so he should be good for another week at least.

Christian Petracca

Petracca has only played 3 games, but is already proving his worth to the Demons, currently ranking 6^th for Inside 50’s per game at 5.6 per (the only players to average over 6 this year are Dangerfield, Franklin and JPK) and 8^th for Goal Assists per game at 1.3 per. He only scored the 61 SCPoints last week, but he did have 4 clangers in there too. His BE is -38 this week, so nothing to worry about for him. He’s currently looking like a nice guy to plug in to your last MID or FWD spot on field and he’s also looking like a very good pick for CoachKings this week, team him up with Clayton Oliver and get two blokes in the midfield who are capable of putting up a good score for only $10,800.

Josh Smith

A bounce back game for Smith, who scored 49 a fortnight ago, a game that most people would have brought him in for. The Pies have a tough couple of weeks coming up, with games against Geelong and the Western Bulldogs on offer, so I might hesitate to start him, but his BE is 3, so he should still earn some cash.

Darcy Parish

Having Round 7 off looked to do the trick for Parish, who pumped out his highest score in SC since Round 4. He only gained $700 for Round 8, but has a BE of 53 this week, which should see him keep for a few more weeks. Upcoming games against St Kilda, Richmond and Fremantle present an opportunity for him to score some decent points. After that it’s Hawthorn, GWS and West Coast in Perth. So that may be your jumping off point if you want to keep him for a bit longer. Great price for his potential output in CoachKings

FORWARDS

Connor Menadue

Well, I suppose the good news is that Menadue has a low BE of just 48, the bad news is that he’s probably going to struggle to reach that if his current form holds, with a 5 round average of just 46 SCPoints. There’s not really a lot that can be done about that though, we know what we’re gonna get with him.

Sam Kerridge

Carlton had a good win last week, but Kerridge never really got heavily involved in the action, recording his lowest disposal count for the year. He’s playing North Melbourne this week, a team he has a decent history against (hauls of 6 and 4 goals in his two games VS the Roos) and a BE of 70 means he should keep for another week. It’s probably getting close to the point where we think about upgrading him though.

Ben Kennedy

Kennedy has started having a bigger impact in front of goals over the past fortnight, which not surprisingly, has seen his fantasy footy scores look more impressive as well. He has averaged 83 SCPoints over the past two weeks, after averaging 59 between Round 3-6, a period where he only kicked 1 goal. His BE is 32 this week, so he should be good for at least another 20-30K, but he’s in the same position as Sammy Kerridge, if you still have him you’ll need to think about what you’re going to do with him soon. His form recently has probably been good enough to consider him for CoachKings, but I’d take Oliver and Petracca first.

Tom Papley

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt about Papley it’s that when he doesn’t get involved in a game he REALLY doesn’t get involved, producing his second game of 5 disposals for the year, both of which he scored under 30 SCPoints. He still managed to rise $5,000 in price in SC after that score, but it has bumped his BE up to 56 for this week. That poor score is going to be in his rolling average for another fortnight, so a score in the 50’s will push his BE up to the 80’s next week. Not a lot to be gained from keeping him, so he’s one you should look to be moving out.

Mitch McGovern

McGovern had a decent game against the Cats, kicking a pair of goals, but he’s shown us so far this year that he’s not going to be a huge possession winner and doesn’t (yet) have super high scoring potential in fantasy football. His BE is 45 this week, he should score more than that against a depleted Gold Coast side this week, but has had 3 games under that this year. So probably not much to be gained from keeping him this week, but he could hold for another fortnight if you have bigger priorities.

Lincoln McCarthy

McCarthy has been injury prone throughout his short career, and the injury bug has struck again, with a hip-flexor injury looking to keep him out of the Collingwood match. It’s not expected to keep him out for long, but Geelong has shown that they can be cautious with McCarthy. He still has that huge BE if 101 hanging over his head, but is still owned by 10.1% of all SC teams. If you have him, look at moving him on, but since he’s missing a week he doesn’t become an immediate priority.

DEFENDERS

Matthew Dea

Dea has been back to his best in SC the past fortnight with scores of 79 and 88. His BE is a very achievable 14, so he has at least another fortnight in him and his price could rise to the $330-$350Krange if he has a couple of more decent games, and the Bombers do have some easier opponents coming up, with games against St Kilda, Richmond and Fremantle. Will make a great DEF pick in CoachKings this week.

Marcus Adams

Adams looks like he’ll be missing another week and with a BE of 68 he’s definitely one you can look to move on this week.

Darcy Byrne-Jones

All it takes is for one bad game to blow a good rookie pick, which is what happened to Byrne-Jones after his poor score against Carlton. His BE is now 63, which is achievable for him, but does put a dent in his immediate earning potential. His average at Adelaide Oval is 88 SCPoints, so a score like that would see his BE rise to 80 odd again for Round 10. Once the dud score (assuming he doesn’t get another one) is out of his 3 round average though his BE should drop down to the 30’s again. So if you can hold him for the next fortnight then do it, but if he has another bad game this week then we’ll need to re-think that position.

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti

It’s not hard to see why Bombers fans love this bloke; he’s quickly becoming a favourite of mine too. Much like Dea, he’s had a decent run over the past fortnight, which has seen his BE drop to 34 this week. He’ll hold for now.

RUCKS

Mason Cox

A great game in front of goals saw Cox hit his first SC ton of his career, while he also provided some decent backup work in the ruck. He did suffer a hand injury after it was stepped on by a teammate and while that injury will need to be re-assessed you’d think he’d still play this week as he managed to see out the game last week. His BE is -5 this week, so expect plenty more cash from Cox. His game last week will see a lot of people pick him in CoachKings this week.

THE BEST OF THE REST…

Jacob Hopper – Just a lazy 106 SCPoints upon debut for Hopper. He’s 193.8K in SC, so not as cheap as we want, but if he has that kind of scoring potential he’ll make a lot of cash. Keep your eyes on him again this week and consider trading him next week if he has another good game and is named for Round 10.

Mitch Brown – A bad game with just 29 SCPoints last week, but BE is still just 53, but looks like he probably won’t raise much more cash from here. Consider moving him on.

Peter Wright – Was a late withdrawal last week with calf tightness, but is expected to be back this week against Adelaide. Look for him and Lynch to really stretch the Crows defence.

Bailey Williams – Debuted with a score of 60, which isn’t bad for a rookie. Remains to be seen what his JS is like, but he’s DEF/MID eligible, which could come handy if he keeps getting games.

Daniel Currie – Missed last week, but with Tom Nicholls looking like he won’t play due to concussion there’s a chance he could earn a recall, though the Suns might just run with Keegan Brooksby as the sole ruck.

George Hewett – Just 54 SCPoints from Hewett last week and now has a BE of 34, which means he won’t be looking to make much cash if he hits his average, which is 57. Put him on the cull list.

Danny MacPherson – Is averaging 68 SCPoints from his first two games and with the amount of injuries the Suns currently have you’d think his JS would be pretty secure. Bargain price of 102K, reckon most people will pick him up this week.

Mason Redman – Averaging just 41.5 SCPoints from his two games, but with MacPherson scoring more and also being cheaper I’d look to him as my downgrade target this week over Redman.

Ben Crocker – Another player on the bubble, he’s averaged just 47.5 SCPoints in his two games, though did score better against Brisbane last week with 62 SCPoints.

Liam Sumner – Finally busted out a score above 55 with a 71 last week, which earned him a 31K price rise. BE is 3 this week, but better downgrade options available.

Josh Wagner – Wagner’s yo-yoing form continued with a 43 last week. He doesn’t seem to have a good track record of back-to-back quality games; he scored 76 and 86 in Round 4 and 5, but has gone 48, 94, 43 since then. BE is 29, so still life in him yet if you own him.

Tom Ruggles – Has had scores of 74 and 57 in his games since he missed Round 6,

Michael Hartley – Scored 72 last week, which is about his average, but like a lot of Essendon rookies, his time is drawing near. BE of 44.

Ciaran Byrne – Just 49 last week, which has pushed his BE up to 53. Probably near his peak price, but could push up to near 300K if he has a good game or two.

Ben Keays – Scored 76 last week, which has pushed his 3 round average up to 66 and saw his price jump $57K. BE is -36.

Connor Blakely – Had his first price rise, but could only earn 19.6K. Average is 46 and BE is already 11, so it’s not surprise he’s only owned by just 0.8% of teams.

Jayden Short – Just fell short of his average, scoring 47. BE is -2, so still has time on his side.

Kaiden Brand – On the bubble this week, but scoring potential doesn’t look ultra high, with scores of 65 and 52. Still, downgrade otions down back are limited at the moment, so he could be an option this week.

Wayne Milera – Recalled after missing 3 weeks, but could only manage a score of 44 and lost almost $8,000. BE is 52, which he might struggle to reach, but BE will drop down to the 30’s after this week.

Tim Mohr – Made his return to AFL after several knee injuries and scored 46. At his price of $195K we’d probably steer clear from him if that’s his scoring potential.

Aaron Mullet – Has played two games now and is averaging just 55.5 SCPoints. Same as Mohr above, he’s $199K in SC, so probably a no if that’s what he’ll score.

Jack Hiscox – Made his AFL debut last week, but didn’t do a heap with just 7 disposals and 25 SCPoints.  

Jade Gresham – Continues to display limited scoring potential, with just the 36 SCPoints last week and an average of just 44.4 SCPoints.

Conor McKenna – Has played 3 games now and is averaging just 43 SCPoints. Not a lot of potential there.

AROUND THE GROUNDS…

Matthew Goodyear – He had 29 disposals, 3 marks, 4 tackles, 7 inside 50’s and kicked 0.2 in Collingwoods VFL win over Geelong. Probably not a chance to be recalled with the Pies main side having a big win last week.

Declan Hamilton – 24 disposals, 8 marks, 6 inside 50’s and 4 tackles for Hamilton in the VFL as Footscray defeated Port Melbourne by 19 points.

Kieran Collins – Just 16 disposals, but 6 marks, 3 tackles and 3 rebound 50’s for Collins last weekend. Bulldogs are losing guys down back fast and Adams is still out, so he might have a chance to earn his first AFL game.

Tom Lee – Saints got a sound beating, so Lee could be in the frame for a recall. He had 26 disposals, 5 marks, 6 inside 50’s and 8 rebound 50’s in Sandringhams loss to the Casey Scorpions in the VFL.

Tom Curren – 20 disposals, 1 mark, 3 tackles and 4 inside 50’s for Curren.

Jack Trengove – Continues to rack ‘em up in the VFL, with 29 disposals, 6 tackles, 3 inside 50’s and a goal. 20 of his 29 disposals were handballs, which might hurt his Supercoach potential a tad though.

Liam McBean – 4.2 for McBean in their big win over North Ballarat by 79 points in the VFL. Probably lost his immediate chance for a call-up with Richmond’s win over Sydney last week.

Adam Marcon – 26 disposals, 11 marks, 9 tackles for Marcon on the weekend. Still on the Tigers rookie list however.

Jason Castagna – Back to the VFL for Castagna, who has 21 disposals, 4 marks and 4 tackles.

Teia Miles – Miles was inaccurate in front of goal, kicking 1.4, but still had 28 disposals, 8 marks, 3 inside 50’s and 5 rebound 50’s. Probably wishes he was a bit more accurate with Box Hill going down to Werribee by 2 points.

Will Hams – 24 disposals, 6 marks, 4 tackles, 6 inside 50’s and 1.1 for Hams in the Essendon Bombers VFL sides loss to Coburg.

Sam Grimley – Some accurate goal kicking saw Grimley kick 3.0, along with 10 disposals and 7 marks.

Jesse Palmer – 29 touches, 6 marks and 4 hitouts for Jesse Palmer in the Port Adelaide Magpies loss to Woodsville West-Torrens in the SANFL. Has had a solid few weeks in the SANFL, but doubtful the Power look to him yet.

Dougal Howard – 16 disposals, 8 marks, 4 tackles and 19 hitouts for Howard as he battled former Power teammate Jarred Redden in the ruck. Port will be taking on the Eagles with Nic Nat and Lycett in the ruck, so Howard might be considered if they want more ruck help. Wouldn’t expect it though.

Jackson Nelson – Big game for Nelson with 29 disposals, 7 marks, 6 tackles, 6 inside 50’s and a goal as East Perth enjoyed a massive win, just like their AFL counterparts West Coast, beating Swan Districts 114-23.

Corey Adamson – 27 dispoals, 3 marks, 2 tackles and 3 inside 50’s for Adamson for East Perth in the WAFL.

Brant Colledge – Led East Perth in the goal kicking with 3.0 and also had 13 disposals, 6 marks and 5 tackles.

Darcy Tucker – 19 disposals, 4 marks and 3 rebound 50’s for Darcy Tucker in the Peel Thunders loss to South Fremantle in the WAFL.

Michael Apeness – Made his return from a knee injury a fortnight ago for the Peel Thunder reserves side in the WAFL where he had 34 hitouts and returned to the main Peel Thunder side last week. Only had 6 touches, but kicked 2 goals with 3 kicks, as well as taking 5 marks. Will take time, but I reckon Freo will want to play him.

Sam Collins – 17 disposals, 6 marks, 3 tackles and 5 rebound 50’s for Collins last week.

Billy Evans – Evans had a big game for Brisbane in the NEAFL with 3 goals as well as 24 disposals, 5 marks,7 tackles and 7 inside 50’s. Does have an inflated rookie price of 219K in SC though as he debuted at the backend of 2015 for the Lions.

Jackson Paine – 19 disposals, 6 marks, 3 tackles and 6 rebound 50’s for Paine in Brisbanes NEAFL loss to Sydney Uni. Has only managed to play 12 AFL games in 5 years, so I wouldn’t expect much from him.

Jarrad Jansen – 2 goals for Jansen, with 18 disposals, 2 marks and 7 tackles. Big body on him at 192cm and 94 kgs and with Beams looking like he might sit out for the rest of the year, Jansen could be in line to make his AFL debut, though Mathieson has been given the nod first.

Eric Hipwood – 4 goals for Hipwood, along with 16 disposals, 4 marks and 2 tackles. Was an academy pick for Brisbane this year, taken at pick #14, but it’s debatable if he’s ready for AFL footy or not at this point. Has been spending time in the NEAFL at both ends of the ground.

Jonathan Freeman – Hadn’t been doing much for Brisbane in the NEAFL, kicking 2 goals in his pervious 4 games, but finally broke out a bit, kicking 4 goals. Also had 14 disposals, 5 marks and 4 tackles. Has played a handful of games over the previous 2 seasons, so has an inflated price of 218K in SC.

Nic Newman – 30 disposals, 4 marks, 2 tackles and a goal for Nic Newman in Sydney’s huge win in the NEAFL as they beat Eastlake 170 to 28.

Toby Nankervis – Big day out in front of goals for Nankervis, kicking 6 goals straight as well as having 18 disposals and 10 marks. He hasn’t looked like anything other than an injury replacement for Tippett or Sinclair at the Swans for the moment, so unless a LTI hits, I wouldn’t expect him to play.

Matthew Kennedy –Kennedy was only second on the UWS Giants disposal list, with Adam Tomlinson racking up 44 for himself. Kennedy ended with 37 disposals, 11 marks, 8 inside 50’s and 4 rebound 50’s and the UWS Giants defeated the Gold Coast 118-47 in the NEAFL.

Jake Barrett – Another high disposal tally for Barrett, with 34 disposals, 8 marks, 2 tackles, 5 inside 50’s and a goal. Tough midfield to break into though.

Caleb Marchbank – Made his return from an ankle injury and had 21 disposals, 5 marks and 4 rebound 50’s. He’s still 215K since he only played the first two games of 2016 and scored 93 in Round 1 to grab everyone’s attention after a quiet NAB Challenge.

Ryan Davis – Gold Coast might be forced to bring him back just to field a side, with more injuries striking the Suns. He had 22 disposals, 5 marks, 11 tackles, 5 inside 50’s and 2 goals against the UWS Giants.

Joshua Schoenfeld – Another who might play just because there’s a need for healthy bodies, he had 18 disposals, 3 marks and 6 tackles for the Suns in the NEAFL.

And that’s it for the Rookie Scout Report this week. So are any of you culling some rookies this week? And will you be looking at upgrades to premo picks or downgrading to new rookies? Let us know in the comments below, or hit us up on Twitter @BarronVonCrow