Well, believe it or not folks, we actually don’t have enough content to put together a Trade Winds article this weekend – not that that’s a bad thing! There were no major injuries or suspensions coming out of last weekend’s round of matches, with the only minor concerns being a week’s suspension for Hamish HARTLETT (hold on to him) and the torn pectoral muscle sustained by Kangaroo youngster Joel TIPPETT (move him on – perhaps a trade to Geelong’s BEWS or the Gold Coast’s CAMERON). A minor leg issue for injury-prone Hawk bigman Ben McEVOY is also probably worth mentioning, but I wouldn’t be trading the Big Mac – if you had to, the best option would be Port’s Matthew LOBBE or, if you need to free up a little extra cash, Gold Coasts Charlie DIXON.
Two bye weekends out of the way, and thankfully only one to go. How have you fared over this difficult SC time? What has been your trade strategy? There are a million different combinations, and only time will tell if you have made the right decision with your team. Unfortunately there are a number of injury and suspension issues again this coming weekend, which might just force your hand in regards to how many trades you look at making for round 10.
Blake ACRES - St Kilda - $162,100 Av 51 The Saints can’t take a trick on the injury-front this year, and this time it is promising recruit ACRES who has succumbed to a leg injury and will be out for the next six weeks. The young fella was showing a lot too, scoring 91 in just over a fortnight ago, leading to him being traded into 22% of SC teams – only to see him then get the vest, finally come on and proceed to score 4 pts before getting injured. It doesn’t get much worse than that. The big dilemma is, having only made a small amount of cash, to you trade him or hold him? With the first of the bye weeks out of the way, most teams are looking to trade a bit aggressively this weekend – particularly in relation to players from teams that have already had their bye last weekend. Unfortunately as well as a few injuries to key players, there are also some suspensions that, when added to possible bye weeks coming up, mean that some important players may be missing for the next fortnight. Does that mean you have to move them on? The decision is in your hands…
Jarryd ROUGHEAD - Hawthorn - $451,200 Av 90 The big man-mountain from the Hawks has had a slightly less than standard year so far in 2014, dropping $80,100 but still averaging a fairly tidy 90 pts per game. Selected in the forwardline of 24% of SC teams, Roughy has been suspended for a week for another contentious bump last weekend, meaning in addition to his bye he’ll be gone for the next fortnight. Is that enough to toss him out of your team? If you’re desperate for a win, it just might be – and these are your best options. Well if the last few weeks have been relatively quiet on the injury front, last weekend certainly struck back with a couple of big names and several fringe players going down with significant injuries that will see them miss sizeable chunks of the season – right at the wrong time, leading into the first bye week. With three trades up our sleeve the damage can be minimized, but don’t get too greedy – remember the season still has a long way to go.
Sam MITCHELL - Hawthorn - $500,400 Av 90 The biggest name to go down last weekend was Hawk midfielder/defender Sam MITCHELL. Selected in an incredible 50% of teams, MITCHELL now has a significant hamstring injury which will see him miss up to 8 weeks of football – too much to bother keeping him on the pine. To add insult to that horrendous injury, MITCHELL went down very early in the match, scoring a paltry 9 points. Ouch. Time to move him on…but who to? |