Steele SIDEBOTTOM - Collingwood - $530,100 Av 105
Obviously a few teams have already moved the Collingwood midfielder on, but nevertheless I was surprised to see him in only 1% of teams – perhaps he’s a victim of the popularity of the Pendlebury/Swan/Beams trio? Whatever the reason, SIDEBOTTOM is gone for three weeks after an absolute ‘brain fade’ in the first fifteen seconds of last week’s game against the Saints, where he collected Mav WELLER in a very ordinary incident. Bucks thinks he was unlucky – I think not. Either way he has to go.
Michael BARLOW (Freo) - $530,500 Av 107
Leigh MONTAGNA (St K) - $536,700 Av 106
Verdict : If you haven’t already got FYFE (and even if you have), I think either MUNDY or BARLOW are the best replacements, especially given Fremantle’s draw for the remainder of the season. I’d lean toward BARLOW, but only just.
Jackson MERRETT - Essendon - $280,000 Av 68
A popular rookie investment, it’s interesting to see that MERRRETT is still named in 6% of SC teams at this stage of proceedings. That should change this week, with a finger injury meaning he will be missing for the next three weeks or so. A blow for the Bombers, but for the SC owners who still have him, now is the time to either use his cash to upgrade to a fallen premium, or trade him down, take the money and run.
Options : Taylor WALKER (Adel) - $334,000 Av 86 (Needs in injection of cash)
Cameron SHENTON (St K) - $222,600 Av 82
Ben LENNON (Rich) - $194,300 Av 57
Verdict : If you have the cash to do so, the clear exchange would be to get flavour-of-the-week WALKER on board, particularly after his big game last weekend. If you don’t have the cash, SHENTON is your man.
Josh J KENNEDY - West Coast - $424,800 Av 75
Another forward who has been unpredictable and inconsistent in 2014, KENNEDY now faces two weeks on the sidelines after some facial surgery to repair cheekbone damage. Is that enough time out to force you to trade him? That’s depends on your position on the ladder, but there are certainly a couple of juicy replacements waiting in the wings to bolster your team.
Options : Mark LeCRAS (WCE) - $428,400 Av 99
Matthew PAVLICH (Freo) - $429,900 Av 89
Jack GUNSTON (Haw) - $424,700 Av 89
Verdict : Taking the opportunity to look forward at the fixture, PAVLICH looks like a pretty impressive option, given Freo’s favorable draw from here on in. Whilst PAV hasn’t set the world on fire in 2014, expect him to improve his scoring in the second half of the season.
Trent WEST - Brisbane - $363,200 Av 75
Although not the most prolific SC scorer going around, Lion ruckman WEST is still selected in 2% of SC teams – obviously some people were wary of Sandi as their R2 choice at the start of the season, or they were looking to save some money in the ruck department. Either way WEST has been okay with a 75 pt average, however a knee injury has now ended his season and he has to go.
Options : Nic NATANUI (WCE) - $388,200 Av 75
Hamish McINTOSH (Gee) - $392,800 Av 81
Stefan MARTIN (Bris) - $242,700 Av 0
Verdict : provided you have the $20,000 in the kitty, NICNAT is the obvious choice and should be taken. However, if you are one for a risk and need cash elsewhere, MARTIN could be a wise choice – other than raw rookies, he’s the only ruckman Brisbane has left!
That’s it for this week – a few minor issues, but most teams should’ve got through last weekend relatively unscathed. Drop us a line if you have a trade dilemma and we’ll do our best to help.