Doctor SuperCoach: Luxury trades for potential round 24 busts, to win your grand final

For those with trades left looking for an extra lift against your competition, it’s time to start thinking long and hard about what move is going to make the biggest difference.

This week in Doctor’s Orders, the expert team at Doctor SuperCoach look at popular options currently in teams who have the most potential to be busts in this crucial week. We suggest a high-upside alternative in each position who could become your grand final hero.

Ruck

OUT: ROWAN MARSHALL – $620,800 – Average 112.5

IN: MAX GAWN – $647,400 – Average 106.5

Rowan Marshall is in some of the best form of his career but there’s one very big obstacle in his way this Saturday afternoon. Despite a rolling three and five-game average of 135 and 128 respectively, a genuine point of difference could be to make this crucial move. Oscar McInerney is generally a silent killer as a ruck opponent; he is statistically one of the toughest match-ups for SuperCoach and does a good job playing as a negator. McInerney has given up massive scores to Max Gawn 205 and Jarrod Witts 134 in recent weeks, but these are two outliers across the season. Both these players have elite ruck-craft in common, which is Marshall’s biggest weakness as a ruckman, something that will limit his ceiling.

Yet this is less about Marshall being a poor option and much more about Gawn preparing to feast on the Sydney Swans. Whether it’s Tom Hickey or Hayden McLean undertaking first ruck duties, there is little doubt that the Melbourne captain will monster both and soar towards a score of 150+. Brodie Grundy is clearly on the outer and Gawn’s history against Sydney is amazing, with previous scores of 198, 112, 150,113 and 119.

Someone must make way for Gawn this week, and Marshall’s previous two scores against Brisbane are 99 and 113; which is quite decent but most coaches also have Tim English, who is untradeable in this instance as he faces the inexperienced Shannon Neale.

Midfield

OUT: CALEB SERONG – $562,900 – Average 109.9

IN: NOAH ANDERSON – $512,400 – Average 104.5

What a year it has been for Caleb Serong. He has stamped himself as one the game’s premium midfielders in this breakout year. With improved play comes more attention, however, and he likely has the nightmare match-up against Finn Magginess this week. The list of scalps this man has on his resume is ridiculous; most notably, he limited Nick Daicos to a season-low score of 41 and Clayton Oliver to 84 last week. There simply is no upside to Caleb Serong in round 24; his scoring is going to be capped due to the relentless tagging nature at Hawthorn, unless the Magginess tag follows Andrew Brayshaw instead. But is it worth the risk?

Noah Anderson is our hot tip to boom this week against lowly North Melbourne. They have given up the most points to premium midfielders all season, with big scores coming in the previous five weeks to Dustin Martin (158), Darcy Parish (122), Nic Martin (137), Christian Petracca (125) and Jack Steele (160). We are searching for upside in a grand final and Anderson has an elite ceiling, with four 130+ scores to his name this season, including a career-high 189 against Melbourne.

Forward

OUT: JACK MACRAE – $459.100 – Average 99.9

IN: SAM FLANDERS – $492,700 – Average 85.9 or TAYLOR WALKER – $479,500 – Average 90.7

It has been a rapid decline for one of the most famous SuperCoach players of all time. Gone are the days of eclipsing 120+ across a full season; Jack Macrae has seen a decrease in production as he approaches age 30 and is confirmed to miss round 24 due to concussion.

There are a couple of ways you can go about replacing him. The first is using the logic applied with Noah Anderson and making a relatively safe play in Sam Flanders. His three and five-game average is 100, and against poor opposition he should continue this trend.

For those with an increased risk appetite and a thirst for the unknown, why not take a flyer on the Big Texan? The former Adelaide captain plays West Coast this week, which means he could EXPLODE. In round 13, Taylor Walker scored 208 points against the Eagles; and what better way to take out his frustrations over the AFL ARC system than to beat up the opposition!

Jeremy McGovern is the main concern here, however, as he proved last week. He is still one of the league’s premier key defenders, so you can rest assured he won’t let Walker get away that easily this time around. Tread with caution … this is a definite boom or bust selection.

Defence

OUT: SAM DOCHERTY -$534,400 – Average 100.6

IN: NICK BLAKEY – $445,700 – Average 86.3

It was all smooth sailing for the versatile Sam Docherty up until his calf injury in round 21. He didn’t look himself last week, scoring a measly 64, and with the rise of Nic Newman, as well as the stacked Carlton midfield, it is hard to see him scoring well in round 24. It wouldn’t be totally shocking to see him rested either, considering the Blues are finals bound and are expected to recall both Adam Cerra and Sam Walsh.

“The Lizard” Nick Blakey is a man in form and has enjoyed consecutive 120+ scores against Gold Coast and Adelaide. There has been a noticeable switch in him commanding more kick-ins than Jake Lloyd during this time (14 to eight), using his pace and flair to tear through opposition. Melbourne is also one of the easier match-ups for defenders, recently giving up big scores to Will Day (118), Nic Newman (118), Adam Saad (132), Jack Ziebell (127) and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (110).

– A big thank you to everyone who has followed along and enjoyed our Doctor’s Orders columns in 2023!