It’s weeks like this that make conserving trades in other rounds so important, with an ankle injury to James Tedesco forcing a trade for thousands of players.
Thus the big question for the week is who to trade in for Tedesco? A gun fullback, an outside back or even a half (via a substitute)?
There is indeed a long line of worthy candidates, each presenting their own pros and cons.
For those who are not worried about the Origin period (head-to-head players predominately), Greg Inglis ($280,000) has to be the number one pick if you don’t already have him. He is not likely to be this cheap for some time, so now is the time to get on GI! The Origin period is Inglis’ major downfall, in that both of Souths’ byes lye outside the Origin weeks, meaning he will miss a total of five games during this period.
Jarryd Hayne ($315,200) is looking close to revisiting his form of previous years. While he will play Origin, both the Eels’ byes are within the Origin weeks, meaning he will likely only miss a total of three games. He does have the tendency to be a bit less consistent than the likes of Inglis, however with an improved Eels pack in front of him, he is set to keep improving on his 2013 statistics.
Anthony Milford ($329,500) and Josh Mansour ($314,300), barring surprise Origin selections, present the best non-Origin options to replace Tedesco, with both scoring among the Supercoach elite in 2014.
The boat has all but sailed for Mansour, despite him still set to rise another $30+k. His current price relies on a 90+ average which, particularly as a winger, is not sustainable. He will play both the Round 14 and 17 major bye rounds, which adds some value to his name, so those without him should either bite the bullet this week, or hold off closer to Origin and hope for some price drops.
Milford, while being a great option, is as expensive as he is likely to be all year, so Supercoaches might want to wait a couple weeks until they can potentially upgrade a Ben Hunt, Chad Townsend or alike.
Cashing in your cows
The other question you will need to start asking yourself is when is the right time to start cashing in on or upgrading your start-of-season cash cows, many of whom are beginning to peak. However, Supercoaches must not rush into trading every cow as soon as they peak.
The likes of Young Tounampaea and Matt Allwood are perfect examples. Both players have not set the Supercoach world alight, however at their current averages, should be able to hold their prices with relative ease. Thus it would only take one big round score to see a couple of quick rises to the tune of $30-40k (exactly what Gerard Beale’s Round 4 score of 85 has achieved).
It’s players such as Willie Tonga, off the back of his one 50+ score in Round 3, who have reached the $200k mark and will struggle to reach this current average, thus likely to lose value in the coming weeks.
Beale and Dale Copley are likely to join Tonga on the chopping block in the next couple of weeks (barring another big score), however Copley might be handy for the Round 11 bye and potentially through Origin. So Supercoaches will need to weigh up whether having another starter for Round 11 is worth the potential to lose some of his value.
Timing may also come down to new cheapies becoming available, which may very well force your hand. Apisaua Koroisau is an absolute must this week, with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak likely to be a similar certainty for next week.
Watchlist
Ben Barba ($185,600)
To think that a player who started the 2013 season at $360,000 has now dropped to under $200k is quite incredible. Barba has seemingly struggled to find his place in the Broncos line-up and is still yet to even register a line-break.
For a player of his talent, $185k is an absolute bargain price for the Supercoach sleeping giant. He could be one of the best buys for the Origin period, where Broncos fans and Barba owners will be hoping he can return to the form of previous seasons.
Follow Nic on twitter @thirdmanin_sc and watch him as part the ‘Third Man In’ team discuss all the Round 6 Supercoach topics in their weekly video.
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