It’s time to look at five more stocks that have stood out ahead of the final bye round of the season.
In the AFL stock market there are three categories: buy, hold and sell. If you’re a keen follower of the game and are looking to invest your time wisely, look no further than the below and keep notes on what happens on a weekly basis.
Buy: Bailey Smith
There has been plenty of rookie talk in 2019, particularly about who will likely run second behind Sam Walsh in the Rising Star award. The young talent that has debuted this season has been super impressive. Jordan Clark was great against Adelaide this round, Sydney Stack kicked four goals in his first match starting as forward and Connor Rozee and Xavier Duursma have been excellent, playing every game for Port Adelaide.
It’s time to start paying attention to Bailey Smith, who was highly rated pre-draft yet has improved considerably throughout the season while receiving no fanfare. In cataclysmic conditions in Round 15 Smith was a beast in the contest, finishing with 22 disposals, 15 contested possessions, 14 tackles and five clearances while kicking two behinds.
The 18-year-old has played every game this season and has avoided being a part of coach Luke Beveridge’s random rotation policy, getting consistently high midfield minutes. Despite having had a quiet couple of weeks during the bye period, Smith has shown a tendency to look for contested situations and crash in, making up for lower numbers. There’s a reason Smith was so highly rated in his draft class, it’s time to start looking at him as a surefire top-five Rising Star finisher in 2019.
Sell: Aliir Aliir as a ruckman
Callum Sinclair going down with a dislocated shoulder twice in the first quarter against the Suns was a terrible result for a team that has no further depth in the position. With Sinclair out for three weeks, the Swans have only midseason recruit Michael Knoll as a fit ruckman, but he isn’t AFL-ready. Needing to be creative, Sam Reid and Aliir Aliir tend to take the ruck contests if Sinclair is unavailable and it could be detrimental, particularly with the latter.
Aliir is a natural athlete, and his leaping ability means he’ll be competitive in any ruck contest against a second-string ruckman. Watching him play the position, however, it feels as though he enters any contest with great enthusiasm and a distinctive lack of self-protection. Aliir will be one of the Swans’ main defenders for the next six years or more, whether it be as a key position player or as the interceptor. What we don’t need is Aliir doing anything more than defensive boundary contests at all.
At 24 years of age and finally securing his spot as a best-22 player, the Swans need to protect his longevity. Simply because he has played ruck in the NEAFL doesn’t mean he should when the team will likely lose the hitout anyway. While they’ll likely back in their two undersized key position players, Sydney needs to avoid throwing its key posts to the wolves and bite the bullet with Knoll.
(AAP Image/Rob Blakers)
Hold: caretaker coaches
Too many times we see caretaker coaches play out the season and then drift back into an assistant coaching role and often coaching obscurity. At the moment we have Rhyce Shaw and David Teague performing extraordinarily in their temporary roles in charge of North Melbourne and Carlton respectively, yet neither is being spoken of enough in relation to the permanent position as head coach.
Shaw has seemingly captured the minds and emotions of all North Melbourne players and has the team playing together and fluently. The defence is playing extremely well and the way the team is running in waves and on the same page is producing good footy and great results. Similarly, David Teague has helped instil a belief in Carlton that they can win in the unlikeliest of situations. With Patrick Cripps, Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow unavailable and facing a large quarter-time deficit, Teague placed trust in his players to get the job done.
Often players perform well in the week following a sacking as a ‘tribute’ of sorts to their former coach rather than as an indication that the caretaker has had any influence. But as the season continues to play out and North Melbourne and Carlton continue to show real improvement, we must put some more respect on the names of Rhyce Shaw and David Teague as genuine candidates to become senior coaches.
(Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
Sell: Day games at the Gabba
Now that we’ve been able to guarantee the roof will be closed at all Marvel Stadium games for the rest of the season, it’s time to turn our attention to the Gabba. Given the fact the Lions have fast-tracked their development and turned into a potential top-four team, more people are investing their time into watching Brisbane games. Whoever watched the first half of Brisbane’s home game against Melbourne on Sunday will have enjoyed the half of the ground that was clearly visible.
Now it’s hard to get angry at the sun. I doubt it will go away any time soon. The fact you can hardly see more than a quarter of the ground when the sun is out in full force makes it a frustrating aspect of viewing. If there are other games running at the same time, it’s almost worth missing the first half of a Gabba day game to protect your eyes.
Buy: Luke Shuey’s Brownlow chances
With the Eagles sitting nicely in their bid to go back-to-back, we can expect more recognition to be given to individual performances. Andrew Gaff has historically polled pretty well in the Brownlow Medal, but Elliot Yeo and Dom Sheed in particular have produced some standout performances. Luke Shuey, however, had at the very least his third best-on-ground performance on the weekend against Hawthorn as he continues to produce a career-best season.
Averaging 27 disposals, 6.5 clearance, 5.7 tackles and 5.6 inside 50s, Shuey has taken his influence on games to another level. Most encouraging is Shuey’s ability to spread from the contest. The 29-year-old has always been known for his great clearance work, but he has taken his fitness and running to another level. Averaging a career-high 16 uncontested possessions, an elite 9.5 effective kicks and 484 metres per game, Shuey is one of the most underrated, complete midfielders in the entire AFL. The consistency of his output will see him poll a lot of minor votes in games and with his ability to post monster stat-lines, Shuey is one to watch.
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