I'm surprised no one has Bonner from Port in their back line. Is he injured or unlikely to play? Any Port supporters out there that can help?
He's in my side but I might move him back out before lockout. I think I'd rather pay 85k more for him over Coffield. There was talk he would surpass Pittard this year anyway (not sure if that was Bigfooty hype or well informed opinion), but with his injury Bonner will get a great look in the first three games.
Interestingly in JLT2 he was pushed from HBF to wing which makes me think even if Pittard does return he won't be dropped (just moved to a position where he might score a little bit less).
So what am I hoping for?
- If he averages below 70-80 it won't be a disastrous pick but one that should've probably been better used.
- If he averages 80 that will put him as a better midprice selection then any of the popular forwards (Christensen, Bell, Dunkley).
- If he averages 85-90 he could end up a low D7 or a straight swap to a fallen premium
- If he averages 90+ you're laughing.
So how confident am I that he hits the 80 mark?
Pre-season:
JLT1: 49 from 69% TOG (Pittard: 105)
JLT2: 78 from 81% TOG (Pittard: 35 from a half)
Neither score was great, JLT 2 showed some promise though.
2016:
R23: GCS - 76
2017:
R22: WBD - 75
R23: GCS- 81
EF: WCE - 74
Decent scores, but two games were v GCS
Verdict:
With his four games to date + JLT 2 I believe Bonner can safely average 75, with 85 as a realistic upside. This has been made safer with Pittard's injury, but offset by the amount of Port Adelaide players demanding SC points this year (Ryder, Wines, SPP, Hartlett, Rocky, Ebert, Boak, Westhoff, Wingard, Dixon) and the seemingly endless supply of HBF's on their list.
He is by no means a must pick and a lot of people haven't considered him at all due to structural reasons. But at his price (~47 average) I see him as a great value D4 option coming into R1 that appeals to me more than fielding 3 DEF rookies.