I looked at how the top supercoach rucks were affected by their opponent in 2018. On average I went down to Bellchambers and didn't include Sandilands scores because he didn't play many games but included him as an opponent, FremantleA is against Sandi and Fremantle is without Sandi.
Grundy doesn't get Sandi until rnd 11, Gawn until rnd 12 and plays West Coast in rnd 3 where NicNat won't play. They would be the 3 main threats to a big early price drop. The only other one might be Stef Martin in rnd 5 who he had 110 and 121 against this year. Given he is also a great VC not starting him could be painful.
For those looking at an R2 placeholder definitely avoid one that plays Gawn early as he destroyed his opponents scores this year. Even if his average goes down with Preuss in the team he should still be an opponent to avoid.
Goldstein potentially starts with Sandi and Stef!
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