SuperCoach 2023 POD Watch: Brennan Cox

The whole point of looking for a POD (point of difference) for your side, is finding the gem player and reaping the rewards of his scoring before everyone else jumps on him. With only 2.3% of coaches selecting this defender, Brennan Cox can be one of those gems. However, this is still an incredibly risky pick, but it’s one that could pay off if you have the guts to try it.

Cox has a starting price of $445,400 and is entering round 3’s price changes with a BE of -32 so, he’s almost guaranteed to increase in price by just stepping onto the field this week. The 24-year-old has started 2023 in fine form, averaging 142.5 SuperCoach points after a 154 score against St Kilda and 131 over North Melbourne in the opening two rounds of the season.

It sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? A mid-priced player exploding and set to increase in value. You can now pick him up right before he reaches premium prices and before everyone else starts to wish they traded him in earlier. However, I need to point out that Cox has little to no history of playing at these levels in the past. Since being taken with pick 41 overall in the 2016 AFL National Draft, Cox’s best SuperCoach season came in 2022, when he averaged 80.9 from 21 AFL games. His previous best was an 80.7 in 2020 from 13 AFL games.

These aren’t overly impressive numbers. They aren’t terrible, but they also aren’t amazing. I believe picking a player at that price means that you believe that Cox is a keeper. Please take into account that Cox’s starting price is only $17,000 below Sydney’s Errol Gulden and if you don’t have Gulden, I suggest picking up Gulden, well before worrying about Cox as a POD.

However, if you have managed to select all the amazing premiums, did well with your rookie options, have no injuries and started the best mid-pricers, then Cox could be an interesting POD for you. If it doesn’t work out, then just trade him out again in a few weeks after he’s increased in value by $100,000-150,000. But if it does work out for you and Cox is a keeper, then I guess you’re in the driver’s seat for an incredible 2023 SuperCoach season.