Gresham Was a $298k Buy in Pre-Season. By Round 8, the Registry Had Said Avoid Twice. Here's What the Average Is Hiding.

He averaged 63 against a 44 BE. The cash gen never moved. That's not a hold — that's a slow bleed that keeps getting worse.

Jade Gresham was one of the quiet value calls at the start of 2026. At $298.5k with a 44 BE and a role upgrade flagged in the pre-season intel, the registry called him a buy before Round 1. Coaches who grabbed him early liked the maths: mid-range FWD price, low BE, Essendon's forward line thinly staffed.

The cash gen never arrived. By Round 8, the registry had moved to avoid — twice.

Should I Trade Out Jade Gresham in SuperCoach Round 12?

For me it's a straightforward trade-out, and the Essendon coaching change tips it further.

The problem with holding: his sc_avg of 63 against a 44 BE looks healthy. Average clears the BE, price should be grinding up — coaches who see this stay patient. But cash gen has been essentially flat all season. That gap tells you the scoring distribution matters more than the headline average.

The actual trajectory since he started scoring:

• Round 3: 49 — just clearing his 44 BE
• Round 5: 59 — the one score that justified the patience
• Round 6: 46 — barely above BE again, first avoid verdict
• Round 8: 25 — in a 64-point Essendon loss to Brisbane. Worst output of the season.

From Round 5 to Round 8: 59 → 46 → 25. The direction is not ambiguous. Price has slid from $298.5k to $271.9k with cash gen stalled the whole way.

Why Gresham's Average Is Misleading

The 63 sc_avg includes rounds where Gresham's role was more settled. The recent scoring floor — 25 in a blowout loss after a 46 and a 49 — is what the current role actually delivers. The registry spotted it at Round 6 and called it again at Round 8: "He's occupying a forward slot that should hold something generating cash."

At 187 career games, Gresham is not a development project. The 59 in Round 5 was the outlier. The 25, 46, 49 cluster is the real output range, and at a 44 BE the maths only look okay when the scoring is consistently at the top of that range — which it isn't.

The Essendon Coaching Change Makes It Worse

Brad Scott is gone. A new coaching staff means a full reassessment of the Essendon forward line, and players at the fringe of the 22 are always the first to lose their spots in a new-coach review. Gresham is not a player the incoming regime inherits as a non-negotiable.

This is not a reason to hold for "clarity." It's a reason the avoid verdict comes with more downside than usual. Role certainty for marginal Essendon forwards is at its lowest point all season, right now.

The Call

Avoid. The 63 average vs 44 BE headline is a slow-bleed trap. Cash gen has been stalled all year, the scoring trend is pointing down, and a coaching change adds zero upside for a player already on the edge.

He was a buy at $298.5k in pre-season. The registry said otherwise from Round 6. At $271.9k the exit is still available — don't wait for the coaching reassessment to narrow it.

Updated: 27 May 2026. Data sourced from RookieBible intel registry.

Pre-briefed. Opinionated. The more you challenge it, the sharper it gets. Ask about Gresham's current situation →