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Dunkley Scored 98 in R12. The Registry Still Says Sell. Here's Why.

Dunkley's 98 last round looks like a turning point. The registry has said sell four rounds running. Here's why one good score doesn't fix $206k in losses.

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Dunkley Scored 98 in R12. The Registry Still Says Sell. Here's Why.

A good score doesn't undo four rounds of sell calls — or the $206k you've already lost.

Josh Dunkley posted 98 in R12. Thirty-seven points above his 61 BE. His best output in months. And the RookieBible registry's verdict? Still sell.

If you're holding him right now, that 98 is messing with your head. Here's the actual picture.

The Number That Matters Isn't the 98

Dunkley started 2026 at $621.1k. He's now at $414.9k. That's $206k in lost value — not potential future losses, actual money that is already gone.

His cash gen is still haemorrhaging at -$7,637 per week. That 98 in R12 didn't stop the bleed. His price continued to fall because his season average has been so suppressed that one good round can't move the needle.

He is costing you $7,637 every week he stays in your team.

How the Registry Called It — Round by Round

This isn't a sudden position change. The registry has been saying sell since R8:

  • R8 — 70 in a 64-point blowout. "When a premium mid can't beat his BE in those conditions, the writing is on the wall." Price: $453.4k. Verdict: sell.
  • R9 — 80 in a Brisbane home win. Cash gen still haemorrhaging at -$7,354/wk. "Barely adequate." Sell.
  • R10 — 80 again in a 41-point loss. "Price hasn't bottomed at $427k." Sell.
  • R12 — 98. Strong score. "A good score does not fix the underlying problem." Sell.

Four consecutive sell calls across five rounds. If you held through all four expecting that 98 to save you, you watched $207k evaporate waiting for a bounce that doesn't change the maths.

The Shoulder Surgery Reality

The R8 pivot to sell wasn't random. Dunkley had shoulder surgery in the offseason. The registry flagged he was off the pace and fading badly in second halves — a specific physical signature, not a form slump that self-corrects.

His season average of 73.3 against a starting expectation of 94.5 is the delta that matters. He's posting the scores of a mid-tier midfielder while you're paying premium midfielder price decay every week. The $621.1k entry cost was justified on 94.5-avg output. You've been getting 73.3-avg output. Every round, that gap compounds.

What You Should Actually Do

The 98 makes this trade harder emotionally. It shouldn't.

You're not trading the player who scored 98 last round. You're trading the player who has cost you $206k across the season, who is still bleeding $7.6k/wk, and whose shoulder-affected underlying metrics haven't meaningfully changed.

The question isn't "wait and see for me — what if he's back?" It's "can I afford another 8–10 weeks of -$7.6k/wk waiting to find out?"

At $414.9k you can still recover something. The R13 bye window is your exit point. Every week you hold, that price drops another $7.6k and the coaches who moved on in R8 are that much further ahead.

The registry called this at $453k. It's now calling it at $414.9k. The direction has not changed.


Updated: June 2026. Data sourced from RookieBible intel registry.


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