How KFC SuperCoach 2021 expert live draft played out

SuperCoach experts and super fans gathered for a live KFC SuperCoach Draft this week. Here’s how it played out.

I can’t believe Matt Rowell slipped all the way to pick 48.

Just like the annual AFL draft, every recruiter has a story to tell about an unexpected bargain in KFC SuperCoach Draft.

A league of News Corp’s top SuperCoach minds and prominent members of the fantasy community gathered via Zoom on Monday night to stage our own pre-season draft.

KFC SUPERCOACH DRAFT IS FREE TO PLAY, SIGN UP AND START YOUR LEAGUE NOW

If you haven’t played KFC SuperCoach Draft before, it’s a great format of the game that allows you to stage your own draft and create a customised league in which each player can only be selected once — so after Tim Michell took Max Gawn with pick 1, he was off the table.

There was still lots of talent on offer. Here’s a recap.

MORE KFC SUPERCOACH DRAFT:

EXPERT PICKS: CONSENSUS DRAFT RANKINGS IN EVERY POSITION

BEGINNER’S GUIDE: GET STARTED IN KFC SUPERCOACH DRAFT

TOP 50: THE PHANTOM’S TOP 50 OVERALL DRAFT RANKINGS

@al_superfooty — KFC News Corp SuperCoach Editor

Best pick: I was very happy to get Rowell in the fifth round, rounding out my midfield with Nat Fyfe and Hugh McCluggage, balancing a proven KFC SuperCoach super-scorer with some huge young talent. I took Fyfe with my first pick (pick 8) and Dustin Martin with pick 13 due to the shortage of top-line forwards.

Worst pick: Lachie Whitfield seemed a great get at pick 33 but the latest on his liver injury is he could miss at least the first month of the season. Considering Callum Mills (pick 53) is now also in doubt for Round 1, I’m already scouring the waiver wires for a back-up defender.

Thoughts on my #supercoach draft side? pic.twitter.com/Xzoq2gXXbS

— Al Paton (@al_superfooty) March 8, 2021

@tim_michell — News Corp KFC SuperCoach expert

Best pick: Although I have claimed Tim Taranto as my own this pre-season it has to be Max Gawn. I was lucky enough to jag pick No 1 and put little to no thought into who to take. I highly doubt he averages 140 again but he could better that over a very appealing opening month. Gawn could take on Lloyd Meek, Paul Hunter and Matthew Flynn in the opening three rounds and that trio has a combined zero games AFL experience. Luke McDonald went later than he should have at pick 61 due to one bad pre-season game. I’ll certainly take it. Worst pick: I’m pretty happy with my squad overall although having five players with injury concerns in a 15-player league could be problematic.

What a draft side #supercoachpic.twitter.com/Y1BTxdUx8J

— Tim Michell (@tim_michell) March 8, 2021

@ThePhantomSC — mysterious KFC SuperCoach guru

BEST PICK: I was very happy walking out with Patrick Dangerfield (No. 5) and Tom Mitchell (No. 16) with my first two picks but it’s all about finding late value and I think I’ve done just that. I jumped on young Docker Andrew Brayshaw at pick No. 85, a player who I ranked inside my top 50, following his breakout 2020, earlier this month. And then 11 picks later, I took Saint Hunter Clark who is flying very much under the KFC SuperCoach radar. If all goes well, both could, legitimately, push the top 10 in their respective positions.

WORST PICK: I love Zak Butters as a player, and he’s only going to get better this year, but I can’t help but think No. 25 was too early. I panicked, given the lack of forward options in 2021. Time will tell.

@LekDocSC — Jock Reynolds SuperCoach community

Best Pick: Maybe it was injury concerns, maybe it was shoddy internet but that fact that Jake Lloyd slipped through to my pick 7 is a miracle. He could average 120 with only one functioning leg and given how well defenders have been scoring this pre-season 120 might be an understatement. In a non-captains league I’m very happy to lock the Seagull into my defence.

Most obvious pick: Both Patrick Cripps and Daniel Rich fell to me fairly late in the draft considering their potential output. Sure, I had a Paddy Cripps bobblehead on my left and a Daniel Rich trading card in my pocket, so maybe everyone agreed to give them to me before I joined the draft, but I still think it’s great drafting to lock them both away.

Worst pick: Charlie Dixon is my F1, he had a solid year in 2020 and averaged 92.8 for the season but at 31 year’s old this year ... maybe I shouldn’t have punted forwards so hard. I’m praying my defence and midfield can carry me through the season!

Charlie Dixon is a risky pick in SuperCoach Draft.

@danbatten_ — News Corp digital producer and rookie expert

Best pick: Besides my tongue-in-cheek selection of Will Gould with my final pick of the draft, I was pleased to land new Bulldog Adam Treloar at pick 50, despite him possibly missing Round 1. While there is an unknown around the points distribution in the Bulldog midfield and his injury troubles, Treloar has averaged above 105 points across a season six times in his career and could surprise at his third club in 2021.

Worst pick: Note to self — never do a KFC SuperCoach draft while out and about. With star midfielders like Patrick Cripps, Sam Walsh and Matt Rowell still available at pick 31, I panicked and settled for one of the first midfielders on the default midfield rankings, Eagles runner Andrew Gaff. This didn’t seem too bad at the time, until I saw my draft rankings which had him ranked 18th of all midfielders. I also felt pretty clever in taking Saints ruckman Paddy Ryder late in the piece, who has since taken leave for personal reasons.

How Dan Batten's draft team looks.

@ben_higgins84 — Leader sport reporter

Best pick: Bailey Williams (Round 10). Brodie Grundy falling to me at No.4 was a strong start to the draft but I think snaring the young Bulldog will turn out to be a draft steal. Snapped up around the pick 100 mark and he should improve again on his average of 85 in 2019. The new man on the mark rule should benefit his run and carry.

Worst pick: Scott Pendlebury (Round 5). This is no disrespect to Scott but a reflection of my own panic. I had my eyes set on Tom Stewart with this selection but he was stolen with the pick before me. I looked at the remaining options and nothing spoke to me. In the end I timed out and auto-pick gave me Pendles.

@SamuelMcInerney — Herald Sun digital producer and SuperCoach Draft expert

I contemplated taking Jake Lloyd with pick 6, but I suspect the shorter quarters played a part in his outstanding average of 122 last year, and his 2019 average of 106 isn’t quite pick 6 material.

With that in mind, I was happy to take Jackson Macrae, who has averaged over 120 three years running, and should receive even less opposition attention this season with Adam Treloar joining Marcus Bontempelli in the Bulldogs midfield.

I’m confident Josh Dunkley (forward) and Luke Ryan (defender) will be among the top scorers in their positions, and expect slightly under-the-radar duo Isaac Heeney (forward) and Mark Blicavs (defender) to average solid scores in the mid 90s again.

Given the lack of viable forward options this year, I was determined not to wind up with inconsistent goalkickers whose quiet weeks cost you wins. Midfielders Jye Caldwell and Isaac Smith (picked as forwards) shouldn’t score below 75 too often.

The downside? I timed out on Nic Naitanui, so went far too early on a ruckman who rarely plays full seasons. Bachar Houli and Taylor Adams are under injury clouds for Round 1 too, which is never a good way to start a SuperCoach season.

Sam McInerney's SuperCoach Draft side.

Originally published as How KFC SuperCoach 2021 expert live draft played out