How to survive in SuperCoach with AFL matches on six of seven days this week
This week there are AFL matches every day except one, and less than 48 hours between Round 5 lockout ending tonight and the start of Round 6. What does it mean for your SuperCoach team?
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The next two weeks present an unprecedented bonanza for footy fans, and some big challenges for SuperCoach players.
Starting last night there are 18 matches across the following 10 days thanks to Easter and Anzac Day, with only one footy-free day in that time — we recommend setting aside Tuesday for SuperCoach planning!
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Given most of us don’t have that luxury, here’s a quick run-down of who’s playing when and how to manage your team to come out the other side ahead.
PLAN EARLY
Don’t wait for this round of footy to end to start thinking about your next SuperCoach trades.
Round 5 ends on Easter Monday and the first game of Round 6 is just two days later.
That doesn’t leave a lot of time to devise and execute trades, and presents issues for AFL clubs that could impact SuperCoach as well.
Teams dealing with short breaks — Richmond and Melbourne have just four days between matches — are likely to manage sore or inexperienced players. We all need to hope Max Gawn doesn’t pick up a niggle this week and keep a close eye on promising youngsters like Sydney Stack and Jack Ross. Nathan Buckley has flagged managing Darcy Moore, but Collingwood has a full week to prepare for Anzac Day so hopefully it won’t happen this week.
USE THE FIXTURE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
The rolling lockout means you can keep trading and substituting players all week as the games are played, with players locked in as their teams play.
This presents opportunities to get a scoring edge using the vice-captain and emergency loophole, but you need to stay on top of the game and know when players from each team will be locked in — unable to be traded in or out, moved on or off the field or made captain.
Remember that once the new round begins on Wednesday night trades can’t be reversed, so the smart move is to hold your trade moves until the last minute.
With Richmond appearing in the first game of the round night we’ll know if likely bubble boy Jack Ross (who scored 87 on debut) is in the team, but making trades potentially days before other teams have even been named is fraught with danger — where possible, wait until final teams are in before trading a player from that match into your side.
The same applies to the vice-captain loophole. The good news is popular vice-captain loophole players Patrick Bines (West Coast), Will Setterfield (Carlton) and Jordan Sweet (Western Bulldogs) play late in the round. To set your team up to take advantage of the loophole — that gives you two shots at a top-scoring captain — make sure your guaranteed zero is on the field before the round begins. Move a member of your starting 18 to the bench and select them as an emergency (don’t forget that part!).
Choose a player early in the round as vice-captain, such as Gawn, Brodie Grundy or Lachie Neale, and place the C on your loophole player. If your VC scores big, leave everyone in place and you’ll get their score doubled.
If they fall short of a captain-worthy score, shift the C to a gun playing later in the round — like Patrick Cripps against Hawthorn or Patrick Dagnerfield against the Eagles.
We should also be able to use the emergency loophole to get the best score from our bench rookies in the forward line, where we know suspended Blue Setterfield won’t be playing. To pull off that move, select a forward rookie who plays early in the round (such as Noah Balta or Matt Parker) as an emergency. If they score well (in this part of the ground that’s anything over 50) put Setterfield on the field and leave a player like Jack Petruccelle on the bench to have your emergency included in your team total. If they flop, swap Petruccelle and Setterfield and hope the Eagles forward kicks a bag against the Cats.
If Michael Gibbons doesn’t make the Blues’ team you could pull the same trick in the midfield, but things would be getting pretty complicated especially if you’re trying to use the vice-captain loophole as well.
Keep a close eye on SuperFooty and SuperCoach websites and social channels all week to ensure you aren’t caught out by late changes.
Here’s how the week will play out.
MONDAY
3:20pm: Hawthorn v Geelong, MCG
Round 5 lockout ends
WEDNESDAY
7.35pm: Richmond v Melbourne (MCG) First Round 6 lockout
Key players locked away: Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Marty Hore, Angus Brayshaw, Dustin Martin, Noah Balta, Sydney Stack, Jack Ross
THURSDAY (ANZAC DAY)
3.20pm: Essendon v Collingwood, MCG
Key players locked away: Brodie Grundy, Adam Treloar, Darcy Moore, Jamie Elliott, Zach Merrett, Zac Clarke, Dylan Shiel, Jordan Ridley
FRIDAY
7.50pm: Port Adelaide v North Melbourne, AO
Key players locked away: Tom Rockliff, Travis Boak, Zak Butters, Willem Drew, Xavier Duursma, Connor Rozee, Todd Goldsteink, Bailey Scott
SATURDAY
1.45pm: Gold Coast v Brisbane Lions, MS
Key players locked away: Sam Collins, Chris Burgess, Lachie Neale, Alex Witherden, Stefan Martin
4.35pm: St Kilda v Adelaide, Marvel
Key players locked away: Matt Parker, Jack Billings, Brodie Smith, Rory Laird, Brad Crouch, Matt Crouch
7.35pm: Sydney v GWS Giants, SCG
Key players locked away: Jake Lloyd, Isaac Heeney, Zac Williams, Lachie Whitfield, Stephen Coniglio, Josh Kelly, Shane Mumford
8.10pm: Fremantle v Western Bulldogs, Optus Stadium
Key players locked away: Nat Fyfe, Jack Macrae, Tom Liberatore, Josh Dunkley, Jordan Sweet
SUNDAY
3.20pm: Hawthorn v Carlton, UTAS Stadium
Key players locked away: Jack Scrimshaw, James Worpel, James Sicily, Sam Walsh, Will Setterfield, Patrick Cripps, Michael Gibbons
4.40pm: Geelong v West Coast, GMHBA
Key players locked away: Patrick Dangerfield, Tim Kelly, Charlie Constable, Jordan Clark, Tom Atkins, Dom Sheed, Patrick Bines
Fortunately we have until the next Friday (Collingwood v Port Adelaide) to get our trades in order before Round 7.
Originally published as How to survive in SuperCoach with AFL matches on six of seven days this week
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