KFC SuperCoach Plus: Everything you need to know for Round 2

Should we be worried about Lachie Neale and which Sun could fill Matt Rowell’s role? We’ve dived into KFC SuperCoach Plus to find 11 gold nuggets for Round 2.

KFC SuperCoach Plus gives you access to every stat you need to be a contender for the $50,000 grand prize this year.

With the season underway, coaches can assess break evens, player projections, scoring histories and more before making their all-important trades every round.

SuperCoach Plus subscribers also get a bonus article of in-depth analysis just like this every week!

Here’s 11 key stats we found in KFC SuperCoach Plus for Round 11 as coaches decide how to find a silver lining in Patrick Dangerfield’s suspension and Matthew Rowell’s knee injury.

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11 KEY ROUND 2 KFC SUPERCOACH STATS

*From KFC SuperCoach Plus

1. Due to return from foot surgery in Round 2, mid-price forward Connor Rozee averages 104 KFC SuperCoach points against Port Adelaide’s next opponent Essendon. Rozee has scored 95 and 113 in his two career games against the Bombers. The Power rising star had 18 disposals, three marks, six tackles and kicked two behinds against Essendon last season despite battling a heel problem which hampered much of his campaign. At $377k, he looms as a POD replacement for those stuck with Patrick Dangerfield.

Isaac Heeney has a great record against his next opponent Adelaide.

2. If not Rozee, then how about Isaac Heeney? The $454k Sydney forward could enjoy greater freedom with Lance Franklin due to make his highly-anticipated return from injury this round and Heeney loves playing against Adelaide. Heeney’s best season average is 97.6 but he averages 99.8 against the Crows. Heeney opened the 2020 season with 152 points against Adelaide, booting four goals, and recorded 123 points against the Crows in 2018. Just be mindful he has Richmond in Round 3 and only averages 85.2 against the Tigers.

Lachie Neale has some heavy lifting to do to avoid a big price drop.

3. Top-priced midfielder Lachie Neale is projected to have a sky-high break even of 214 next round after being restricted to 77 KFC SuperCoach points in Round 1 by Sydney. Neale’s projected break even — a new feature for 2021 only available in SuperCoach Plus — is 192 but that will rise above 200 even if he reaches his projected score of 129 against Geelong. As of Tuesday, almost 1000 coaches had pulled the trade trigger and move Neale on. That’s a ruthless tactic, but if you’re worried about him burning cash, a straight swap to Clayton Oliver ($656k) or Jack Macrae ($650k) makes sense based purely on break evens. Macrae has a projected Round 3 BE of 136 and Oliver’s is 130.

Scott Pendlebury loves coming up against Carlton.

4. Scott Pendlebury ($592k MID) has a dominant record against Carlton and at the MCG. The Collingwood captain averages 120.4 against the Blues and 110.5 at the Magpies’ home ground, where the arch rivals meet on Thursday. Pendlebury has scored 90, 85 and 136 in his last three against the Blues but posted 143 and 161 in matches against Carlton in 2017. Pendlebury is only in 3 per cent of teams and opened the campaign with 102 points in Collingwood’s loss to Western Bulldogs, tallying 25 disposals, four marks and five tackles.

Will Brodie could step into the midfield void left by Matt Rowell.

5. Is Will Brodie ($344k MID-FWD) the player to step up in Matthew Rowell’s absence? Brodie impressed in pre-season but only scored 54 KFC SuperCoach points in Round 1 against West Coast. Yet in his most recent game against two of Gold Coast’s next two opponents, the on-baller posted tons. In Round 12, 2019, Brodie had 29 disposals, nine marks and nine tackles against North Melbourne to score 120 points. He produced similar numbers against Carlton that season, finishing with 26 disposals, 10 tackles and 110 KFC SuperCoach points. No doubt there’s risk involved with this option and you can afford to assess Brodie this round in Rowell’s first game out with a knee injury. He’s projected to have a break even of 102 next round, so isn’t going to spike in price.

Former Eagle Tom Hickey outscored Brodie Grundy in Round 1.

6. Speaking of Brodies, more than one per cent of KFC SuperCoaches saw enough — or rather not enough — in Round 1 to dump Brodie Grundy from their sides. As of Tuesday, about 800 coaches had traded Grundy to GWS’ Matthew Flynn ($123k RUC) and almost 500 had traded him to Tom Hickey ($261k RUC). A word of warning for those making the kneejerk decision to trade after Grundy’s Round 1 total of 70. The last two seasons Grundy scored less than 100 in Round 1 (81 in 2019 and 95 in 2018) were his two best KFC SuperCoach seasons. In 2018 Grundy scored 10 consecutive tons after his Round 1 blemish on his way to a career-best 130.5 average. In 2019, he matched that streak and went 137, 132 and 160 in consecutive games after his Round 1 score of 81.

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Dom Tyson only scored 29 KFC SuperCoach points in Round 1.

7. Is it wise to jump off cheapies after one round? As of Tuesday, four of the seven most traded players in KFC SuperCoach were Oliver Henry, Dom Tyson, Lachlan Jones and Connor Downie. Young Hawk Downie was one of the hardluck stories of Round 1 when he made his debut as the medical sub and never came on. Don’t be surprised if he gets a run in coming rounds though. There are clearly concerns for Henry and Tyson owners after their low Round 1 scores, while Jones injured a hamstring in a SANFL trial. KFC SuperCoaches often use the period before price changes (at the end of Round 3) to get their rookies right. If you missed James Rowe, James Jordon or Errol Gulden, a sideways trade might be the right move.

Tom Mitchell loves playing at the MCG.

8. Tom Mitchell’s record at the MCG suggests the Hawthorn ball magnet can continue his prolific start to the campaign in Round 2. Mitchell averages 116.2 points during his career at the MCG, where he amassed 136 points or more in five of his nine games and averaged 127 in his Brownlow Medal-winning 2018 campaign.

Dayne Zorko could help replace Patrick Dangerfield in your forward line.

9. While Dustin Martin ($543k FWD-MID) is the obvious forward replacement for Patrick Dangerfield, Brisbane Lions skipper Dayne Zorko is worth consideration for those wanting to be more adventurous. Zorko averages 110.4 against Brisbane’s Round 2 opponent Geelong and started the season with a score of 115 despite the Lions going down against Sydney.

It was raining KFC SuperCoach points for Travis Boak in Round 1.

10. Amazing how a dominant Round 1 performance can ruin a POD (point of difference) pick in KFC SuperCoach. As of Tuesday, Travis Boak had jumped from 2.8 to 7.8 per cent ownership, while Bailey Smith soared from 2.8 to 7.5 per cent.

Tom Rockliff was Port Adelaide’s medical sub in Round 1.

11. The injury sub is set to skew the points per dollars statistic available to KFC SuperCoaches. In Round 1, Charlie Lazzaro ($39,100 per point) and Tom Rockliff ($22,920 per point) had the worst PP$ ratios, aside from Matthew Rowell, who was injured early in Gold Coast’s loss to West Coast. Taylor Adams, whose PP$ was $14,019, is a player worth monitoring with his price set to plummet after a Round 1 score of 42.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach Plus: Everything you need to know for Round 2