New Flex position for SuperCoach AFL explained

SuperCoach is leveling up in 2025 with the introduction of an all-new position. Here’s everything you need to know – and the player who could be a Flex hero.

When AFL coaches are hit with an early injury to a big-name player, they can pick up the phone and activate a substitute to ease the pain.

When SuperCoaches see a key player go down early, they have had to cop it on the chin – until now.

To bring Australia’s biggest and best fantasy game into the new era of concussion protocols, SuperCoach will have an exciting new look from 2025 with the addition of a brand new position.

The Flex player – who can be selected from any position (midfield, defence, forward or ruck) – will expand squads to 31, and coaches will pick 23 players to start on field each round, up from 22.

Crucially, weekly totals will be made up of the best scoring 22 of your 23 on-field players – effectively dropping the lowest score each round.

Call it the Tom Green rule. The GWS star was subbed out of last season’s round 8 clash against the Swans after hurting his ankle in the opening minutes – with just 5 SuperCoach points to his name. The injury-affected score cost thousands of SuperCoaches in head-to-head match-ups.

If the same situation happens in 2025, in all likelihood Green’s score won’t feature in the best 22, dodging a huge bullet for coaches who were caught out by sheer bad luck.

Some coaches have copped even worse luck when a player pulls out at the last minute after being hurt in the pre-match warm-up. Miss the news? With new best 22 scoring rules, you will still have a full team scoring for you that round.

If you’re fortunate enough to get through a round without an injury or late out, best 22 scoring will help avoid the pain of an unpredictable poor score, a rookie who gets subbed off or even a premium copping a hard tag.

Flex and best 22 scoring will make SuperCoach fairer and easier to play and, at the same time, create opportunities for new strategies when picking a starting squad and putting a team out each round throughout the season.

Picking a value ruckman like Eagle Matt Flynn at Flex in starting squads could be a winning play. Picture: James Worsfold/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Could selecting an extra big-name ruck in the Flex slot deliver vital extra points? Is it smarter to pick another rookie to generate extra cash – or a high-risk, high-reward player who can produce huge games, and you can ignore the off days (Shai Bolton, anyone?).

Flex can help build your score, and overall ranking, in different ways during the season, but one player who could be tailor-made for Flex in starting squads is Eagles big man Matt Flynn.

Held back by injuries in his first year at West Coast, the former GWS ruckman is priced at a bargain $261,900 for the 2025 season and is hoping to take the mantle as the Eagles’ No.1 ruckman.

That should lead to scores above 80 most weeks – good enough to make your best 22 early in the season and make a lot of money, with the added bonus of being able to solve a short-term ruck crisis by moving into one of your starting ruck slots if needed.

If Flynn fires, you even have the option of sitting them there permanently and picking a new Flex.

It’s just one of the possibilities now open to SuperCoaches in what shapes as the most exciting year ever of fantasy footy. Stay tuned for more expert advice on how to make the most of Flex and join the debate on the official SuperCoach social media channels.

Originally published as New Flex position for SuperCoach AFL explained