SuperCoach AFL 2025: Winners and losers from round 8, early trade advice

A-grade stars at a bargain price don’t come along very often – and when it happens, you don’t want to miss out. See who’s hot and cold this week and expert trade advice.

We knew it was coming.

After warming up with 160-plus points against Richmond last week and coming into the tastiest ruck match-up in the game, we were ready for a Max Gawn monster. And, boy, did he deliver.

Anthony Albanese was punching the air on Saturday night which may have had something to do with the election – but it’s also possible he had the C on Gawn in SuperCoach.

Here are the other performances you need to know from the weekend, and the early trade mail for round 9.

WHO’S HOT

Max Gawn – 198 points

A career-high 35 disposals, nine clearances and 47 hitouts in an all-time performance from the modern SuperCoach GOAT. That’s 396 points for the thousands of coaches who had Gawn as captain. The only disappointment – he couldn’t find one more stat to get to 200.

Chad Warner – 140 points

All aboard the Chad train. Almost 9000 coaches traded Warner at the bargain price of $461,000, and they will be joined by a whole lot more when lockout lifts. A second successive 120-plus score will make him a bit more expensive than last week, but anything under $500k is extremely cheap for a player with his scoring power. When he’s on, Warner gets maximum impact from every touch, illustrated by nine scoring involvements from his 24 disposals in the Sydney Derby.

Chad Warner has found form at the perfect time for SuperCoaches. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Zach Merrett – 172 points

Merrett was on about 80 points at three-quarter time before the ultimate captain’s effort in the final term to drag Essendon over the line. Eleven crucial disposals at 100 per cent efficiency topped off with a game-saving intercept mark at the death – exactly what the SuperCoach scoring system rewards.

Jack Macrae – 160 points

You may have read in this column that Macrae was on notice after a couple of quiet games. Forget all that. The Saints are back in town and it’s no coincidence Macrae had 38 disposals, 25 contested possessions and 10 score involvements. Lock him into your forward line for the rest of the year.

Jordan Dawson – 156 points

It doesn’t take a lot for the wheel to turn. Hang on to a couple of marks, kick straight in front of goal and lift your kicking efficiency from the 40s to the 80s – boom. We know Dawson is capable of scores like this, and he won’t be much above $500k if you want a high-upside upgrade in the midfield.

Ryan Maric – 131 points

One of the best cash cows of the season could be a keeper if he keeps playing like this. The former forward is growing into his new role at half-back and is heading towards $450k with a bullet. He has almost 2.5 kicks for every handball this season, and played on from all six of his behind kick-ins against the Demons – stats the SuperCoach scorers love.

Jordan Dawson led from the front against Carlton. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Bailey Dale – 124 points

The almost 2000 coaches who traded out Dale clearly didn’t listen to last week’s episode of Breaking Even with Al Paton. Podcast co-host Tarquin Oakley pointed out Dale’s remarkable record at Mars Stadium, where he averaged more than 25 disposals a game going into Saturday’s clash against Port Adelaide. On cue, he reversed recent poor form with 31 touches and his best SuperCoach score since round 2. Could you swallow your pride and trade him back in? He’s cheap!

Oscar Allen – 103 points

Want to try something really crazy? Allen played all of Saturday night’s game in defence, and hit the target with 11 of his 12 kicks. He even took a kick-in. With Jeremy McGovern going down injured the role could continue, and he’s only $250k.

WHO’S COLD

Matt Flynn – 53 points

On the receiving end of one of the all-time ruck smackdowns. Entered the game with a Break Even of -45 so he’ll do his job as a cash cow, but the big question is how long Andrew McQualter persists with him in the No.1 ruck role. Flynn’s 60,000 owners will be hoping it’s for at least one more week as the Eagles prepare to face Richmond – the second-easiest ruck match-up in the comp behind West Coast.

Riley Bice – 49 points

It happens every year. A rookie strings together some high scores and we start thinking about them as season-long keepers. The reality is first-year players usually hit the wall at some point and have to be traded out. We’re not giving up on Bice yet, but he’s a watch after managing just 12 touches against the Giants.

Riley Bice at the SCG:

52
79
49

Away from Sydney:

89
124
101
96#SuperCoach

— Fantasy Freako (@FantasyFreako) May 4, 2025

Elijah Tsatas – 44 points

Had to wait six week to play his bubble game, and couldn’t make the most of it with 16 disposals against the Kangaroos. Will make a bit of money, but not much.

Sam Davidson – 46 points

More than 17,000 coaches cashed in one of the top rookies of the year before this round, and his remaining owners will be looking to do the same after he was subbed out in Ballarat. Still a great pick!

Tom De Koning – 80 points

Fell under 100 points for the first time in 2025, but it’s hardly panic stations especially considering his opponent Reilly O’Brien has restricted his opponents to under three figures in every game this season. For those looking ahead, ROB has Port Adelaide and Jordon Sweet next week, and the Eagles and Flynn – if he’s still in the side – a couple of weeks after that.

Caleb Serong isn’t hitting the same heights as last season. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Caleb Serong – 80 points

You can get one of the top scorers in the game last season for almost $100,000 under his starting price, but I would wait for evidence his form has turned before making a move. Take out a big 142 against the Bulldogs and Serong hasn’t scored above 108 in his seven other games. He is getting roughly the same amount of the footy as last year, but you need more than clearances to build a big SuperCoach score. Serong has kicked 1.1 for the season and taken one mark in the past three weeks.

Connor Rozee – 78 points

It’s feast or famine for Rozee this season. He has four scores of 118 or more, and three under 80, including this effort in Ballarat that featured 29 disposals but just one tackle and no scoreboard impact.

Matt Rowell – 53 points

Chris Fagan gave Josh Dunkley a job on Sunday night – don’t let Rowell get his hands on the ball at stoppages. He fulfilled the assigment to perfection, with Rowell recording just one clearance for the game – his lowest tally since round 10, 2022.

Jordan Clark – 58 points

Clark has been one of the most reliable SuperCoach picks of 2025, scoring between 94 and 122 every week until everything went pear shaped for the Dockers on Friday night. Sixteen disposals was his lowest tally of the season, but it’s hard to read too much into this very ugly game.

Shai Bolton – 5 points

Had zero points at three-quarter time and lifted in the final term to finish with five. Of his seven disposals, just three hit the target and the former Tiger gave away two free kicks and a 50m penalty.

Originally published as SuperCoach AFL 2025: Winners and losers from round 8, early trade advice