KFC SuperCoach Draft: Sleepers, late-round bargains and the picks to set you apart
In KFC SuperCoach Draft, if you find a diamond in the rough after the big names are gone, you’ll put yourself ahead of the pack. Here are 18 players to pounce on.
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Picking big scores with early selections is the easy part of KFC SuperCoach Draft, but teams are really shaped in the middle and later rounds.
If you can find a diamond in the rough after the big names are gone, you’ll put yourself ahead of the pack.
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Imagine picking Essendon’s Jordan Ridley, who played just six games and averaged 66 in 2019, at the start of 2020, then watching him come to life in a stellar year where he played every game and averaged 101.
That’s as good as it gets.
Here’s a breakout contender or forgotten KFC SuperCoach warrior from each AFL club.
Adelaide
Tom Lynch (FWD)
There’s no hype around the Crows given they’re coming off a wooden spoon season, so some of their handier KFC SuperCoach players are likely to slip under the radar when your draft night rolls around.
Link-up forward Lynch averaged more than 80 in the five seasons prior to last year, where he averaged 75. But even his 2020 average comes up to 80 when you take out his injury-affected score of 18 in Round 11.
Given only 29 forwards averaged more than 80 in 2020 - 23 once you take out retirees and fringe players who only played a handful of games - another year at that mark would be a very handy result for coaches willing to back him in with a late pick.
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Brisbane
Jarrod Berry (MID)
A lot has been made of Hugh McCluggage’s rise in recent years, but Berry has been ticking along nicely too, improving with each season.
He averaged 61 in 2017, 80 in 2018, 84 in 2019 and 97 last year.
At 23, Berry could still have a lot of improvement in him, and a score of 114 - Brisbane’s best - in the pre-season win over Gold Coast is a great sign.
He’s still a fairly low-profile player for those who don’t follow the Lions so he could slide a little in your draft. But after an average of 97, he won’t last forever.
If you want to take a swing, use a pick in the middle rounds.
Carlton
Ed Curnow (MID)
Some players are fashionable KFC SuperCoach picks, and some fly under the radar.
Curnow is definitely an under-the-radar type. While we pay attention to which young guns are getting centre bounce attendances, Curnow is playing in the guts for the Blues week after week.
He has averaged 21 disposals and five tackles across 182 games and is one of the most consistent performers in the Carlton lineup.
He’s not as flashy as some of the young guns, like Paddy Dow, but he’s missed just one match in the past three seasons and averaged above 90 every year.
Even coming off a 95 average last year, he could slip down your draft order with speculative breakout contenders being more highly-favoured.
If you’re happy with your high-end picks in the draft, Curnow is a safe addition to round out your midfield.
Collingwood
Isaac Quaynor (DEF)
We KFC SuperCoaches hate injuries, but there’s something to be said for injury-affected scores that keep a player’s average down heading into the next season.
Quaynor averaged 75 in nine home and away matches in 2020, but that average bumps up to 81 if you take out the injury-affected 28 where he had his shin split open by a Sydney player’s boot.
Scores of 101, 94, 92, 87 and 82 across his other eight matches show he’s capable of scoring well, and the 21-year-old looks likely to get plenty of chances to nail down a spot as a rebounding half-back in his third season.
Essendon
Ned Cahill (FWD)
There was nothing about Cahill’s 2020 that suggested KFC SuperCoach relevancy.
The 178cm Bomber had little impact in his three games as a small-forward, posting scores of 35, 44 and 11 for an average of 30. With that in mind, he’ll be right down the bottom of many coaches’ draft boards.
But Essendon fans who have paid close attention to the pre-season will know Cahill has been training as a small defender - a role change that bodes well for improved KFC SuperCoach scores.
Cahill is “extremely neat with the footy” and “has come back in outstanding shape”, according to assistant coach Daniel Giansiracusa.
If the second-year player is up to it, he could fill one of the spots left vacant by Adam Saad (97 avg) and Conor McKenna (60 avg).
With Michael Hurley expected to miss the early part of the season, and McKenna gone, Cahill might even take some kick-ins - and we all know that means juicy, juicy KFC SuperCoach points.
He wasn’t super impressive in Essendon’s practice match against Carlton or AAMI Community Series loss to Geelong, so if you’re going to take a chance on him use a very late pick.
Fremantle
Hayden Young (DEF)
The talented young Docker with a beautifully efficient left boot has had KFC SuperCoach written all over him since he joined Fremantle with a top 10 pick in 2019.
It took just three senior games for KFC SuperCoaches to see what he was capable of in his debut season, with a 15-disposal, 109-point display coming against the Suns in Round 4.
A season-ending injury put a finish to his year in Round 6, with a score of one in that game helping bring his average down to 52.
More recently, he scored 83 points in the pre-season without taking a mark, so there’s plenty of scope for improvement.
If you’re keen, just be wary that you might not be the only coach with an eye on him, given there’s been a lot of talk about his potential as a KFC SuperCoach Classic rookie.
Geelong
Tom Atkins (FWD)
There’s been a lot of hype around Jordan Clark after his 27-disposal pre-season outing against Essendon - one which saw him finish with 119 SuperCoach points.
Somehow, Atkins’ 120 points slipped under the radar.
The 25-year-old has been mostly used as a pressure-forward in his time at the Cats, but looked superb in a new role at half-back, finishing with 28 disposals from 82 per cent game time.
He averaged just 54 points from 11 games last season, so is likely to be available late in your draft.
Gold Coast
Will Brodie (FWD)
Will Brodie is a high risk, high reward proposition.
Some KFC SuperCoaches have been burnt picking Brodie in the past, so if you’re one of them and don’t want to go near Brodie again, that’s fair enough.
The talented 189cm midfielder has been unable to break into the Suns’ lineup for regular games since being selected with pick No. 9 in the 2016 National Draft, and played just one match in 2020.
But there are a few signs suggesting 2021 could be the year it all clicks, and he could be an absolute KFC SuperCoach Draft bargain if that happens.
The talented 22-year-old, who admits he’s “never been a gifted aerobic runner” lost four or five kilos over summer and cut 30 seconds off his 2km time trial, and finally seems capable of running out games as a midfielder.
He attended 15 centre bounces - the fourth-most of any Sun, behind Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson and Hugh Greenwood - in Gold Coast’s AAMI Community Series match against Brisbane, and scored 90 points.
Best of all, he’s listed as a forward in KFC SuperCoach.
He’s well worth a punt for those happy to take a risk.
GWS
Tom Green (MID)
The young, big-bodied midfielder talked up as the next Patrick Cripps averaged just 72 across six games in his debut season.
But for KFC SuperCoach Draft scavengers, this is perfect. He will be way down the list of midfielders, but has already shown glimpses that suggest he could become a future top-liner.
He registered 30 touches (including 22 handballs) and 119 points in his fifth game, and is likely to be given every opportunity to cement a spot in the Giants’ midfield in his second year following a strong pre-season.
Hawthorn
Damon Greaves (DEF)
Greaves is an interesting prospect.
His average of 90 from three games in 2020 means he won’t be at the bottom of the draft list like many others mentioned in this story, but a lot of coaches are likely to scroll past his name given his low profile.
The 20-year-old posted scores of 97, 75 and 100 in the final three games of 2020, recording at least six rebound 50s in each match. His kicking was a standout, and we know Alastair Clarkson loves having players who can kick well in the back-half.
Having said all that, he’s not a walk-up selection, even with James Sicily (ACL) out injured. Changkuoth Jiath has impressed this pre-season - and might be picked a little earlier in your draft after scoring 123 against North Melbourne - and Jarman Impey and Jack Scrimshaw could squeeze Greaves out of the Hawks’ 22.
If he plays, he’s likely to be a solid scorer. Just be prepared to send him to the waivers if he can’t get a game in the first couple of matches.
Melbourne
Jake Lever (DEF)
The Demons paid a lot for duo Steven May and Lever, who they identified as two of the most talented key defenders in the competition, and many footy pundits were critical when they didn’t click into gear as soon as they arrived at Melbourne in 2019.
That year didn’t go to plan, but May responded with a sterling 2020 season, averaging 94 KFC SuperCoach points and was in contention for All-Australian honours.
Could 2021 be the year Lever follows suit?
We saw how well Jordan Ridley scored at Essendon last year in an intercept marking/rebounding role, and Lever has a similar skillset that’s yet to be fully utilised at Melbourne.
Fresh off a new three-year deal, a strong pre-season and 123 KFC SuperCoach points against the Bulldogs, Lever might be ready to take the next step.
North Melbourne
Luke Davies-Uniacke (MID)
It took a few years for North supporters to see Davies-Uniacke’s potential, but the athletic midfielder, drafted with pick No. 4 at the 2017 National Draft, took a big step forward in 2020.
He scored 129 against the Power in Round 16 and had two other scores of 90 or more among his nine games for the season.
A lack of consistency held Davies-Uniacke back from being a top scorer, and he finished the season with an average of 80 - up from 60 in 2019 and 40 in 2018.
If his pre-season is anything to go by, this could be the year the 21-year-old breaks out. He was the Kangaroos’ top scorer in their AAMI Community Series win over Hawthorn, putting up 122 points in an exciting midfield display.
He won’t score above 120 all year, but he’s a much better prospect than his 80 average from last year suggests.
Port Adelaide
Ryan Burton (DEF)
The former Hawk is a forgotten man in the world of KFC SuperCoach.
He looked set for a huge career in his early days at the Hawks, finishing second in the Rising Star and averaging 83 KFC SuperCoach points in 2017.
While things haven’t gone to plan since, he’s shown signs of fulfilling his KFC SuperCoach potential when he hasn’t been injured.
Burton hurt his quad three times last year, with scores of 6, 15 (in the preliminary final) and 40, sitting among more promising scores of 101 and 96, from just a handful of games.
He also had an injury-affected six bringing down his average in 2019, where he had five scores over 95.
Burton is a risky prospect, given his body keeps letting him down, but not a bad hail mary with your last pick in a draft.
Richmond
Toby Nankervis (RUC)
Nank the tank has some runs on the board as a valuable KFC SuperCoach player, having averaged 98 over 21 games in 2018.
Injuries and poor scoring led to many KFC SuperCoaches jumping off in 2019, and he had a mediocre 2020, sharing the ruck load with Ivan Soldo and averaging 84.
After Soldo went down with an injury in Round 17, Nankervis shared the ruck with Mabior Chol in Round 18 and the first qualifying final. His scores stayed much the same.
But then Chol went out of the side, and Nankervis reminded us what he’s capable of when rucking solo. He scored 113 in the semi final, 153 in the preliminary final and 136 in the Grand Final.
If the Tigers continue to opt for the one-ruck setup, Nank could return to his former glory.
St Kilda
Jack Sinclair (MID)
Picking Sinclair goes against one of the basic KFC SuperCoach principles.
Typically, we love to find players who are listed as defenders in SuperCoach, but who spend most of their time running through the midfield. It’s the reason Rory Laird and Zac Williams are such popular selections this year.
Sinclair is the opposite. He’s listed as a midfielder in KFC SuperCoach, but is embracing a new role as a half-back flanker for St Kilda. And the early signs are good.
He racked up 28 touches and 130 points against Richmond in the AAMI Community Series - a huge spike compared to his average of 14 disposals and 79 points last season.
Some KFC SuperCoaches will be put off by the idea of picking a half-back flanker as a midfielder, and others will miss him altogether, given he hasn’t had an average above 80 in the past three years.
This could see him slide a long way down the board, and could make him a bargain selection in the back half of your draft.
Sydney
Braeden Campbell (MID/FWD)
First-year players are always a risk, but given the lack of forward depth in KFC SuperCoach this year, you could do worse than taking a chance on Campbell.
First of all, the Sydney Academy recruit appears set to play a lot of games in a KFC SuperCoach friendly role.
“We like what Braeden can deliver off half-back and through the midfield, just because of his kicking,” coach John Longmuire said last month.
Second, his kicking is reportedly outstanding, with Tim Watson recently revealing one of his sources “said that he is the best kick that he has seen in the AFL”. While Watson wouldn’t name his source, he added “he may be considered one of the best kicks himself that we’ve ever seen.”
Third, the Swans have shown a willingness to use young players in key roles, which bodes well for Campbell. James Rowbottom averaged 75 playing as an inside midfielder last year in his second season of AFL. Callum Mills averaged 77 points across 20 games in his debut season, and Isaac Heeney averaged 70 points in his first year.
A 70 average might not sound too exciting, but given only 60 forwards averaged 70 points or more per game in 2020 - some of which have retired or lost forward status, and others played only a handful of games - Campbell might be your best option late in the draft.
Western Bulldogs
Stefan Martin (RUCK)
Martin is a Draft sleeper if ever there was one.
Forget his 2020 season, where he averaged just 50 points across six games sharing the ruckwork with Oscar McInerney, and take a look at the five years before that.
He played at least 20 games for five seasons running, and averaged 110, 89, 98, 105 and 92.
Martin is expected to take the number one ruck mantle in his first season at the Bulldogs, with emerging tall Tim English tipped to spend more time forward.
If you get to the last couple of picks in your draft and freak out because all the good ruckmen are gone, just take another look at Martin’s previous season averages, add him to your team and take a deep breath.
West Coast
Liam Ryan (FWD)
If you pick Flyin’ Ryan in KFC SuperCoach Draft, he’s likely to win you some games and lose you some others.
He averaged 76 in 2020, but that doesn’t paint the full picture.
He finished the year with five KFC SuperCoach tons in a row - if you count the three in finals - and scored 97, 25, 112 and 18 before that.
Those scores below 30 are likely to cost you a couple of wins, but if he can find consistency, and become a top 20 player in the competition - Robbo has tipped him to do, listing him at number 11 in his Top 50) - his match-winning scores might make up for it.
If nothing else, he’ll be an exciting player to have on your team.
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Originally published as KFC SuperCoach Draft: Sleepers, late-round bargains and the picks to set you apart
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