KFC SuperCoach 2021: All the late mail, team news and trade advice ahead of Round 10
KFC SuperCoaches will be buoyed by the return of a promising bubble boy, but it has come at the expense of a popular rookie. Here’s everything you need to know.
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There’s no need to panic KFC SuperCoaches, the downgrade option you have all been waiting for is here.
Port Adelaide bubble boy Lachie Jones ($139k) will play his third game against the Magpies on Sunday after his place in the Power’s final 22 was confirmed.
In a big tick for his job security, the draftee is straight back in the senior side after overcoming an ankle injury.
With a breakeven of -47 - the lowest in the competition - Jones is now the No. 1 downgrade option ahead of Round 10.
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But there is a twist. Teammate Miles Bergman, who is in more than 23,000 KFC SuperCoach teams, has been dropped and is a chance to be the Power’s medical sub.
His breakeven of 43 is still below his average but if he’s picked as Port’s 23rd player, and is activated late, his price could come crashing down.
Collingwood cash cow Nathan Murphy and uncapped midfielder Trent Bianco missed out on selection.
But Alec Waterman’s place in the Bombers final 22 was also confirmed on Friday afternoon with the mature-age SPP signing named at half-forward, replacing the injured Devon Smith.
Waterman starred in the midfield in the VFL last week, tallying 26 disposals, 17 contested possesions, seven clearances and 110 KFC SuperCoach points and coach Ben Rutten says its a role which is likely to continue at the top level.
TRADE GRADES: EXPERT VERDICT ON THE BIG SUPERCOACH MOVES
Earlier, the return of Thursday night teams delivered a number of big blows to KFC SuperCoaches.
The return of popular KFC SuperCoach rookie Tom Highmore has been short lived with the St Kilda defender dumped again.
Highmore makes way for skipper Jarryn Geary, after finishing with 47 points and adding $50k to his price tag last week.
The young Saint will be joined on the sidelines by rested Tiger Rhyan Mansell (17,000 teams) and Geelong speedster Jordan Clark whohas been dropped – again!
EVERY IN AND OUT: SEE THE FULL ROUND 10 TEAMS HERE
But Adelaide’s Nick Murray is back in the KFC SuperCoach picture.
Murray ($102,400 DEF) has been named in the back pocket by the Crows for what will be his third game.
The defender has a breakeven of -39 and projected to jump in value by $40k by KFC SuperCoach Plus, but there are some questions over his dependability after playing his previous two matches in Rounds 2 and 7.
There are no big names back in for Richmond yet so Riley Collier-Dawkins ($182k) has been named in the centre, confirming the thought he’s still worth considering after one price rise.
There will be no price rise for Adelaide’s Ronin O’Connor in two weeks’ time, though, after the one-game Crow was dropped despite recording a game-high eight tackles on debut against the Eagles.
In the ruck, Zac Smith is in for the Suns, as mentioned below, but he might not be the only downgrade option for Giant Matt Flynn – who has kept his spot! - to consider over the next few weeks.
Hawk Ned Reeves ($123k) will make his debut against the Blues on Saturday afternoon after recording 11 disposals, 10 hitouts-to-advantage, six score involvements and 103 KFC SuperCoach points in the VFL last week.
“I think one of my strengths is my hit-out to advantage, especially around the centre bounce, that’s been something I’ve been pretty proud of,” Reeves told the Hawks website.
Hawthorn has been pleased with his development after joining the club as an SPP signing in 2019 and, at 208cm, the 22-year-old will be the tallest ever player to run out in the brown and gold.
BURNING QUESTIONS: THE SUPERCOACH BOLTER WE’RE MISSING
Back to Flynn, the 23-year-old has been named as the starting ruckman for the Giants, despite the return of Shane Mumford.
It appears the popular KFC SuperCoach cash cow, who has a breakeven of 16, is set to push his price towards the $350k mark this weekend.
Kieren Briggs has been omitted.
BIG MIDFIELD BLOW
In yet another blow for more than 20,000 KFC SuperCoach teams, Fremantle midfielder Andrew Brayshaw won’t play against the Swans on Saturday night.
The young gun, who scored 126 points last week – his sixth KFC SuperCoach ton for the year – has hurt is calf and will miss the club’s Round 10 clash.
“Andy looks like he’s given his calf a little bit of a tweak so he’ll be touch and go, which is disappointing,” Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said on Thursday morning.
“He had a scan last night so we’re still working through that, but at this stage it’s not looking great for him.
“Maybe (it was) the Marvel Stadium surface, the hard surface, maybe the travel and training on different surfaces over the past 10 days has made a few of our boys a little bit sore. It’s something we’ll have to look into.
The 21-year-old ball-magnet’s price fell to $479k on the back of two quiet weeks early in the season but he’s passed three figures in four of his five matches since the 48-point score against the Hawks.
And, as a result, his ownership spiked by almost 10,000 over the past month.
But, at this stage, Longmuir only expects Brayshaw to miss a week so there’s no reason to trade in KFC SuperCoach just yet.
There’s some good news on calf injuries at the Dockers, though, with defender Luke Ryan set to make a return after three weeks on the sidelines.
“Luke will come into the side, he got through training really well yesterday,” Longmuir told reporters.
“We’ll welcome him back which should shore up our backline even more and we’re looking forward to getting one of our leaders back into the team.”
In further good news for the 13,000 KFC SuperCoaches who held Ryan, Alex Pearce will play in the WAFL this weekend.
His return to the senior team in the next few weeks will, again, allow Ryan to assume the KFC SuperCoach-friendly floating role he plays so well.
BYE ROUND SAVIOUR?
The KFC SuperCoach Round 14 bye saviour could be here.
Rookie-price Gold Coast ruckman Zac Smith ($216k), who last played for the club in 2015, will make his senior return against his other former side Geelong on Saturday.
The 31-year-old has spent the past three weeks in the VFL after recovering from a PCL injury, averaging 11 disposals, nine hitouts-to-advantage and 89 KFC SuperCoach points.
Smith increased his game-time in each match and now he’s ready to take over as the Suns’ No. 1 big man in the absence of the injured Jarrod Witts.
“He’s got himself to a point where he’s really confident and we’re confident in what he can do,” Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew said this week.
“We wanted to make sure he hit the ground running and can really add to the side, which we think he can.”
The 206cm Smith averaged 78 KFC SuperCoach points in an impressive debut season at the Suns back in 2011.
But his best year was 2017, his second at Geelong, when he posted eight KFC SuperCoach tons and averaged 91 points across 18 matches.
In between injury, Smith spent most of the next two seasons in the VFL, managing just another six senior appearances for the Cats before being traded back to the Suns.
With Witts playing every game in each of the past three years, Smith didn’t feature at AFL level again in 2020.
But it all means he’s available for $216k in KFC SuperCoach this year and – all going well – will play when Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn have a bye in Round 14.
Giant Matt Flynn has kept his spot so a trade to make around $150k and gain crucial bye-round cover could be on the cards in the coming weeks.
Originally published as KFC SuperCoach 2021: All the late mail, team news and trade advice ahead of Round 10
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