KFC SuperCoach 2023: The best bargains, value selections this season

Getting your cheapies right is crucial in KFC SuperCoach — and this year, some of the best bargains aren’t just rookies. Check out our list of the most underpriced players of 2023.

Ben King at Gold Coast training.

It has almost become a tradition in KFC SuperCoach to fill your team with speculative mid-price selections when the game opens, then discard them as nerves kick in when round 1 approaches.

But 2022 proved that backing in those speculative selections can put you on the fast track to success – coaches who started last season with all of Patrick Cripps, Stephen Coniglio, James Sicily, George Hewett and Will Brodie rocketed to the top of the rankings, and many of them stayed there for the entire season.

Was last season one out of the box or has the KFC SuperCoach landscape changed forever?

Either way finding value will always be a key to building a successful team, with every dollar saved in one position freeing up cash to spend up somewhere else.

So who could be the Brodie, Cripps or Coniglio of 2023?

Here are 11 players who could massively outperform their starting price this season. Stay tuned over pre-season as we update this list with the latest pre-season intel.

Nat Fyfe is an all-time KFC SuperCoach great. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

Nat Fyfe (Fremantle) $313,600 MID-FWD

PRICED AT (average): 57 *approx

BEST SEASON AVERAGE: 124.3 (2015)

Fyfe as a forward for less than $320k – do we need to say any more? Ten seasons with an average over 100, three over 120 and we can pick him in the forward line. The case against is just seven matches last year with a high score of 96 and an average of 63, persistent hamstring injuries, the fact he’s now 31 and might play more as a permanent forward as he passes the baton to a new generation of Dockers midfielders. But the upside is massive.

Verdict: Injury history is a big red flag – keep an ear to the ground for any talk of pre-season niggles. But so far, so good. He’s in for me.

Toby McLean (Western Bulldogs) $178,900 MID-FWD

PRICED AT (average): 34.5 *approx

BEST SEASON AVERAGE: 94.7 (2018)

McLean was a fantastic KFC SuperCoach pick in 2018 when he burst out of the blocks with a 111 average over the first 10 rounds, and a repeat performance in 2023 would have fantasy coaches laughing all the way to the bank. That’s the top end of his potential output but 90-plus scores are not an outrageous prediction – he scored 100 points when he returned in last year’s elimination final after almost two years in the wilderness.

Verdict: Should be just about your first-picked player if he cracks the best 22 – he was in the B team in recent match simulation but looked in great nick.

Conor McKenna (Brisbane Lions) $167,500 DEF

PRICED AT (average): 30.4 *approx

BEST SEASON AVERAGE: 79.9 (2019)

We don’t have KFC SuperCoach data for the Gaelic Athletic Association, where McKenna has played for the past two years. But he was a key member of Tyrone’s All-Ireland title winning team in 2021. Having fulfilled that dream, he is returning to the AFL with Brisbane winning the race for his signature – a sign the Lions see him playing a role in their push for a first flag since 2003. “We see Conor being a player who further improves our list, particularly as he adds both run and speed,” footy manager Danny Daly said. “He showed in his time at Essendon that one of his strengths is that he can play at both ends of the ground, and he can also win plenty of the ball. We look forward to Conor putting in a solid pre-season and helping us go that next step in 2023.”

Verdict: McKenna averaged 79 and 74 in his last two full seasons at the Bombers and shapes as a safe on-field starter if he’s picked for round 1.

Conor McKenna hasn’t played AFL since 2020. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images

Ben Cunnington (North Melbourne) $419,000 MID-FWD

PRICED AT (average): 76 *approx

BEST SEASON AVERAGE: 108.7 (2021)

Some coaches were hoping for an even cheaper price tag after the Kangaroos champ played just two matches last season for a 49.5 average. But the KFC SuperCoach bankers have also taken into account his 2021 season, when he averaged a career-best 108.7. That demonstrates Cunnington’s scoring power – he also averaged 100 plus the two previous seasons and at least 90 in five others since 2013 – which makes him well underpriced if he can recapture anything like this best. Can he do that after beating testicular cancer?

Verdict: If Cunnington is playing in the guts it’s hard to see him averaging less than 90, and the upside is much higher. What will Clarko’s plan be for the veteran and the Roos’ young midfield brigade? Hopefully we’ll find out in the pre-season.

Ben Cunnington could be a stepping stone to a forward premium. Picture: Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Jacob Hopper (Richmond) $332,000 MID

PRICED AT (average): 60 *approx

BEST SEASON AVERAGE: 97 (2021)

This was the verdict on Hopper in Champion Data’s 2016 AFL Prospectus: “The comparison we have drawn him to is Patrick Dangerfield. He wins the ball in a contested situation as frequently as the new Cat, dominates around stoppages and impacts the scoreboard in a similar way.” That was after he had averaged 122 KFC SuperCoach points across his junior career and been selected at pick 7 in the draft by GWS. Of course, now he’s a Tiger – where we can expect that ball-winning ability to come to the fore; after sharing midfield time with a long list of Giants mids, he’ll be lining up at every centre bounce at Punt Rd.

Verdict: Ignore Hopper’s average of 67 in seven injury-plagued games last season. He averaged 97 the year before and should at least match that in 2023.

Josh Bruce (Western Bulldogs) $161,200 FWD

PRICED AT (average): 29.3 *approx

BEST SEASON AVERAGE: 70.7 (2018) — three games

Bruce was one of the hardluck stories of the 2021 AFL season, hurting his knee in the final home-and-away round as the Dogs charged to the grand final. He returned in round 18 last year but struggled to find his touch, averaging just 36.6 KFC SuperCoach points in his five senior appearances. Bruce should be a lot better than that after a full pre-season, and the best news out of the kennel is he has been training as a defender, where he started his career at the Giants.

Verdict: Key forwards are always high-risk KFC SuperCoach picks, but intercept defenders are a whole different story. If Bruce can secure that role in the Bulldogs’ best 22, he’s an on-field option in our forward lines.

Jacob Hopper was one of two star recruits for Richmond in the trade period. Picture: Michael Klein

Josh Bruce will be like a fresh recruit for the Bulldogs. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Ben King (Gold Coast) $176,300 FWD

PRICED AT (average): 32 *approx

BEST SEASON AVERAGE: 55.6 (2020)

What were we just saying about avoiding key forwards? That analysis still applies with King even at his hugely discounted price following a year out of the game. In his last season before suffering the knee injury he played 22 games and produced KFC SuperCoach scores of 11, 12, 18, 21, 22, 24 and 25. But he also posted a 117 in a four-goal performance against Hawthorn – and we just need a game or two like that for his price to head skywards. I’m putting a circle around clashes against Essendon in round 2 and North Melbourne in round 6.

Verdict: A cheap forward guaranteed to play every week he’s available is a big tick to start with, and King will be the No.1 forward target for a rapidly improving Gold Coast team. It might be safest to pick him on the bench though, if you can afford it.

Will Phillips $158,300 MID

PRICED AT (average): 28.8 *approx

BEST SEASON AVERAGE: 41.9 (2021)

Those North Melbourne spies tell us the luckless Phillips is also enjoying a strong pre-season, named in the best for the ‘blue’ team in recent match simulation. Phillips was taken behind Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson at pick 3 in the 2020 draft and the ball-winner will hopefully make up for some lost time this year after suffering Covid and two bouts of glandular fever in 2022.

Verdict: A popular pick for M7 or M8 at this stage of the pre-season.

Oscar Allen’s price is heavily discounted after missing the 2022 season through injury. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England

Oscar Allen $210,200 FWD

PRICED AT (average): 38.2 *approx

BEST SEASON AVERAGE: 78.6 (2020)

The talented Eagles forward missed the entire 2022 season with a foot injury but will have a key role this year stepping into the giant boots of retired goalkicker Josh Kennedy. Key forwards are always risky selections in KFC SuperCoach because of their volatile scoring, but we saw with Charlie Curnow last year how valuable they can be – Curnow started the year priced at $224,300 and scored 36 in round 1, then averaged 94 over the next seven rounds (with scores including 104, 149, 64 and 66) to shoot up to $445,000 – the perfect time to trade him out for a big profit. Can Allen do the same? The Eagles start the year with games against North Melbourne and GWS so we should know very early if it’s a viable move.

Verdict: There was hope Allen could serve as West Coast’s No.2 ruckman which would be a major boost to his scoring, but that now seems unlikely. Job security isn’t an issue – one to keep in mind if Toby McLean isn’t picked for round 1.

Nick Coffield $208,800 DEF

PRICED AT (average): 37.9 *approx

BEST SEASON AVERAGE: 79.4 (2020)

Coffield’s return from a knee reconstruction that wiped out his 2022 season hit a hurdle when he suffered a hamstring injury before Christmas. But the Saints say he’ll be ready by the time practice matches roll around, giving us a chance to assess his fitness and role under Ross Lyon. If it’s anywhere in the best 22 he shapes as a potential bargain buy at a hugely discounted price, especially if he can match or improve on his career-best 79 average from 2020. A former top-10 draft pick entering his sixth season should be aiming for higher than that.

Verdict: One for the pre-season watch list but at that price he has to be in the conversation.

Sam Flanders $256,300 MID/FWD

PRICED AT (average): 46.6 *approx

BEST SEASON AVERAGE: 51.5 (2021)

Picking forwards in the mid-$200k price range has been the ticket to success in KFC SuperCoach in recent seasons. Who can follow the trail blazed by the likes of Will Brodie, Stephen Coniglio, Jack Ziebell and Jarman Impey in 2023? The choices aren’t jumping off the page this year but Flanders is one to watch. Taken at pick 11 in the 2019 draft he has battled to cement a spot in the Suns’ line-up, but all the noise of out of the Suns’ camp over summer is the explosive midfielder who was likened to Christian Petracca by my good friend The Phantom after he was drafted is burning up the track.

Verdict: Cracking the best 22 is one thing, getting into the Gold Coast midfield is another. Jury is still out.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach 2023: The best bargains, value selections this season