KFC SuperCoach Plus Article: 11 things you need to know for Round 14

From Aaron Hall’s stunning streak to captain and trade tips and the clanger kings of KFC SuperCoach, here are 11 things you need to know in Round 14.

Aaron Hall is on a hot streak in KFC SuperCoach.

With the toughest round of the KFC SuperCoach season upon us, every piece of intel that can gain you extra points on field is worth its weight in gold.

SuperCoach Plus gives you an entire treasure chest of nuggets to boost your score this week and for the rest of the season.

It also gives you exclusive access to weekly analysis articles just like this one.

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From price and score projections to Aaron Hall’s stunning streak, captaincy tips, Tom Highmore’s eye-popping breakout game and the players who cost you the most points through free kicks and clangers, here are 11 things you need to know for Round 14.

MORE: AL PATON’S TOP BYE TRADE TARGETS

1. Aaron Hall might not overtake teammate Jack Ziebell for total points this season (he’s 402 behind), but he certainly has him covered over the past six rounds. Since Round 7, Ziebell’s average has dropped from 123.7 to (a still very respectable) 98.7, while Hall has averaged 116.2 in that time. Last weekend he shrugged off attention from master tagger Matt de Boer to score a season-high 141 points. His improvement is reflected in his ratings across the competition as a general defender — first for uncontested possessions, second for metres gained and fourth for disposals, with a kick rating 4.5 per cent above the AFL average.

Jai Newcombe made an instant impact in his AFL debut.

2. Hall is the third-most popular trade target this week so far, behind rookies Jai Newcombe and Luke Edwards. Newcombe was a late call-up to just over 20,000 KFC SuperCoach teams ahead of his AFL debut following selection in the mid-season draft, and he didn’t let them down. He smashed the tackle record for a debutant, applying 14 from his 15 tackle attempts. He racked up 41 points from tackles alone and earned another 22 points from his contested work. It was an efficient display, losing 6.5 points from two free kicks against and a further two points from one clanger kick.

3. Newcombe is priced at just $102,400 and won’t rise in value until after his third game. Edwards is on the bubble with a price rise due after his next match — but that won’t be until at least Round 15, after the Eagles’ bye. Edwards is projected to rise $74,000 after that game following scores of 63 and 96 in his first two senior appearances. His break even of -89 is the second-lowest in the competition, behind Hawks ruckman Ned Reeves (-98), who was a late out against the Swans. If Reeves returns this week he is projected to jump in value by more than $80,000, but Alastair Clarkson might find it hard to drop his replacement Jonathon Ceglar, who scored 131 points — the best return in his 94-game career.

Jonathon Ceglar played the game of his life against Sydney.

4. Tom Highmore rewarded KFC SuperCoaches who kept the faith with a career-best score in a bye round. Of his 111 points, 50 came in a blistering opening term. He earned 43 points from intercepts alone, including three contested intercept marks, worth a combined 19.3 points. He took 13 marks in total and had 15 kicks and seven handballs, as well as laying four tackles worth 15 points. Highmore’s value spiked by $22,800 after Round 13 and his break even is back in the negatives (-2), so he has a lot more cash to make. Unfortunately, he won’t be available this week thanks to St Kilda’s Round 14 bye.

5. Highmore isn’t the only popular player who is unavailable this round. In fact, 15 of the 20 most-selected players have a bye in Round 14, including eight of the top 10. Of the five top-20 players not on the bye, two of them are Dayne Zorko (suspended) and Tyler Brockman, who hasn’t played since Round 4 but still features in more than 53,000 teams.

6. Struggling for cash and looking for a bargain-priced premium scorer to complete your backline? Nick Haynes could be your man. The GWS interceptor averaged 98.4 in a breakout 2020 season but has battled this year, averaging just 65.3 in nine matches (including a score of just 2 when he hurt his hamstring against the Bulldogs). But he may have turned the corner against the Kangaroos, posting a season-best 118 points from 26 disposals and 14 marks. One match doesn’t make a trend, but he did score 139 and 148 the last time he played the Giants’ next two opponents, Carlton and Hawthorn, respectively. Remarkably, Haynes lost more than $200k from his starting price before bottoming out and rising $31,300 this week. He’s still available for the crazy price of $335,600 (break even 32).

Nick Haynes played his best game for the season against North Melbourne.

7. Choosing the right captain will be crucial this week, with some of the most popular choices unavailable. But even though there are just five matches, we still have some great options. Tom Mitchell scored 135 against Essendon in Round 1 and an average of 130.6 from his past five against the Bombers. Zach Merrett scored 105 in the opening round but put up 145 and 138 in his previous two against Hawthorn. Giant Josh Kelly averages a massive 144.7 in his past three against Carlton, including a 205 in 2018. Sam Walsh has only played the Giants twice in his career but the last time they met, in Round 15 last year, he posted 132. Brisbane’s Jarryd Lyons averages 123 in his past three against North Melbourne while Roo Aaron Hall is one player who might not have been too upset about this week’s fixture changes. He loves playing at Blundstone Arena, averaging 123.5 from two matches at the venue.

8. It might pay to steer clear of the Dogs big guns against the Cats. Jack Macrae’s career average of 86.2 against Geelong is his worst of any team, and while his past three average against the Cats (112) is respectable, he averages 90.2 at GMHBA Stadium. Marcus Bontempelli averages 121 in his past three against Geelong but just 91 from five career games at the Cattery. Caleb Daniel is another Dog who has struggled down the highway, averaging just 72.8 from four appearances there.

Changkuoth Jiath roared back to form last week with his highest score since Round 3.

9. There is a lot more to KFC SuperCoach scoring than kicks, marks and handballs. Champion Data awards points for effective spoils — a punch that goes to a teammate, out of bounds or anywhere not directly to an opponent. Hawk Changkuoth Jiath had a bounce-back game against the Swans, scoring 112 points, aided by six effective spoils. Steven May leads the competition for spoiling efficiency this season, with 56 of his 67 spoils effective. Dane Rampe (82.9 per cent) and Dylan Grimes (78 per cent) are also in the top three but the name that jumps out for KFC SuperCoach players is Max Gawn, who ranks sixth in the competition with a spoiling efficiency of 74 per cent from his 50 spoils this season.

10. Gold Coast gun Matt Rowell has the highest break even in the competition at -237 after scoring 54 in his first game since hurting his knee in Round 1 (when he scored just six points). SuperCoach Plus is projecting a score of 60 against Port Adelaide this week and a massive price drop of close to $80,000. He is likely to drop under $400k the following week, which could be the perfect time to snap him up as a cheap recruit for the run home. Other players of note with huge break evens are Clayton Oliver (199) and Patrick Dangerfield (191), who is projected to shed another $42k off his price tag if he scores 94 on Friday night. He does have a good recent history against the Bulldogs — since 2016 he has faced them seven times for scores of 132, 115, 146, 118, 151, 173 and 144.

Jack Steele gave away six free kicks against Adelaide. Picture: Michael Klein

11. Owners of Jack Steele were rubbing their hands together at the prospect of another huge score after he passed 100 points before three-quarter time against Adelaide. But his last quarter was a bust, finishing on 126 points. He spent a decent portion of the quarter stuck on the bench but also paid the price for negative acts that cost players KFC SuperCoach points. He lost 17.5 points in the final quarter and 28 for the match from free kicks against (six) and clanger kicks. But his performance didn’t even make the top 30 in most points given away by a player in a game this season. Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko holds the top two spots on that unenviable list, headlined by his Round 4 effort against the Western Bulldogs when he lost 40 points from negative acts — five free kicks against and six clangers from his 23 disposals. Zorko lost 38.5 points against the Cats in Round 2 (four frees against), while other players to have given back large chunks of their score include Brodie Grundy (-38 against GWS in Round 4), Marcus Bontempelli (-37 against Carlton in Round 8), Tim Taranto (-34 against Collingwood in Round 4), and Clayton Oliver (-33, also against the Blues).

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach Plus Article: 11 things you need to know for Round 14