SuperCoach AFL 2025: Top trade targets for round 8
Where have all the cheapies gone? Best rookies for round 8 rated plus the superstars to grab this week.
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Upgrade season is in full swing as we enter the most crucial phase of the SuperCoach season.
For the next two months, the plan is simple – trade out rookies who have maxed out in cash, bring in fresh bargain-basement cheapies and use the profit to upgrade cash cows to rolled gold superstars.
Except there’s a hitch.
Those fresh bargain basement cheapies, vital to the entire equation, are suddenly extremely thin on the ground.
There are some options for round 8, but all come with some risk. See our best picks here and the premiums who are ripe for the picking.
ROOKIES
Has the lowest Break Even in the competition this week and on the bubble after scoring 50 and 85 the past two rounds. The 29-year-old journeyman has played back and forward at three clubs since 2015; his Anzac Day score came from nine disposals (eight effective) and two goals. But he has rarely been a regular during his decade-long career. Will that change now? The likely return of Luke Jackson from injury this week doesn’t fill us with optimism.
The other bubble boy this week played just 27 per cent game time in his second game after starting as the sub – a big red flag when it comes to job security. But Kai Lohmann suffered a suspected sternum injury against the Saints that could open up a spot in the best 22. Tunstill is clearly on the fringe, but his price, DPP and scoring potential (he scored 88 against Collingwood a week earlier) are promising. He might be our best bet, but the Lions playing in the final game of the round could make for a nervous wait.
Has been putting up big numbers in the VFL for over a year (average 135 in three games this season) and got his chance following Conor Nash’s suspension. Gathered 24 disposals against the Eagles for 72 SuperCoach points, but his price won’t move until his third game – and Nash will be back the week after that. Safest to wait, although he should score well against Richmond this week.
Another one-gamer who got his chance when Liam Jones was dropped. SuperCoaches will be hopding Bevo backs in his top pick from the 2022 draft after a 57 on debut in another impressive win. But wait at least one more week before picking him. Tiger Campbell Gray, another first-gamer, took some nice intercept marks against Melbourne but was subbed off with just 41 points and surely makes way for Noah Balta this week.
More than 62,000 coaches brought in the Carlton backman last round and were rewarded with a $53k price jump. But if you missed out, his Break Even is still in the negatives and $152k isn’t too much to pay. Might be fighting for a spot with Lachie Cowan, who had 15 disposals and 89 SuperCoach points in the VFL.
When we’re considering rookies who have already played four games you know things are dire. But White could have the best job security of this group playing as a forward for the Blues. We missed out on the $99k starting price but the 20-year-old from Warrnambool will still make some money – projected $50k, and it could be more if he can jag a spike game – and hold a spot on the bench for a few weeks.
Has been an emergency for the Bombers since returning from a hand injury. Surely he breaks back in soon?
PREMIUM TARGETS
The Chad is back in the midfield, and back in the SuperCoach trade conversation. After spending plenty of time forward in the opening six rounds – enough to earn DPP status – Warner has attended 70 and 78 per cent of centre bounces the past two weeks. He won three centre clearances (six clearances total) against the Suns, picked up 24 touches (20 kicks) and still booted two goals. After dipping almost $100k from his starting price, he gained an even $1000 after his 121 point game on Sunday, and his price gains with be much bigger if he can keep scoring like that.
Just over 7500 coaches played the fallen premium game perfectly last week by nabbing Petracca for just over $480k, likely the cheapest he’ll be all year. He rewarded them with his first ton of the season, a big 129 against the Tigers on the back of 28 disposals and two goals. Like Warner, he is back in a key midfield role but can be picked as a forward, and $497k is still – as the Phantom loves to say – great buying.
No player has suffered from AFL coaches’ renewed love of taggers more than the Lions skipper this year. The good news for coaches who didn’t start Neale is those sub-affected scores have slashed $83k off his starting price – not bad for a guy who has gone over 130 in three of his other four matches. His price has bottomed out and now is a great time to jump on ahead of a big Q-Clash against Gold Coast followed by fixtures against North Melbourne and Melbourne – three teams not noted for deploying taggers.
If you’re budget is really stretched and you can’t afford Warner, we’ve got a bargain for you. Moore is $96k cheaper than he was in round 1, coming off 108 points against the Eagles. The dream result is an enhanced midfield role at the Hawks, but a spike in CBAs against Port Adelaide three weeks ago appears to be a one-off. However, he still managed to ton up off 24 per cent CBAs on Sunday from 17 disposals and one goal. The Hawks are good, he’s perennially in the top-six forward discussion (if not at the very top), he’s very cheap and has the Tigers this week – a team he scored 139 against the last time they met.
An option for coaches who perhaps can’t get to a true premium this week and aren’t ready to part with the rookies who are still providing solid points on field and have more money to make like Levi Ashcroft or Zach Reid (we give a green light to moving on the likes of Sam Davidson, Murphy Reid and Finn O’Sullivan). Freijah started the year with two low hundreds, followed by three scores under 70 which slashed his ownership to just 8 per cent. But he has been huge the past two weeks, scoring 124 and 114 after being trusted with a key midfield role by Luke Beveridge. He had a season-high 44 per cent CBAs against the Giants, and the return of Marcus Bontempelli is only helping his rapid progress. A placeholder in midfield or defence in our SuperCoach sides with an eye to a possible big-time upgrade (one of the names below?), Freijah should keep delivering good numbers and three scores of 95 would add almost $100k to his price tag.
This guide is supposed to be about premiums who have dropped in price but we need to address these two, who both feature in the list of most traded-in players early in the week. Putting it simply, you will have to pull your team apart in a serious way to get either of the two most expensive players in the game. You could argue their prices are reasonable given both could be over $700k this time next week. But history shows it is almost impossible to maintain the scoring needed to stay there; even Bont dropped to $632k last year despite averaging 126 points a game.
Adding one of the two very lowly-owned superstars will deliver an instant hit, but it likely means playing a rookie like Elijah Hewett or Sam Davidson for weeks while other coaches fill those spots with cut-price guns like Warner and Petracca – or even worse, relying on players like Oscar McDonald or Jimmy Tunstill to fill on-field spots.
Will we want Bont and Butters at some stage? Absolutely. But be patient. The time will come.
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Originally published as SuperCoach AFL 2025: Top trade targets for round 8
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