AFL SuperCoach: How to win, how to start a team and who to pick

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SOMEONE has to win, right?

It might as well be you.

No one plays AFL SuperCoach to lose, especially when the overall winner gets to bank a cheque for $50,000 at the end of the season.

With that much money — and the prestige to boot — how do you get to the Promised Land?

Let’s start with the Three Cs: Courage, Consistency and Cash Cows.

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You need courage at the selection table.

Picking the right players — at the right time — will save you fantasy dollars and trades (we only get 30, so use them wisely).

You need good cash cows, players that will rise significantly in value. Earlier the better.

This will give you options down the track.

You need consistency.

The crème de la crème of SuperCoach will average 2200+ points from go to whoa, making it hard for rivals to bridge margins that balloon out beyond 500 points to the clubhouse leader.

A winning SuperCoach team needs a bit of everything — superstars, good players back from injury, mid-range players about to take the next step, and draftees who will get games.

Sounds easy, right? Think again.

It doesn’t take long to burn through a salary cap of $10 million when building 30-man squads from a pool of 805 eligible AFL players.

Look to have 8-10 premiums, 10-15 cash cows and 4-6 mid-range players.

Historically, first round-draft picks are safe options, especially midfielders, while mature-aged recruits could become serious money-makers.

The start of the season will decide your fantasy fate.

Pick players who play early and score often.

Engage dual-position players across all lines and price points — the midfield-forward swingmen tend to be the most popular to cover injury and suspension.

Implement a bye-round strategy — ideally two.

One to stabilise scoring during the three-week block and the second for possible mid-season trade targets.

No point building towards fantasy immortality in February only to come undone in June, when the SuperCoach contenders make their move. (HINT: You need a plan for Round 14).

Always have active and reliable scorers on the bench, especially in the second half of the season when ‘managed’ and ‘illness’ creep into AFL team sheets. SuperCoach kryptonite.

And don’t spend every cent, a rolling $50,000-$100,000 war chest could be the difference at the business end of the fantasy season.

Finally, and most importantly, have fun playing AFL SuperCoach, Australia’s biggest and best fantasy game.

Originally published as AFL SuperCoach: How to win, how to start a team and who to pick