KFC SuperCoach 2021 pre-season whispers: All the news from around the AFL

North Melbourne is a KFC SuperCoach goldmine in 2021. Get the inside mail on who is flying on the track and all the latest pre-season news and whispers.

Pre-season intel is more important than ever to picking a successful KFC SuperCoach team.

In previous seasons we have had several rounds of pre-season matches to get a read on role changes and cheapies likely to line up in round 1.

In 2021 each club will play only one AAMI Community Series match to help make those crucial selection calls. Need to know what’s happening in scratch matches, intra-club hitouts and on the training track?

Here’s all the news you might have missed.

ROOS ROOKIE ‘HAS IT ON A STRING’

How many Kangaroos are in your KFC SuperCoach team? The Roos offer a host of potential bargains in 2021, and we might have to add a couple more if skipper Jack Ziebell is taken at his word. Speaking on RSN, Ziebell pumped up mid-price options Jy Simpkin ($499,700 MID) and Luke Davies-Uniacke ($432,800 MID) — who was best on ground in an intra-club hitout — and high draft pick Will Phillips ($198,300 MID) — plus his own move to half-back.

Ziebell on Phillips: “The sky is the limit for Will, he’s a very impressive young man. He’s a tough inside midfielder that can win the ball on the inside and outside and he’s had it on a string at training.”

Ziebell on Simpkin: “He’s just understanding what it takes to be an elite player now and you should see his drive at training, it’s unbelievable. He just wants to be the best he can ... he’s going to be a very very good player for us.”

Jy Simpkin motors away from Jaidyn Stephenson. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Ziebell on Davies-Uniacke: “He’s come back in unbelievable shape. He’s got so much time at the contest and when he gets his hands on the ball he penetrates really well, gets the ball long and deep, and he’s going to be very hard to stop.”

Ziebell on himself: “I haven’t spent a lot of time there (half-back) in my career, but it’s something that I think comes pretty naturally to me. One of my strengths as a player is I’ve got that flexibility to play up forward, which I’ve done in the past, also in the midfield if we need it, but down back we’ll trial that a little bit this year and see how that goes, but I’m very confident I’ll be able to get that done and enjoy that role.”

Kangaroos coach David Noble added on SEN that former Magpie Jaidyn Stephenson ($354,100 FWD) is set to play in the midfield and he expects Ben Cunnington ($439,800 MID) to play a full season after his 2020 season was derailed by a back injury.

WHERE THERE’S A WILL ....

The wait might be about to end for one of the biggest hard-luck stories in KFC SuperCoach.

Sydney teenager Will Gould was one of the most popular rookies in 2020 but failed to play a game despite appearing ready for AFL action after being drafted from the SANFL.

He sat on the bench for the entire season for many coaches but they have kept the faith — he’s the fifth-most popular player this year, currently sitting in exactly 50 per cent of teams.

That faith might be about to be rewarded based on a pre-season update from Swans coach John Longmire.

“He’s had a terrific pre-season so far, he works really hard and that will give him the best chance this year,” Longmire said of Gould on the Your Coach podcast.

“He’s learnt a bit more about bodywork, foot work, a bit of a different role than what he played at SANFL level, and also what’s required at AFL level.

“He’s another one that we think can play that intercept marking role or give us some punch off half-back, or being able to play on those third talls at that size, that’s an option for him in our team.”

Will Gould is closing on an AFL debut for the Swans.

Longmire also talked up Sydney Academy draftees Braeden Campbell ($189,300 MID/FWD) and pressure forward Errol Gulden ($117,300 MID), said Tom McCartin ($312,800 FWD) will play in defence this year, Callum Mills ($544,800 DEF) has been training with the midfield group but could play “anywhere” and the latest injury setback for Lance Franklin ($312,000 FWD) was “not a major hurdle”. He wouldn’t commit to a Round 1 return for Buddy, but said “we feel he’s still tracking in the right direction”.

SLOW START FOR HAWKS STAR

Alarm bells are ringing if you have ball magnet Tom Mitchell ($610,000 MID) in your KFC SuperCoach squad.

The 2018 Brownlow medallist averaged 113.5 points a game in 2020, his first year back after knee surgery.

But Mitchell is yet to rejoin full training after a post-season shoulder operation. He will start skills next week following a meeting with his surgeon in recent days but he is no guarantee to line up in Round 1.

But there is more positive news out of the Hawks in the form of promising rookies Denver Grainger-Barras ($184,800 DEF) and Connor Downie ($117,300 MID).

Assistant coach Sam Mitchell told the Herald Sun that athletic tall Grainger-Barras was “a little green” but reminded him of James Sicily.

“He’s been going really well. We have played in little intra-club scratch matches of 20 and 30 minutes and he’s showing really good signs. You can understand why he’s an early pick, his reading of the ball in flight is outstanding,” he said.

“It’s not for me to say who is in the selection frame (for Round 1) but if you looked at his match play last week you would say he’s ready to play.”

He said Downie had played mostly on a wing in match simulation.

“He’s a ripper kid. Desperate to learn, desperate to improve, he wants to look at vision, he wants to grab hold of coaches. He has beautiful kicking stills and runs well in space.”

“If you look at Denver and Connor Downie, if things go well for them they can play footy pretty early on in the pre-season. It is all going to be based on their performances in the next 4-6 weeks before Round 1 comes along.

“We have a couple more internal trials and a hitout against the Bulldogs and then we play the Roos in Tassie, so we will see how some of those guys perform when they have a little more pressure against good opponents.”

Hawthorns N.35 draft pick Connor Downie could make an immediate impact.

SAINTS TALK UP ROOKIE BOLTER

The big news out of Moorabbin in recent days was Jack Steele being named co-captain and players accepting an across-the-board 7 per cent pay cut in a bid to avoid a Collingwood-style slalary cap crunch.

But another nugget may have slipped through when Steele revealed the player who has turned heads on the training track this summer: 22-year-old former SANFL player Tom Highmore ($117,300 DEF).

“In terms of his courage and ball use, you wonder how he hasn’t already been on an AFL list,” Steele said.

“It is great to have him and good to get those sort of surprise packets from the draft.”

Highmore was taken at No.45 in last year’s draft after a strong season for South Adelaide, highlighted by his intercept marking across half-back.

If he can break into the Saints’ best 22 it will be a huge bonus in KFC SuperCoach.

CRIPPS ROLLS OUT RED CARPET FOR EX-GIANT

Patrick Cripps is on the Zac Williams hype train — and shovelling coal into the boiler.

Williams is priced at $458,600 in KFC SuperCoach after moving from the Giants to Carlton as a free agent in the hope of playing as a midfielder after spending most of his career so far at half-back. And Cripps, for one, is a big fan.

“We played a bit of match simulation the other day and he got a fair bit of it,” he said on SEN. “He’s just so creative, he doesn’t waste a ball which is a huge thing.

“What’s surprised me is how competitive he is. He’s a tackling machine.

“He’s only played a few games in the midfield over the last few years, but he gets high clearance numbers, high tackles and high contested possession, which is going to be really beneficial for our group, just adding that class on the outside to really punish the opposition.”

Carlton recruit Zac Williams.

Cripps also provided an explanation for his drop in scoring last year, when his KFC SuperCoach average of 97.5 was his lowest since 2015.

The Carlton co-captain played 3-4kg lighter in 2020 but has put the weight back on for 2021.

“I was trying to improve my running capacity but I probably lost my strength around the contest a little bit, and that’s my one-wood, so I thought I’d just get back to doing that and let guys like Sam Walsh run around me,” Cripps said.

“I tried something different last year but it didn’t quite go to plan ... so I’ve gone back to more my playing weight for 2018-2019, and hopefully it works.”

If his KFC SuperCoach scores return to what he achieved in those seasons — when he averaged 119 and 117 — he will be a steal at $523,700.

CROWS MATCH SIM:
- Schoenberg great, 2 1st qtr goals front & centre
- Murray took huge mark. Appears favourite for SSP spot.
- Lynch on wing (as he has lot of summer)
- Himmelberg impressing
- Milera out there & in middle

STORY TO COME @superfooty
⬇️Thilthorpe kicking for goal pic.twitter.com/MFGacM9UsV

— Matt Turner (@mattturner1986) February 11, 2021

DOGS MAGNETS ON THE MOVE

The Western Bulldogs have provided some of the highest-scoring KFC SuperCoach midfielders in recent seasons, but nerves about how the arrival of Adam Treloar will impact their established stars appear to be well founded.

Marcus Bontempelli told RSN radio: “I’ll probably spend periods of time forward – or longer periods of time forward in some games” while assistant coach Steven King suggested the skipper won’t be the only player pushed out of the centre square.

“Bonty and Jack Macrae are excited about challenging themselves when they aren’t in the middle. Even exploring 75 interchanges, guys will come up for longer but also go forward,” he told the Herald Sun.

Marcus Bontempelli works on his goalkicking — something he might be doing more of this year.

And speaking about Josh Dunkley, who returned for another season at the kennel after a failed bid to move to Essendon in the trade period, King said: “Reflecting on his year, he had that bad syndesmosis and we asked him to fill a role in the ruck and he was so team-oriented that he accepted it, but we won’t do it this year. We will share the load with all our mids and with his forward craft and ability to cover ground he will play multiple positions for us and he will be accepting of that.”

ROWELL STEPS UP INJURY COMEBACK

Midfield prodigy Matt Rowell ($495,100 MID) will step up his comeback from a severe shoulder injury when he takes part in match simulation this weekend.

Rowell averaged a crazy 126.5 KFC SuperCoach points in the first four games of his career before hurting his shoulder against Geelong in Round 5 last year.

He has returned to full contact training and will test the shoulder out in match conditions for the first time when he plays “a quarter and a bit” at Carrara.

“It’s not cotton wool, but we’re just mindful that he’s had such a big off-season, he was so determined to get it right, he’s done all his shoulder rehab so well,” Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew told the AFL website.

“It’s been different for him. He hasn’t missed a lot of footy (previously), but it’s been great for him to learn about his body more and not just be the guy that can play football really well.”

Dew flagged Noah Anderson ($411,500 MID) — who averaged 94 points over his final six games last season — would play more as an inside midfielder in 2021 and he is also keen to throw Izak Rankine ($371,600 FWD) into the middle.

PIES GUN SUFFERS INJURY SETBACK

One player who stood to benefit from Treloar’s move was Taylor Adams ($588,800 MID), whose scores have historically spiked without Treloar in the Collingwood line-up. But the tough onballer, who has a history of soft-tissue problems, now faces an uphill battle to be ready for Round 1 after straining his hamstring at training. “Given the 27-year-old’s history the medical department will monitor his progress over the coming weeks,” Collingwood said in a statement. “Adams will continue to work towards a Round 1 appearance against the Western Bulldogs.” In more positive news out of Magpieland, breakout candidate Josh Daicos ($442,200 MID) has been wowing track watchers and draftee Finlay Macrae ($126,300 FWD/MID) is making a strong case for a Round 1 debut.

Taylor Adams will have an interrupted season preparation.

Josh Daicos is turning heads at pre-season training. Picture: Michael Klein

YEO A NO-GO

There’s good news and bad news out of the West Coast camp when it comes to mid-price KFC SuperCoach prospects.

Elliot Yeo ($483,000 MID) offers huge potential value in the midfield after averaging 90 in an injury-hit 2020 season after hitting 108 in 2018-19.

But Yeo is no certainty to run out in Round 1, according to coach Adam Simpson.

“His progression is coming along, it’s still pretty slow though. It’s still touch and go for Round 1,” Simpson said.

“We’re not ruling it out at this stage, but it’s currently looking more unlikely than likely. But we’re still quite positive we’re going to get a good result in the early part of the year.”

Yeo’s absence and minor injuries have opened the door for Liam Duggan ($448,600 DEF) to train in the midfield group — and he could make a permanent move.

Duggan averaged 98 KFC SuperCoach points a game over the last eight rounds in 2020.

“We drafted him as a midfielder and he’s snuck he’s way back and never looked back,” Simpson said.

He’s been training with the mids the last two weeks and definitely impressed a lot of people and he’s ready to step up.”

HEPPELL EYEING ROUND 1 RETURN

Things are looking up for Essendon skipper Dyson Heppell ($319,100 MID) and his prospects of playing in Round 1.

Heppell played only three games last year due to a foot injury but New Bombers footy manager Josh Mahoney says he is “tracking really well” in his comeback.

“Dyson has been training really well and we’re really pleased with how he is progressing from that foot injury. He is a true professional and has put in a huge amount of work this pre-season to ensure his body feels good, so we’re pleased with his progression to date this pre-season,” Mahoney said.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach 2021 pre-season whispers: All the news from around the AFL