KFC SuperCoach 2023: Heath Shaw reveals the players on his radar this year

Heath Shaw has learnt from the mistakes he made in KFC SuperCoach last year. Here are the teams and players he’s tipping for a big spike in 2023.

KFC SuperCoach ambassador Heath Shaw

When I opened the KFC SuperCoach app for the first time this year, I was pretty happy with what I saw.

Then I realised that was my team from last year.

2022 is gone and now there are 30 spaces to fill. Once again I’m taking up the challenge against tens of thousands of SuperCoaches let alone the game itself, which always finds a way of getting the better of me.

But this year is going to be different.

Heath Shaw is back for another huge year of KFC SuperCoach.

For starters, I won’t make the biggest mistake of my 2022 campaign – being too stubborn about who to pick in my team. Every man and his dog was picking Josh Dunkley, and telling me to pick him too, but I stuck to my guns – and it cost me for a big chunk of the year.

Yes, you can have your opinion on players, but, like a favourite in a horse race, the horse doesn’t know its odds but it’s favourite for a reason.

My other tips is to do your research – or get somebody else to. Watch the pre-season and listen to the experts (like me). If you have a mate who has won your league premiership three years in a row or finished in the top 1000 in the overall rankings, they probably have some idea what they’re doing.

So, does that make Dunkley a must-have this year after his move to Brisbane? Definitely not. Not yet, anyway.

With most positions up for grabs in LordHeathShaw for 2023, these are the teams and players I’m keeping a close eye on – and you should, too.

Tom Mitchell will fit in perfectly at Collingwood. Picture: Michael Klein

COLLINGWOOD

I don’t think Dan McStay, Bobby Hill or Billy Frampton will make a big impact in KFC SuperCoach, but I love what the Pies recruiters did getting Tom Mitchell ($528,600 MID) over from Hawthorn.

Collingwood recruited him for a reason – to be the shovel at stoppages. They want Jack Crisp kicking the ball, they want Nick Daicos kicking the ball, they want Scott Pendlebury kicking the ball – they definitely don’t want Tom Mitchell kicking the ball. He’ll be the one feeding it out every time to the kickers running past.

Daicos was the best pick in KFC SuperCoach last year and he’s come back in brilliant shape ready to go to the next level.

PORT ADELAIDE

I’m not a big believer in stats but this stat is a good one – Port Adelaide as a team had the highest total SuperCoach points last season. Handy in this game.

That’s the kind of intel that can help you pick a winning team from the start.

Connor Rozee ($513,800 MID-FWD) and Zak Butters ($529,400 MID-FWD) are midfielders but in your KFC SuperCoach team you can pick both in the forward line. I will definitely be looking at getting one or maybe even both of them in my team.

They also tell me Orazio Fantasia ($203,300 FWD) is flying on the track (like everyone this time on year), and he is dirt cheap if you want to take the risk. I don’t think I’m that brave.

Zak Butters can take his game to another level. Picture: Jono Searle/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

MELBOURNE

Picking rucks in SuperCoach used to be easy – get Max Gawn ($622,100 RUC) and Brodie Grundy ($512,900 RUC). Now they are now both in the same team, which complicates things – you can’t play 100 per cent of game time in the ruck if there’s two of you. I’m staying away from both of them.

FREMANTLE

The Dockers have more mids than you can poke a stick at. And playing position are vital.

Nat Fyfe – question marks. Jaeger O’Meara – question marks. Luke Jackson – question marks. Sean Darcy and Andrew Brayshaw are the locks in there, what happens with the other three will decide their tilt at a premiership.

For me Fyfe is a must-have at $313,600.

If he’s playing forward he will kick goals, if he’s in the midfield he’ll find the ball. He has had his injuries but hopefully he has learnt from previous years this pre-season and not pushing it too hard. Getting on the park and staying there is key, especially the older you get.

This might have been Nat Fyfe’s reaction after seeing his price in KFC SuperCoach. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

BRISBANE LIONS

Will Ashcroft ($202,800 MID) is one of the most popular picks so far in KFC SuperCoach based on his brilliant form at junior level.

But the Lions midfield is absolutely stacked, so how many minutes will he get in there? I’m not paying overs for that.

There are more questions to think about as round 1 draws closer:

WHAT game style will new coaches bring to Essendon, North Melbourne, St Kilda and GWS? HOW do we plan for four bye rounds? (They affect everyone, the key is to limit the damage.) CAN Aaron Francis repeat Paddy McCartin’s success at Sydney this year?

WEST Coast can’t be that bad again, can they?

WHICH teams will spike in 2023 and from those teams who are the players that will spike?

I’ll be watching closely or just hitting up old mates at clubs to get the best intel over the pre-season – stay tuned to see how my KFC SuperCoach team is shaping up.

Are you up for the challenge?

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach 2023: Heath Shaw reveals the players on his radar this year