We explain the SuperCoach scoring system and how you can exploit it to pick a winning team

SuperCoach isn’t like any other fantasy game, to pick a winning team you must understand the scoring system. We’ve broken down the big point-scoring criteria and how you can exploit them.

Before you start to choose your squad you need to understand how the scoring system works and how you can exploit it.

SuperCoach has a unique scoring system that has a players impact on the game at its core as Champion Data use over 50 stats to assess the players’ overall contribution.

Once the players final ranking is known, Champion Data will finalise the scoring for the player, but more on this later.

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Not all possessions are created equal

Just because a player has a kick or a handball it doesn’t mean you will get the same points each time, and on some occasions you won’t score any points.

SuperCoach scoring rewards effective possessions rather than ineffective ones.

For example if your player gets a kick and hits a teammate on the chest he will score himself points but if he hits an opposition player on the chest then he can actually lose points.

Fremantle midfielder Nat Fyfe.

An effective kick will net you four points, an effective handball is 1.5 points while a clanger will lose you four points. An ineffective kick or handball will score you zero.

Based on that, those chip kicks across half-back are actually quite valuable as they are all usually effective.

This is where a guy like Heath Shaw or Kade Simpson can be valuable, they love to chip it around the backline and they can really boost their score like this.

Contested footy is the key

Not only do coaches love a contested possession, us SuperCoaches love them too.

If your player takes a contested mark or gains a contested possession he will earn more points.

A contested mark will earn your player six points while even more valuable is an intercept contested mark which can earn you eight points.

Conversely a chip across half-back to an open man will net you just the two points.

Shannon Hurn and Justin Westhoff both like to float around the backline taking intercept marks, the more they do this the more points they will score you.

Brodie Grundy was the highest scoring player in SuperCoach 2018.

Ruckmen need to be effective

Ruckmen are crucial to this game, a ruckman who is able to hit his midfielders is invaluable.

A hitout-to-advantage can earn you five points, but if you hit it down to an opposition player you will lose a point.

This is where a ruckman like Brodie Grundy who has a great midfield with players like Adam Treloar, Scott Pendlebury, Dayne Beams and Steele Sidebottom is so important.

Max Gawn is another one who is so good at this role, just feeding his midfielders, but beware, we don’t know what the impact of Brayden Preuss will be on Max’s time in the middle.

Hotheads need not apply

Giving away a free kick is never a good thing and in SuperCoach this is no exception.

Your player will lose you four points if they give one away, but even worse is if they then manage to concede a 50m penalty, that will cost them eight points and can really hurt you.

On the other hand of course a guy like Joel Selwood can net you some good points by earning four points each time they have a free kick awarded in their favour.

Joel Selwood earns plenty of free kicks. Picture: Alison Wynd

Goals win matches

Just like out on the field, a goalkicker is a valuable member of your SuperCoach team.

If you can find someone that is accurate in front of the big sticks they will find you eight points a goal.

But it isn’t just them that get the points.

The player that helps them get the goal with a nice little handball out of a pack or a tap on will pick themselves up some points for a score assist as well.

So while key forwards aren’t always big on the possessions, someone like West Coast spearhead Josh Kennedy who can kick a bag can win you a match-up off of his own boot.

Getting it done when it matters

This is where the SuperCoach scoring system really rewards those players that turn a game or get their team the win.

A mark and a goal in the final minutes of the game to win it will earn a player more points than one in the first quarter.

This is where your match-winner is critical.

Had Max Gawn slotted the goal in the last minute against Geelong at the MCG in Round 1 last year he would have been in line for a big haul of points.

When Stephen Motlop slotted the goal just before the siren in the Round 8 Showdown he got plenty of points as it gave Port the win.

Similarly a player who hasn’t done much all game but really turns it on out of the middle and feeds his forwards setting up a few late goals to win the game can score you a heap of points.

Steven Motlop won Port Adelaide the Showdown over Adelaide.

Why did my player’s score change after the game?

Given that the scores are determined by how much impact a player has on the result of the game things can change as a game draws to a close.

Added to that we have a total of 3,300 points allocated to each and every game.

While points are tallied up during the game based on the possessions achieved, the combined total of all players scores must have a total of 3,300 at the end of the game.

This causes some scaling to happen post game which can see players scores fluctuate depending on how the game finished up.

So who should I pick?

Hopefully all of this has convinced you that the best players for you to target are those that not only get plenty of the ball, but that use it really well and have the ability to influence the outcome of the game.

You don’t want someone that is just going to turn it over every time they get it as they won’t score you many SuperCoach points.

Originally published as We explain the SuperCoach scoring system and how you can exploit it to pick a winning team