KFC SuperCoach 2022: Five sleepers you could snare late in SuperCoach Draft

Snaring a steal late in your KFC SuperCoach Draft can help you win your league, and have your rivals green with envy on draft night. Here are five potential bargains.

Picking a good sleeper is a lot like having to choose a flavour at the local gelataria without being able to try it first (Covid!) – you either end up pleasantly surprised, or are still happy… but you probably didn’t need five scoops of it.

It isn’t the end of the world if you get it wrong, and it is amazing if you get it right.

FOR BEGINNERS

A sleeper is a player that has a lot of upside, but is being drafted late. They might be an older player who will fill a void left by injury, a mature-age draftee given a second chance at an AFL career, or a player who’s average the previous year dropped due to persistent injuries.

Sleepers have inherent risk attached to them, so timing them in your draft is everything. Picking them too early can result in team imbalance and increased risk. Waiting too long may mean you miss them. You can find more tips (and target sleepers) in the DraftDoctors Draft Kit!

Now, without further adieu, find below five sleeper targets that reek of value. I’ll be using the Average Draft Position of each player from the Draft Doctors mock draft site – with thousands of drafts already completed, it’s a great representation of the range you can expect players to be taken.

Patrick Cripps – ADP 100

After years of carrying Carlton, Cripps back finally gave way in 2020, and 2021, slowing up significantly, and losing a lot of the key traits that he had built his career on. His average plummeted, from 2019’s 117, tracing downward in 2020, until finishing 2021 with an average of 83. Recency bias will has caused a significant drop in his draft value – take advantage of this as he looks like he might be back to his best if his pre-season is anything to go by.

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Patrick Cripps could be a bargain pick late in your KFC SuperCoach Draft. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Oscar McInerny – ADP 101

He might be the breakout ruck of 2022. After joining the AFL, and playing primarily as a forward, the ‘Big O’ was given the increased ruck minutes when Stef Martin was traded to the Dogs, and has improved his KFC SuperCoach scoring output every season since. He finished last season like a man possessed, going at an average of 118 from Round 19 onwards, including finals games. May finish as a top-four ruck, and his ceiling is even higher.

Jack Redden – ADP 190

Not a pick you’ll feel happy with, and you’ll probably hate looking at your team all year as a result, but he also may help win your league (yuck). He managed an average of 91 last year, and has a history of breaching the 100 average. This year, it has become obvious that the Eagles midfield is made from paper. And not even a thick GSM style paper – we’re talking baking paper at best. The injury toll is mounting, and it has created a bunch of opportunity for players to step up (like Connor West, for example), including a proven warrior in Jack Redden. He seems to have shaken off a post-2021 season surgery, and will be the main guy in the Eagles engine room (also yuck).

Nick Vlastuin could see his numbers spike after Bachar Houli’s retirement.

Nick Vlastuin – ADP 95

Yes, he’s injury prone, yes, his name can be troublesome to spell, and yes if you draft him you can call your team Vlastuin Space. On the surface (he looks calm and ready to drop bombs), his average of 2021 isn’t anything spectacular – 84. But with Bachar Houli retiring, it’s worth a look at his games without Houli in the team – he averaged 106. There’s a clear variation of his role, and he’s one to watch in the Ansett Cup (long live the Ansett Cup).

James Rowbottom – ADP 217

Has been talked about in SuperCoach circles as the guy to take up the midfield mantle at Sydney when JPK retires, and lead the young onball brigade. Then last year happened, where he suffered various ailments and issues throughout the year. Now coming into his fourth season, he’s had a (mostly) uninterrupted pre-season, and could be on the verge of a breakout. No one is talking about him because of the absolute star power of Errol Gulden and Chad Warner, but he’s the one most likely to go to another level this year.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach 2022: Five sleepers you could snare late in SuperCoach Draft