KFC SuperCoach 2023: Full scores from every practice game
The one round of official practice matches before round 1 is in the books. Check out full KFC SuperCoach scores for every game plus expert analysis on who starred and who flopped.
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The real stuff is almost here.
With teams given just one official practice game each to prepare for round 1, all eyes in this weekend’s single round of pre-season matches will be on fresh recruits, potential breakouts and new roles that can help us pick a bargain in KFC SuperCoach.
How did the players on your watch list perform?
Check back in here for full scores from every practice match this weekend.
Melbourne v Richmond
So much for Brodie Grundy ruining Max Gawn (153 points - $622,100) as a top KFC SuperCoach ruckman. Gawn showed he can be a forward threat with three goals from 17 disposals, giving KFC SuperCoaches plenty to consider ahead of round 1. Lachie Hunter (98 points - $392,100) has thurst his name forward as one of the best mid-price options of the year, capping a strong pre-season with 26 disposals at Casey Fields. Grundy (80 points - $512,900 RUC) didn’t crack the ton despite kicking three goals, so you can probably scratch him off your list of potential Rowan Marshall partners. Jake Bowey (120 points - $380,500), Steven May (117 points - $507,400) and Christian Petracca (114 points - $618,600) were the other topscorers for the Demons. Clayton Oliver (95 points - $699,800) had 31 disposals.
Lock Tim Taranto (124 points - $503,100) into your KFC SuperCoach forward lines. The new Tiger was brilliant with 33 disposals, a goal and eight marks to confirm himself as one of the premium bargains of the year. Liam Baker (132 points - $429,400) was the topscoring Tiger in a promising sign after recent appendix surgery. Rookie bolter Tylar Young (65 points, $102,400) was the other Tiger of note and could push for a round 1 debut depending on Robbie Tarrant’s hip issue.
Western Bulldogs v North Melbourne
The usual suspects were at it again for the Bulldogs in the midfield, with Tom Liberatore (158 points - $576,900 Mid), Marcus Bontempelli (145 points - $639,500 Mid), Bailey Smith (118 points - $542,700 Mid)and Jack Macrae (118 points - $634,400) all going big against the Kangaroos. But the performance that excited KFC SuperCoaches the most was that of Oskar Baker ($123,900 Mid), who – as we were expecting – made a wing his own. The former Demon finished with 111 KFC SuperCoach points, on the back of 22 disposals, eight marks and two goals. Lock him in.
There wasn’t a lot to get about excited from a North Melbourne point-of-view, however, with popular pre-season selections Will Phillips (48 points - $158,300 Mid) and Luke Davies-Uniacke (55 points - $557,400 Mid) failing to go on with a bright start. But, don’t be too put off, the Bulldogs dominated and Phillips has the role, while Davies-Uniacke is unlikely to score like that again in 2023. Draftee Harry Sheezel ($198,300 Fwd) impressed again, though, finishing with 21 disposals and 72 points, playing roles in attack and defence, like he did in the first practice match. Speaking of roles, Jack Ziebell ($356,400 Fwd) was again in defence, winning plenty of uncontested ball on his way to an efficient 15-disposal, 86-point game.
GWS v Gold Coast
It was the mid-price show – again – in Blacktown on Saturday afternoon, with another handful of players confirming their KFC SuperCoach value. Second-year Giant Finn Callaghan ($244,000 Mid) put himself on the wider KFC SuperCoach radar, with an impressive display on the wing that saw him finish with 22 disposals, two goals and 111 points. Lachie Ash (129 points – $335,000 Mid) and Lachie Whitfield (86 points – $473,800 Mid) starred across half-back in Adam Kingsley’s new-look GWS side and both could be dual-position defenders in KFC SuperCoach by Round 6. At the top-end, Josh Kelly (138 points – $582,00 Mid) scored more than any other player on the ground and Tom Green (130 points – $534,600 Mid) recorded 17 contested possessions and seven clearances.
For the Suns, it was Sam Flanders ($256,300 Mid-Fwd) who had KFC SuperCoacheschanging their teams in a frenzy, after the 21-year-old finished with a team-high 30 disposals, 11 contested possessions and 103 points, in a performance that featured plenty of midfield minutes. But it must be noted, Touk Miller was missing from the on-ball mix against the Giants. Popular rookie-price pick Charlie Constable ($123,900 Def) tallied 19 disposals and 73 points in defence, while Jarrod Witts ($605,100 Ruck) posted a KFC SuperCoach ton in just over a half a game.
West Coast v Adelaide
Rory Laird picked up where he left off last year, amassing 32 disposals, 10 tackles, nine clearances, two goals and 152 points. Are you in the 83 per cent who don’t own Laird?
While we have seen this before from Laird, our first taste of Reuben Ginbey was an exciting sign for the future and for KFC SuperCoaches in 2023.
Ginbey had flown past 60 points by halftime and finished with 17 disposals, seven clearances and 99 points from just 56 per cent gametime — did we mention he was coming off a minor toe injury?
Popular mid-pricer Elliot Yeo was a cause for concern, with a late goal getting him to 77 points. He only had 67 per cent gametime, though, and still managed 20 touches, but is it enough to lock him into our sides?
Dom Sheed, who scored 74 points from 22 disposals, wasn’t overly convincing either.
Premium defender Jordan Dawson finished with 26 disposals, 10 marks and 105 points, while Eagles rookie Campbell Chesser had a quieter outing than his impressive match simulation display last week.
Chesser had nine touches and 34 points from 51 per cent gametime, but his job security looks rock solid.
For the Crows, Luke Pedlar (56 points from 55 per cent gametime) looks set for a round 1 berth while father-son draftee Max Michalanney (7 disposals and 38 points from 79 per cent gametime) is in the mix.
Sydney v Carlton
Oh, Errol.
The Phantom has predicted the breakout of young Swan Errol Gulden – if you throw enough darts at a board, eventually one will hit - who will no doubt be hot property for KC SuperCoaches ahead of round 1.
Gulden had 26 disposals in the first half alone as he blew up the stats sheet, finishing with a Herculean 190 KFC SuperCoach points, 45 disposals and three goals as a centre-bounce midfielder.
Safe to say his ownership will be higher than the current seven per cent by the time round 1 rolls around.
Sam Docherty was the other player who gave non-owners plenty of food for thought, winning 34 disposals and 152 points playing primarily off half-back.
And with Tom Hickey out with injury, Peter Ladhams took the ruck reigns and was among the best players on the ground before he was rested for the last quarter, tallying 17 disposals, 13 hitouts and 91 points from just 56 per cent gametime against Marc Pittonet and Tom De Koning.
It was a different story for Swans rookie ruck hope Lachlan McAndrew, who had donuts on the stats sheet (besides his hitouts) to three quarter time. The 209cm beanpole finished with just the one handball, 10 hitouts and 32 points from 38 per cent gametime in a sign he won’t feature in round one.
Mature-age cheapie Alex Cincotta and draftee Lachie Cowan both showed some good signs across halfback and it remains unclear who will get the nod for round 1. Cowan finished with 59 points from 10 disposals but arguably had more highlights, while Cincotta was clean with his disposal, tallying 16 touches at 87 per cent efficiency and 70 points.
Braeden Campbell kicked a monster goal from inside the square as he impressed with 84 points in defence. Is a breakout on the cards for the top five pick?
St Kilda v Essendon
KFC SuperCoaches have at least one ruckman they can bank on this season: Rowan Marshall.
The Saints put a rubber stamp on his status as the No.1 ruck buy after a dominant display, top-scoring with 155 points from 24 disposals, 19 contested possessions, 18 hitouts and a goal up against mid-priced ruck option Sam Draper (80)
Bomber star defender Jordan Ridley put his hand up as an option in defence with a game-high 12 marks, 27 disposals and 118 points in a performance that had shades of his stunning 2021 season.
And if you’re after a mid-priced punt, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (91 points, 20 kicks) and Will Setterfield (119 points, 25 disposals) put in strong displays, while it was business as usual for Zach Merrett who tallied 23 disposals and 112 points.
But owners of top-priced defender Jack Sinclair (59) and midfield premiums Jack Steele (84 and nine tackles) and Darcy Parish (51) would be concerned after disappointing returns.
Sinclair managed 20 disposals but didn’t take as many kick-ins as expected, especially considering the Bombers booted behinds for the match, while Steele (17 disposals) was helped by nine tackles.
Parish only had 69 per cent gametime but was kept to a paltry 10 disposals by tagger Jack Bytel, who came on in the first term after forward mid-priced pick Marcus Windhager broke his wrist.
Bytel, 22, is a cheapie to consider at $158,600 after Windhager’s blow, winning 16 disposals, seven tackles and scoring 73 points.
Another rookie to impress was Alwyn Davey, who was busy early and showed plenty of signs of class as he finished with 13 disposals, a goal and 67 points, while Jye Menzie still managed to post 62 from nine touches after laying six tackles.
Top-10 pick Mattaes Phillipou slotted a goal and looked dangerous despite finishing with six clangers and 52 points as supplemental selection signing Anthony Caminiti (41 points) – priced at $102,400 – put himself in contention for round 1 with some promising moments.
Brisbane v Geelong
Young gun Will Ashcroft ($202,800 Mid) proved, again, he is more than ready to go, showing his class around the ball and finishing with 26 disposals and 96 points against the Cats. Josh Dunkley ($596,400 Mid-Fwd) recorded game-high contested possessions (19) and KFC SuperCoach points (146) in his first official appearance as a Lion, while Hugh McCluggage ($570,800 Mid) did some heavy lifting of his own on the inside, tallying 17 contested possessions and 134 points. There was no clear winner in the KFC SuperCoach rookie-price battle between Connor McKenna (53 points – $167,500 Def) and Darcy Wilmot (52 points – $123,900 Def), however, with both cheapie options enjoying some nice moments but also fading in and out of the game. Can we still pick them both?
On the other side in the midfield, former Giant Tanner Bruhn ($311,400 Mid-Fwd) featured heavily in Geelong’s centre-bounce rotation and finished with 19 disposals, 11 contested possessions, seven tackles, five clearances and 112 points, giving KFC SuperCoaches another mid-price option to think about. After putting his name in the mid-price ring during last week’s clash with the Hawks, Max Holmes (69 points – $360,600 Mid) won some more ball through the middle again, without having a huge impact. Esava Ratugolea ($174,000 Ruck-Fwd) was the big talking point out of that first game but, while he took a few nice intercept marks, tallied just 10 disposals and 49 points, and copped a Eric Hipwood elbow to the face.
Fremantle v Port Adelaide
Connor Rozee ($513,800 Fwd) confirmed his credentials as a top-six KFC SuperCoach forward against the Dockers, tallying 25 disposals, 11 contested possessions, seven clearances and 111 points. The Port Adelaide young gun spent most of his time through the midfield and was at the restart of play in the centre for every quarter. High-profile recruit Jason Horne-Francis ($348,800 Mid-Fwd) recorded an equal-game-high nine clangers, but still showed his scoring potential with 70 points, on the back of 21 disposals and six tackles. The performance of mid-price ruckman Scott Lycett ($429,900 Ruck),however, would’ve put a few risk-taking KFC SuperCoaches off. With Charlie Dixon featuring in the ruck in the second half, and Brynn Teakle on for the odd contest, the 30-year-old finished with just 36 points in 60 per cent game-time.
For the Dockers, last year’s breakout star Will Brodie ($563,600 Mid) picked up where he left off, tallying an equal-game-high 36 disposals, 16 contested possessions and 117 points. Popular midfield premium Andrew Brayshaw ($615,600 Mid) was right there with him, finishing with 36 touches of his own. But just six contested possessions and nine clangers saw his final KFC SuperCoach score reduced to 84. Bargain forward Nat Fyfe ($313,600 Fwd-Mid) booted three goals on his way to 90 points, while Sean Darcy ($562,200 Ruck) KFC SuperCoaches a reminder, tallying 127 points – Luke Jackson didn’t play, though.
Hawthorn v Collingwood
Nick Daicos ($502,500 Def) is on the fast-track to AFL stardom, but it’s not always an easy path – even in the pre-season. Sam Mitchell sent Finn Maginness to the Rising Star winner and the stopper held him to 17 disposals and 72 points. The good news for Daicos is the two won’t meet again until the Hawks and Pies face off in round 21. Jordan De Goey ($468,700 Mid) top-scored in the game with 120 points and Tom Mitchell ($528,600 Mid) rebounded from a quiet first outing in black and white, winning 28 disposals (17 contested) and 101 points, while Darcy Cameron ($465,900 Ruck-Fwd) scored 97 sharing the ruck duties with Mason Cox.
For the Hawks James Worpel ($309,300 Mid) starred in the clinches (30 disposals, 101 points) but the real eye-catcher was No.7 draft pick Cam Mackenzie ($180,300 Mid). The young gun put his name up in lights as a midfield rookie option with some big centre clearances, 24 touches and 99 points. If you don’t have mature-age rookie Fergus Greene (84 points – $123,900 Fwd) in your forward line, stop reading right now and put him on your bench. James Sicily ($624,700 Def) recovered from a slow start, scoring just 11 points in the first quarter but finishing with 96, showing he’ll be one of the top defenders again in 2023.
Originally published as KFC SuperCoach 2023: Full scores from every practice game
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