SuperCoach Plus Article: 11 secret stats to help your team in Round 3

Why Max Gawn is licking his lips, more bad news for Lachie Neale and nine more exclusive numbers to get ahead in KFC SuperCoach.

Everyone is looking for an edge in KFC SuperCoach.

SuperCoach Plus gives you just that.

The treasure trove of extra stats and features can help you make those all-important trade calls, especially after player prices start changing following their third game — for most of our players, that’s this weekend.

And you also get a bonus article of analysis each week — just like this!

Click here to find out more about SuperCoach Plus and read on for this week’s 11 secret stats.

1. Jye Caldwell to Taylor Walker is the most popular trade this week, with 1785 coaches making the move so far. But players are so keen to get Tex they are willing to jettison almost anyone to grab him. Paddy Dow (863 trades), Joe Daniher (361) and Dom Tyson (299) are popular Walker swaps. Among the more obscure players being traded to Tex: Dan Butler (126 trades), Levi Casboult (15), James Worpel (11), Hugh McCluggage (10), Todd Goldstein (9), Adam Treloar (8), Stephen Coniglio (4), Luke Ryan (2) and Hugh Greenwood (1).

MORE: THE EIGHT MUST-HAVE ROOKIES IN KFC SUPERCOACH

Errol Gulden is the most popular player in KFC SuperCoach.

2. Errol Gulden is the hottest player in KFC SuperCoach but doesn’t appear at the top of the most-traded players list this week — because most teams already have him. The Swans young gun is in 72.8 per cent of teams, ahead of Dustin Martin (68.2 per cent), Jacob Koschitzke (66 per cent), James Rowe (63.4 per cent) and Swans teammate Braeden Campbell (62.8 per cent). Gulden’s ownership jumped by 19,000 last week and his new owners cashed in with another 130-plus score. It didn’t work quite so well for the 8000 who traded in Rowe ahead of Round 2, when he scored 19 points. At least they’ll still cash in on his expected bumper price rise.

3. Gulden has the lowest Break Even in the game — the score a player has to hit to maintain their current price. Gulden’s break even is -206 which means even a poor score this week will result in a big price jump. If he scores in the 130s for the third week in a row he will spike in value by $150,000 before Round 4. Matt Flynn (-145 break even), Taylor Walker (-114), James Jordon (-87) and Chad Warner (-80) are also set for big price jumps.

4. At the other end of the scale, Lachie Neale has the highest break even in KFC SuperCoach of 271. If he can’t hit that mark against Collingwood, he’s going to lose value. And he’s not the only one set for a price drop — Reilly O’Brien (228 break even), Max Gawn (210), Andrew Gaff (208) and Hugh Greenwood (203) are also about to get cheaper. That doesn’t mean you have to trade these guys out but if you hold on, be prepared to ride a price rollercoaster.

Lachie Neale has had a few issues on his plate this week. Picture: Michael Klein

5. SuperCoach Plus also looks into the future to help us made trade decisions. Based on his slow start to the season and historic performances against Collingwood, Neale is projected to score 99 points on Thursday night. That would result in a $76,100 price drop and a 199 break even the following week. For Round 5, he is looking at a more achievable break even of 144. By this time his price will have levelled off at just under $600,000 — the perfect time to pounce if you didn’t start with him and want to get the Brownlow medallist into your team.

6. Don’t let Gawn’s high break even (210) lead you to make any rash decisions. He has scored 150, 149 and 156 in his past three games against this week’s opponent GWS — which will have third-gamer Matt Flynn leading the ruck division. Max also doesn’t mind playing in Canberra — scoring 160 points in his one appearance there. Gawn is projected to score 141 this week but don’t be surprised if he goes well over that. And don’t expect his value to drop under $700,000 any time soon.

Max Gawn could be in for another big game against GWS.

7. Adelaide could make several selection changes this week that could impact KFC SuperCoach teams. The Crows should welcome back Luke Brown (achilles) and maybe Jake Kelly, if he has recovered from the concussion suffered in the Patrick Dangerfield bump, so Nick Murray ($102,400 DEF) might drop out of the side after his debut. Midfielder Matt Crouch still has no return date from his groin complaint which should mean Sam Berry ($117,300 MID) is safe for a while yet.

8. Anyone who selected Swan Callum Mills will be licking their lips — he has the fifth-highest projected three-game average in KFC SuperCoach. Mills faces Richmond on Saturday — a team he scored 173 against last year — followed by Essendon and GWS. He scored 96 and 104 against those opponents in 2020 but based on his 123.5 average over the first two rounds SuperCoach Plus is predicting a run of 110-plus scores — and a price jump of about $35,000 by Round 6.

Callum Mills will have fond memories of his clash against Richmond last year.

9. Tackling is a great source of KFC SuperCoach points, and the list of top tacklers in the competition this year is great reading for our rookie stocks. Adelaide’s Sam Berry has had 17 tackles in the first two games of his career, ranked No.1 in the AFL. Essendon’s Adam McGrath is No.2 on the list but Melbourne’s James Jordon is at No.3 with 15, including nine against the Saints last round. As well as boosting their SuperCoach scores, it’s just the sort of thing to stay in the coaches’ good books.

10. Players who selected GWS young gun Tom Green (cough Phantom cough) could be forgiven for hitting the trade button after he was left out of the Giants team last weekend. But if he earns a recall this week — and the Giants midfielders need help — he could repay the faith. The Giants face Melbourne on Sunday, a team Green recorded his career-best KFC SuperCoach against in Round 17 last year. In that game Green tallied 30 disposals (21 contested), three tackles, four clearances and 119 KFC SuperCoach points. The week after GWS faces Collingwood - Green scored 94 against the Pies last year. Hang in there, Phantom!

Can the Kangaroos stop Marcus Bontempelli?

11. Will the Dogs get off the leash on Good Friday? Marcus Bontempelli (145), Jack Macrae (137) and Josh Dunkley (132) all went big against the Eagles and they face a winless North Melbourne next round. Bont scored just 55 against the Roos last year but he was tagged in that game by Luke McDonald, who is still listed as being one week away with a quad injury on the North Melbourne injury list. In Round 1 the Roos gave up 160 points to Travis Boak and last weekend eight Gold Coast players scored above 100 including Touk Miller (131) and Noah Anderson (119). One thing appears certain — Adam Treloar isn’t eating into his teammate’s numbers, at least not yet, averaging just 79 points. But he did score 136 the last time he faced the Kangaroos.

Originally published as SuperCoach Plus Article: 11 secret stats to help your team in Round 3