KFC SuperCoach 2023: Round 22 trade guide, how to replace Nick Daicos
James Sicily is the go-to replacement for Nick Daicos in KFC SuperCoach, but should buyers beware? Fantasy Freako takes a closer look and rates the best Daicos trades.
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Last round will always be remembered as the week that Finn Maginness blanketed Nick Daicos.
It was the match-up we had been waiting for since the season began – and it was a costly one as Daicos succumbed to injury. He won’t play again in the home-and-away rounds and, with a monster ownership of 75 per cent in KFC SuperCoach, he must be replaced.
But that’s not the case for everyone. There are thousands of SuperCoaches without a trade and sadly, they must either play one short or cover Daicos with someone on the bench.
Daicos’s price took a decent hit after managing just 41 points, going down by $65,300. That’s on the back of price falls in his previous two games as well. In the end, our selling price of $569,000 is well below what we would have liked.
As always when replacing a premium, you go to the top of the tree – but not everyone can reach that high based on funds available.
Among defenders James Sicily is the highest-priced player on the back of 37 disposals and 166 points – his third score over 160 in his last six games. When allowed to play his natural game, he’s unstoppable. But the key thing here is, will the opposition allow that?
If we look at the Hawks’ run home he’s unlikely to get any attention from the Bulldogs this round, but the following week he faces the Demons. I’m expecting Jake Melksham to play on Sicily and curtail his influence. In the final round of the season against the Dockers, could Lachie Schultz be asked to do a similar role? He played on Tom Stewart in round 20 and kept him to 13 disposals in the time they were matched up.
Sicily aside, Stewart himself is an excellent replacement – scoring 134 points on the weekend, his third score over 130 in his last six games. He should be among the points over the next three weeks, taking on the Magpies this round before he comes up against the Saints. There is a chance that Cooper Sharman plays on Stewart that week though, after he went to Sicily two weeks ago. Stewart finishes the season with a game at GMHBA Stadium against the Bulldogs, previously scoring 127 against them earlier in the year.
Sicily and Stewart aside – who are the other options worth considering?
Money will dictate who to target – but if we look at the last six rounds, there are some worthy options that have surfaced.
One of those names is Nic Newman, who is currently in just 1 per cent of teams and has scores of 137 and 144 in that order in his last two games. He leads the Blues for uncontested possessions in the defensive half over this period and ranks second for handball-receives behind Sam Docherty. Mitch McGovern is also sidelined with a hamstring injury, and this boosts Newman’s kick-in numbers. At his price, he looks the goods.
Another option is Docherty himself. His scoring has been inconsistent of late, but he notched three figures last week against St Kilda. He also averages 100 at the MCG this season and has two scores over 120 in his last three games against this week’s opponent Melbourne.
FREAKO’S ROOKIE WATCH
It wasn’t a great round for Harry Sheezel as he had just 56 points to his name in round 21 – his second-lowest return this year.
He finished the match with -1 points in the final term and had just two points in the second quarter. The return of Jack Ziebell didn’t help as he tallied 24 disposals in the defensive 50 alone and was the go-to player coming out of defence – having nine handball-receives to just three for Sheezel. Sheezel even spent time in the midfield and up forward, which didn’t aid his scoring.
But let’s not get carried away. After his previous score in the 50s he bounced back with 107 and 110 in the next two games, so keep that in mind before offloading him this week.
If we look at players to target then James Borlase in defence is the standout after 112 points on his AFL debut. An imposing figure, he hit the target with all 18 disposals and grabbed three intercept marks. He also won eight intercept possessions and won three of the six one-on-ones he defended.
Teammate Mark Keane was also solid in defence with a team-high four intercept marks and 10 intercept possessions. He only scored 63 points, though, from 13 effective disposals from a tally of 15.
Top-five draft pick. Elijah Tsatas finally made his AFL debut for the Bombers, finishing with 14 disposals, three inside-50s, two tackles and 41 points. Only half of his disposals were effective, though, posting a kicking efficiency of 30 per cent. Tsatas also had the fourth-lowest game time of any Bomber not to be involved in the sub moves.
If you want to go cheap them Brandon Ryan is the one to target. He has 40 and 59 points to his name and is coming off a three-goal haul on the weekend, also taking five marks.
Non-playing rookies at this time of the year are just as important as they allow you to maximise the VC/C score, while also proving you with an avenue to loop one of your weaker players on field – like those then benched Callum Mills a few weeks ago when he scored just 50 against Essendon.
Look at game start times closely and plan your loopholes ahead – as you don’t want to be caught out.
Best of luck for round 22 and the run home!
Trade guide: Who can replace Nick Daicos in SuperCoach?
– Al Paton
We have arrived at major turning point of the 2023 KFC SuperCoach season.
Some coaches won’t be able to take the turn and will careen straight ahead for the final three rounds.
Those are the coaches with no trades left, who can’t cover the biggest out of the season – the most owned player in fantasy Nick Daicos, who will miss six weeks with a hairline fracture of his knee.
Daicos is owned by 75 per cent of coaches overall, 99.5 per cent of the top 10 per cent and 99.9 per cent of the top 1 per cent in the overall rankings.
That means that 0.1 per cent is about to get a huge advantage – along with any coaches who have taken a more conservative approach with their trades to guard against a situation just like this.
If you’re in that fortunate position, you can do something that would have seemed unthinkable a week ago – trade out Daicos (now priced at $569,000). Who should you replace him with to gain the biggest advantage over coaches who will be forced to play a bench rookie like Campbell Chesser on field for three rounds, or, worse, cop a zero for the rest of the season?
Scroll down to see our top picks who could catapult you up the rankings or deliver a famous finals victory.
James Sicily $660,800 DEF
The Hawks skipper’s scoring power is unmatched in defence – and almost any position in KFC SuperCoach. His 166-point masterclass against Collingwood was his third score over 165 for the season, and his second in the past three weeks. A combination of elite intercept marking and long accurate kicks puts him on another plane. The problem is he obliterated his Break Even on Saturday while Daicos went the other way, so you’re going to need about $90,000 in the bank to make a direct swap and join the 16 per cent of coaches enjoying the Sicily ride.
Nic Newman $543,300 DEF
A long-time Phantom favourite, Newman has shown huge scoring potential ever since crossing to Carlton from Sydney. Now he is quietly (he’s in 1 per cent of KFC SuperCoach teams) putting together a career-best season, averaging 97.6 for the year as one of the Blues’ favoured ball-users out of defence. But all we really care about is current form – and this is where Newman’s numbers jump off the page. He has pumped out scores of 137 and 144 in his past two games and has a five-round average of 118 with a low of 92 in that time. With Sam Docherty spending more time in the midfield and Adam Saad copping more attention from the opposition, Newman is racking up the pill and more often than not doing something damaging with it.
Tom Liberatore $656,400 MID
We talked up Libba’s sensational 2023 output in this column last week – then he went and scored a season-high 159 points against Richmond to take his four-game average to 141.75. KFC SuperCoach scorers love the hard stuff and Libba had 18 contested possessions and 12 tackles to go with his 31 disposals, 10 clearances and 10 score involvements on Friday night. In just 14 per cent of teams, he can set your side apart for the KFC SuperCoach finals with match-ups against Hawthorn, West Coast and Geelong’s depleted midfield – if you can afford him.
Zak Butters $564,000 MID/FWD
We’ve listed Butters as a value buy ever since he dropped to $529k three weeks ago, so we won’t go over his numbers again. Suffice to say he’s a gun. A mid-season slowdown in his scoring is in the rear-view mirror as Butters returned to his best with scores of 134 and 137 the past two weeks. And he’s still cheaper than Daicos. If you can swing some dual-position moves to snap him up, don’t hesitate.
Jack Ziebell $324,900 DEF/FWD
Welcome back, Clarko. After weeks of being used as the sub by caretaker coach Brett Ratten, Alastair Clarkson was back in charge in round 21 and Ziebell was back in his friendly role at half-back. He is an absolute master at it, racking up a game-high 32 disposals (26 kicks) at 81 per cent efficiency plus 12 marks and five intercepts. His 127 KFC SuperCoach points was his best return since round 8 (when he piled on 178) but we know what he is capable of if the role is there. His price fell all the way to $320k before a slight uptick after Sunday’s game which means Ziebell could produce premium-level scores and leave cash in the bank for another trade (if you have one). What a way to send off one of the all-time KFC SuperCoach favourites.
Christian Petracca $644,200 MID
Petracca just finds a way to get to 120-plus points every week. He was in single figures in the shadow of quarter-time against the Kangaroos and finished with 125 – and it could have been more after booting 2.3 to go with 27 disposals and five tackles. That makes six scores of 119 or better in his last seven games, despite spending more time forward. Clayton Oliver's impending return (see below) shouldn’t impact his numbers or his huge scoreboard impact. Petracca has gone under 100 only three times this year (97, 95 and 95) and is a player you want to cancel out if your opponent has him in a knockout final.
Clayton Oliver $658,200 MID
Ready to take a flyer on the POD of the century? Oliver was one of the topscorers in the game in the first 10 rounds, but amazingly hasn’t played since then after a series of hamstring and blister-related injury setbacks. But the Demons say they are confident he will return this week against Carlton, giving him a three-week ‘pre-season’ to get match-fit for finals (the Dees play Hawthorn and Sydney in the final two rounds). Don’t expect Clarry to ease into things slowly. His nature is to go like a bull at a gate from the first minute, which could be an incredible inclusion for anyone who can find a spot for him in their squad for the run home.
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