SuperCoach AFL 2025: How to beat the mid-season byes and complete your team
The mid-season byes are just around the corner. Plan your assault now with this ultimate guide to dodging doughnuts and building a powerhouse team for the run home.
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It doesn’t feel long since we waved goodbye to the early season byes. Now the byes are back.
The mid-season bye rounds are just three weeks away and run for five rounds this year, from round 12 to 16.
This is the time to finish your team so you fly home with premiums in every position – and get a jump on coaches who haven’t thought ahead.
To do that, you need a plan. And we’re here to help. Here are six tips to set up your team to survive and thrive over the byes – and predicted prices for key trade targets.
1. BYE MOVES START NOW
If you’re reading this, you’re already ahead of the game.
Step one is to do some maths – how many premium scorers will be missing from your squad each week over the byes? SuperCoach subscribers can find out in one click by hitting the ‘Show Byes’ button.
Remember you need 18 scoring players on field each bye round – 20 is ideal to cover for low scores or the surprise injuries and suspensions we always seem to cop at this time of year.
Exclude players who might not be available that week regardless of byes (don’t count Harry Boyd as one of your best 18) and anyone you plan on trading out before their bye. The result is a clear picture of the byes that you should sail through, and the rounds that could cause headaches.
Keep those numbers in mind when planning your moves, starting now. Tossing up between two premium defenders this week? If you’re already overloaded with round 12 bye players, it makes sense to go with a gun with a different bye – or move on a player like Caleb Daniel now.
2. ROUND 12 IS A DOOZY
We don’t get any time to ease into the byes, with the list of popular premiums unavailable in week one including Harry Sheezel, Tristan Xerri, Jason Horne-Francis, Connor Rozee, Bailey Dale and Tom De Koning.
Then there are mid-price picks like Daniel and Adam Cerra, and rookies like Sam Davidson and Matt Carroll.
If you’re looking thin that round and those players aren’t likely to be in your finished side (ie, not in the top 10 scorers for their position), you could make an aggressive play and trade them out over the next few rounds.
Beware, you will be swapping them to a player who will miss one of the subsequent rounds, but if you have done your homework (see point 1 above) you can target a round where you can afford to rest a fresh new premium – remembering you should be adding more as the byes progress.
3. ROUND 13 IS EASY ... WITH A CATCH
Only two teams have the bye in round 13, which means we shouldn’t have any problems fielding 18 scoring players that week.
That makes stars from St Kilda and Fremantle priority targets over the next month – and there are several on the trade table this week.
Just be wary of overdoing it. Jack Macrae already features in 74 per cent of teams and stars like Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong, Jack Sinclair, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Jordan Clark have all been good picks in 2025.
If you already have four or more of the above list, it’s probably best to hold off.
4. CASH IS KING
All these trades require money, which sounds obvious but presents more challenges than usual this season.
Players who can make money over the next month are the most valuable commodity in SuperCoach. Grab rookies with money-making potential and check those Break Evens – hang on to players with low BEs (eg Levi Ashcroft) and consider moving out players with high Break Evens now if they aren’t in your long-term plans. Did someone mention Caleb Daniel?
5. REMEMBER THE BENCH
When trading in rookies, cash isn’t the only consideration. Bench players play a vital role over the byes, helping top up our on-field starters to get to Best 18 and hopefully beyond.
Almost all SuperCoach teams are carrying “dead” rookies who aren’t playing – Lucas Camporeale, Elijah Tsatas, James Leake, Neil Erasmus – and others who are at extreme risk of being dropped or named the sub – Henry Hustwaite, Christian Moraes, Tom Gross, Ben Paton.
Some bench hygiene can pay big dividends at this time of year. It might not deliver the same hit as grabbing a big premium, but replacing a red dot with a blue one over multiple bye rounds can put you further ahead in the long run.
6. TIME YOUR MOVES
Try to plan your upgrades as players come off their bye to maximise your scoring while finishing your team. A classic play would be to trade in a Sydney cash cow like Riley Bice or Matt Roberts in round 14 – when the Swans have the week off – and replace him with a more trustworthy premium from a team that has had a bye in round 13 – Jordan Clark or Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera.
The other factor that complicates things is trying to grab players at their best prices. In a perfect world, the planets align so you get a star as they bottom out and are bye-free for the rest of the year.
With that in mind, here’s a guide on who to target each week, and when they are predicted to bottom out in price.
The white whale of SuperCoach is in 14 per cent of teams – and the other 86 are trying to figure out how (and when) to get him. The good news for non-owners is a score of 99 in round 9 will start a price drop over the next few rounds. Start saving those pennies.
Aim for: Round 13, after the Bulldogs’ bye.
Predicted price: $638k
Butters was next to the Bont at M2 for many teams over pre-season before injuries derailed those plans. Averaged 142 over his first four games after returning in round 4, but scores of 109 and 117 have pushed his Break Even to 183 against the Cats this week.
Aim for: Round 13, after the Power bye ... or the next round if you can’t fit Bont and Butters in the same week.
Predicted price: $676k
The third big dog in the midfield for those who don’t already own the No.3 scorer in SuperCoach this year (behind rucks Max Gawn and Tristan Xerri). The problem is Brayshaw is so consistent his price doesn’t really come down. He might be one you have to let go.
Aim for: Round 14, after Fremantle’s bye.
Predicted price: $691k – or hope for a bad game.
The clear No.1 defender of 2025 has dipped under $600k before round 10, but he probably won’t get much cheaper.
Aim for: Before GWS plays Richmond in round 12. If you like Whitfield, don’t wait until after the Giants’ bye – that’s not until round 16.
Predicted price: $571k
Already owned by 55 per cent of the competition, but coaches who resisted the urge to bring him in two weeks ago will be able to get him at a serious discount.
Aim for: SuperCoach Plus predicts he will bottom out in round 11. Or you could wait until after Collingwood’s round 14 bye.
Predicted price: $575k
Bad news for non-Gawn owners – the modern SuperCoach GOAT is still going up in price. Unless he drops an unexpected low score, Gawn could go close to the magical $800k mark – more than any current player has been valued at (Gawn holds the record at $790k in 2020). The thing is, unexpected poor games do happen – see Nick Daicos last weekend. Predicting them is the hard part.
Aim for: After you have finished the rest of your team? It’s a hell of a lot to pay before then.
Predicted price: $785k after Melbourne’s round 15 bye. Yikes.
Xerri’s three-round average is 163. That’s nuts (Gawn’s is an insane 171). Clearly a top-two ruck with Gawn.
Aim for: Now.
Predicted price: SuperCoach Plus doesn’t have him falling under $700k for the rest of the season after this weekend.
SuperCoaches have fond memories of his finish to last season, when he was unleashed in the midfield and scored 112, 101, 85 and 80. Missed the first eight rounds with injury and scored 78 on return against Carlton – with zero centre bounces. Could be the 23rd premium in your final team who can float between Flex, the midfield and forward line.
Aim for: Will be on the bubble in round 11 and the ideal target from a dead rookie (if you can get there) or a failed mid-pricer. Just beware he’s another Saints/Dockers player missing in round 13.
Predicted price: $313,800
Has missed more than a year with a knee injury, but when he returns he will be a super value pick in defence who can help fund our other moves.
Aim for: The Lions’ bye is round 16, but don’t wait until then. If he returns this week he’ll be on the bubble going into round 12.
Predicted price: $269,100
Originally published as SuperCoach AFL 2025: How to beat the mid-season byes and complete your team
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