Adam Williams has led SuperCoach for 10 of the past 13 rounds and plans to finish the season in style
Adam Williams hasn’t had many regrets on his way to the top SuperCoach ranking. But there was one move he made during the byes he wishes he could take back.
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From 14,184th after Round 1, Adam Williams has emerged as the SuperCoach to beat.
The Port Adelaide fan, from Brisbane, has been ranked in the top-three coaches since Round 4, when he jumped from 11th overall to first.
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The 23-year-old Queenslander has led the standings for 10 of the past 13 rounds and his team Ryder2Gray sits 26 points clear after Round 16.
With the $50,000 grand prize in sight, Williams said he still had enough trades to bolster his team during the run home.
“It is a bit stressful,” he said.
“I have never been remotely good at SuperCoach. I have had a bit of success in (other fantasy sports).
“But SuperCoach, I have never been particularly good at it. But I lucked out early on and have just played well since then.”
Williams’ support for Port Adelaide led to one of his key decisions — starting Scott Lycett over Max Gawn.
The retail worker traded for Melbourne star Gawn about a month ago, having swung Lycett into his forward line when breakout Adelaide big man Reilly O’Brien assumed the No. 1 ruck role from Sam Jacobs.
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“Most of my starting picks were pretty good,” he said.
“I started with Boak, (Rory) Sloane, (Zach) Merrett, those types.
“I haven’t really traded in too many players that have underperformed afterwards.”
Williams has been wondering whether his strategy of targeting unique players — which has been crucial to his success — will eventually prove his downfall.
He currently has Mitch Duncan (two per cent of teams), Harris Andrews (three per cent), Jack Ziebell (four per cent) and Merrett (10 per cent) as players who set him apart from most others in contention.
“I got the lead pretty early in the year and have lost it a couple of times,” he said.
“During the byes, I thought I might have been down and out.
“I went a bit of a Hail Mary then, when I probably shouldn’t have. That was when I brought in Harris Andrews.”
He said a premium defender would be his next target as he strives to complete a near-perfect SuperCoach campaign in grand style.
“I’ve still got a bit of room to move. I have still got to bring in at least one defender,” he said.
“When I brought in (Mitch) Duncan a couple of weeks ago I think I should have gone with a more (popular) player then.
“I’m still considering trying to match the others around me more than trying to be out of the box unique like I am at the moment.”