Doctor’s Orders: Experts from Doctor SuperCoach explain how to spend $10 million salary cap in 2023
Follow the rookies. It’s the key to setting up your starting team in KFC SuperCoach, and the experts from Doctor SuperCoach reveal the best starting point for 2023 success.
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There is no such thing as the perfect structure in KFC SuperCoach, but it is important to be aware of the pros and cons of each positional line to carefully construct your team.
This week on Doctor’s Orders, the team at Doctor SuperCoach takes a deep dive into each position, divulging our early thoughts on where to spend your salary cap, and which positions you may need to allocate more money towards to maximise your scoring potential.
Please keep in mind that this is meant as an early guide, and things could change as we creep closer to the season starting and through the muddy water of the pre-season games! At the end of the day, rookies will dictate our final team structures.
DEFENDERS – ROOKIE BONANZA
We are blessed this season with a vast array of cheap rookies under $200,000 who have potential to suit up in round 1 – names like Darcy Wilmot, Conor McKenna, Charlie Constable, Josh Weddle and Reuben Ginbey are just the beginning of what’s to come.
There also will be slightly more expensive options like Nick Coffield, Liam Stocker, Jack Bowes and Liam Jones who are firming as great cash cows to fill out your defence in the $200,000 to $300,000 department.
The mid-pricer market isn’t very strong but Elliot Yeo is a clear early standout as someone who represents elite premium upside in the $300,000-$450,000 range.
Defence is an area you can afford to go light on, but it also boasts some of the best scorers in KFC SuperCoach such as James Sicily, Jack Sinclair, Tom Stewart, Sam Docherty and Jordan Dawson. These players are almost must-haves in your final squad, so it is important to give thought to starting at least one.
You can be very flexible in this position. If you want to load up on cheapies to spend money elsewhere, that’s an option. If you want to lock in some elite premium scorers, there’s no harm in that, either. The best idea is to strike your ideal balance in the other three positions, and use the money left over to construct your defence. Given a lot of the cheaper options also have dual-position status, you can use them in other areas of the field to plug some holes if need be.
MIDFIELDERS – LOAD UP ON STARS
When it comes to your midfield, never be afraid to spend big on your premiums. Players like Rory Laird, Clayton Oliver, Touk Miller and Lachie Neale are that price for a reason – they score like there’s no tomorrow. There are a range of great $600,000-plus options with premium value for you to select.
The mid-pricers in the $300,000 to $400,000 are also extremely enticing. These include Jacob Hopper and Dom Sheed, who are proven players who can make you cash and be meaningful scoring contributors to your team early on.
Rookies, however, are very scarce. The rookies most likely to play in round 1 happen to be the high-end cheapies priced between $150,000 and $200,000, such as Will Ashcroft, Will Phillips and Cam Mackenzie. There is likely not going to be bottom-priced rookies debuting in round 1, so it could be wise to slot in some DPP players from defence for your bench.
You should look to load up on top-end premiums in the midfield as a starting base, with mid-pricers and high-end rookies on field to combat the lack of cheaper options. Most of your cap space needs to be spent here or you will fall by the wayside.
RUCKS – RUCK ROULETTE
For one of the first seasons ever, the ruck spot is a coin flip. The years of Gawn and Grundy “set and forget” are over until we see how the duo works at Melbourne. If you are starting with one of these guys, expect an unknown outcome because no one knows how they will score until we see it play out during the season.
There are many high value $500,000-plus options to choose from such as Tim English, Rowan Marshall, Reilly O’Brien, Nic Naitanui, Sean Darcy and Jarrod Witts. The two standouts are English and Marshall, but each have their issues around injury history and team dynamic to worry about.
Another option may be taking one of Scott Lycett, Tristan Xerri, Marc Pittonet or Sam Draper, who are some mid-priced ruck options that could prove to be cash cow stepping stones if you are unsure who to select to start with. The other alternative that has arisen is sub-$200,000 option Brynn Teakle, who has a chance to suit up with Port Adelaide in round 1 if he beats Lycett for the job. Esava Ratugolea ($174,000) may play early days if Tom Hawkins isn’t fit for round 1 and Geelong do some rejigging of their team.
The ruck position is very tough and there is arguably no perfect answer. As a fallback option it could be an interesting decision to start Darcy Cameron or Luke Jackson at R2, who would be able to be swapped into the forward line once the picture has become clearer – but this is no certainty to work well, either.
FORWARDS – LOAD UP ON STARS
The forward line can be viewed almost identical to the midfield. The top-end $500,000-plus options such as Stephen Coniglio, Connor Rozee, Josh Dunkley and Tim Taranto are superb players who will likely end their season as top-six scorers in their position – the goal for players in your finished team. Given the chance for DPP premiums to pop up in the forward line, only select players who show elite scoring potential.
There are a few medium-priced options to consider, with Nat Fyfe the most notable potential bargain or trap, depending on how you think he fairs playing primarily as a forward.
Similarly to what we have mentioned in the midfield, there are a number of high-end rookies between $150,000 to $200,000 to consider such as Harry Sheezel, Toby McLean, Ben King and Mattaes Phillipou who at this stage look like the best rookie options.
Be prepared to spend a lot of your cap space in this area as well, in order to avoid the potential low scoring and low-end rookies.
Agree? Disagree? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter to @KanoGem or @Doctor_SC
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