KFC SuperCoach 2022: All the intra-club intel and latest pre-season news
KFC SuperCoaches are sweating on the roles of popular Magpies Nick Daicos and Jordan De Goey. Here’s how the midfield could look in Round 1, plus all the pre-season intel.
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There is plenty of crucial KFC SuperCoach intel floating around with new roles touted and cheap options catching the eye in intra-clubs.
So much information that it can be difficult to keep track.
Luckily, Patch and Barron von Crow from Jock Reynolds have all KFC SuperCoach bases covered as pre-season clicks into gear.
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Pies’ midfield mix unveiled
There’s a lot happening over at Pieland this week, as Brendon Bolton gave his outline for how he sees Collingwood’s midfield in 2022. He outlined four types of mids and who they expect to rotate into those positions. Decision makers such as Scott Pendlebury, Nick Daicos and Brayden Maynard are expected to rotate between half-back and midfield.
Explosive duo Jordan De Goey and Jamie Elliot who will play midfield and forward, with one of those two apparently going to line up at nearly every centre bounce.
He also listed inside bulls such as Taylor Adams (and Brodie Grundy) as well as Fin Macrae and running players who will play outside and on the wing such as new recruit Pat Lipinksi, Steele Sidebottom, Josh Daicos, Will Hoskin-Elliot and John Noble.
Charlie Dean continues to impress, which is good for the Pies considering Jordan Roughead will miss the opening six weeks of the season and Jeremy Howe will be sidelined for a fortnight with an abductor injury. Lock him into your backline. De Goey is nursing sore ribs but will be back for preseason games, while Brodie Grundy didn’t play in the Pies’ intraclub with illness, but is still raring to go.
Lions’ guns to go forward?
The Lions have also revealed some plans for their 2022 setup. Dayne Zorko has been spending some time training across half-back but still expects to spend his season as a rotating mid/forward.
Chris Fagan also said Cam Rayner and Zac Bailey will be given opportunities to be full-time onballers, which would require the likes of Lachie Neale and Jarryd Lyons to make way and play forward.
It all but locks Cam Rayner away in our forward lines at less than $300k.
Keidean Coleman will be given the chance to settle in the backline (he had scores of 87, 90 and 77 in his final three games of 2021) while Darcy Fort will be given the opportunity to win the backup ruck spot behind Oscar McInerney.
Eagles’ injury woes continue
It’s been a somewhat injury-interrupted preseason for the West Coast midfield, which was paving the way for boom recruit Greg Clark to slide straight into the side in round one.
However, that won’t happen, as our best rookie prospect for the year has done an AC joint in his shoulder and will miss eight to 10 weeks. Scratch him off your list.
It may give an opportunity to 18-year-old first round pick Campbell Chesser, who from all accounts has impressed alongside Tim Kelly, but first dibs on the spot might go to last year’s midseason draft selection Connor West, who at $249,800 could be a sneaky forward option.
Also keep an eye on Bailey Williams and Jack Williams, who are both ruck/forward swings and may make a splash early with an ageing Josh J Kennedy, Oscar Allen on a managed workload and Jack Darling still deciding whether to get vaccinated to continue his career.
Port rookies on the rise
Despite always being towards the top of the ladder, Power coach Ken Hinkley has always had time for KFC Supercoachers. He’ll tell us the team in advance, is transparent with injury and crucially he plays the rookies.
That may repeat this year, with young speedster Josh Sinn a chance to make a run off half-back from round one after impressing in the intraclubs while Jackson Mead, who missed several cracks at a debut last year through injury, has also been training with the main midfield mix this season alongside Ollie Wines and Travis Boak. Sign us up for a midfield rookie spot.
We’re still unsure if we’ll see Sam Skinner in round one, with the former Lion in a three-way battle for a defensive spot alongside Trent McKenzie and Tom Clury.
Mid-priced midfielders making a splash
It won’t be news to anyone who read Tim Michell’s brilliant mid-priced madness article yesterday, but worth keeping an eye on some rolled-gold value in the midfield this year.
Jye Caldwell ($266,700) and Matty Rowell ($342,900) have both put their best foot forward this preseason.
Caldwell tore up Essendon’s intraclub while Rowell was in everything at Metricon last week, finding the goals as well. Caleb Serong ($451,000) has also been nothing short of scintillating for the Dockers this preseason.
Also, he’s still a rookie but we’d be remiss to not mention Jason Horne-Francis. If he’s not in your team right now, open another tab, fire up the website and get him there immediately.
More intra-club notes
ADELAIDE AND PORT
The scheduled trial match was scrapped due to Covid requirements in Adelaide, but the Crows still had a practice match on Friday. Reilly O’Brien starred, swapping between the blue and yellow sides and booted 4 goals. Matt Crouch impressed in the middle, while Riley Thilthorpe and Jake Soligio were both spotted on the wing as the Crows look for a replacement for Paul Seedsman. Ben Keays added 2 goals, while Luke Pedlar and Jackson Hately were running the midfield for the weaker yellow side.
On the other side of the fence, Port Adelaide also had their internal trial match on Friday. Zak Butters was spotted lining up with the heavy hitters, running the midfield with Brownlow Medalist Wines and former Captain Boak. Jackson Mead, Willem Drew, Karl Amon, Connor Rozee and Xavier Duursma were also spotted taking midfield minutes, while new recruit Sinn lined up on the wing. With Charlie Dixon absent former GWS Giant Jeremy Finlayson was taking the backup ruck minutes.
CARLTON
The Blues have continued to tinker with their lineup over the pre-season, with Brodie Kemp spotted playing predominantly in the forward line while Mitch McGovern continues to grow in his new role in defence.
ESSENDON
Over at the Bombers, their trial match saw train-on player Nicholas Martin boot 4 goals, while Tex Wanganeen added 2 of his own. Caldwell was super active in the first half, collecting 14 disposals, 6 tackles and a goal. He was then managed for the rest of the game, with Ben Hobbs receiving some time in the midfield after.
FREMANTLE
Over in the west, Caleb Serong continues to dominate preseason and Nathan O’Driscoll has torn the track up, but there are still a few on the sidelines to come back in for the Dockers, so he’s not locked away just yet - although Josh Carr said he may line up on a wing.
NORTH MELBOURNE
Over at North Melbourne, the results are in and if you don’t have Jason Horne-Francis in your side, open a new tab right now and find a way to fit him in. Tarryn Thomas and Tom Powell also impressed, but both will be second-string midfielders behind Luke Davies-Uniacke, Hugh Greenwood, Jy Simpkin and Jed Anderson, with the latter apparently getting his second jab this week.
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