KFC SuperCoach 2023: Ultimate bye round survival guide
Get a step ahead of the byes, and the chasing KFC SuperCoach pack, by following this round by round trade guide.
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It’s all about having a plan.
We might have got away with avoiding thinking about the byes for 11 rounds in KFC SuperCoach, but they are about to hit us smack in the face.
And going in with a plan gives you a huge advantage.
Preparing for this year’s four bye rounds (yes, there are four this year) has been more difficult than ever as teams have been forced into trades by injuries. But it’s not too late.
This is the time of year when prepared coaches can make a huge jump in the rankings and private leagues.
If you’ve avoided the byes until now, click ‘Show Byes’ in SuperCoach Plus to see how many players you have available each week – then make a trade plan following our round by round tips below to come out the other end ahead of the pack and with a gun team for the run home.
ROUND 12
BYE: Brisbane Lions, St Kilda, Sydney, Fremantle
WHO’S MISSING
DEF: Darcy Wilmot (33 per cent ownership), Conor McKenna (23), Luke Ryan (22), Jack Sinclair (16), Jake Lloyd (8)
MID: Will Ashcroft (60), Harry Sharp (26), Matt Roberts (26), Lachie Neale (23), Andrew Brayshaw (14), Caleb Serong (13), Matthew Johnson (12), Jack Steele (8)
RUCK: Rowan Marshall (52), Sean Darcy (11)
FWD: Josh Dunkley (69), Errol Gulden (52), Mattaeus Phillipou (22)
With four teams on the bye, most teams should be able to field 18 scoring players, although James Sicily’s suspension hasn’t helped matters.
This is the perfect time to cash in some rookies missing in round 12 such as Mattaeus Phillipou, Conor McKenna and Darcy Wilmot.
Teammate Will Ashcroft is a trickier call. He could be a ticket to a premium who can boost your scoring for round 12, but he three of his next five matches are at the Gabba where he averages 100.8 points a game.
Players who are available this week but aren’t selected can also be traded out if you need to make up some numbers, with Alex Cincotta and Rory Atkins on selection watch.
In terms of players to trade in, any premium is guaranteed to miss one of the next three weeks so make sure you’re well stocked for that bye week before adding them to your team.
A smarter move could be to use this week to strengthen your bench for the tricky rounds ahead. That could be a downgrade to bank cash for a post-round 12 spending spree or using one or more of your three available trades for a rookie correction. That would involve moving out a “dead” rookie such as Matt Roberts, Corey Wagner or Lachie Cowan and bringing in a cheapie who will get games over the next month.
Kangaroos George Wardlaw ($193,800 MID) and Eddie Ford ($123,900 FWD) are both on the bubble, with Ford the more attractive of the pair given his lower price and -114 Break Even. Bringing in both would be risky considering North Melbourne has the bye in round 15 when it could be even more difficult to field a full team.
ROUND 13
BYE: Geelong, Gold Coast
WHO’S MISSING
DEF: Tom Stewart (22 per cent ownership), Rory Atkins (22)
MID: Sam Simpson (21), Noah Anderson (9)
RUCK: Jarrod Witts (10)
FWD: Bailey Humphrey (16), Jeremy Cameron (13), Ben King (7)
This is the best bye week in terms of availability – every team should have 20 or more scorers – and the week to start making those big trade moves.
Every Brisbane, St Kilda, Sydney and Fremantle player is available and ready to play through the rest of the byes – and every game for the rest of the season, barring injury.
When looking for players to trade out, start with Cats and Suns rookies then assess which of the coming bye rounds will cause you the most trouble and look to move on players missing that week and replace them with someone who can contribute to your weekly total. Ideally, these will be players you didn’t view as keepers in your finished team, but some tough calls might have to be made if numbers are tight in rounds 14 and 15.
Go to town and use all three trades – you could even make four moves if you have a Trade Boost left.
Here are the top targets:
LACHIE NEALE $577,500 MID
KFC SuperCoaches who didn’t pick Neale at the start of the year can unwrap a mid-season gift when he is available for almost $100,000 under his round 1 price. The Brownlow medallist, who averaged 122.8 points a game last year, had just one score over 120 in the first six rounds. But in the past five weeks he’s reeled off four tons including scores of 124, 128 and 122 to set himself up as one of the buys of the year.
ANDREW BRAYSHAW $581,100 MID
Brayshaw’s price dropped to almost $500k but is surging again after going big in three of his past four games with scores of 149, 134 and 127. He has clawed back most of his lost value in that time but is available for almost $35k under his starting price, with an early-season knee niggle well behind him and a friendly run home including a date with Hawthorn on KFC SuperCoach grand final day.
JACK SINCLAIR $531,200 DEF
The topscoring defender of 2022 has been hot and cold this season, epitomised by his past three rounds – 65, 160, 71. He is averaging 100.3 points a game and has the eighth-most points of any defender, which makes him good value at $95,000 cheaper than his starting price. Ross Lyon has been moving him between half-back and the midfield and, unlike Jordan Dawson, more centre bounces don’t always equal more points for Sinclair. But he’s still a good option down back in KFC SuperCoach.
CALEB SERONG MID
Projected price: $622,000
If price isn’t an issue you can grab one of the PODs of the year. Serong is the sixth-best scoring midfielder in KFC SuperCoach this year – and No.8 overall – but sits in just 12 per cent of teams. After scoring 70 points in round 1 he has reeled off nine straight 100-plus scores, with four of those over 130.
NAT FYFE $244,200 MID-FWD
More than 73,000 coaches were convinced Fyfe was a steal at $313k and picked him in their starting team. Then he scored 26 in round 1 and missed the next seven weeks with injury. His three matches after returning weren’t a whole lot better, scoring 25, 26 and 49 but he was used as a sub in all of those games. On Saturday he played his first full match since round 1 and scored 67 from 20 disposals and 11 contested possessions, playing through the midfield. It’s a high-risk play given Fyfe’s injury history but with an ounce of luck he could provide an extra score during the tricky bye rounds then act as bench cover for the midfield and forward line for the run home. At that price, what have you got to lose?
LACHLAN McANDREW $123,900 RUC-FWD
To make upgrades we need rookies to downgrade to, and Sydney’s back-up ruckman could be in the right place at the right time, set to play his bubble game in round 13. His scores aren’t inspiring – 53 and 23 in his two games – and he’s no guarantee to hold his spot for the Swans’ clash against St Kilda after the bye. Peter Ladhams will be missing for a while with an ankle injury, so he’s a chance, and that might make him a rare round 13 cheapie.
ANYONE FROM THE MID-SEASON DRAFT
The mid-season draft is on May 31, just before round 12. SuperCoaches will be hoping some players are selected ready to slot straight into senior action – preferably at a bargain $102k price tag.
Picking a player off one or even no games is a huge gamble, but as we close on a full premium team the reward could outweigh the risk, especially since there are unlikely to be many other rookie downgrade options.
ROUND 14
BYE: Adelaide, Collingwood, Hawthorn, Essendon, Melbourne, West Coast
WHO’S MISSING
DEF: Nick Daicos (74 per cent ownership), Seamus Mitchell (46), Jordan Dawson (43), Reuben Ginbey (32), Campbell Chesser (26), James Sicily (25), Will Day (22), Josh Weddle (18)
MID: Clayton Oliver (50), Rory Laird (26), Christian Petracca (15), Jordan De Goey (15), Zach Merrett (11), Tom Mitchell (11), James Worpel (11)
RUCK: Brodie Grundy (12), Dam Draper (10), Max Gawn (8)
FWD: Alwyn Davey Jr (39), Jacob van Rooyen (20), Kade Chandler (15), Fergus Greene (13), Oscar Allen (8)
Now things get interesting, especially in defence, where many teams will be lucky to have three or four starters available.
Remember to use dual-position links to get as many players as possible on field – if you have 10 midfielders available only the players on field (and activated emergencies) count in your best 18.
There are a number of popular rookies missing this round – time to cash in Seamus Mitchell, Josh Weddle, Jacob van Rooyen and Kade Chandler for a tidy profit. If you’re still holding Alwyn Davey Jr or Campbell Chesser, consider using a trade to make a rookie correction if there is a cheapie available. You won’t make much money on the deal but the extra scorer this week – and going forward – could be worth the trade.
To get 18 scoring players some coaches will consider a sideways trade this week. If you’re in that boat the players to sacrifice are those unlikely to be in the top 6-10 players in their line at the end of the season. Looking at the names above, Will Day, Tom Mitchell and James Worpel are three who could fit in that category.
TOP TARGETS
As well as the round 12 bye players listed above, we can now choose from the top shelf of Geelong and Gold Coast stars.
The best performers from those teams this year are Suns trio Jarrod Witts, Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell.
Geelong’s top-ranked player on averages is Tom Stewart, who could be a bargain with a projected price of close to $550k at round 14. You could also finish your forward line with Jeremy Cameron or Tom Hawkins.
Keep an eye on Touk Miller’s return form injury, although it will be worth waiting a week or two for his price to drop as he will return with a Break Even of 172.
ROUND 15
BYE: Carlton, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Western Bulldogs, GWS Giants, Richmond
WHO’S MISSING
DEF: Harry Sheezel (77 per cent ownership), Alex Cincotta (56), Jack Ziebell (32), Lachie Cowan (21),
MID: Marcus Bontempelli (50), Tom Green (35), Jason Horne-Francis (26), Oskar Baker (24), Patrick Cripps (17), Ollie Hollands (16), Will Phillips (14), Finn Callaghan (12), Sam Walsh (11)
RUCK: Tim English (46), Samson Ryan (15)
FWD: Tim Taranto (62), Connor Rozee (49), Blake Drury (37), Stephen Coniglio (31), Ryan Angwin (15), Zak Butters (11)
Almost there!
This could be the week teams battle to have six scoring forwards, and several key midfielders are also missing.
A big decision this week will be whether Harry Sheezel is a season keeper. He’s currently the seventh-ranked defender and eighth-ranked forward, but can a first-year player keep it up to round 24? Ask coaches who traded out Nick Daicos this time last year what they think and the answer will be simple: HOLD!
But it might not be that simple. Sheezel’s value could make for an easy swap to one of the guns listed below, and there aren’t many other obvious candidates for a sideways move to get 18 or more scorers this week.
If you don’t have Rory Laird or Christian Petracca – or Clayton Oliver is available – could you trade out Patrick Cripps or Tom Green to bring them in for the run home?
TOP TARGETS
Laird should be top of the wish list for non-owners at a projected price of $615k – still well under his starting price. After playing hurt for several weeks he returned to his best against the Bulldogs last round with 34 touches, 10 tackles and 145 points.
Jordan Dawson could be close to $560k based on SuperCoach Plus projections and is another great buy, while James Sicily will be bye-free and similarly priced. Mason Redman could be a cheaper alternative in defence around $500k but the ship might have sailed on teammate Zach Merrett if he follows up his 162 against Richmond with big scores against West Coast, North Melbourne and Carlton leading into the Bombers’ bye.
If Darcy Parish is back from injury, he’s $567k with a Break Even of 100 in his return game – and ready to take advantage of the easiest fixture in the competition according to Champion Data.
If Max Gawn gains dual-position status before round 12 he could be a handy addition to the forward line – or you could opt for Magpie Darcy Cameron for valuable ruck cover in the run home.
Some coaches will use another trade or two in round 16 to pick up a player off the round 15 bye (the Bont?) but for many the team you take into round 15 will be the team that carries you to the finish line, with a handful of trades (hopefully) in reserve for injuries or emergencies.
Good luck!
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