KFC SuperCoach AFL: Best mid-season draft options, top trade targets for round 12
Discounted mature-age recruits during the bye rounds? Yes, please. See the best mid-season draftees to put on your trade radar, including their stats and KFC SuperCoach averages.
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The mid-season draft has come at the perfect time for KFC SuperCoaches, but don’t be expecting miracles.
Mid-season rookies come in at a juicy price of $102,400 – if they haven’t played AFL previously – and there’s nothing more tantalising than a mature-age downgrade option during the byes.
But the story of this mid-season draft was stockpiling younger talent for the future, rather than sugar-hit recruits who can have an immediate impact.
SCROLL DOWN FOR ALL THIS WEEK’S TOP TRADE TARGETS
Nonetheless, there are still several options who could present to KFC SuperCoaches in the back half of the year, including a former Cat.
Here are the six mid-season draftees that coaches should be keeping an eye on.
Ryan Maric (West Coast) FWD
Likely price: $102,400 SC average: 87.5 (VFL, two matches)
Expect Maric to be given opportunity at some stage in the back half of the year after an eye-catching start to the season from the No.1 mid-season pick. The agile and long-kicking 193cm forward posted scores of 148, 97 and 108 in the Coates Talent League for Gippsland Power and raised the bat for a ton in his very first VFL game for Box Hill, where he tallied 15 disposals, eight marks, two goals and 101 points. His 12 touches in his second game yielded 74 points, showing that he doesn’t need a lot of the ball to get points on the board. He also showed some promising signs in defence in the second Young Guns game, racking up 23 disposals, eight rebound-50s and 89 points, but he is more likely to be used up forward for the Eagles. The club’s injury woes should put Maric right in the mix for a debut, but will it come when we need it most during the byes?
Mitch Hardie (Geelong) MID
Likely price: $102,400 SC average: 126 (SANFL)
Geelong’s depleted midfield has been shown up in recent weeks – could the ready-made Hardie be called on to help fill the void left by Patrick Dangerfield and Cam Guthrie? If he does, the 25-year-old looks an attractive proposition after producing some monster scores in a breakout SANFL year for Woodville-West Torrens. The midfielder opened the year with totals of 189, 178 and 132 and has also registered a score of 167, after just averaging 77 points the previous season. Hardie has shown a good inside-outside mix, averaging 25.7 disposals, 16.3 uncontested possessions, 6.4 tackles and 5.6 clearances across his seven matches. But whether he can break into the reigning premier’s side, let alone hold down a midfield spot, remains to be seen.
Quinton Narkle (Port Adelaide) MID
Likely price: TBC SC Ave: 93 (VFL)
If the KFC SuperCoach gods are feeling generous, Narkle could be in for a serious discount at the Power thanks to two sub-affected years that significantly lowered his KFC SuperCoach averages. The former Cat’s average of 52 points last year included two scores of 26 (subbed out) and 27 (subbed in), while he was injected into four games in 2021, where he averaged just 55 from 14 matches. He also had games as the unused sub in both, but they don’t count in SuperCoach price calculations. The 25-year-old has earned a second AFL chance after averaging 20 disposals, five clearances and 93 points for Essendon’s VFL side, and you’d expect him to be called on at some stage. Narkle has noted scoring potential as a midfielder, amassing scores of 123 and 134 inside his first 10 games at AFL level, and averaged 79 points in his first four games of 2020 before injury struck. But to pick him you’d have to be sure of his job security, something that was never in his favour at the Cats, and may not be at the Power, either.
Caleb Poulter (Western Bulldogs) MID
Likely price: TBC SC Ave: 75 (VFL)
Poulter was the other ex-AFL player to be taken in the mid-season draft. The former Magpie has averaged 75 SuperCoach points in an outside role for the Bulldogs' VFL side, and could prove to be another of Luke Beveridge’s Footscray role players – think cheapies Anthony Scott, Robbie McComb and Co. Poulter was a SuperCoach rookie for us back in 2021 when he averaged 60 points per game, but he played just the one match for the Pies last year for a score of 55. Even with that discount, he may be too expensive to consider in KFC SuperCoach, especially if his role isn’t fantasy friendly.
Harry Arnold (Sydney) DEF
Likely price: $102,400 SC Ave: 71 (VFL)
The Swans appeared set to pick Oscar McDonald to help fill their key defensive crisis, instead they went with the 24-year-old Arnold. The athletic key defender has averaged 13.8 disposals, 7.8 marks, 4.8 intercepts, 2.5 intercepts marks and 71 SuperCoach points for Brisbane’s VFL side, and has the frame and traits to play right away. He hasn’t been setting the world on fire from a scoring perspective, but it’d be hard to pass up a $102,400 mature-age defender if he gets a run in the byes – especially with the Swans playing in the treacherous round 14-15 period.
Jack Buller (Sydney) FWD-RUC?
Likely price: $102,400 SC Ave: 106
There’s a joke here involving cash cows and Buller Creamy Classics but I can’t quite work it out. That aside, the Swans recruit, like Arnold, is capable of playing this year. The Swans’ injury woes aren’t quite as bad up forward, but 209cm ruckman Lachlan McAndrew played a meagre 43 per cent game time against the Blues, and Buller showed great signs as a forward-ruck at WAFL level. Buller has averaged 16 disposals, 7.6 marks, 2.2 contested marks 106 SuperCoach points across his five WAFL matches, but he succumbed to a calf complaint in his most recent clash last weekend, which could delay his push for a senior debut.
Trade guide: Is bargain Giant the answer to our bye prayers?
It’s all happening in KFC SuperCoach.
Experienced coaches often go into hiberation mode for the first round of the byes, trying to limit trades before launching an assault the following week.
But this year is very different.
Bye rules that will only count every team’s best 18 scorers over the following four rounds will help, but we suddenly have suspensions, injuries and selection issues to worry about on top of losing every St Kilda, Sydney, Fremantle and Brisbane player for round 12.
If that wasn’t enough, the latest round of dual-position changes has also been activated.
Do you need cash, a last-minute replacement or just want to add a proven KFC SuperCoach scoring machine to your team? Here are the best targets this week.
DUAL-POSITION CHANGES
Jack Macrae is hot property again in KFC SuperCoach, and not just because he has scored 145 two weeks in a row.
The fantasy champ is the big winner of the latest round of dual-position changes, earning MID-FWD status after playing 38 per cent of game time forward in the first 11 rounds. As the past two rounds have proved, that doesn’t necessarily impact his ability to score.
Making him even more appealing as a forward option is the fact his price has dropped $60,000 since round 1.
It wasn’t all good news, though. Max Gawn and Sam Walsh fell just short of earning DPP status, with the decision on Gawn going right to the wire.
After the Demons’ loss to Fremantle on Saturday, Gawn’s percentage of forward time for the season sits at Gawn 34.9 – 0.1 per cent short of becoming DPP. Walsh, meanwhile, sits at 32.9 per cent.
See the full list of dual-position changes below.
TRADE TARGETS
Jack Macrae $574,800 MID-FWD
Bye: Round 15
You can’t keep a KFC SuperCoach champ down. Macrae has been putting up his lowest scores in six seasons, largely as a result of being played in a new role by Luke Beveridge that involves a lot fewer centre bounces. But he has shown in the past two rounds he can still put numbers on the board, scoring 145 two weeks in a row including a 33-disposal effort against the Suns in Darwin. His current average places him in the top-four forwards and the price is $60k under his round 1 value, the only negatives are uncertainty around his role and an awkward bye in round 15. With a Break Even of 41 against the undermanned Geelong midfield this week, can we afford to wait another month to bring him in?
Jordan De Goey $543,500 MID
Bye: Round 14
You could hear The Phantom cheering all the way from South Australia as De Goey closed in on 100 points before halftime against North Melbourne. A score of 156 on Sunday was De Goey’s sixth ton in 11 rounds and has caused his price to jump considerably after entering the round with a Break Even of 69. He was a value punt a couple of weeks ago but now we’ll be paying premium dollars, but Collingwood has West Coast this week and with JDG’S ceiling, he could score anything against the battling Eagles. De Goey was a class above against North with 35 disposals, a goal, 15 contested poseessions and six marks. No wonder the Phantom was so happy after trading Luke Davies-Uniacke to De Goey last round.
Eddie Ford $123,900 FWD
Bye: Round 15
Here are Ford’s KFC SuperCoach scores in his 10 career games to date: 0, 37, 36, 80, 37, 33, 16, 0, 102 and 83. Maybe he was just foxing to keep himself cheap for us this year? Ford was on track for another 100-plus score against Collingwood when he was 56 at halftime but those who jumped on early would have been thrilled with a return of 83. He went at 88 per cent efficiency from 16 disposals after recording 21 at 86 per cent in round 10. With a Break Even of -114 he’s going to make lots of cash, doesn’t have a bye until round 15 and has played himself into the team for at least the next month – surely. If you’re tossing up between Wardlaw and Ford, save the $70k and go for Ford. Before you do though, check your bye structure for round 15 and make sure another Roo won’t leave you too short.
Kieren Briggs $254,$400 RUC
Bye: Round 15
After spending much of the first half of the season as Matthew Flynn’s back-up, Briggs has taken his opportunity with successive tons in the past two rounds. He is averaging 16.5 disposals, 28 hitouts, four tackles and 105.5 KFC SuperCoach points and looms as a genuine option for coaches who need to trade an injured Sean Darcy this round. He’s destined to make huge money in the next three weeks (BE -64), is scoring comparably to most of the top ruckmen and plays through rounds 12-14 before having his bye. If you were trading Darcy to Briggs this week, you could then look to trade Briggs to Tim English in round 15. Brave coaches who don’t have Darcy could also grab Briggs for the quick cash injection, but as a RUC only he’ll be sitting on the bench most of the time. That plan also requires a few spare trades, though, which many coaches don’t have.
George Wardlaw $193,800 MID
Bye: Round 15
After an oustanding 85-point debut against Sydney the No.4 draft pick found the going tougher against Collingwood, finishing with 12 disposals, one tackle, three contested possessions and 43 KFC SuperCoach points. The talent isn’t in doubt, but it could be a concern that he played just 65 per cent of game time as he is eased into senior level. Wardlaw battled hamstring injuries throughout his draft year, so the Roos won’t take any chances with him. He should keep playing and make some money (BE -16), but Ford is the better bet if you only want to pick one of the round 15 bubble boys.
Ollie Wines $462,800 MID
Bye: Round15
Is Wines back? It’s not a categorical yes but there are definitely signs of life after an unusually sluggish start to the season. After just one score above 85 in the first seven rounds he has hit that mark in every game since, including 93, 110 and 95 in his past three. Last year overall winner JP brought in Wines for the run home and he proved a key to his run to the $50,000 cheque. He’s not putting up those kind of numbers in 2023 but you could do a lot worse at his price as an M8 or a stop-gap until round 15.
Jordan Ridley $428,700 DEF
Bye: Round 14
The score of 18 when he was concussed against Port Adelaide drops out of Ridley’s price cycle this week. Well done if you jumped on last week at a season-low $414k. Ridley rewarded those who did with a season-high 130 against West Coast, recording 28 disposals, eight marks and an incredible disposal efficiency of 96.4 per cent. That’s the Jordan Ridley KFC SuperCoaches came to love when he looked destined to be a top premium a few years ago. This was one of the first rounds for the year that Ridley and Mason Redman have both gone big, and the presence of two genuine distributors can be an issue which caps Ridley’s KFC SuperCoach scoring. But if you’re struggling to find the cash for a top premium, it’s hard to go past a player with scores of 122 and 130 in his past two for about $420k.
Bailey Dale $482,600 DEF
Bye: Round 15
Another discount option down back who is $55k more expensive than he was two weeks ago after back-to-back tons. Dale showed why he can be such a KFC SuperCoach weapon with 27 disposals at 82 per cent in difficult conditions in Darwin. He is clearly benefiting from opportunity created by an injury to defensive playmaker Jason Johannisen, who is still 8-10 weeks away. His scoring this season has been frustrating but there is undeniable value in a player who averaged 101.9 last year.
TARGET SOON
Nat Fyfe $244,200 MID-FWD
Bye: Round 12
Who honestly thought we would be here again? Tens of thousands of coaches started with Fyfe, only to trade him out when he was injured. That seemingly put a line through the dual Brownlow medallist as a KFC SuperCoach option. Then he got to under $244k, returned to the midfield and got through a full game. No wonder we’re tempted. Fyfe had 13 of his 20 disposals in the opening half against Melbourne and his switch back to the middle was confirmed with 12 centre bounces. The main issue (among many) is that Fremantle has a bye this week. But come round 13, coaches could potentially sideways a player with the bye such as Sam Simpson to Fyfe. If you’re taking the punt, you have to be prepared for the possibility he will be managed, subbed during games or injured. But the potential upside for $244k is going to be hard to say no to.
George Hewett $414,000 MID
Bye: Round 15
Remember when Hewett was the bargain pick of 2022 at $399k? We’re almost back there. The Carlton midfielder’s average has dropped from a career-best 111.4 last year to 76, although that includes a concussion-affected 22 against Sydney on Friday night and a score of 39 when he was the sub in roudn 10. Hewett only has one ton in 10 matches, which is symptomatic of Carlton’s issues at the moment. In full games he has scored between 85-93 five times this year with a high of 124 in round 7 against West Coast. This low score will stay in his price cycle for a few weeks when he returns, presumably in round 13. That means you can watch his role and form and then reassess whether he could be a bargain M8 or M9 after Carlton’s bye.
Darcy Cameron RUC-FWD $471,200 RUC-FWD
Bye: Round 14
Cameron hasn’t reached the same heights he showed in the first three rounds since his return from injury, scoring 61 and 81 in the past two rounds. But there were pleasing signs in the second half against North Melbourne as he took control of the ruck contests and recorded 20 of his 35 hitouts after the main break. Cameron was well and truly back as the main man in the middle, attending 81 ruck contests to milestone man Mason Cox’s 11. Cameron has become a serious option for KFC SuperCoaches after Max Gawn missed out on RUC-FWD status by 0.1 per cent. It has left him as the best DPP ruck option for the run home to provide cover for the first choice rucks in your KFC SuperCoach team. But with a high Break Even again, you should get away with holding off until after Collingwood’s bye to bring him in.
Callum Mills $471,400 MID
Bye: Round 12
Through no fault of his own, Mills has gone from a premium KFC SuperCoach midfielder to a Mr Fix-It this year for the injury-hit Swans. Then he was injured early in round 9, scoring 4 points against Fremantle. That score caused his price to dip by more than $50k and with a break even of 177 Mills is projected to get as cheap as $420k within two weeks of his return. That’s crazy value for a player who averaged 116 and 112 in the past two years. He was listed as 3-5 weeks before round 11, so you might need to wait until round 16 or 17 if you want to get Mills at his cheapest to finish your midfield.
Luke Davies-Uniacke $497,900 MID
Bye: Round 15
LDU was listed as being 2-4 weeks away before round 11. That could mean he’s back by round 13 or isn’t sighted until after North Melbourne’s round 15 bye. The North rising star was the hottest player in KFC SuperCoach after three rounds, averaging 133.3 between rounds 1-3. His form dipped in the next month before a score of 122 in the game where he did his hamstring in the final minute against Port Adelaide. The fact he’s been injured three times this year (calf, heel and hamstring) will be a huge deterrent for coaches already running low on trades. But if you are feeling risky, LDU is the type of onballer with a huge ceiling who could win you a KFC SuperCoach league final.
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