KFC SuperCoach AFL: Round 16 trade guide, must-have players in each position
Now is your time to pounce on the cream of the crop to give your the edge. Our experts have ranked the top KFC SuperCoach options on every line in this week’s trade guide.
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We’re on the home straight and the finish line is in sight (just) for KFC SuperCoach 2022.
The byes are in the rear-view mirror and although there are bound to be some potholes from here, with eight rounds to go most teams are complete, or very close to it.
This is a great time to take a step back and look at your full squad to assess how you’re placed for a charge up the overall rankings or league ladder. Who is your worst defender, midfielder and forward? What is your bench cover like? How many trades do you have left?
The answer to that last question will dictate what moves you can make, but there is a big gap between teams fielding Lachie Whitfield – or still using Paddy McCartin or Nick Daicos – at D6 over players with Tom Stewart or Sam Docherty.
To help in your KFC SuperCoach stocktake, our experts have hashed out the must-have players in every position. In these gradings the top tier is the players we think are certain to be top-scorers in their position from here to the end of the year. If your midfield is missing more than one or two of Lachie Neale, Clayton Oliver, Callum Mills, Jack Macrae, Rory Laird or Touk Miller, that is an issue you might want to address ASAP.
Who you have instead is also relevant – most teams will have an assortment of top tier premiums with a couple of second-tier players as well, which is OK. But you don’t want too many. And tier three is a throw at the dice that could come off, but probably won’t.
DEFENCE
TOP TIER
James Sicily, Sam Docherty, George Hewett, Jack Sinclair, Jordan Dawson, Dan Houston
SECOND TIER
Jack Crisp, Bailey Dale, Jayden Short, Daniel Rich, Adam Saad, Aaron Hall, Tom Stewart*
THIRD TIER
Lachie Whitfield, Luke Ryan, Mark Blicavs
At round 15, there were six defenders averaging 108 points a game or more – Sicily, Hewett, Docherty, Sinclair, Stewart and Dawson. Sicily has gone more than 10 points better than his previous best this year (105.1 in 2018), ranking elite for disposals, intercept possessions, metres gained and marks. Hewett has been one of the great finds of the year after only averaging 80 once in a season before this year. Docherty’s comeback from cancer has been one of the most incredible stories of the year and it is a mark of the man that he has produced career-best football after all the adversity he has encountered. Sinclair has built on a strong finish to last season to confirm himself as one of the top DEF-MIDs in KFC SuperCoach, while Stewart and Dawson’s intercept ability and precise kicking attract plenty of love from the KFC SuperCoach scorers. Stewart, however, is in for a holiday and is out of the top tier for this reason. Dan Houston can drop the occasional average score, but his ceiling is among the best in the defensive ranks, having amassed five 120-plus scores this year. If you have at least five of these six in your KFC SuperCoach team, you will have built a very strong defence.
Crisp may not have the ceiling of the others top-ranked defenders, but he has been super consistent, falling below 97 just twice since round 4.
Bailey Dale and Jayden Short are perhaps unlucky not to be considered in the top tier of defensive options but it took truly elite numbers to get there this year. (13 defenders are averaging at least 100 points a game and seven over 105). Crisp has been incredibly solid for those who started him for DPP and durability, while Dale is one of the most consistent scorers in the game. Many thought Short’s move to the midfield would result in a huge uptick in his scoring when he pumped out 152 against West Coast, but he only has two tons (with a top of 110) in five games since. Rich has come with a bullet thanks to five scores between 117 and 135 in rounds 8-15, while Saad have rarely let down owners who opted for a point-of-difference. Saad was one of the form defenders during the bye period, scoring four successive tons from rounds 10-14.
Two hamstring injuries already this year for Hall makes him a risky, but he shapes as a very rewarding option if he stays on the park. Luke Ryan has been brilliant in the past six weeks but went through a rough patch earlier in the season with six scores of 75 or less in the opening nine rounds. Whitfield has huge upside but has only really got going in the past two weeks since returning from injury.
TRADE ADVICE: If you don’t have any of the top-tier defenders, that’s where your focus should be. All six consistently scoring big numbers and are likely to be the top-six scorers for the remainder of the campaign in their position. Dawson should be top of the list, especially for those needing to trade out Stewart, but he doesn’t come cheap. Hall looms as the best value pick if you can only afford a player in the $500k price range.
MIDFIELD
TOP TIER
Lachie Neale, Clayton Oliver, Callum Mills, Jack Macrae, Rory Laird, Touk Miller, Jack Steele, Sam Walsh
SECOND TIER
Andrew Brayshaw, Josh Kelly, Ben Keays, Darcy Parish, Patrick Cripps, Christian Petracca
THIRD TIER
Ollie Wines, Brad Crouch, Tom Green, Zach Merrett
Midfield was the position which caused the most debate among our experts, but there were at least six obvious names who had to be considered must-have selections. If your big six in the middle are Neale, Oliver, Mills, Macrae, Laird and Miller, then you have six players capable of regularly scoring 120-plus. Mills and Laird were still in fewer than 20 per cent of teams before round 15, but Oliver (49.4 per cent), Neale (69.8 per cent), Macrae (56.3 per cent) and Miller (41.4 per cent) were among the most-popular players in KFC SuperCoach.
Five of those six players were last week averaging 121 points or more and Miller was not far behind at 116.2. Miller is worthy of his spot in the elite tier with only two scores below 99 and five 130-plus totals. Andrew Brayshaw is the most unlucky player to miss out on this select group, averaging 114.6 to round 15. Darcy Parish is another who would have been top tier had an injury-affected score of 51 in round 13 not dipped his average to 112. Parish doesn’t have the monster scores Miller does in his armoury this year, but has been a superb with his consistency.
Parish and Brayshaw are therefore the standout options in the second tier ahead of Cripps, Kelly and Keays. Petracca is the value buy – he has endured a recent form dip but still had an average of 106 after Melbourne’s round 14 bye and showed signs of a return to form against the Lions, with some clangers costing him a much bigger total. Keays is also good value and has a great run home. Each of these players is capable of the massive numbers the top tier produce most weeks, but have shown they are a rung below with lower scores in some matches.
Many would make a case for Ollie Wines to be in the second tier but as far as trade options go, he falls in behind the players mentioned above. Crouch, Merrett and Tom Green are another rung below.
The outlier is Jack Steele, who was averaging 109 when injured in round 9. There’s no reason to question his status as an A-Grade midfielder when he’s up and running.
TRADE ADVICE: Don’t bother going beyond the first two tiers in the midfield. That’s where the big scores are. Some of these options will be available for $550k or less to finish your midfield and that’s great buying for players of this quality – look at Petracca right now or Steele soon. If you can find the money for one of Mills or Laird, it could be what sets you apart come KFC SuperCoach league finals.
RUCK
TOP TIER
Jarrod Witts, Sean Darcy, Max Gawn*, Toby Nankervis,
SECOND TIER
Nic Naitanui, Todd Goldstein, Braydon Preuss, Brodie Grundy
THIRD TIER
Reilly O’Brien, Oscar McInerney
No one needs us to tell you what a disaster the ruck line has been this year. This has been where many coaches have been forced to use a good portion of their 35 trades – so much for ‘set and forget’ hey? The standout big man has been Witts, who has returned from an ACL injury with career-best numbers in KFC SuperCoach, including a 148-point total last week. He has an encouraging run home and with Max Gawn sidelined, looks certain to be the No.1 ruckman of 2022. Who would have thought that was possible when many picked him as a stepping stone at the start of the year?
Gawn hasn’t hit the extreme heights of previous years, with six of his 13 scores before going down with injury being 92 points or less. But three monster games of 160, 172 and 198 were a reminder of Gawn’s KFC SuperCoach scoring ability and justify him being considered in the must-have rucks. Now, it’s going to be a matter of whether you have the trades to bring him back when he returns from injury, which could be sooner rather than later.
Toby Nankervis is the dark horse here, having averaged 120.4 points in his last five matches, even scoring well with Ivan Soldo in the team. And who knows what Nic Naitanui can produce once he clicks into gear, after finishing last year among the top scoring ruckmen in the competition.
Where’s Brodie Grundy, you ask? Good question. Grundy was supposed to be the ruckman every KFC SuperCoach team had to start with this year. His first six rounds were solid without being spectacular, hitting 120 twice in six rounds and averaging 103.5. There will be big question marks over his role and scoring potential when he returns due to Darcy Cameron’s emergence while Grundy has been sidelined.
Todd Goldstein has been one of the great stories of the season after re-emerging as a premium big man just when it seemed Tristan Xerri had become David Noble’s go-to man in the middle. Goldstein bottomed out at $414k but since round 7 has scored 125, 142, 103, 88, 123, 98, 104 and 120. Well done if you jumped on. Braydon Preuss would likely have been a top-tier ruckman but how can we trust his body or suspension history? Preuss had the best ruck points-per-minute of any player before round 15 of 1.17.
Beyond these names, Reilly O’Brien and Oscar McInerney have shown promise without being genuine options for KFC SuperCoach to consider. Luke Jackson is the other RUC who now features in thousands of teams but that was more out of necessity than anything else for many.
TRADE ADVICE: Many teams are running with a makeshift ruck setup with Gawn, English and Preuss all unavailable. The best play would be to get a ruck line featuring two of Gawn, Witts and Darcy, pushing Tim English to the forward line. But that could take some maneuvering. NicNat could be a serious POD in the run home but you wouldn’t want to jump on right away, given the Eagles are likely to ease him in.
FORWARDS
TOP TIER
Josh Dunkley, Marcus Bontempelli, Luke Parker, Will Brodie, Tom Liberatore, Stephen Coniglio, Tim English*
SECOND TIER
Isaac Heeney, Zak Butters, Bailey Smith*, Harry Himmelberg, Taylor Walker, Darcy Cameron
THIRD TIER
Jeremy Cameron, Jed Anderson, Tom Hawkins
The Bulldogs have the top four forwards by average and we’ve got three of them in the top tier, with Bailey Smith bumped down a level due solely to the fact he won’t be available for another two matches. Based on scoring, you could place him alongside the big three and Swan Luke Parker, who is No.2 for total points and fifth on average (106.2).
Will Brodie and Stephen Coniglio have some small question marks but it’s incredible both are even in the running considering you could get them both for under $500k combined before round 1.
The fact the top six is still up in the air and only nine forwards are averaging 100 points a game means you can take a flyer at F6, where a lot of coaches now have Luke Jackson or Darcy Cameron who provide some much-needed ruck cover.
Harry Himmelberg has come from nowhere in a move down back and is on the kick-ins, so there’s every chance he can sustain his form. But you’ve probably missed the boat now given he has risen a whopping $230k in the past month.
Key forwards are generally a no-go zone in KFC SuperCoach but eight weeks is almost a short enough run to back in a player like Taylor Walker or Tom Hawkins – who both have favourable fixtures – to produce two or three massive scores and jump into the top echelon.
TRADE ADVICE: This will be the last position to be finished for many teams, and more than 91,000 coaches are hoping Will Brodie finishes the season strongly with Nat Fyfe in the Fremantle team, and 101,000 with fingers crossed Stephen Coniglio continues his renaissance under caretaker coach Mark McVeigh. The Bont is the No.1 target if you don’t have him and English will be high on the shopping list (again) when he returns from his latest stint on the sidelines. Is Heeney still the value buy, despite a score of 59 on the weekend?
10 stars who can replace Stewart
Tom Stewart’s uncharacteristic high hit on Dion Prestia won’t just come at a cost for his side and Richmond.
More than 45,000 KFC SuperCoaches are set to be forced to burn a trade with the intercept star expected to spend at least three weeks on the sidelines.
Lucky we held onto our trades, right…?
Stewart went out with a bang for his owners, finishing with 29 disposals, 17 intercept possessions and a whopping 161 SuperCoach points.
Unfortunately, Stewart had a break even of 210 due to his concussion induced score of 39 against the Western Bulldogs, so his price will dip from $583,600 to around the $560k mark.
There’s no shortage of high quality options on offer, and even some bargains if you don’t want to leave yourself strapped for cash.
TOP OPTIONS
James Sicily
If you have been without Sicily for the entire season, this is your chance to grab him. Sicily posted his second-lowest score for the season against the Bulldogs, with his 87-point effort 70 fewer than his round 14 break even. It means if you have around $45k in the bank, you will be able to afford the top-averaging defender in the game.
Jordan Dawson
Dawson could be the best option of the lot and remains in just 12 per cent of teams. The Crows rebounder averaged 119.6 points from his previous six matches before round 15, hitting the ton in each of those matches. Dawson is the designated kicker out of defence and has a high points to disposal ratio, regularly posting 100-plus totals with fewer than 25 disposals. He could drift out of your price range after yet another big game against North Melbourne, where he finished with 134 points.
George Hewett
Mr Consistent. Hewett has fallen below 100 points just once in his 11 matches – and that was a score of 97. The Blues ball-winner is in for a price drop that will see his value dip below Stewart’s, meaning you can get to him in one move if you are among the 43 per cent that doesn’t own him.
Sam Docherty
Another quality option from the Blues, Docherty has wound back the clock to average more than 110-points per game. Doherty is on the kick-ins and like Dawson, he is the designated kicker out of defence. Can’t go wrong here.
Jack Sinclair
Sinclair slumped to his lowest score of the season against Sydney after copping a first-half tag, but he still managed to score 79 points on a horror night for the Saints. Will other sides continue this tactic? That query may persuade us to look at some of the names above over him. Regardless, he has had a stellar season to date, posting 11 tons in 14 matches.
DISCOUNT BARGAINS
Aaron Hall
Hall managed to comfortably pass his round 15 break even of 127 against Adelaide in a performance reminiscent of his breakout SuperCoach season last year. Hall registered 153 points from 38 disposals and 30 kicks down at Blundstone Arena. The obvious risk is injury, particularly for those of us low on trades, but the upside is undoubted. From round 15 last year, Hall averaged 122.3 points per game. Could he do it again?
Lachie Whitfield
He is on many team’s ‘never again’ list, but since returning from injury, Whitfield has posted scores of 118 and 101. He looked well on the way for another ton against Collingwood, too. His price is set to skyrocket with a break even in the 30s ahead of round 15, but you still should be able to make $100k on a Stewart to Whitfield downgrade.
Jake Lloyd
Remember this guy? Our D1 of the past few seasons hit a low of 42 points against Port Adelaide, before returning to the Lloyd we know and love on Saturday, scoring a formidable 148 points. It was just his third ton since round 5, though, so it might not be a risk worth taking.
LEFT FIELD
Liam Baker
Richmond’s Mr Fix It has been thrown around all over the place for the Tigers, but in recent weeks he has been the man Damien Hardwick has turned to in the midfield. The clean utility is averaging 25.5 disposals and 107 SuperCoach points in his last six matches, including a 126-point outing against the Cats, where he led the way with team-highs for contested possession and clerances. Trent Cotchin is on the sidelines with an AC joint injury, and his DEF-FWD dual position status is a plus, but is it too much of a risk?
DEF-MID SWING
Jack Steele
It was a dirty night for the Saints, but Steele made an impressive return from a shoulder injury, tallying 29 disposals, 10 tackles, eight clearances and 115 points. Two scores in the 70s – one of those injury affected – means his price will be within range for a sideways trade from Stewart. His run home last year was enormous and there’s every chance he could do it again as the Saints try to remain in touch with the top-eight.
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