KFC SuperCoach bye planner: Best trades, targets for Round 12, 13 and 14 byes
The byes are here in KFC SuperCoach, which mean new rules and tactics to get navigate the next three rounds. Here’s everything you need to know.
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Every year, the three bye rounds are what set the best KFC SuperCoaches apart from the pack.
Get your bye round strategy right, nail most of your nine trades available during that three-round period and you set a platform for KFC SuperCoach glory.
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The bye rounds have always been the period where KFC SuperCoaches can be at their most aggressive, using the three weekly trades available to offload rookies and arrive at Round 15 with a team stacked with premiums.
For example, in any ordinary season, KFC SuperCoaches would be looking to offload Tom Powell and Jacob Koschitzke during their Round 12 bye and boost their bank for a premium spending spree in the last two bye rounds.
This year isn’t any ordinary year, though.
Many coaches have used a lot more trades in the first half of the season than they would have liked and will have to be smart over the next three rounds to make sure you emerge from the byes with enough trades left to get through to the end of the season.
If you think the opening eight rounds of the campaign have been chaotic in KFC SuperCoach, the last nine rounds are going to be even worse.
It’s the period of the season where players are sent for surgery when their teams crash out of finals contention or are rested when their club clinches a top-eight berth.
Of course, for every rule there’s an exception, and some KFC SuperCoaches will get away with riding their luck and running out of trades with weeks left in the season.
But it’s an incredibly risky approach and the likelihood is you will end up with 2-3 premiums sitting on your bench during the run home.
That will almost certainly mean your overall rank suffers and you will bomb out of KFC SuperCoach league finals.
The best piece of advice is to map out now how many players you will have available in each bye round and target the rounds you need to plug holes — KFC SuperCoach Plus has a great bye planning tool that shows how many players you’ll be able to field each week.
Check out our ultimate guide to the most important three weeks of the KFC SuperCoach season below:
ROUND 12
The first bye of the year is going to be the easiest to navigate and a nice warm-up for what is to come. Most KFC SuperCoach teams will be without Jack Ziebell, Tom Stewart and Jarman Impey, but this is the week least affected by premium byes. The likelihood is most coaches will have no fuss fielding 18 players before things get much trickier in the next two rounds. Use players such as Ziebell or Stewart to loophole the best scores from your remaining rookies and boost your score (see loophole advice below). Bye players don’t lock out until the last game of the round starts.
FIXTURE
Friday, June 4
Melbourne v Brisbane Lions
Saturday, June 5
St Kilda v Sydney Swans
Adelaide v Collingwood
Essendon v Richmond
Sunday, June 6
Carlton v West Coast
Fremantle v Western Bulldogs
BYE TEAMS: Gold Coast, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Hawthorn, Geelong, GWS Giants.
POPULAR MISSING PREMOS: Jack Ziebell, Jarman Impey, Tom Stewart, Tim Taranto, Travis Boak, Tom Mitchell, Cam Guthrie.
POPULAR MISSING ROOKIES: Tom Powell, Matthew Flynn, Jacob Koschitzke, Tyler Brockman, Jordan Clark, Lachlan Jones, Miles Bergman, Martin Frederick.
TRADE TACTICS: Don’t use all three of your available trades. Offload two rookies (Powell and Koschitzke will be popular), build your bank and prepare to go shopping in Round 13. With no obvious players “on the bubble”, you might need to go early on a cheapie like Trent Bianco or Callum Coleman-Jones after one game. That will put you in a perfect position to target players like Tom Mitchell, Travis Boak and Lachie Whitfield coming off the bye in Round 13. If you need to, be prepared to use your third trade to ensure you field 18 during the first bye— but try to improve your team by trading out a mid-pricer like Changkuoth Jiath rather than a top-line player you’re going to want in your team post-byes.
A key decision for thousands will be whether to hold or trade Matthew Flynn. If you have enough players this week you could take a risk on young Hawthorn ruckman Ned Reeves — who has scored 82 and 90 in his first two games. He also also has the bye in Round 12 so he won’t play this week — and you’re banking on him being selected in Round 13 — but moving early could free up an extra $240k to spend and leave all three Round 13 trades available for other moves.
TOP CAPTAINCY PICKS: Make Max Gawn or Clayton Oliver your VC in the opening game of the round against Brisbane Lions— or you could back Dayne Zorko who has a three-round average of 140. If thatt backfires, Jack Macrae against Fremantle, Dustin Martin against the Bombers or Zach Merrett in the same game are good captaincy choices. Players missing with the bye can be used for loopholes until they lock out at the start of the last game of the round.
ROUND 13
FIXTURE
Thursday, June 10
Port Adelaide v Geelong
Friday, June 11
Sydney v Hawthorn
Saturday, June 12
Fremantle v Gold Coast
St Kilda v Adelaide
Sunday, June 13
North Melbourne v GWS Giants
Monday, June 14
Melbourne v Collingwood
BYE TEAMS: Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Western Bulldogs, Essendon, Richmond, West Coast.
POPULAR PREMOS: Dustin Martin, Jack Macrae, Jayden Short, Marcus Bontempelli, Patrick Cripps, Jordan Ridley, Sam Walsh, Zach Merrett, Dayne Zorko, Caleb Daniel, Jarryd Lyons, Shai Bolton.
This is where things start to get messier. Some of the top scorers in KFC SuperCoach will be missing this round, with Jack Macrae, Marcus Bontempelli, Jordan Ridley and Dustin Martin on the bye. No West Coast player features in more than 10 per cent of teams, but those with Joe Daniher, Dayne Zorko, Jayden Short, Patrick Cripps and rookie Anthony Scott could be feeling the pinch. You can get yourself out of a hole if you’re struggling to field 18 players by targeting those who have already had your bye. By doing this, you’re trading in players who –— injury and suspension permitting — will be available for the rest of the season. For example, you could trade Scott to a bargain-price rookie and upgrade Daniher to Aaron Hall or Josh Kelly. Round 14 is where most of the carnage will hit, but Round 13 will certainly present challenges for thousands of KFC SuperCoaches, too.
POPULAR MISSING ROOKIES: Anthony Scott, Alec Waterman, Riley Collier-Dawkins, James Madden, Cody Weightman, Nik Cox, Harry Sharp, Lachlan McNiel, Harrison Jones, Deven Robertson, Rhyan Mansell.
PREMIUM TRADE TARGETS: Josh Kelly $562,300, Tom Mitchell $542,000, Travis Boak $532,800, Lachie Whitfield $503,600, Dan Houston $408,000, Cameron Guthrie $609,900, Tom Stewart $522,600, Touk Miller $616,000.
TRADE TACTIC: Let’s go shopping for Round 12 bye premiums. Lachie Whitfield will be hugely popular after missing the opening six rounds as he recovered from a lacerated liver. Many KFC SuperCoaches are planning for this week to complete their defences with Whitfield, who has averaged 104 and 111 in the past two years. Whitfield’s price dropped significantly from a starting price of $561k but he’s on his way back up after a season-high 120 in Round 11. Travis Boak and a bargain-priced Tom Mitchell are great options, Dan Houston is a crazy prize while Josh Kelly is still good value considering his recent scoring. Cam Guthrie and Touk Miller also need to be considered if you have the money. Ultimately, you might need to trade based on positional need. If you’re short in defence due to players such as Jayden Short and Jordan Ridley having their bye, a player such as Tom Stewart would be a perfect addition.
Note: The AFL mid-season draft is on June 2 — keep an eye out for new rookies who could come into their teams early and provide ideal downgrade targets.
TOP CAPTAINCY PICKS: Gawn and Grundy — if he has recovered from his neck injury — go head-to-head on Queen’s Birthday. Gawn had 34 disposals and 33 hitouts against the Magpies two seasons ago, finishing with 153 KFC SuperCoach points. The GWS Giants have North Melbourne so Josh Kelly or Tim Taranto could be a smoky vice-captain. Otherwise, try Jack Steele against the Crows.
ROUND 14
This is the round most KFC SuperCoaches have been dreading. The Gawn-Grundy vice-captain/captain choice, which is the staple of so many KFC SuperCoach teams, won’t be in play — and there’s no guarantee popular R3 Matthew Flynn will be available either (if you still have him). Rory Laird, Jake Lloyd, Taylor Walker, Clayton Oliver and Jack Steele are other topscorers who won’t feature. KFC SuperCoaches can avoid absolute carnage by using 5-6 trades in Round 13 and 14 to bolster their best 18. If you have been holding top rookies James Jordon and Chad Warner, this is the round when you can assess whether you’re still going to need them from Round 15 onwards. If you’re tracking towards full premium, thank them for their service and bid them farewell — targeting big guns who have just had the bye in Round 13.
FIXTURE
Thursday, June 17
West Coast v Richmond
Friday, June 18
Geelong v Western Bulldogs
Saturday, June 19
Gold Coast v Port Adelaide
North Melbourne v Brisbane Lions
GWS Giants v Carlton
Sunday, June 20
Hawthorn v Essendon
BYE TEAMS: Adelaide, Collingwood, St Kilda, Sydney, Fremantle, Melbourne
POPULAR MISSING PREMOS: Max Gawn, Brodie Grundy, Rory Laird, Jake Lloyd, Taylor Walker, Clayton Oliver, Jack Steele, Nat Fyfe, Christian Petracca, Andrew Brayshaw, Luke Ryan.
POPULAR MISSING ROOKIES: Caleb Poulter, Errol Gulden, James Rowe, Tom Highmore, James Jordon, Finlay Macrae, Braeden Campbell, Chad Warner, Ryan Byrnes, Sam Berry, Finlay Macrae, Josh Treacy, Beau McCreery.
PREMIUM TRADE TARGETS (projected price): Dayne Zorko ($632,200), Jarryd Lyons ($598,100), Sam Walsh ($552,700), Marcus Bontempelli ($655,600), Jack Macrae ($640,600), Caleb Daniel ($471,600), Jordan Ridley ($442,700), Dustin Martin ($443,900), Jayden Short ($490,700) Shai Bolton ($514,700), Zach Merrett ($549,300), Hugh McCluggage ($548,600).
Note: Lachie Neale not listed due to injury but if he returns keep him in mind (currently priced at $578,700).
TRADE TACTICS: Oh, boy. This round is going to be a nightmare for most KFC SuperCoaches. The big two are gone in the ruck and unless you held Matthew Flynn through Round 12 (assuming he was your R3) or young Hawk Ned Reeves comes tot the rescue, then you’re facing a week with no ruckman. Does that mean you should consider trading Grundy or Gawn? Not a chance. Your 18 players for Round 14 are going to have to come from your remaining 20 on-field spots.
That scenario sounds worse than it actually is. You’ve got a host of top premiums to choose from and if you traded smartly in Round 13, you can target those coming off the middle bye round. If you’ve missed out on Jordan Ridley, Jack Macrae or been waiting on Dustin Martin, this is the round to get them. Having 20 scorers might end up being luxury. Be prepared to use your three trades if needed to avoid a doughnut. You won’t be alone if you’re unable to field 18 but have the chance to make a jump in the rankings or secure a valuable late-season league win if you play your cards right this round. This is the point of the season where you would jump off a reliable rookie such as Chad Warner, who will have done his job by getting through to the byes.
TOP CAPTAINCY PICKS: No Gawn and Grundy to fall back on … that will leave Marcus Bontempelli and Jack Macrae as leading choices against Geelong. If Lachie Neale is back from injury the Lions face North Melbourne — Dayne Zorko is another option here. You could also trade in Jarryd Lyons coming off the bye if you wanted a POD captain.
THREE TIPS TO NAIL THE KFC SUPERCOACH BYE ROUNDS
1. START YOUR PLANNING EARLY
It’s already too late to formulate a detailed bye plan if you haven’t thought about this until now, but you can still improve your chances of scoring well over the next three weeks by taking a moment to note how many players you have available (and missing) each week — remember to put an asterisk next to fringe rookies like Finlay Macrae or Miles Bergman who can’t be relied on to make their team’s best 22. Which bye round is going to present the biggest headache for your side? That’s the one to concentrate on. Even if you have only 10 players available in Round 14 you have nine trades between now and then to boost that number. Some players are happy to effectively sacrifice one of the bye rounds when their team is weakest, but there’s no guarantees you will pick up league wins in the other two bye weekends so that’s an easy way to tumble down your league ladder, and the overall rankings.
If you get it right — and we’re here to help! — you can pick up some league wins, move up the rankings and fill your team with guns for the run home.
2. USE YOUR BYE PLAYERS AS LOOPHOLES
This is a great way to maximise your score during the byes. In a scenario where you have seven forwards or defenders available in any given bye, you can use your bye players to have two chances to claim the best score from your D6 or F6. For example, if your forward line was Rowan Marshall, Steele Sidebottom, Chad Warner, Jack Ziebell, Jarman Impey, Miles Bergman and Tyler Brockman in Round 13, you could use a player such as Dustin Martin to loophole either Bergman or Brockman off the bench. This is made easier as players with the bye don’t lock out until the last game of the round starts. You can also use this tactic to double your vice-captain’s score if they perform well early in the round. Their score will be doubled if you then put the captaincy onto a bye player. In the above scenario, if Josh Kelly or Tim Taranto went big against North Melbourne, you could make Dustin Martin captain and double their score. Just be prepared to wait as the double vice-captaincy score likely won’t kick in until the last game of the round starts.
3. TRADE IN PLAYERS COMING OFF THE BYE
Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But there will be a temptation for many KFC SuperCoaches to grab fallen premiums such as Jack Steele – who is projected to be about $568k at the first bye round and doesn’t miss until Round 14. Historically, this is a tactic fraught with danger. While other KFC SuperCoaches are stacked with premiums in the last bye round, you would be scrambling to field a team by going down this path. Instead, show restraint during the first bye round, build your bank and then go shopping in rounds 13 and 14. Jacob Koschitzke is tipped to be $276k in Round 12, while Tom Powell should be worth more than $400k. If you were to downgrade those two players to rookies playing in Round 12, you would add about $450k to your bank to help snare a premium scorer in Round 13 or Round 14. Then if you traded in a player such as Josh Kelly or Tom Stewart in Round 13, you would have them available for the rest of the season — pending fitness of course. You can apply this same theory in Round 14. The best premiums to target and their projected price tags are listed above.
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