KFC SuperCoach Investor Daniel Begala reveals his 2021 bye trade plan

KFC SuperCoach Investor Daniel Begala has been planning for the byes for weeks. See all the trades he plans to make to emerge with a dominant team.

The time is nigh.

It’s the time of the year that distinguishes the retail investors from the stock market behemoths.

The next three rounds present a burst of matches and decision-making when the ramifications on your rankings pursuit are most profound.

Your aim – if the KFC SuperCoach gods are merciful – should be to exit the dreaded byes in Round 15 with a fully-fledged premium portfolio with stars in each and every position of your line-up.

Our resident expert, Daniel Begala, shares his plan to safely navigate the byes and prepare his side to launch into the business end of the KFC SuperCoach season.

ROUND 12

Timing is as essential in the KFC SuperCoach frontier.

Over the next three weeks, you will need to acutely time the introduction of a breadth of premiums and rookies to best position your side to survive the byes and – more importantly – launch into the final stanza of FY21.

The KFC SuperCoach Investor’s strategy, year-on-year, has been to generate substantial capital reserves (“liquidity”) during the first week of the byes with one eye fixed on those premiums (Boak, Whitfield and Co) currently absent from my squad.

This year is no different with my first move likely to include “shorting” Matthew Flynn (BYE: R12) for lesser-known bubble boy, Ned “Keanu” Reeves, even though he also has his bye this week.

This move – albeit inherently risky – is a profit taking exercise designed to generate maximum capital from Flynn for redeployment into my portfolio.

MORE: AL PATON’S TOP BYE TRADE TARGETS

GWS ruckmen Matthew Flynn and Shane Mumford.

The $244K dividend will enable The Begala Brigade to acquire the services of discounted premiums Isaac Heeney and Jack Steele, at the expense of Miles Bergman and James Jordon, respectively.

Please note, however, I did have a lazy $120K left over from last week’s trade (Anthony Scott to Cody Weightman) so the math checks out!

This week’s trades:

Matthew Flynn to Ned Reeves (BYE: R12) — “Capital Raising”

Miles Bergman to Isaac Heeney (BYE: R14)

James Jordon to Jack Steele (BYE: R14)

The Begala Brigade is well-placed during Rounds 12 and 14, with most vulnerability in Round 13 when the Western Bulldogs serve their bye.

The acquisition of Heeney and Steele leaves my portfolio with 20 premium assets and only two placeholders still to be filled at M8 and F6.

Although I’ll have limited cash reserves, I will have 11 trades at my disposal, and a plan.

ROUND 13

To address the anticipated absences including Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae and Jordan Ridley, I’ll be willing to use my three available trades if needed.

My plan is to acquire the services of one of Travis Boak or Lachie Whitfield to reinforce my side following completion of their byes in Round 12.

Both boast striking similarities in that they’re grossly discounted to their starting prices, stalwarts of KFC SuperCoach and, importantly, will be free of their pesky bye.

To generate the liquidity required to bring one of Boak or Whitfield into my side, I am considering the following indicative trades in Round 13:

Lachie McNeil to Trent Bianco (BYE: R14)

Riley Collier-Dawkins to Max Holmes (BYE: R12)

Caleb Poulter to Travis Boak (BYE: R12)

The third trade, Poulter to Boak, could be parked in favour of one final price appreciation from Poulter prior to his bye (R14), when I could transition him into an underpriced Round 13 bye premiums Sam Walsh or Zach Merrett.

Travis Boak will be available for $533K following Port Adelaide’s bye.

Max Holmes, although likely to be an intermittent member of the Cats outfit, could be the perfect KFC SuperCoach loophole in the weeks leading into the finals series given his dual position status (MID/FWD).

The other possible trade is a sideways pivot of one of my premium stars serving their bye in Round 13 in favour of immediate points and reinforcement from a blue-chip asset such as Lachie Whitfield.

The player who could facilitate this move is Caleb Daniel.

The helmeted quarterback is a pivotal asset of The Begala Brigade, so it’s a “break in case of emergency” scenario that will only be activated in the event that I am unable to get 18-19 scoring players available for selection.

There’s no room for romance – we’re in the business of investments and ruthless decision-making.

ROUND 14

This brings us to the crescendo of the byes: Round 14.

Analysts are forecasting some big absences in the final week of the byes, but we’ll welcome a much-needed rookie and reinforcement of flexibility from the Tigers’, Callum Coleman-Jones, who will be on the bubble in Round 14.

The Begala Brigade will opt to acquire CCJ’s services in Round 14 – as opposed to jumping early in Round 12 – on the notion that I am suitably equipped with scoring players (21) this week.

CCJ will be a vital piece of the bye trade plan as he’ll provide much-needed scoring coverage in Round 14, appreciate handsomely and hopefully benefit from the medium-to-long term absence of Toby Nankervis.

Callum Coleman-Jones scored 112 points in his first game for 2021.

If the Investment Committee at The Begala Brigade does not participate in the Boak trade mentioned above, we will instead “short” Poulter while on his bye in favour of CCJ in Round 14.

This will create an additional ~$140K capital injection and ultimately enable an upgrade to Walsh or Merrett at M8 following their byes.

The trades would likely conclude as follows:

Caleb Poulter to Callum Coleman-Jones (BYE: R13)

Cody Weightman to Sam Walsh (BYE: R13) or Zach Merrett (BYE: R13) | via DPP

The Begala Brigade will draw the curtains, hopefully, on the byes with 21 premium assets with a job advertisement likely to be posted for an F6.

While remaining flexible, these plans are a road map for coaches to successfully navigate the impending challenges and launch into the final half of FY21.

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

Brodie. Grundy. That is all.

The KFC SuperCoach Investor will retain Brodie Grundy’s services and envisages the byes as the perfect time to nurse a bruised superstar with limited scoring implications.

Yes, we’ll certainly be short one premium stock in Rounds 12 and 13, but KFC SuperCoach does not discriminate positions during the byes as only your best 18 scores will count.

I would take a brave coach to discontinue his services with nine rounds of football still to play from Rounds 15-23 when Grundy is earmarked to be available for selection.

Hold… and hold tightly.