KFC SuperCoach Round 12 trade guide: Top targets, how to finish your forward line
Round 12 has started but there are still plenty of great options for your KFC SuperCoach team including an underpriced Nat Fyfe, while the ship is about to sale on a huge Blues bargain. Plus experts reveal their finished forward lines.
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The run home in KFC SuperCoach starts now.
If a key trade target has eluded your team or a rookie has maxed out in price, the time has arrived to be ruthless.
Six teams — Carlton, West Coast, Fremantle, Hawthorn, Sydney and GWS Giants — have already had their bye.
Essendon and Melbourne’s postponed Round 3 game is also set to count as their bye.
That gives KFC SuperCoaches more than one third of the competition to target knowing they will get a clear run to the end of the home-and-away season.
EXPERT ADVICE: SIX BEST MAX GAWN SUPERCOACH REPLACEMENTS
Decisions will be made on how the KFC SuperCoach season finishes once the AFL confirms its schedule beyond Round 13.
Until then, use the knowledge and evidence at your disposal to supercharge your team for a fast finish.
Sydney and GWS players are locked out for Round 12 but there are still plenty of great trade options. Scroll down to see the best targets plus our experts reveal how they plan to finish their forward lines.
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TOP TRADE TARGETS
Nat Fyfe $575,600 MID, Avg: 116.6
Comments from Justin Longmuir about Fyfe spending more time forward were a red flag but it didn’t stop him scoring 130 against Hawthorn. Fyfe’s injury history and the prospect of being managed in a dual midfield-forward role need to be taken into account but with only seven rounds to go it’s hard to go past a proven KFC SuperCoach star — Fyfe could rival Lachie Neale and Jack Macrae for scoring power in the run home. With a break-even of 105 you could wait another week but Fyfe comes up against the Blues this week — his last two scores against them are 154 and 147.
Patrick Cripps $498,400 MID, Avg: 100.7
The Carlton co-captain had 19 disposals and eight tackles against West Coast but a disposal efficiency of 57 per cent limited him to 93 KFC SuperCoach points. There’s plenty of value options at a similar price but Cripps is the safest of them as his ownership already sits at 51 per cent. Surely this is the last time we can get Cripps for under $500k (break-even 59).
Tom Mitchell $580,700 MID Avg: 113
The Hawks star was a popular pick last week but is still available for more than $50,000 less than his starting price. That’s despite being one of the most consistent midfield scorers this year with eight scores of 95 or more. His 102 last week was a little underwhelming but he didn’t have any issues finding the ball, picking up 32 disposals against Fremantle. Tidy up his disposal a little and that could have easily been another 120-plus.
Zach Merrett $545,700 MID, Avg 106.6
Merrett was in cruise control against a GWS side missing tagger Matt De Boer in Round 9, gathering 33 disposals and taking five marks to amass 119 KFC SuperCoach points. That was his fourth score above 110 for the season and with a game in had to come, the prolific Bomber has to be considered. Essendon has St Kilda and Richmond in its next two fixtures and the Tigers have allowed huge numbers to opposition midfielders this year, as they did with Lachie Neale in Round 10. If you’ve got the extra cash, he looms as a perfect M7 or M8.
Travis Boak $471,900 MID, Avg: 103.7
The Power midfielder’s price is on the rise again after his score of 129 against Richmond. Boak’s game time was managed from rounds 7-10 and his KFC SuperCoach scoring suffered, averaging 81 during that stretch. Boak was back to his best against Richmond with a game-high 31 disposals from about 78 per cent game time. He still has a bye to come but resisting a player with four scores 120-plus for less than $500,000 will be tough.
Taylor Adams $434,900 MID, Avg: 110
Before Round 11, the Collingwood ball magnet was the sixth-ranked KFC SuperCoach midfielder by total points. But, as a result of the 67-point score against the Dockers in Round 9, he was the 29th-most expensive. And Adams bounced back with a season-high 138 points against the Swans and another 128 against the Crows. Upcoming matches against North Melbourne and Melbourne present more opportunities for big returns.
Patrick Dangerfield $558,700 MID, Avg: 108.3
The star Cat has played as a forward in the past two matches as Chris Scott manages the workload of his players through the fixture cram. But, while he hasn’t reached the heights we’ve come to expect, Dangerfield has scored well considering his limited time up the ground. The 30-year-old has recorded 17 score involvements and five goal assists on his way to scores of 89 and 117 since Round 9. After hinting at a return to the midfield against the Power in Round 12, however, Dangerfield presents plenty of value at less than $560k.
Luke Shuey $501,200 MID, Avg: 96.8
Plenty of coaches (myself included) have been seduced by the potential of the West Coast midfield this year. But to Round 10, Andrew Gaff was the top-ranked Eagles on-baller with an average of 102.3. Despite the potential value they present at about $500,000, West Coast’s stars share too many points to match the midfield big dogs such as Lachie Neale and Jack Macrae. Shuey has averaged 90-100 in six of the past nine seasons and appears likely to fall into that range again. Steer clear and find the money for the topscoring midfielders, otherwise you’ll be left behind in best 18 rounds.
Jack Bytel (St Kilda) $123,900 MID, Avg: 76
On scoring potential, Bytel is the best rookie option ahead of Round 12 but his job security is a concern. The inside-midfielder excelled on debut on a tough night for St Kilda, gathering 18 touches, five clearances and posting 76 points. Bytel was regularly sighted at centre bounces and played exclusively as a midfielder but with Zak Jones to return, his place in the side isn’t guaranteed.
Matt Cottrell $123,900 DEF, Avg: 33
Cottrell’s job security went up when Jack Martin was injured, although his role as a pressure forward suggested his KFC SuperCoach scoring potential is low. Only consider him if you’re desperate for a defensive upgrade. Paying more for a player such as Lachie Sholl might be a better move.
Boyd Woodcock $138,300 FWD, Avg: 62
A surprise packet of the past two rounds, Woodcock outscored Dustin Martin on Saturday night when he posted 81 KFC SuperCoach points in Port Adelaide’s victory over Richmond. Second-gamer Woodcock was one of the leading scorers on the ground at quarter-time and although he faded in the second half, he did enough to suggest he’ll keep his place with 12 disposals and a goal.
FINISHING YOUR FORWARD LINE
The top defenders are becoming obvious and the best midfielders pick themselves but with a number of fast-starters unable to maintain their form, the right way to finish your KFC SuperCoach forward line is unclear. Is Jy Simpkin a top-six forward from here? Can Bailey Smith adjust with Josh Dunkley back in the side? Is Christian Petracca out of reach? There are plenty of questions, even our experts are split on which way to go. Here is how they plan to complete their forward line.
TIM MICHELL
Lachie Whitfield will swing forward from midfield in Round 12 or 13, giving my team three big guns and Bailey Smith – who KFC SuperCoaches don’t really have much choice but to persist with. Jy Simpkin has been in my sights, but I’m undecided based on four of his past five games being under 80 and three of those under 60. He’s up against tough midfields in Brisbane and Collingwood in the next two rounds. Hugh Greenwood has been a target for about a month and I don’t think I’ll be able to resist if he gets under $500k. I’m happy to hold Izak Rankine through the likely bye rounds of Round 14-16. His high ceiling suits best 18 scoring and if he’s well held a low score won’t count.
THE PHANTOM
Once Lachie Whitfield and Bailey Smith roll back from their duties in the midfield this round – and Travis Boak comes in for Izak Rankine – my forward line will be all-but finished. It will push Devon Smith or Jordan Dawson to F7, with one of them likely to become Jy Simpkin. Another sub-par score in Round 11 is a concern but what he did in the opening six matches, and against the Cats in Round 10, is still enough for me to make the jump at $395k. The plan was to trade Dawson to Simpkin last round but money – and the young Swan’s 120 points against the Magpies – prevented the move. If everything works out, it could happen ahead of Round 12, leaving one of the Smiths as floating cover and a loophole option.
AL PATON
I’m really happy with the big three. I started with Dustin Martin and Lachie Whitfield and both have had their ups and downs but now look like the superstars we always thought they were, and trading in Christian Petracca in Round 2 is my best move this year. After that it gets a bit iffy. Right now F6 is the biggest issue – I’ve got enough cash to turn Aarts into Jy Simpkin but I’m not convinced that’s the right move given his recent form issues. Could Oscar McInerney sneak in? Before finals it would be great to turn one or both of the Smiths into Michael Walters and/or Hugh Greenwood, but we’ll see how we go. Oh, and if anyone knows a forward rookie who might actually stay in their team, let me know!
THE OPTIONS
Jy Simpkin Approx price: $395k MID Avg: 94.8
Hard to know what to make of Simpkin if you’re not one of the 34,750 teams who already have him. He looked close to his best when he posted 103 against Geelong, but disposal efficiency hurt him again as he posted 74 points against Melbourne after being 47 at quarter-time. He failed to reach his Round 10 break even of 81 and has a five-round average of 65. Compare that to the opening five rounds when he averaged 118 and you can understand why coaches would be treading carefully — even at a crazy price of under $400k.
Hugh Greenwood FWD-MID Avg to Round 10: 105
After averaging 134 between Rounds 5 and 7, the contested-ball star has posted scores of 97, 69 and 99 in the past three matches. And as a result, Greenwood, the second-ranked KFC SuperCoach forward for total points is likely to be available for les than $520k ahead of Round 12.
Michael Walters $550,800 FWD-MID, Avg: 111.9
Sidelined since Round 9 due to a hamstring issue, Walters will be a key target for many coaches when he returns to the Fremantle side. With an average of 111.9, Walters has been one of the best KFC SuperCoach forwards of 2020. To Round 10, only Christian Petracca (118.6) had a better average than Walters of this year’s forwards. Hugh Greenwood (105.5) ranked third, more than six points behind the star Docker. He’s a matchwinner with a huge ceiling who could give you an edge in league finals.
Andrew Brayshaw Approx price: $574,500 FWD-MID, Avg: 107
With so much value around, the three players above in particular, it would be a big call to jump on the breakout Docker now at almost $600k. But with scores of 144, 122, 102, 136, 106 and 150 since Round 4, maybe it’s the right one.
Tom Hawkins Approx price: $499,700 FWD, Avg: 101
The Geelong forward is flying under the KFC SuperCoach radar again. Despite averaging 108 points per game since Round 4, Hawkins is in just two per cent of teams. The Cats will face the Power in a Friday night blockbuster in Round 12 but then it’s Adelaide and Hawkins is every chance of repeating Monday’s five-goal, 126-point performance against the last-placed Crows.
Oscar McInerney Approx price: $432,600 FWD-RUC, Avg: 82.1
McInerney will face his biggest test as Brisbane Lions’ No. 1 ruckman when he takes on Todd Goldstein in Round 12. ‘The Big O’ has stepped up to the plate in the past two rounds with Stefan Martin and Archie Smith sidelined, winning 39 hitouts on Saturday against Western Bulldogs. McInerney was available for $354k two rounds ago but has rocketed above $400,000 after scores of 91 and 128. As a RUC-FWD, he provides cover if you have dual-position big men such as Darcy Cameron or Charlie Comben at R3.
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