These are the seven must-have players in SuperCoach for 2019

Nailing your starting SuperCoach squad is the key to success. Gilbert Gardiner has named his seven can’t-miss players, and they’re not the obvious big names. Who will you be picking?

Dustin Martin and Patrick Dangerfield will be among the most popular players in 2019 AFL SuperCoach.

Woop-dee-do! Everyone is going to have them. Blind Freddy could tell you that.

The art of SuperCoach, the biggest and best fantasy game in Australia, is not the players everyone gets, but the ones they miss that will define contenders and pretenders.

MONEY: BEST SUPERCOACH CASH COWS, VALUE PICKS

PRE-SEASON: 30 MOST POPULAR SUPERCOACH PICKS

The backbone for success is nailing the foundation of your 30-man, $10 million squads.

They’re not always the stars, with the biggest names and boldest scoring reputations, but often, mature-aged recruits and bona fide SuperCoach jets primed to bounce back.

Each player presents tremendous upside and potential for cash generation, which combined creates the platform for the in-season upgrades.

Western Bulldogs ball magnet Jack Macrae. Picture: Colleen Petch

Over the next few weeks astute SuperCoach minds will digest a range of list management questions.

How many elite scorers - across all positions - is too many ahead of Round 1? What is the right balance of mid-priced and cash cow prospects? Who could we afford to leave out?

Whatever you do, don’t leave out the Magnificent Seven.

NEW YEAR: SUPERCOACH 2019 STUDY GUIDE

BIG FINISH: RED-HOT SUPERCOACH STARS TO PICK

BEN CAVARRA ($117,300, Fwd) Western Bulldogs

The best small forward in the VFL was rewarded at the draft with the Bulldogs snapping up the pint-sized ex-Williamstown goalkicker - a Morrish Medal winner in the TAC Cup as a midfielder - with pick no. 45. The 172cm pressure forward booted 66.51 across 2017-18 VFL seasons. Early contender for Cash Cow of the Year.

BRETT BEWLEY ($117,300, Mid) Fremantle

Is he the ‘new’ Tim Kelly? Those in the know say the 23-year-old ex-Williamstown running midfielder is more than capable of breaking into Ross Lyon’s Round 1 team. That, coupled with the fact he impressed at last month’s training camp on the Gold Coast and led the VFL for effective long kicks and rated elite for inside 50s last year, makes Bewley a must-have.

Carlton recruit Will Setterfield. Picture: Michael Klein

WILL SETTERFIELD ($144,900, Mid-Fwd) Carlton

Far from the ideal preparation coming off a knee reconstruction but Carlton didn’t recruit the No.5 pick in the 2016 draft from GWS to kick-chase in the VFL. Bargain basement price and dual-position status an added bonus. With luck, Setterfield will be able to cement a spot in the engineroom alongside Patrick Cripps, Marc Murphy and Sam Walsh.

ANTHONY MILES ($342,000, Mid) Gold Coast

Job security - not scoring - has been the knock on the ex-GWS and Richmond midfielder who gets a golden opportunity in the Glitter Strip to shine. Will have no problems getting a game - barring injury - at the Suns, who desperately need an inside ball-winner. Rock bottom price for somebody more than capable of nudging a 90-point average.

LACHIE WHITFIELD ($542,100, Def) GWS

Lock him in, for the next five years potentially. Whitfield’s progression has been slow - but importantly steady - since going No.1 in the 2012 draft but after averaging 99.9 last year the Giants’ running man is poised to transform into one of the game’s best and most reliable scorers.

Todd Goldstein is a cheaper ruck option.

Lachie Whitfield is available as a defender. Picture: Phil Hillyard

TODD GOLDSTEIN ($548,000, Ruck) North Melbourne

This will get the Tweeps going all Donald Trump on me but the idea of spending $1.4m on ruckmen - Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn - is as financially viable as asking Mexico to build ‘the wall’. The Kangaroos have put their faith in Goldstein to be the No.1 ruckman and the veteran has repaid the faith, trimming down markedly in the off-season. Excluding Grundy and Gawn, Goldstein is the most capable to once again average 100+ and score 130s on a semi-regular basis.

JACK MACRAE ($689,700, Mid) Western Bulldogs

The Bulldogs ball magnet could have rivalled Brownlow Medallist Tom Mitchell for top-scoring honours last year had it not been for injury hiccups late in the season. Macrae banked eight 140-plus scores across 19 games for a season 127-point average. Macrae’s monster hauls included eye-watering scores of 153, 156, 163, 177 and 189.