Pick a SuperCoach team in five minutes with this cheat sheet

NO Dustin Martin? No worries. You can still pick a winning SuperCoach team, take on your mates and win $50,000. Here’s how to do it in five minutes!

IF YOU haven’t signed up for SuperCoach yet, you haven’t missed out even though one game of the 2018 season is done and dusted.

You can’t get Dustin Martin’s big score but you’ve also dodged a bullet and avoided the pain of the players who selected Matt Kennedy or Matthew Kreuzer who copped injuries during the game.

>>IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO SIGN UP AND WIN BIG! REGISTER NOW

You also have the benefit of seeing all the Round 1 teams which were released less than an hour before the first bounce at the MCG on Thursday night.

SuperCoach operates on a rolling lockout which means players from every other team are still available for selection. You can trade in Dusty during the season or aim for the same points output by picking another gun like Tom Mitchell or Josh Kelly.

JLT NUMBERS: SUPERCOACH PRE-SEASON FORMGUIDE

ROOKIE BIBLE: ALL THE CHEAP PLAYERS YOU NEED TO KNOW

You can also still join a league or even create one. All the leagues created during the pre-season are locked in at the end Round 1 - so if you still have spots to fill give your slack friends a rocket! (Any empty spots in leagues will be auto-filled on Sunday night but it’s more fun to play against people you know).

If you’re knew to the game, welcome aboard! Scroll down for a quick guide on picking a team and everything you need to know.

Your Super Coach cheet sheet

NEED A SUPERCOACH TEAM IN A HURRY?

Have you been too distracted by AFLX or Married at First Sight to pick a team? Or need to bring a work colleague up to speed quick to fill that last spot in your private league?

You’ve come to the right place.

Follow the easy step-by-step guide below and you’ll have a team in minutes ready to vie for your league premiership.

If you’re totally new to the game the idea is to pick your own 30-man squad of AFL players who score points based on their performances in real games. The SuperCoach player with the most points at the end of the year wins $50,000. Awesome, right?

Remember you have a $10 million salary cap so you want to get maximum bang (in the form of SuperCoach points) from your buck for every pick. The names below are based on pre-season form, players who have performed well in SuperCoach in the past, and educated guesses at who will improve this season and, in the case of rookie-priced players, who will get games.

Dustin Martin warms up for Round 1 at Punt Rd today.

A key to a successful SuperCoach team is getting your cheap players right — if they never get an AFL game they can drag your team down all year.

SUPERTIPPING — SIGN UP NOW FOR A SHOT AT $20,000

Pick the names you like from each bracket including a range of prices — if you only take the most expensive guys you’ll run out of cash pretty quick. You might have to do some shuffling to get the numbers to add up and fit everyone under the $10 million salary cap.

It doesn’t hurt to pick someone not on this list — the gut-feel left-field choices are what make the game fun. A whole team of them might get you in trouble, though.

DEFENCE

PICK THIS GUY

Tom Doedee (Adel) $123,900

AND THREE OF THESE GUYS

Aaron Naughton (WB) $166,800

Nick Coffield (StK) $171,300 def/mid

Sam Murray (Coll) $123,900

Jeremy Finlayson (GWS) $123,900

Lachie Keeffe (GWS) $123,900 def/fwd

Lachlan Murphy (Adel) $102,400

Brody Mihocek (Coll) $102,400

PICK TWO OF THESE GUYS

Michael Hurley (Ess) $563,500

Elliot Yeo (WC) $561,300

Rory Laird (Adel) $550,800

Michael Hibberd (Melb) $545,200

Kade Simpson (Carl) $516,300

AND TWO OF THESE GUYS

Shane Savage (StK) $479,700

Heath Shaw (GWS) $458,100

James Sicily (Haw) $402,800 def/fwd

Marley Williams (NM) $396,300

Andrew McGrath (Ess) $388,400

Riley Bonner (PA) $257,300

You can always trust Rory Laird to put up big numbers.

Stephen Coniglio could be a good value pick after returning from injury.

MIDFIELD

PICK THIS GUY

Tim Kelly (Geel) $117,300

AND FOUR OF THESE GUYS

Andrew Brayshaw (Frem) $198,300

Paddy Dow (Carl) $193,800

Luke Davies-Uniacke (NM) $189,300

Will Brodie (GC) $187,700

Hunter Clark (StK) $175,800

Bailey Banfield (Frem) $123,400

Dom Barry (PA) $117,300

Charlie Constable (Geel) $117,300

Nick Holman (GC) $102,400

PICK THIS GUY

Patrick Dangerfield (Geel) $749,800

* Danger won’t play Round 1 but he’ll be back by the time league matches start in Round 3

AND THIS GUY

Nat Fyfe (Frem) $597,900

KEEP THE FAITH: WHY SCOTT GULLAN IS PICKING ABLETT

RISK v REWARD: SUPERCOACH MID-PRICER RANKINGS

AND THREE OF THESE GUYS

Dustin Martin (Rich) $656,500

Tom Mitchell (Haw) $653,500

Josh Kelly (GWS) $628,600

Lachie Neale (Frem) $599,300

Scott Pendlebury (Coll) $586,500

Marcus Bontempelli (WB) $577,800

Patrick Cripps (Carl) $537,300

(to set your team apart replace any of these players with another elite midfielder like Zach Merrett, Rory Sloane or Mitch Duncan)

AND ONE OF THESE GUYS

Stephen Coniglio (GWS) $452,400

Tom Liberatore (WB) $434,600

Jaeger O’Meara (Haw) $315,800

David Armitage (StK) $310,100

RUCK

PICK THIS GUY

Max Gawn (Melb) $503,700

AND ONE OF THESE GUYS

Tim English (WB) $134,700

Darcy Cameron (Syd) $123,900

AND ONE OF THESE GUYS

Matthew Kreuzer (Carl) $603,700

Patrick Ryder (PA) $566,500

Stef Martin (BL) $540,000

Brodie Grundy (Coll) $543,700

Todd Goldstein (NM) $521,400

Toby Nankervis (Rich) $488,300

Nic Naitanui (WC) $465,900

Essendon recruit Devon Smith has been in great pre-season form.

Melbourne mature-age recruit Bayley Fritsch is a good chance to play in Round 1. Picture: Michael Klein

FORWARDS

PICK FOUR OF THESE GUYS

Allen Christensen (BL) $267,300

Cameron Rayner (BL) $202,800 FWD/MID

Jaidyn Stephenson (Coll) $180,300 FWD/MID

Jarrod Garlett (Carl) $117,300 FWD/MID

Liam Ryan (WC) $117,300

Bayley Fritsch (Melb) $117,300

Zac Giles-Langdon (GWS) $117,300

PLUS TWO OF THESE GUYS

Sam Menegola (Geel) $551,800 FWD/MID

Lance Franklin (Syd) $540,500

Isaac Heeney (Syd) $536,300

Toby Greene (GWS) $528,100

Jack Billings (StK) $509,500

AND TWO OF THESE GUYS

Luke Dahlhaus (WB) $498,500

Michael Walters (Frem) $478,300

Toby McLean (WB) $470,200

Devon Smith (Ess) $439,100

Christian Petracca (Melb) $433,300

Cyril Rioli (Haw) $340,900

... and you’re ready for SuperCoach domination.

HOW TO WIN: THE SUPERCOACH 10 COMMANDMENTS

HOW TO PLAY: BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SUPERCOACH

Note: Watch team selections closely — don’t pick players who aren’t named (except Dangerfield — see above)

Note (2): Players listed with two positions can be picked in either spot. They provide extra flexibility during the season so it’s a good idea to have a few in your squad.

PICK A CAPTAIN

Every week you nominate one player as captain who scores double points. Look for players with a good record against their opponent that week.

In Round 1 it’s hard to look past Dustin Martin against the Blues — or will he suffer a sudden premiership hangover?

The choice is yours. Good luck!