SuperCoach 2025 no-go zone: Don’t pick these players this year

Some will miss round 1 with injury, others have a terrible role and some are just a really bad idea. These are the players do delete from your SuperCoach team ASAP.

Who you don’t pick in SuperCoach can be as important as who you select in your starting squad.

With every position at a premium, an alarming list of players is set to enter round 1 with much higher ownership than they should.

Here are 17 players that currently feature in far too many teams.

ROCKY ROOKIES

It makes sense to wait for round 1 teams to drop before locking in rookie picks, but hopefully SuperCoach sides aren’t being built around players like Saad El-Hawli, who sits in 23 per cent of squads but didn’t make Essendon’s team for either of its two practice matches.

Saint Tobie Travaglia is in even more teams (31 per cent) but only came on in the last quarter in each of St Kilda’s two pre-season matches – if he gets a game in round 1 he’s a huge risk of being named as the sub, which would be an instant points and cash-killer for the $172,000 draftee.

Saad El-Hawli is a long shot to play in round 1 for the Bombers. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

Likewise, Neil Erasmus (27 per cent) appears to be very much on the fringe of Fremantle’s best 23, while Sid Draper (26 per cent) has made a big impact in limited minutes for the Crows – marking him as another ideal sub candidate. Angus Sheldrick (12 per cent)played for the Swans in opening round but was subbed off after scoring just 32 points. Find a better rookie instead.

Here are six other players you should take out of your team ASAP.

ZACH MERRETT $621,199 MID

Ownership: 8.8 per cent

A big call on one of the most reliable elite midfielders in SuperCoach (since 2020 Merrett has averaged 116, 115, 112, 116 and 115). But Essendon is keen to reduce its reliance on its captain, and the pre-season has seen players like Elijah Tsatas and Ben Hobbs given exposure in the midfield while Merrett has spent time outside the centre square. Expect him to be back at the coal face when the real stuff starts, but with a bye looming in round 4 it makes sense to hold off and assess his role in the early rounds. Spend the cash on another big name instead.

JAMES SICILY $532,900 DEF

Ownership: 7.6 per cent

See comments above regarding the round 4 bye, which Hawthorn shares with the Bombers. But Sicily’s inclusion here is more about his extremely volatile scoring and the impact of that on the heart rate of his SuperCoach owners. The arrival of Josh Battle and Tom Barrass gives Sam Mitchell the luxury of throwing Sicily all over the field, where he has shown he can have an impact, but can also be a death sentence for his SuperCoach score. In opening round he was on track for a huge score but finished with 92 points despite taking a truckload of intercept marks in the first half and kicking the match-sealing goal.

JEREMY FINLAYSON $305,800 FWD

Ownership: 2.8 per cent

One of the big SuperCoach questions in the off-season was who would take Dan Houston’s lucrative scoring role at the Power after his move to Collingwood. In the AAMI Series against the Saints Finlayson was a surprise attacking defender, scoring 113 SuperCoach points on the back of 29 disposals and 13 marks. That looks like value – but pause for a moment and look at the stat sheet from that game. Logan Evans took 12 marks. Miles Bergman took nine. Aliir Aliir took 12. As a team, the Power took a ridiculous 140 marks to the Saints’ 63 – numbers which I promise will not be repeated in the home-and-away season (at least not against any other team, Ross Lyon seems happy to let defenders do what they like).

Jack Martin has barely been sighted all pre-season. Picture: Mark Wilson

JACK MARTIN $150,900 FWD

Ownership: 3.9 per cent

I know the theory: Geelong doctors weave their magic, Martin takes up fishing with Patrick Dangerfield, banishes his injury demons and becomes a SuperCoach cash cow. It may have worked with Tyson Stengle, but this is a guy who managed three games last year and totals of 11, 12 and 11 in the three seasons before that. In an 11-year career he has played 22 games once. And when he did get on the park he wasn’t a noted SuperCoach scorer, with 12 scores over 70 in his past 35 games (which include a -6).

ISAAC CUMMING $287,700 MID

Ownership: 2.8 per cent

I was excited when Cumming moved to Adelaide in the trade period, hopeful he could return to his glory days of 2021-22 when he averaged over 90 SuperCoach points a game at GWS. But the key ingredient to his scoring in those years was taking nearly every kick-in from an opposition behind. From what we’ve seen at the Crows in pre-season – which isn’t a lot as he only returned recently from a hamstring injury – Cumming has been playing on a wing. It’s possible he drifts into defence and earns dual-position status mid-season, but I’ll wait to see it before using a valuable midfield slot.

Isaac Cumming’s role at the Crows is unclear. Picture: Russell Millard Photography

TRENT RIVERS $462,900 DEF-MID

Ownership: 4 per cent

Rivers earned dual-position status for 2025 after moving from the backline to the centre square last season, and looked like a value option if he could maintain that role. But the return of Christian Petracca from injury has put at end to that experiment, at least on a full-time basis. Rivers attended nine centre bounces in the AAMI Series, fifth in line at the Dees behind Jack Viney, Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Simon Goodwin’s new midfield project, Ed Langdon. The same issue might have killed Harvey Langford as a starting pick, too.

PLUS BONT AND CO

Some big names, and popular bench cheapies, are still sitting in a lot of SuperCoach teams despite news they will miss at least round 1. Marcus Bontempelli (4 per cent ownership), who will miss 5-6 weeks with a calf injury, heads a long list that also includes Callum Mills (3 per cent) – ruled out until after Sydney’s round 3 bye – and Keidean Coleman (3 per cent, 4-6 weeks).

Sam Flanders (5 per cent) had been ruled out of opening round before Gold Coast’s game was cancelled, and is listed as 1-2 weeks with a back issue on the club’s injury list. He could make a miracle return for round 1 but has had almost no pre-season so would be a huge risk in SuperCoach even if he does make it to the line.

Jagga Smith remains in almost 5000 teams despite being ruled out for the season and Mattaes Phillipou is in 2000 teams weeks after news broke he had a leg stress fracture.

Trade them all out pronto!

Originally published as SuperCoach 2025 no-go zone: Don’t pick these players this year