SuperCoach AFL: Pre-season training whispers to help pick your team

Nakia Cockatoo is hot property in KFC SuperCoach but another Lions cheapie should be on our radar. Plus a star’s strange injury and all the pre-season training news.

It pays to stay across the pre-season whispers at every AFL club before selecting your KFC SuperCoach team.

From positional changes to those burning up the track and Round 1 bolters, every KFC SuperCoach needs to be across the moves which could turn a player into a must-have or cash cow in 2021.

Here’s the latest talking points which could impact your team:

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Lachlan Sholl leads a running drill at Adelaide training.

MID-PRICE CROW SET FOR BREAKOUT SEASON

With scores of 110 and 84 to round out his debut campaign, Lachie Sholl left KFC SuperCoaches with plenty to ponder. The 20-year-old Crow was prolific in games against Carlton and Richmond, finishing the season with a SuperCoach average of 63.9 from eight matches. The Crows are bullish about Sholl’s ($343,200 DEF-MID) off-season progress and teammate Brodie Smith said Sholl and Rory Laird would be his first two players picked for 2021. Sholl suffered a hand injury late last month but the Crows said he would only be managed “for the short term”.

Laird and Sholl

— Brodie smith (@Brodiesmith33) January 27, 2021

Ely Smith has been one of the best-performed Lions this pre-season.

YOUNG LION A PRE-SEASON STANDOUT

While much of the noise from Brisbane has been about the faultless pre-seasons of recruits Joe Daniher ($233k FWD) and Nakia Cockatoo (123k FWD-MID), third-year midfielder Ely Smith ($123k FWD-MID) has pushed a strong case to debut in Round 1 — so much so that Gilbert Gardiner rates him as one of his seven must-haves in KFC SuperCoach. The Lions have enviable depth but Smith’s development has not gone unnoticed. “It feels pretty good knowing that everyone is noticing (the hard work). It drives you to keep going throughout the season,” Smith said. Smith averaged 88 ranking points in the NEAFL in 2019.

Ben Brown is in doubt for Round 1 after knee surgery.

KEY FORWARD’S KNEE SETBACK

Put a line through Ben Brown as a KFC SuperCoach cheapie. The former Roo loomed as a potential bargain at $260k after his switch to Melbourne but has been dealing with persistent knee issues. Brown is in doubt for Round 1 after undergoing surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left knee. The key forward suffered a knee injury last season in Round 10, which proved to be his last game as a Roo.

GIANTS STAR IN DOUBT FOR ROUND 1

Almost 40 per cent of KFC SuperCoach teams might need a revamp after news of a strange injury to Lachie Whitfield. The gun defender, who averaged 104.5 points a game last season, suffered a bruised liver during a training session. “He hasn’t required hospitalisation but it’s hard to put a time frame on his recovery at this stage,” Giants chief medical officer Bassam Moses said. “He’ll continue to be monitored closely as the bruising subsides and will be a week-by-week proposition.” GWS’s season opener is on Sunday, March 21, against St Kilda.

Ned Cahill has been touted for a new role at Essendon.

BOMBER SET FOR NEW ROLE

Young Bomber Ned Cahill ($161k FWD) might be the player to replace Brown in 11 per cent of KFC SuperCoach teams. Cahill, who featured as a small forward in three matches last year, has been trialled across halfback during pre-season after the departures of Adam Saad and Conor McKenna from Tullamarine. “It was just something that came up when I had a conversation with Truck (coach Ben Rutten) and he thought I’d be the right man for it,” Cahill told the club website. “I’m just giving it a red-hot crack right now and hopefully it helps develop my game and I can cement a spot in the backline.” Halfback is traditionally a much better position for KFC SuperCoach scoring than playing as a small forward.

Isaac Heeney is no certainty to feature in Round 1 for Sydney.

STAR SWAN IN DOUBT FOR ROUND 1

Sydney star Isaac Heeney is no guarantee to feature in Round 1 as he continues his recovery from a serious ankle injury. Heeney underwent surgery seven months ago but as recently as this week was yet to join the main group at Sydney’s pre-season training. He told the AFL website he was hopeful of being at full fitness for the Swans’ season opener on March 20 against Brisbane Lions. “I’ll be aiming for it for sure but I don’t want to say anything just in case. Touch wood everything goes really smoothly and I’ll be right for round one,” he said. Heeney ($454k FWD) features in more than 20 per cent of KFC SuperCoach teams.

PIES DRAFTEE MAKES IMPRESSION

Track watchers at Collingwood have been particularly impressed by one of the bevy of young guns the club added in last year’s national and rookie drafts. Tasmanian Isaac Chugg, the No. 28 pick in the rookie draft, has caught the eye playing across halfback during his first pre-season with the Magpies. Chugg is only $102,400 in KFC SuperCoach and available as a DEF-FWD. Fingers crossed he continues his strong start to life as a Magpie.

Ben Cunnington is building towards a Round 1 return.

CUNNINGTON READY TO GET BACK TO BEST

Ben Cunnington ($439k MID) has emerged as one of the top KFC SuperCoach mid-price options after a near-faultless pre-season. The tough North Melbourne midfielder was restricted to three games last season as he battled back issues. Prior to 2020, Cunnington had been one of the AFL’s most-durable on-ballers, featuring in at least 20 matches in every season from 2013-2019. New Roos coach David Noble has been buoyed by Cunnington’s off-season efforts and hopes to have the midfield general available for his first game in charge. “He’s hardly missed a session (and) the only ones he’s missed are the sessions we’ve managed for him,” Noble told the AFL website. “But as an out and out person who wants to play footy he wants to be out there every session, so that is a great sign.”

Zak Butters and Connor Rozee are set for greater midfield time.

POWER DUO TOUTED FOR MIDFIELD CHANCE

What would the off-season be without the promise of greater midfield time for a host of players? The trick for KFC SuperCoaches is identifying which players will actual fulfil their mooted midfield minutes. Zak Butters ($471k FWD) and Connor Rozee ($377k FWD) are tipped to enjoy greater time in the middle for Port Adelaide this year. Power teammate Travis Boak told SEN he expected Orazio Fantasia’s arrival would allow Butters and Rozee to be released from forward duties. “ (Rozee and Butters) will look to work up the ground a bit more and hopefully get a bit more of the footy. That allows (Fantasia) to fit in nicely to our half forward line,” Boak said. Butters lifted his average from 60.5 to 87.7 last season, while Rozee opened the year with scores of 125 and 145 before being hampered by a heel injury.