AFL SuperCoach 2024: Five cheapies to lock in and five players who are too expensive for next season
Coming off a career-best year, Zach Merrett looms as a popular starting pick in KFC SuperCoach. But passionate Bomber MAX STAINKAMPH isn’t so sure. Read our value index to find out why.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It’s always daunting picking a SuperCoach side in January.
It’s hard to know how teams will line up, none of the rookies are even remotely set and
With the team picker now open we’ve got the chance to tinker with our sides to our hearts’ content.
I’ve run the ruler through the price list and found some guys I will consider and some who – at this stage – I won’t.
OVERPRICED PLAYERS
Plenty of guys are going to score reasonably well and be top eight or 10 in their position, and ideally your final six on-field premiums will be made up of guys from there.
However, some of the players in those spots will not be those you start, for a variety of reasons – because there’s value elsewhere, or because you know you’ll be able to pick them up cheaper.
Here are five guys I won’t be starting at this stage.
Harry Sheezel ($556,200 DEF)
While it may feel harsh to knock the rising star after a stellar debut year, SuperCoach is no place for sentimentality. Sheezel has been elevated to the leadership group for North Melbourne and will retain his key role off half back.
Whether or not he continues his scoring remains to be seen. Nick Daicos MC’d the funeral for the second-year blues for rookies last season, but $556,200 is a hefty price to pay for a young player still finding his feet at AFL level, and odds are he experiences a slight dip instead of a slight increase.
It may be nitpicking, but he didn’t show a massive ceiling last season, either, with two scores in the 130s the peak of his impressive powers. If he can develop the ability to pump out the occasional 140 or 150, then maybe we have a look at him as a rolled gold premium.
Clayton Oliver ($674,100 MID)
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know Clayton Oliver’s been in the headlines for the wrong reasons since the season finished. We won’t go into them here, and I hope for his, Melbourne, and SuperCoaches’ sakes he’s back to his best by round one.
He’s been the poster child for SuperCoach for years, averaging no less than 109 since his second-year breakout and missing so few games.
Until we see Oliver back on track and hitting the ground running in pre-season games, I’ll be steering clear.
Zach Merrett ($650,100 MID)
As a regrettable diehard Essendon fan, it hurts my soul to say Zach Merrett is too expensive but alas, he is. Essendon has spoken about its desire to increase the midfield rotations in Brad Scott’s second year and that doesn’t bode well for the main man in the middle.
While he’s the Bomber’s best ball user, the arrival of Xavier Duursma could push Nic Martin on the inside, giving more class in the guts.
Likewise, Archie Perkins, Ben Hobbs, Elijah Tsatas, Darcy Parish, Dylan Shiel, Jake Stringer, Jye Caldwell and Will Setterfield will all be competing for midfield minutes at the centre bounces.
If I were moving the magnets, the only place Merrett would be other than centre bounces would be the bench, but I’m not convinced he’ll be given the full reign he has in previous seasons – and if I’m not 100 per cent convinced by someone at over $600,000, they’re not getting picked.
He normally gets cheaper during the season anyway – at this stage I’ll have a look for him then.
Luke Jackson ($547,000 RUC/FWD)
I love Luke Jackson, and his back-end to 2023 with Sean Darcy off the park was nothing short of scintillating.
However, unless Darcy goes down with a long-term injury just before the season begins I’m not paying more than nearly $550k for his understudy.
We’ve once again heard the desire to play Jackson as a midfielder, and while I’d adore to see it happen, I’m happy to correct into him if we see him lining up at the feet of Darcy rather than start him in the hope of it happening.
In a Freo forward line which might not see much action, Jackson should lose cash and we can pick him up for much less when upgrade season begins.
I suspect he’ll finish as a top 10 forward – at least, based on the forwards we’re starting with – but he’ll be much cheaper during the season.
Kieren Briggs (608,800 RUC)
Remember Braydon Pruess? The spectre who’s loomed behind Max Gawn, Todd Goldstein and now Keiren Briggs has been exactly that – a ghost. Has he ever actually taken points off those greats? No. But it could happen to us with Kieren Briggs.
Another concern, aside from the four weeks where Pruess is fit, would be Briggs’ fitness himself. He’s only had three years in the system, and while it was his form – not injury – keeping him out of the side last year, ruck is a brutal position to play at the top level.
But, if we can be real, the main reason Briggs is too expensive is because of the guys who are cheaper than him.
Are you really going to not just pick him over the likes of Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy, but pay extra on the side for the privilege?
Potential number one rucks Ivan Soldo, Matt Flynn and Tristan Xerri are some 200k cheaper than Briggs, and could bring the value Briggs himself did to our sides last year.
UNDERPRICED PLAYERS
Just as there are plenty of players who aren’t worth the money in SuperCoach, there are a huge number of guys who will bring value to our sides. Here are five, with deference to lists from Tim Michell and The Phantom who have already touched on real cheapies like Zac Williams and underpriced premiums like Brodie Grundy and Touk Miller.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera ($475,500 DEF)
He was hyped up last pre-season but spluttered out of the gates, with a top score of just 76 in his opening six rounds.
But with a third pre-season under his belt and a strong back end of the season – he dropped below 85 just three times after his round 12 bye in 2023, this could be the year he finally hits his straps.
Wanganeen-Milera hasn’t shown a massive ceiling just yet – he scored more than 110 just three times for a high-score of 119 – but could he develop into the consistent defender we haven’t seen since the likes of Corey Enright? It could be worth a punt as a way to save money in a very expensive defensive line.
Jack Steele ($529,500 MID)
Unbelievably, we’re getting a bloke who’s averaged more than 120 multiple times for less than $530,000 in 2024.
Jack Steele is a rolled-gold, bona fide midfield premium, having averaged 122.5 in 2020 and 126 in 2021, but last season the St Kilda skipper played injured – including with a fractured collarbone – and couldn’t keep up his ridiculous tackle numbers.
During the back end of the season we did see the massive scores come back out of the woodwork, with a 160 and a 140 in amongst his scores after the Saints’ bye.
I’ll be monitoring the Saints’ midfield mix during the pre-season, but can’t see Ross the Boss moving his captain out of the middle.
Tristan Xerri: ($407,400 RUC)
An intriguing time for Tristan Xerri, who now has no challengers to the number one ruck role.
Xerri averaged just 71 from 12 games in 2022, but was sharing the ruck mantle with Todd Goldstien.
In 2023, he was given a clear mandate from Alastair Clarkson as the number one ruck from the start of the season, only to injure himself in the first half of the first game of the season.
In his absence, North Melbourne champion Goldstein took the reins, and despite being given clear air when he returned in round 17, Goldstein’s form demanded he play.
Xerri’s two scores without Goldstein were 102 and 75, on return from injury. It’d be a bold play to pick the Kangaroos’ big man with so many other tasty options, but at least this year we know – it’s Xerri or bust for the Roos.
Jack Macrae ($558,400 MID/FWD)
Is it possible for the most expensive forward to actually be underpriced?
Yes. Yes it is.
Macrae is a must-pick with a dearth of forwards in 2024 after the DPP gods cruelly stripped us of many familiar faces, but with Bailey Smith cruelly ruled out of the 2024 season, Macrae looms as the natural replacement for those midfield minutes after spending much more time on the outside in 2023.
Last season was Macrae’s first averaging under 100 since 2016, and his first averaging under 115 since 2017, with the four years from 2018 to 2021 yielding four years of 120+ averages.
Overlook him at your peril.
Sam Flanders ($494,200 MID/FWD)
Flanders didn’t get a consistent look at the Gold Coast Suns side until Stuey Dew was send on his way, but once he did he announced himself with a bang.
Flanders didn’t drop under 81 for the 10 games he played on the run home, having a strong run through the middle.
Gold Coast’s midfield mix is one to watch in the off-season, with Touk Miller back to full fitness and draftee Jake Rogers set to demand midfield minutes, while Alex Davies, Brayden Fiorini and potentially even unicorn Ethan Read to run through the guts.
However, if Flanders is first cab off the rank in the midfield rotation behind Miller, Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson, look out. He could be in for a massive season.
More Coverage
Originally published as AFL SuperCoach 2024: Five cheapies to lock in and five players who are too expensive for next season
Shock scenario in Bailey Smith stalemate
Bailey Smith’s Western Bulldogs exit has set up a potentially rare scenario that could deliver a shock result as Geelong’s offer hits a stalemate.
The late draft pick that could deliver Stringer to Giants
Essendon is open to trading inconsistent star Jake Stringer to GWS as the 30-year-old considers a beefed-up offer from the Giants.