The Official SuperCoach AFL Podcast exclusively reveals and explains the brand new FLEX position!

To bring Australia’s biggest and best fantasy game into a new era, SuperCoach will have an exciting new look from 2025 with the addition of a brand new position. 

In this episode, Al Paton, The Phantom, Patch, and Dos break down the brand new rule change that unlocks all-new strategies to explore while bidding farewell to surprise sub or injury-affected scores of yesteryear.

The Flex player will expand squads to 31, and coaches will pick 23 players to start on field each round, up from 22. Crucially, weekly totals will be made up of the best scoring 22 of your 23 on-field players – effectively dropping the lowest score each round.

The crew also discuss which players have caught their eye so far this pre-season and who they will be picking first the moment that Team Picker opens (stay tuned)!

FLEX QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Is the salary cap increasing?
No, the salary cap will remain at $10 million. But player prices will be adjusted across the board to allow for an extra player being selected in 31-man squads. So, for example, a player who would have previously been priced at $600,000 to start the season will be closer to $580,000 in 2025. The adjustments will occur across all price categories and will be relative (smaller for players at the cheaper end of the scale). Keep an eye out for $99k rookies!

Can the Flex player be nominated as captain or vice-captain?
Yes. The Flex player is treated the same as anyone else in your starting line-up and can be traded, substituted (with another player in the corresponding position or via DPP) or named C or VC. One factor to keep in mind – there is no emergency cover for your selected Flex player. If they don’t play, the zero score will drop out of your total for the week but there will be no cover from the bench.

How does best 22 scoring work and are emergencies included?
Each round, you’ll score from your best 22 players only in any position, from your selected, on-field Starting 23 (including your Flex player selection). You’ll still need to ensure that your best available players are in your starting line-up. Select up to four Emergencies across the DEF, MID, RUC and FWD positions. Emergencies will continue to replace non-starting players in your starting line-up, in the same position (including any ‘bye’ player that you may have left in your starting line-up) and their score will only count if it is in your Best 22.

What happens if my captain isn’t in my best 22?
If your captain’s doubled score is NOT in your Best 22 scores for the round, then their points will not count – you simply get your Best 22 scores only. Similarly, if your captain’s doubled-score is NOT in your best 22 scores, you do NOT automatically receive double points from your vice captain – your vice Captain only receives double points if your captain does not play for any reason.

CHAPTERS:
Flex position explained (01:15)
FAQs: best 22, salary cap, bench, captain/vice captain (04:00)
Flex strategy discussion and thoughts (08:40)
Track watch thoughts (22:30)
First three players we will pick (35:00)

Hosts:
Al Paton: @al_superfooty /X
The Phantom: @ThePhantomSC /X
Patch: @PatchToTheMax /X
Dos: @HKDos /X

Produced by Haydn Kenny.

Recorded on Tuesday 10th December, 2024.