If you’re playing SuperCoach Draft, these are the Golden Rules to a successful Draft Day

To many, Draft Day is right up there with Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries. It’s the day where all your months of preparation come to a head and you test your mettle against your league mates to draft the superior teams.

Former footballer and cricketer Geoff Parker recruiting manager for Port Adelaide Football Club preparing for AFL draft.

To many, Draft Day is right up there with Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries. It’s the day where all your months of preparation come to a head and you test your mettle against your league mates to draft the superior teams.

Draft contributor Jonathan Crockett from The Draft Doctors steps us through a short guide to ensure you’re fully prepared for SuperCoach Draft’s day of days.

SET YOUR PRE-DRAFT RANKS

When you come into your draft, you want to be as best prepared as you can. That’s why it’s a good idea to set some ranks before Draft Day. What are ranks you might ask? Ranks are a list in which you list the players you like and what you think their projected average will be at year’s end. If you are not sure on how to do your rankings Fox Footy and The Draft Doctors have teamed up to provide our January ranks across all four positions.

JANUARY RANKINGS: FORWARDS > RUCKS > MIDFIELDERS > DEFENDERS

By setting up your ranks, you will have a guide as to which players to draft and gain the best value from your selections.

To take things further with your ranks, putting players into tiers is the next step. ‘Tiering’ involves grouping players in your ranks that you think will average the same. It also gives you an indication as to how the draft is going and where you can pick up value. For instance, you might have Marcus Bontempelli, Josh Dunkley and Josh Kelly ranked as Tier 1 types in your midfield, while in your defence you might have Rory Laird left as your only remaining defender that you’ve also categorised as Tier 1. This suggests that you can pick up Laird as a priority with the assumption that one of those midfielders could be available to you on your next pick, therefore maximising the value in front of you and drafting the best team you can.

TIERS AND JUMPERS: DEFENDERS
TIERS AND JUMPERS: FORWARDS

DO YOUR RESEARCH

Fox Footy and The Draft Doctors have come together to provide wall-to-wall coverage on SuperCoach Draft in 2020. These free articles will help you maximise your Draft experience and set you up for success this season. Below are some handy articles to help you on your way.

DRAFT PRIORITY: THE MOST IMPORTANT POSITION
FAST FINISHERS: WHO FINISHED 2019 ON FIRE
DRAFT TIPS: SEVEN SECRETS TO SUCCESS
DRAFT DAY: HOW TO HOST THE ULTIMATE DRAFT DAY
STRATEGY: WHEN TO DRAFT A RUCK | SLEEPERS TO WATCH | WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN ROOKIES

YOU DON’T WIN YOUR LEAGUE ON DRAFT DAY

As funny as that may seem its true. You might have drafted the best team, but that doesn’t guarantee you will win your league. Over the season there are injuries, suspensions and betting scandals that will affect how your team lines up week to week. When the injuries start to pile up, be sure to use the waiver wire as an asset. Depending on your league size you should be able to find a player to replace the injury (unless it’s one of your über premiums).

In previous year’s, we have seen some players go undrafted that end up breaking out and being a top scorer in their position. A prime example of this was Rowan Marshall last year. The fact he wasn’t named round 1 meant he was sitting on a lot of waiver wires. If you were lucky to get him, you would have enjoyed his excellent year. Similarly, Ricky Henderson went undrafted but proved to be a gem off the waivers with an average of 94.8 ppg making him a season-long keeper, let alone premo. So, pay attention to who is scoring well in the first week and see if you can grab them off the waiver wire.

Port Adelaide recruiting team prepare for their Draft Day

DRAFTING INJURED OR RETURNING PLAYERS

When it comes to drafting injured players or those returning from injury, try to minimise the amount of these guys, especially in the early rounds of your draft as that is where you want to set your team up to be in the best position. Remember just because these guys have averaged big in the past, it doesn’t mean they’re going to do it straight away. If you are drafting these guys early, then you would want to make sure you have a bit of security either with the pick in front or behind them as a bit of insurance just in case they don’t get to the lofty heights of previous years.

It is the middle and later rounds where you want to target these players. Players you should be on the lookout for later in your drafts are Callan Ward and Tom Doedee. Both these guys are returning from ACL injuries and with a low average from the year before you should be able to get them with a late pick. By using a later pick on these players, means that if they are a bust and don’t perform as well as you have expected, then it hasn’t cost you anything in terms of using a high draft pick and it not working out. It just means you can throw them back on the waiver wire and look for another player.

In the case of stars Tom Mitchell and Lance Franklin, intrigue will surround over whether or not they will be fit for Round 1. Mitchell returning from a broken leg and Franklin who has undergone a bout of pre-season surgery. Their currency will drop as a result of their fitness. In the case of Mitchell, he might slip to the second round, whereas Buddy might be slated for a fifth round and onwards selection.

Tom Mitchell is nearing a return to football

HAVE FUN

There is nothing better than getting your league mates together on Draft Day, whether it’s someone’s house or at another venue, where you can just talk all things SuperCoach Draft. The anticipation before you draft is great as you talk to your league’s mates about which strategy they might be going with depending on their pick, to the middle of the draft where a bit of friendly banter is thrown about as someone selects the exact player you were going to select with your next pick, to when the draft is completed and you’re all comparing your teams and discussing where you thought you did well or missed the mark. The main thing is to have fun and enjoy it.

Originally published as If you’re playing SuperCoach Draft, these are the Golden Rules to a successful Draft Day