KFC SuperCoach AFL: Rookie expert Dan Batten reveals his 2021 team

Rookie expert Dan Batten has revealed his starting KFC SuperCoach team, zeroing in on a cheapie who will be crucial to his structure for many reasons.

Aiden Fyfe playing for the Gold Coast Suns academy. Picture: Gold Coast Suns.

Fyfe is life in KFC SuperCoach and that is why I am going with two.

The Gold Coast academy graduate Aiden Fyfe is far from a clone of the Fremantle dual Brownlow medallist, but he could prove to be one of the most important players in my side – even in the likely event that he fails to feature in his debut season.

Batten for Glory is putting the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 and remaining agile with a bevy of dual-position players to remain flexible to avoid being caught out by the travesty that is 24-hour rolling teams.

After a top 1000 finish last year (I promised, that’s the last time I will mention it) I am hunting similar honours in 2021.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE DAN BATTEN’S ROUND 1 TEAM

OTHER TEAM REVEALS:

Tim Michell’s 2021 side: The player I can’t live without in KFC SuperCoach

Al Paton’s 2021 side: How rule changes have changed my line-up

Docker Hayden Young is a second-year cheapie.

Aiden Fyfe in action for the Gold Coast academy.

DEFENCE

Jake Lloyd (Syd) $656,400

Tom Stewart (Geel) $538,000

Liam Duggan (WCE) $448,600

Hayden Young (Frem) $279,400

Lachie Jones (PA) $139,800

Tom Highmore (St K) $117,300

BENCH

Jacob Koschitzke (Haw) $123,900

Aiden Fyfe (GC) $102,400 DEF

Defence looked to be the strongest rookie line at first glance.

Now, we will be lucky to have a few playing rookies named in Round 1 with popular options – I am looking at you, Will Gould – falling by the wayside.

This dearth of defensive cash cows has had the biggest bearing on my team structure, making a conscious effort to be flexible and bat deep in defence, with my side having the potential to field just one cheapie defender in Round 1.

That is where A. Fyfe comes in.

The Suns draftee has valuable DEF/MID status which will allow me to pull an emergency switch with Rory Laird, currently in my midfield, if Power man-child Jones and mature-age Saint Tom Highmore are left out of the season opener.

He will also double up as a useful captaincy and emergency loophole option, as the Suns play a number of Sunday matches early on in the season.

Not much needs to be said about backline distributors Lloyd and Stewart, but my obligatory point-of-difference pick is Eagle Liam Duggan.

He averaged 96 KFC SuperCoach points at the back end of last season and a move into the midfield should improve his consistency as a scorer.

We wouldn’t pick a key forward in defence any other year, but Koschitzke, fresh off a six-goal haul and 130 KFC SuperCoach points in the AAMI Series, is locked away as a bench defender.

Dan Batten says Nat Fyfe’s ‘Daddy hundreds’ were why he’s got the nod at M2.

MIDFIELD

Lachie Neale (Bris) $721,800

Nat Fyfe (Frem) $608,300

Rory Laird (Adel) $564,800, DEF

Patrick Cripps (Carl) $523,700

Matt Rowell (GC) $495,100

Braeden Campbell (Syd) $189,300, FWD

Tom Powell (NM) $153,300

Errol Gulden (Syd) $117,300

BENCH

Tyler Brockman (Haw) $117,300, FWD

Connor Downie (Haw) $117,300

Anthony Scott (WB) $102,400, FWD

Braeden Campbell looks destined for a Round 1 debut at Sydney.

Bolstering rookie stocks around has come at a cost with Giants ball-winner Tim Taranto the unlucky late casualty.

Speaking of rookies, we are not blessed with a great deal of pure midfield cheapies which has left me resorting to a trio of midfield-forwards – Campbell, Brockman and Scott.

Coaches would be well aware of Swans academy duo Campbell and Gulden, but Brockman appears set to make his Hawthorn debut alongside one of my favourite rookies Downie, while mature-age utility Scott has come with a rush to earn a list spot and a place in the Bulldogs’ best-22.

I will look to field him or Gulden, Campbell, and South Australian ball-magnet Tom Powell, who looms as one of the top cash cows this year.

While Clayton Oliver and Zach Merrett had occupied the M2 slot for most of the pre-season, I have settled on Nat Fyfe after an imposing pre-season. There is the obvious risk that he misses games, but his ability to amass what Indian great Sunil Gavaskar refers to as ‘Daddy hundreds’ sets him apart.

Neale and underpriced pair Cripps and Rowell pick themselves, while the aforementioned Laird may be deployed down back depending on the strength of rookies in the midfield and in defence.

Dan Batten has settled on Matthew Flynn as the best of the ruck cheapies.

RUCK

Max Gawn (Melb) $751,400

Brodie Grundy (Coll) $648,200

BENCH

Matthew Flynn (GWS) $123,900

I will keep this short and sweet.

Set and forget is the way to go this season, saving me worries down the track and in the immediate future, considering Gawn and Grundy’s mouth-watering early fixtures.

There are many competitors for the R3 slot but Flynn is by far the safest bet with ruck recruit Braydon Preuss sidelined for half the season, and the 23-year-old is locked in to make his long awaited debut in Round 1.

St Kilda’s Paul Hunter may be a better scorer but is likely to be ousted around Round 5 when Rowan Marshall and Paddy Ryder are expected to return, while uncapped Docker Lloyd Meek will have Sean Darcy breathing down his neck.

Flynn shapes as the Reilly O’Brien/Marc Pittonet moneymaker of 2021.

Tom Phillips is set for a greater midfield role at Hawthorn.

FORWARD

Patrick Dangerfield (Geel) $611,900, MID

Josh Dunkley (WB) $560,200, MID

Tom Phillips (Haw) $402,600, MID

Jack Ziebell (NM) $257,900

Chad Warner (Syd) $144,000

Miles Bergman (PA) $123,900

BENCH

Tom Fullarton (Bris) $128,900, RUCK

James Rowe (Adel) $117,300

James Rowe is the pick of this year’s rookies and will go straight into Adelaide’s team.

For most of the pre-season I had gone with only two forwards above $260,000 – Dangerfield and Dunkley are the standout forward premium options in my view – until bolter Tom Phillips entered my ranks this week.

The Hawthorn recruit is underpriced after being played out of position at the Pies last year and should receive some inside midfield minutes at his new club. Phillips averaged 90 points in 2018 and if he can hit that mark in 2021, he will prove to be a rock-solid F6.

We have an embarrassment of riches in the forward rookie department, but a possible three-week suspension for popular ruck-forward cheapie Josh Treacy has thrown a spanner in the works.

Treacy’s indiscretion has forced me to bring in Lions forward-ruck Tom Fullarton, who is dirt cheap after an injury affected second game last year. With key forward Dan McStay listed out for at least the next three weeks with injury, the former basketballer should have some clear air after slotting two goals in their final practice match.

I have opted for another Swans youngster in Warner and potential debutant Bergman, with both players scoring 75-plus in the AAMI Series.

And of course, lock James Rowe who has the best job security of any rookie.

At worst, Ziebell should be a strong stepping stone in his new role in defence but may end up being a keeper, due to the lack of quality forward premiums.

Dan Batten’s starting KFC SuperCoach team.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach AFL: Rookie expert Dan Batten reveals his 2021 team