KFC SuperCoach explained: How to trade your way to success in 2022

You can’t pick every star in your starting KFC SuperCoach team, but you can recruit them during the season – if you plan ahead. Here are the basics to trading 101.

Selecting your starting KFC SuperCoach squad is fun, and occasionally stressful – and it’s just the start of your journey to KFC SuperCoach success.

We all have unlimited trades until Round 1, then 35 for the rest of the season. That might sound like a lot, but they can start to disappear quicker than you think, so use them wisely.

Some trades will be needed to replace players who suffer long-term injuries, but you don’t want to be using too many as a short-term fix. Aim to use as many trades as you can to improve your team by upgrading players who have increased in value to proven stars.

How do you do that? By following the same theory as the stock market – buy low, sell high.

A starting squad of 30 players will include at least 10 rookies or bargain-priced players whose main purpose is to increase the value of your team. You shouldn’t be planning on having Elijah Hollands or Nick Daicos in your side when KFC SuperCoach finals roll around later in the year – with a bit of planning they can be replaced by players like Jack Steele or Josh Dunkley that you couldn’t fit in your starting line-up. Or surprise stars who emerge during the year.

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Jack Steele was a popular trade target last year. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Every player in KFC SuperCoach is allocated a price value based on past performances. First-year recruits start with bargain basement prices.

After playing three matches these prices will start to change. Out of form or injured players may drop in price and those who are performing well will increase in value.

The week following the first two rounds of the season is a big moment in KFC SuperCoach. This is the calm before the price movement storm and the perfect time to make what expert players call “correctional trades” to ensure you have any players you might have missed who are about to shoot up in value – and get rid of any early bombs before their prices move.

Collingwood’s Charlie Dean could rise in value quickly if he gets games early. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Rookie-priced players can rise in value quickly and have usually gained enough value to start making upgrades after about six rounds. The month or so from that point is known in serious KFC SuperCoach circles as “upgrade season”. In this period you can transform your team by turning many of your starting cheapies into superstars.

The perfect trade move is to use two trades to go “one up, one down” by trading out two rookies and replacing them with one bottom-priced player and one top-liner.

An example from last year helps make it clearer. At Round 9 you could have cashed in rookies Chad Warner and Sam Berry, when both had made a big profit and had almost reached their maximum price. At the same time Magpie Caleb Poulter was “on the bubble” after playing his first two matches and was about to shot up in value from his $117,300 starting price. And Tom Mitchell was available for $75,000 under his starting value.

Trading Warner and Berry for Poulter and Mitchell added another premium player to your squad plus a fresh rookie who was about to make plenty more cash.

From that point Mitchell averaged 126.5 points a game for the rest of the season. That’s good trading.

The planets don’t always align that perfectly, but it shows the value of finding top-line players at the right time. You never want to pay top dollar if you can avoid it.

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Tom Mitchell was a classic ‘fallen premium’ in 2021. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

One move experienced KFC SuperCoaches try to avoid is a “sideways” trade, where you are swapping players of a similar value. This usually doesn’t improve your team overall and just leaves you with one fewer trade.

If one of your stars cops a short-term injury it’s usually better in the long-run if you bench them and bring on one of your reserve players for those rounds. If they are expected to miss three weeks or longer, trading is usually the best option.

And in 2022 KFC SuperCoach players also have six brand new Trade Boosts which you can use at any time to give you an extra trade that round – three in non-bye rounds and four over the byes.

These will open a whole new world of trade tactics. Click here for some advice on how to use them to your advantage - and happy trading!

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach explained: How to trade your way to success in 2022