SuperCoach: Every FNQ footballer in the 2024 AFL and NRL comps
SuperCoach season is upon us, and there’s plenty of Far North flavour you can add to your teams across both the NRL and AFL. Read on to discover every FNQ junior in the game.
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SuperCoach season is upon us, and there’s plenty of Far North flavour you can add to your teams across both the NRL and AFL.
From Maroons and Australia gun Jeremiah Nanai, the electric Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and young guns like Xavier Savage and Bailey Biondi-Odo banging on the door for an opportunity, to Port Adelaide veteran Charlie Dixon and rising star Alex Davies, there's plenty to choose from.
NRL
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (Dolphins | CTW/FLB | $600,900)
Tabuai-Fidow bet on himself when he left North Queensland for the Dolphins and he thrived under Wayne Bennett, putting together his best season in the NRL yet.
SuperCoaches loved the former Kangaroos junior’s output, as he averaged almost 60 points per game across 20 games with a season-high 120.
Boasts a steep price tag to start the 2024 season, and could be a premium pick-up at CTW.
Jeremiah Nanai (Cowboys | 2RF | $583,500)
A guaranteed starter who’s made plenty of friends in SuperCoach over the years, Nanai had a down year last season due to injury and suspension.
Luciano Leilua’s departure all but locks in a starting spot for the Kangaroos junior, and there’s plenty of hope his tryscoring will also return after a 17-try high in 2022 to just six last year.
Heilum Luki (Cowboys | 2RF | $471,200)
A product of Central Scorpions, Luki could become a genuine starting option after the departure of Luciano Leilua.
He is locked in fierce competition for the starting role in the Cowboys back row, but has been fairly impressive in his first few years of NRL despite several injury interruptions.
Jake Clifford (Cowboys | HFB | $360,700)
The Tully Tiger is back in the NRL but will likely start his campaign in the Queensland Cup as incumbent halves Tom Dearden and Chad Townsend get the first crack.
Clifford will be waiting in the wings and not a genuine back-up option for SuperCoach teams unless injury, suspension, Origin - or form - opens the door.
Thomas Flegler (Dolphins | FRF | $475,600)
The Tully Tigers product will be out to make an impact and prove why he is the leader of the Dolphins pack after making the move from rivals, Brisbane.
The Maroons firebrand averaged 46.6 points last year, which wasn’t bad for the position, but SuperCoaches will be chasing more of that higher output in 2024.
Robert Derby (Cowboys | CTW | $238,900)
A cheapie to keep an eye on should the Cowboys encounter a serious injury crisis.
Derby is a fair way back in the pecking order but has the skills to succeed at NRL level - it will just be tough to land an opportunity.
Bailey Biondi-Odo (Bulldogs | HFB | $219,900)
Serious injuries have kept him out of the game for the past 18 months but Biondi-Odo showed enough in the All Stars game to prove he should be close for a NRL return.
Listed at halfback but used at hooker and off the bench in his NRL appearances to date, Biondi-Odo is a player who will save SuperCoaches some dosh but is no guarantee to play.
Xavier Savage (Raiders | FLB/CTW | $350,200)
His dual-position listing helps the SuperCoach cause but is he actually going to play?
He played one NRL game in 2023 (for 49 points), and has averaged low to mid 40s in the previous two seasons.
Ricky Stuart’s selections are the biggest hurdle for Savage to overcome.
Enari Tuala (Knights | CTW | $445,700)
The Edmonton Storm junior needs just 10 more appearances to reach his milestone 100th NRL game, but he faces a tough fight to lock in his spot.
Tuala played only six NRL games last year but was given a shot on the wing for the club’s trial against the Storm - a strong performance could lock him in for Round 1.
AFL
Alex Davies (Gold Coast | MID/FWD | $324,800)
Now in his fourth season in the AFL system, Alex Davies knows 2024 looms as a big year but he is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury that puts him in doubt for round one.
Despite having played 25 senior games in his first three AFL seasons, the 21-year-old is yet to truly establish himself in Gold Coast’s best 22.
The former Manunda Hawks gun played nine games in 2023, but just one in the final 10 weeks, however with new senior coach Damien Hardwick on board, it’s a clean slate for Davies to impress as a dynamic force across half-forward and inside midfield.
It will be no easy feat to crack the on-ball brigade with co-captain Touk Miller, reigning best and fairest Noah Anderson, contested ball-winning beast Matt Rowell, Sam Flanders, young gun Bailey Humphrey and veteran David Swallow ahead in the pecking order.
Charlie Dixon (Port Adelaide | FWD | $490,100)
Powerhouse Charlie Dixon is one of the most dangerous key position forwards in the competition when he is firing on all cylinders.
However, the former Cairns Saint and Redlynch Lion junior’s injury record has been a heavy hindrance across his career, making him a risky forward line selection.
He played 14 games in 2023, 12 games in 2022 and now at 33 is no guarantee to keep a clean injury record in 2024.
Averaged 87.7 in his 13 games during the home and away season and is the 11th highest priced forward.
Caleb Graham (Gold Coast | DEF | $163,200)
After a successful 2022 season playing 15 games, versatile key defender Caleb Graham fell out of favour under Stuart Dew in 2023 and did not play an AFL game.
However, the former North Cairns Tiger and Cairns Saint was a key cog in the SUNS VFL Premiership tilt, named in the backline in the VFL Team of the Year on the back of 6.9 intercepts and 8.5 marks per game.
Under new coach Damien Hardwick, he has an opportunity to revitalise his career but remains a risky option ahead of the 2024 season.
Jack Bowes (Geelong | DEF | $341,990)
After a difficult 2022 at the Gold Coast Suns (5 games), Bowes became a consistent member of the Cats best 22 playing 17 games.
Earmarked as a valuable addition to the Cats’ inside midfield, the former Cairns Saint and Manunda Hawks junior is cool under pressure with clean skills.
One of his standout performances arrived in the last game of the season against Western Bulldogs, picking up a season-high 25 disposals, 17 handballs and six tackles.
Listed as a cheap defender (114th highest priced defender), he averaged 61.2 in 2023 and after Geelong’s first pre-season match against the Blues, Bowes spent significant time on-ball and will look to be a consistent possession-winner and strong tackler in 2024.
matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au
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Originally published as SuperCoach: Every FNQ footballer in the 2024 AFL and NRL comps
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