AFL round 10: Key SuperCoach takeaways from Super Sunday matches

Thousands of SuperCoaches traded out Caleb Daniel. Was that a big mistake? Plus the biggest bargain of 2025 and Clayton Oliver’s hit list. See what SuperCoaches learned on Super Sunday.

The Eagles are on the board after another Sunday of upsets and cliffhangers.

Earlier, North Melbourne edged out Richmond by four points before Melbourne caused a huge boilover at the Gabba, upsetting Brisbane by 11 points.

West Coast finished the round with its first win of 2025 against an error-riddled St Kilda.

Here are the big SuperCoach lessons from Super Sunday.

RECAP SUNDAY’S MATCHES IN OUR BLOG BELOW

BIG MEN DUKE IT OUT

It was a SuperCoach battle of epic proportions.

Richmond skipper Toby Nankervis and North Melbourne superstar Tristan Xerri went toe-to-toe in a true heavyweight SuperCoach bout.

In a game that produced nearly 140 stoppages, Nank recorded 46 hitouts and 13 tackles on his way to a team-high 131 SuperCoach points.

Xerri matched and raised him with 50 hituts, 11 clearances and 11 tackles to record 150 points.

Xerri’s massive score surpassed his Break Even, season average and projected score. If he wasn’t your captain before, he should be now.

As for the result between the two big men? Xerri in a split decision.

C’MON, CALEB

A large stack of SuperCoaches would have disliked Caleb Daniel’s second-half response on Sunday afternoon.

After a relatively quiet second term, the third-most traded out player of the week hit back to finish with 95 points.

He didn’t reach his break even of 121 but for the large number of SuperCoaches who traded Daniel for Essendon’s Saad El-Hawli, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

El-Hawli was subbed out of the Bombers’ abysmal loss to Western Bulldogs at halftime on Saturday night, and Daniel looks safe in North Melbourne’s back six for the foreseeable future.

Caleb Daniel had 25 disposals against Richmond. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

MARVELLOUS McKERCHER

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson called it “a balancing act” during the week.

Does he throw Colby McKercher back to defence, where he knows his young star will win the footy?

Or does he persist with McKercher the midfielder, confident that’s where he will forge out his career long term?

McKercher must have been watching that presser because he answered the question emphatically.

The left-footer produced his best game of the season in the middle, collecting 129 SuperCoach points from 22 disposals, 10 tackles and a goal.

McKercher, now a $287,600 MID-DEF after shedding almost $200,000 from his round 1 price tag, is owned by just 4056 SuperCoaches – and he repaid every one of them on Sunday.

MARSHALL LAW

Rowan Marshall may prove the biggest bargain of SuperCoach 2025. Unfortunately, most of us missed it. The Saints ruckman dropped to just $451k in round 7 after three scores of 65 or less. He bounced back with three straight tons before exploding against the Eagles with an incredible 86-point first quarter before finishing on 179 from 27 disposals, 40 hitouts and a goal. The sad news? He’s in just 4 per cent of teams. Well played to the 3000 genius coaches who brought him in over the past three rounds.

Rowan Marshall poduced one of the best individual performances of 2025. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

MAX LIFTS LATE

A late change from Brisbane, pulling Oscar McInerney out of the game against Melbourne, looked like a gift for Max Gawn. He hadn’t made the most of his duel with back-up Darcy Fort as his score sat under 90 entering the final five minutes of the game. But that’s when Max does his best work. Three huge contested marks from the captain ensured the Dees got over the line and lifted his total to 119.

OLIVER v NEALE

Last week Clayton Oliver did a blanket job on Jai Newcombe, and this week the AFL’s highest-paid tagger had his sights on Lachie Neale. It wasn’t exactly a hard tag, with Oliver taking his chances to find the footy, creating an enthralling duel over four quarters at the Gabba. In the end Neale claimed the points 116 to 99 in a another SuperCoach heavyweight stoush. Next week the Dees face Sydney – will Chad Warner be in Oliver’s sights?