KFC SuperCoach 2022: Expert jury reviews best, worst moves of season

Did you start with Patrick Cripps in KFC SuperCoach? Well played. He wasn’t the only bargain that set the top players apart this year. See our mid-season jury.

Al Paton

@al_superfooty

12 min read

June 16, 2022 - 9:37AM

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We are turning for home in the race for 2022 KFC SuperCoach glory – and the Holy Grail of fantasy footy.

What better time to consult the smartest minds in KFC SuperCoach to review what they got right and wrong this season so far, and how they plan to make a charge to the top over the final 10 rounds.

KFC SUPERCOACH MID-YEAR EXPERT JURY

1. WHO WAS YOUR BEST STARTING PICK THIS YEAR?

Al Paton: James Sicily. I was confident he could average in the high 90s, which would have been a win for $448k. His 118 average is ridiculous.

The Phantom: The one and only Will Brodie. James Sicily a close second.

Dan Batten: No standout point-of-difference picks, so this has to be Will Brodie. There were concerns over his long-term job security but his elite ball-winning and a bit of the luck (in the form of Nat Fyfe being sidelined) has seen the former Sun currently sitting fifth for season average of all forwards. Honourable mention to Nic Martin as well, who I fielded in round 1 and didn’t need to burn a trade to get.

Tim Michell: Will Brodie. I ummed and ahhed about picking him but was eventually convinced by The Phantom’s many positive articles. What a revelation he’s been at the Dockers and for our KFC SuperCoach teams. No standout premos I nailed and I didn’t start George Hewett, so it has to be Brodie.

Heath Shaw: Jarrod Witts

Em Challis (2021 KFC SuperCoach champion): Tom Stewart, my SuperCoach love of my life! Picking him after his ankle issues was a little risky but I thought he would still be a top-six defender. He has exceeded my expectations! Will Brodie would have to be a close second.

Lekdog (jockreynolds.com.au): There will be plenty of people choosing a mid-pricer who they’ve kept here, but for me I’ll keep it simple. The No.1 player in SuperCoach so far, Lachie Neale, was my best pick ... or George Hewett.

JB (Doctor SuperCoach): I expect this to be a popular answer but Will Brodie. He has gone above and beyond expectations this year and settled nicely in to keeper status.

Jackson Davey (Fantasy Take TV): Lachie Neale or Jarrod Witts.

Daniel Begala (KFC SuperCoach Investor): Like choosing your favourite child, it’s challenging (and taboo) to choose. Cripps, Hewett or Brodie.

Everyone loves Lachie Neale, who started the year worth $543,200 and is averaging 130 points a game. Picture: Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images

2. WHO WAS THE STARTING PICK YOU MOST REGRET?

Al Paton: Mitch McGovern. He had a great pre-season but couldn’t carry that form into the first two rounds, scoring 70 and 40. His surprising hamstring injury on the eve of round 3 was a blessing for my KFC SuperCoach team because it forced me to trade him to Will Brodie.

The Phantom: Wasn’t alone but it has to be Lachie Whitfield, who I quickly traded to George Hewett. And I’m still kicking myself for not starting Hewett, who I switched to Jake Bowey at the last minute. But I did get the Melbourne defender’s 151 and sharp price rise, so it all worked out.

Dan Batten: Nothing outstanding in this category, but buying the Lachie Whitfield hype (again) set off a less than ideal run of trades. I fortunately jumped off before he lost value, trading him to Aaron Hall, who succumbed to a hamstring injury three weeks later…

Tim Michell: Patrick Voss. I dumped Nic Martin to add him and loophole Jack Hayes’ round 1 ton. It cost me a trade and a ton from Martin on debut. Lachie Whitfield is a very close second, though. I finally jumped off when he got injured after two months of pain.

Heath Shaw: Lachie Weller.

Em Challis: I regret starting Whitfield over Hewett and/or Sicily. Both were in my team during pre-season but unfortunately I changed my mind!

Lekdog: Tarryn Thomas was my sneaky breakout for 2022, he scored a grand total of 98 points in his first two matches and was swiftly moved on for Patrick Cripps.

JB: Where do I start? I guess looking back on it, starting Whitfield over the cheaper alternatives of Hewett and Sicily was the really impactful one. Unfortunately, Whitfield has taken till now to show he might still be a premium in future seasons, far far too late for those who started.

Jackson Davey: Whitfield, Ridley or McGovern.

Daniel Begala: No regrets, but maybe Ridley over Sicily when there were whispers of CV19 issues at Hawthorn in R1. Ridley’s had a great month, though, and I’ve had Sicily since the beginning of his “Arm Band” run when he assumed captaincy at Hawthorn.

More than 80,000 KFC SuperCoaches started with Lachie Whitfield. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

3. BEST TRADE?

Al Paton: Round 3 is for correction trades and I nailed 3/3 – chopping McGovern, Lachie Whitfield and Mitch Owens and bringing in Brodie, George Hewett and Patrick Cripps (I had a bunch of leftover cash from trading Dustin Martin to Tristan Xerri the week before). A shame I was two weeks behind most of the competition.

The Phantom: Matt Rowell to Callum Mills, who debuted in my side with 214. Nic Martin to Jack Sinclair is a close second. Every time I’ve been in striking distance of a premo trade, I’ve pulled the trigger. Points are king.

Dan Batten: Sideways trading an injured Tim English to Clayton Oliver paid off in more ways than one. Oliver posted 168 points with the captain’s armband, while English sat out the next five weeks after a much longer than expected layoff with injury and illness.

Tim Michell: Jack Hayes to Darcy Cameron when he was $330k in Round 8. He scored three tons and two 90s in his next five and reached $500k. One of my all-time favourite trades.

Heath Shaw: George Hewett

Em Challis: Trading Whitfield to Hewett round 3.

Lekdog: Round 10 – Lachie Whitfield, Josh Rachele and Connor Macdonald for Andrew Brayshaw, Greg Clark and Jordan Dawson.

JB: There are some pretty good candidates for this one but I’ve opted to pick my round 3 trades including a boost of Lachie Whitfield, Jarrod Berry and Mitch McGovern OUT for George Hewett, Patrick Cripps and Jack Hayes IN.

Jackson Davey: Clayton Oliver in round 7.

Daniel Begala: Gawn to English in R3 for the cash, uplift in scoring and ability to fast-track my upgrades.

George Hewett was a popular trade target, and an even better starting pick. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

4. WORST TRADE?

Al Paton: Mitch Hinge to Nathan O’Driscoll in round 6. NOD had already had two price changes so I only made $30k on the deal. I also missed O’Driscoll’s best scores and traded him out four weeks later for a modest $60k profit – to Dayne Zorko. Oh boy.

The Phantom: Trading Stephen Coniglio at the bye isn’t looking great, but I did get Tim English as a result. It’s probably the Tom Green to Darcy Parish move, though. I had to get my boy Tom for the brand but at one point, before Parish’s injury, the Bombers gun had put 224 points on Green from the moment I traded. The money did help me grab Sam Docherty a week later, however.

Dan Batten: Burning a boost to bring in a high-priced Alex Witherden off the back of a four-round average of nearly 130, thinking that he would keep on racking up cheapies in a lacklustre Eagles side. Since then, he has averaged just 87.4 points and sat out a week with Covid.

Tim Michell: Stephen Coniglio out in round 9. I felt like a hero when he scored 38 the next week but two of his next three were 140 and 174. What makes it worse is I never had any intention of trading him but missed a DPP swing by five minutes and couldn’t trade Jake Bowey that week without copping a zero. The only solace is it got me Max Gawn.

Heath Shaw: Braydon Preuss.

Em Challis: Probably trading Hewett to Steele in round 8. Hewett came back from his injury firing and Steele got injured a week later. There is a different between being aggressive and impatient. Side-trading does backfire.

Lekdog: So very many to choose from, but my worst trade would have to be bringing in Daniel Rioli after he started the year with three scores of 101-plus in his first four games. He only hit 100 twice in the next six rounds before I turfed him at his bye.

JB: I think trading Dayne Zorko in for round 9 might almost go down as my worst trade in ever. I don’t want to talk about it.

Jackson Davey: De Goey R6, Zorko R9, Bailey Smith R10.

Daniel Begala: Whitfield to Hall in R3 given the injury to the rebounding Kangaroo that almost immediately ensued whilst on 71 prior to halftime against the Dogs.

Aaron Hall (left) was a huge injury risk. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

5. WHO IS THE ONE PLAYER NOT IN YOUR TEAM THAT YOU WISH YOU HAD?

Al Paton: Rory Laird. So consistent, a great POD and the Crows have an amazing fixture.

The Phantom: Probably the one who can hurt me the most from here – Tom Stewart.

Dan Batten: Tom Stewart. He was priced around the same mark as Witherden, which has made his monster scores even more painful.

Tim Michell: Tom Stewart. It was Touk Miller, but he’s coming in this week. And before that it was George Hewett, but I grabbed him after Carlton’s round 12 bye. Not sure I’ll ever start without Stewart again, he’s just too damn good.

Heath Shaw: Josh Dunkley

Em Challis: James Sicily. I should have jumped on earlier but due to his price I am probably going without him unless I get a defender injury. I have now have a complete defence choosing value like Sinclair over Sicily. Having Stewart does help though – I think you need at least one of the two.

Lekdog: James Sicily, I even wrote an article pre-season about him being a must-pick. Just never quite made it into the final side!

JB: I’ll provide two answers here: Tom Stewart and James Sicily. Watching those two go massive each week without fail is tough viewing.

Jackson Davey: I wish I’d started Will Brodie or James Sicily.

Daniel Begala: Callum “Millsy” Mills, he’s just a scoring juggernaut and a two-way midfield beast. I’d also love to have Stewart, “Underground” Laird and The Bont (as a forward).

James Sicily has had a brilliant year coming back from knee surgery. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Tom Stewart has posted some monster totals. Picture: Alison Wynd

6. WHO IS THE ONE PLAYER YOU HAVE THAT CAUSES THE MOST STRESS EACH WEEK?

Al Paton: Dayne Zorko has been a nightmare, but my biggest headache has been trying to get the right captain or vice-captain each week. I think I’ve nailed about three of 13 and copped some absolute stinkers.

The Phantom: It’s always the ones you invest so much time into. Thankfully, however, most of the guys I’ve rambled on about this year have started well. But I still feel pressure every time Tom Green plays. But if we’re talking stress, it’s Braydon Preuss. If he doesn’t play this week...

Dan Batten: Witherden. Sean Darcy is a close second, but at least I have a couple of other Dockers to keep an eye on. Witherden is my only Eagle and watching his almost entirely uncontested possessions, half of which are backwards kicks, is a tough watch.

Tim Michell: Stephen Coniglio since trading him. Of those still in my team, Zak Butters or Christian Petracca. Both have been a huge rollercoaster.

Heath Shaw: Jordan De Goey.

Em Challis: I feel that it hasn’t been one player but fielding rookies has been very stressful, the rookie roulette has been very painful this year, hundreds of points left on the bench over the season.

Lekdog: Connor Rozee, who I brought into my team at $398,500, was supposed to work with Butters to provide me 200-plus points per round. Instead, I just get both of them scoring 70-80.

JB: Again, don’t limit me to one answer please. All of Sean Darcy, Zak Butters and Christian Petracca are stressful players to own, all for their own unique reasons.

Jackson Davey: Sean Darcy and it isn’t close!

Daniel Begala: Christian Petracca at M8 is quite worrisome given he’s averaged 74 across his last three outings.

Expert tip: Don’t pick this man in KFC SuperCoach. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos/Getty Images

7. HOW MANY TRADES DO YOU HAVE LEFT?

Al Paton: 10. I need a couple more to finish my team this week and I think 7-8 post-bye is a very healthy position.

The Phantom: Eight.

Dan Batten: 10, with the intention of using another three this week to get to ‘full premium’.

Tim Michell: Not enough.

Heath Shaw: 22.

Em Challis: Currently 10 but hopefully seven left after I get to full premium.

Lekdog: 10, but my team is finished ... if you squint.

JB: Seven.

Jackson Davey: Nine (six after trades this week)

Daniel Begala: Eight prior to trades this week (R14).

8. WHEN DID YOU USE YOUR LAST TRADE BOOST?

Al Paton: Round 10. That seems very early in hindsight!

The Phantom: Round 11.

Dan Batten: Too early – round 10, to grab Andrew Brayshaw and Christian Petracca, with varying results.

Tim Michell: Round 11. History will say keeping one for the byes would have been the right move, though. I won’t make that mistake again next year.

Heath Shaw: A few weeks ago.

Em Challis: Used my last trade boost in round 10, I was a little behind the ball with upgrades and tried to catch up. Gee, that extra boost would have been handy last week!

Lekdog: Heading into Round 13 I used my last Trade Boost.

JB: Round 11.

Jackson Davey: I used my boosts in rounds 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11.

Daniel Begala: … ages ago, but my team is complete as at R13.

Marcus Bontempelli gained dual-position status after round 11 in a new feature in KFC SuperCoach this year. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

9. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHANGE TO KFC SUPERCOACH THIS YEAR?

Al Paton: The positive feedback to all the changes has been great to see. I’ve clearly made use of the Trade Boosts but my personal favourite is the addition of new positions mid-season, which has created a great new talking point and new options for strategy.

The Phantom: BOOSTS!

Dan Batten: Hard to split dual-position player changes and boosts. Both have added additional strategy into the game which I love as a fantasy sports nuffie. If I had to choose to choose one it’d be the boosts, changing the way KFC SuperCoach is played and encouraging coaches to remain ultra-aggressive.

Tim Michell: Vice-captaincy stats being available in SuperCoach plus has made the loophole strategy even more important. Although, I still get it wrong most weeks.

Heath Shaw: Multi-position players changes.

Em Challis: The Trade Boosts have changed the pace of the game, which has made it quite interesting. But my favourite would have to be the DPP changes, they really have given the game a lot more flexibility and you can be a lot more creative with trades.

Lekdog: I love the Trade Boosts although I’d love to see how they work with a 30-trade limit! I feel like those extra trades have allowed us to upgrade a little too quickly.

JB: Everything has been great and as much as the Trade Boosts have been a brilliant second place, having the 35 trades has definitely made the game more intense and enjoyable for me.

Jackson Davey: Definitely trade boosts! Great mechanic.

Daniel Begala: I’ve loved the boosts and the flexibility to update trades mid-round as that’s certainly helped many coaches navigate unexpected carnage that would have historically ruined even the most carefully laid plans.

Stephen Coniglio has been a source of joy and despair for KFC SuperCoaches this year. Picture: Phil Hillyard

10. WHAT IS YOUR GOAL FROM HERE AND HOW OPTIMISTIC ARE YOU ABOUT ACHIEVING IT?

Al Paton: It has been a (very) slow climb from my round 1 rank of 47k. I wanted to crack the top 10k over the byes and that is in sight if a few players get selected this week (hello, Braydon Preuss). Next stop top 5k.

The Phantom: Top 100 is my goal from here and, while it will still take some work, I think I’ve got the team – and the PODs – to get there. Andy Brayshaw to Touk Miller could be the unusual move to supercharge my final bye round score. Do I lose?

Dan Batten: Would love to crack inside the top 1000 but that appears unlikely at this stage after some underwhelming upgrades. Currently closing in on my best rank for the year so if I can improve on that, I would be pleased.

Tim Michell: Have fun and try to forget I traded Stephen Coniglio. And barrack for The Phantom in his quest for a top-100 rank. If I could finish in the top 1-2k I’d consider that a successful season. That’s about as good as I could hope for.

Heath Shaw: Top 20,000.

Em Challis: I would love to be at least in the top 5000, I have halved my rank in four weeks so I think it’s achievable.

Lekdog: Honestly, I just want to get through this final bye-round with Braydon Preuss on the field. If he can get back into GWS’s starting 22 then I’m confident I can finish in the top 5 per cent or so.

JB: I would love to turn my shocking start in to a top 3k finish. Given my current ranking, future trade plans and final side projection, I see it as likely that I achieve this but far from guaranteed.

Jackson Davey: The goal is always to win - there is zero chance that happens this year though!

Daniel Begala: My goal is to finish firmly within the Top 400 coaches for the third year running.