SuperCoach AFL 2025: Winners and losers from round 3

The backline rookie crisis is over, but SuperCoaches have some much bigger problems in the form of big names who aren’t living up to their price tags.

Rookies and mid-pricers are supposed to be the hardest picks to get right in SuperCoach.

But many coaches have nailed a crop of excellent rookies this season headed by the likes of Sam Davidson and Nathan O’Driscoll – and they were even joined by cheapies in defence in round 3.

Supposedly risky mid-pricers like Jack Macrae and Will Ashcroft are dominating.

But it’s the “set and forget” premiums who are letting coaches down.

See who starred and who flopped in round 3 and early trade advice.

WHO’S HOT

Luke Jackson – 165 points

Topscored for the round on the back of 18 hitouts to advantage – that’s almost 100 points from that stat alone. With Fremantle binning the Liam Reidy experiment, Jackson is the man until Sean Darcy returns, and he was a huge point of difference this week as the big money rucks struggled. But Darcy might not be far away.

Jack Sinclair – 162 points

Richmond had little interest in stopping Sinclair despite his elite skills off half-back, running up and down Marvel Stadium virtually unopposed to collect a personal-best 40 disposals and using the ball at 85 per cent efficiency. He’s now averaging 134 for the season – well played if you ignored his pre-season hamstring injury.

Sam Davidson – 129 points

The 23-year-old medical student was playing for Richmond’s VFL team last year. On Friday night he had more disposals than any other player – 31 to go with 10 marks and seven score involvements. Stand by for a huge price increase.

we are all gonna be rich soon 😍 pic.twitter.com/K6L0ZGvhN3

— The SCodfather (@magicmoments000) March 28, 2025

Sam Davidson starred in his third AFL game. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Will Day – 103 points

Almost 18,000 Day owners lost patience after two poor scores and traded him out before round 3. He responded with a match-turning 24 disposals and a goal against the Giants. He didn’t quite make his Break Even of 129 but he will start making money soon enough – after the Hawks’ round 4 bye.

Christian Moreas – 94 points

Must-have rookie alert! The draft slider (pick 38) was a ball magnet at junior level and he provided a much-needed positive for the Power on Thursday night with 27 disposals (second-most for Port Adelaide) in just his second game. If you have a midfield rookie who isn’t getting a game or isn’t scoring as well as you had hoped, he’s an easy swap at a bargain price with guaranteed money making potential.

Will Ashcroft – 136 points

The Norm Smith medallist took a couple of weeks to get going but he was the pick of Brisbane’s midfielders against Geelong – and they have a few handy ones. Thirty-three disposals and a goal from one of the season’s best value picks.

Luke Trainor played his best AFL game against St Kilda. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Luke Trainor – 90 points

Who was worried about defensive rookies? Trainor bounced back from a 24-point game a week ago and will now have that score in his rolling average for another two weeks – watch the cash roll in. It’s a similar story for Zach Reid (88) and Connor O’Sullivan, who scored 77 in his bubble game.

Tobie Travaglia – 83 points

And there are more rookie backs on the horizon. Popular pre-season pick Travaglia had to wait until round 3 to make his debut, and even then he was set to be the sub until Jack Steele was hurt in the warm-up. But he made the most of his chance with 18 touches and some centre bounce action. The one proviso is there wasn’t a lot of opposition, especially after halftime – watch him closely this week to decide if he’s someone we need to bring in before his price moves. We have one more week to assess Saad El-Hawli after he copped the sub vest but showed real spark when he finally got on the park.

WHO’S COLD

Harry Sheezel – 89 points

We need to talk about the Kangaroos gun. Sheezel has barely played a bad game in his short AFL career, but he has suffered a surprise price drop after a second score in the 80s in the first three rounds. For reference, he dropped under 100 only three times in 21 games last season. The role is still there – playing mostly midfield with stints forward – and on paper 31, 28 and 26 disposals sounds good. But against Adelaide 12 of those came in the final quarter, when the margin was never close and touches were worth less in SuperCoach. Some other premium defenders have started hot, but sideways trading Sheezel would be a massive call – just ask the coaches who traded him out after two lower scores midway through last season.

Harry Sheezel is just going at the moment. Just 11 effective disposals at 3/4 time and no impact on the scoreboard. #SuperCoach#AFLFantasy#AFLCrowsNorth

— Fantasy Freako (@FantasyFreako) March 30, 2025

Connor Rozee – 64 points

After scores of 152 and 141 in two of his past three games against Essendon, Rozee was a popular vice-captain pick in round 3. But he looked off the pace all night, finishing with 22 touches at just 59 per cent efficiency. We didn’t see this coming, but can forgive him a bad game after posting 128 and 130 in the first two rounds. One red flag – he might have a Marcus Windhager tag incoming this week.

Jason Horne-Francis – 82 points

This is more of a problem. Horne-Francis saved owners from total disaster with a nine-disposal final quarter (including a goal), but he has now scored 83, 61 and 82, and will lose money from what we thought was a value starting price. The SuperCoach mantra is to back in your premiums, but something just isn’t right with JHF, and Port Adelaide, early in 2025.

A dominant pre-season is a distant memory for Jason Horne-Francis and Port Adelaide. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Max Gawn – 88 points

Speaking of not quite right, the most expensive ruckman in the game delivered another underwhelming score in round 3. After being beaten by Tristan Xerri a week ago, Gawn lowered his colours to Jarrod Witts. Gawn’s 22,000 owners have to ask themselves – do you cop a huge price drop and ride it out, or cut your losses? Coaches with Christian Petracca (80) in their teams will be asking similar questions. Melbourne just isn’t a great club for SuperCoach premiums right now.

Sam De Koning – 50 points

When Brisbane ruckman Oscar McInerney was a late out, De Koning owners dreamt of big numbers in the ruck. Those hopes didn’t last long with an early free kick and 50m penalty against sending SDK into the negatives. Playing in a tropical downpour was always going to make life difficult, and he managed 16 touches and just two marks before being subbed out for tactical reasons. The Cats face Melbourne next week – will Chris Scott back in De Koning against Gawn or call up Rhys Stanely, who dominated in the VFL?

Finn Callaghan – 55 points

Callaghan has arrived as an elite AFL midfielder in 2025, and unfortunately that carries a big target for opposition coaches. Sam Mitchell sent Conor Nash to the GWS dasher on Saturday night and would have been rapt with his efforts, with Callaghan going at just 62 per cent from his 21 disposals. He should have an easier time against West Coast next week.

Finn Callaghan was traded into more than 10,000 teams last week. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Lachie Neale – 71 points

Neale has been dealing with taggers for years, but it doesn’t make it any more fun. He copped his second serious clamp in three rounds with Tom Atkins getting the job at the Gabba, and he made Neale work for every one of his 20 touches – laying a game-high 14 tackles.

Xavier Lindsay – 9 points

Some good news from the Demons on Sunday with scans showing Lindsay – who was traded in by almost 44,000 coaches last week – has avoided an ACL injury, and could even play this week. He lasted only three minutes at the MCG on Saturday, managing two kicks in that time before being subbed out. With a Break Even of -75, he’ll still make us money.

Originally published as SuperCoach AFL 2025: Winners and losers from round 3