KFC SuperCoach 10 commandments: Follow these rules for success

Tempted by mid-pricers or injury-prone superstars? Stay on the path to SuperCoach success by following these 10 golden rules on team selection, trade strategy and why Collingwood haters can still pick Brodie Grundy.

Write this list down and read it every week before Round 1.

Put it in your top drawer and read it again during the home-and-away season.

These are the golden rules that can guide you through troubled KFC SuperCoach waters when it’s easy to lose our heads, hit the panic button or pick a team with 12 mid-pricers in it.

From proven selection strategies to throwing away your never again list, SuperCoach expert Alexie Beovich pronounces his 10 commandments for season 2020.

1. I WILL WATCH THE PRE-SEASON

Or at least listen to the people who have watched the pre-season (it can be hard to see all the games).

This is arguably the most important rule on this list, because pre-season matches provide us with so much information for the coming season; player positions, team game plans, player health and, most importantly, who the good rookie selections are!

2. I WILL NOT SELECT UNDERDONE PLAYERS

If you’re considering a player who has missed significant time in the pre-season, stop.

Whether it’s due to an injury (Ollie Wines), a honeymoon (Tom Stewart) or a freak dog bite (a Collingwood player, probably), players who miss the pre-season almost always underperform in the home-and-away one.

Don’t believe me? Clayton Oliver missed his 2019 pre-season with double shoulder surgeries and dropped his average from 114.7 to 109.4. That’s big for a $620,000 outlay. He’s had a full pre-season this year — and is a great pick for 2020, by the way.

3. I WILL NOT TRADE HEALTHY PREMIUMS BEFORE ROUND 3

This is a pretty specific rule, I’ll admit, but it has caught me two years running.

The worst of it was dropping Josh Dunkley prior to Round 3 before he went on to become the fifth-highest scoring SuperCoach player for 2019. A terrible decision that keeps me up at night.

Trust me, if you’re player isn’t injured, hold on to him. If he has been played out of position his coach will work it out pretty quickly.

Josh Dunkley dominated after being moved to the Bulldogs midfield.

4. I WILL CHECK THE TEAM LISTS BEFORE EACH ROUND

I will also follow the AFL and Herald Sun accounts on social media to keep up to date with any late changes.

It’s amazing how often people still get caught out with late changes. With a rolling lockout through to the last game of the round you can always make the required changes.

It’s 2020 people, turn on push notifications! Your opponent probably has.

5. MINIMISE YOUR MID-PRICE RISKS

Every year SuperCoaches everywhere get sucked in by picking too many mid-pricers.

Ask yourself, how many have ever really worked out for me? You’ll probably find that the answer is not very many.

Last year we had Nic Newman, Rowan Marshall and James Worpel successfully break out but they were close to the only genuine success stories we had.

My advice is, if you want to select a mid-pricer, pick one who has a clearly elevated role to move into.

Dawson playing well actually raises more questions than it answers #supercoach

— Lekdog (@LekDogSC) February 29, 2020

St Kilda moved on Tom Hickey on and Marshall succeeded, Carlton brought Newman in to fill a Sam Docherty sized hole in defence and Worpel was able to fill the Tom Mitchell void at Hawthorn.

If you don’t see a significantly SuperCoach-friendly role appearing for your breakout contender, don’t make the selection.

Rowan Marshall made the most of his opportunities at St Kilda last season. Picture: Michael Klein

6. I WILL NOT LET MY BIAS DICTATE MY TEAM SELECTION

Now I think it’s fair to say that I hate Collingwood — I’m a Carlton supporter so it’s in my blood — but I won’t let that stop me from selecting Brodie Grundy.

I’m not letting my bias hurt my SuperCoach team.

Coaches can be biased against individual players as well and that can lead to dire SuperCoach repercussions.

I swore that I would never be hurt by Bachar Houli again, so I didn’t pick him in 2019. What happens? He goes on to be the eighth-ranked defender for the year.

I’m sure if you’re reading this that you have a ‘never again’ list. Throw it away, look at the numbers and make good SuperCoach selections.

7. I WILL NOT WASTE MY TRADES

This one is simple. We are given only 30 trades for the entire SuperCoach season (after Round 1 lockout) and that doesn’t leave a huge margin for error.

Use your trades wisely and plan ahead. Know when it is the right time to trade a rookie for cash, jump on an underpriced premium or move an injured player on.

My rule of thumb is to only trade an injured premium if they are expected to miss more than three weeks.

MORE SUPERCOACH EXPERT ADVICE:

KFC SuperCoach Rookie Bible: Every potential cash cow for season 2020

The 10 must-have KFC SuperCoach players to build your starting team around

KFC SuperCoach crystal ball: Expert predictions for top-six scorers in every position

KFC SuperCoach Marsh Series week two: Tom Green stands tall, Bailey Williams looms as rookie ruck contender

KFC SuperCoach winner Dwayne Delmenico reveals his tactics to go back-to-back in 2020

Stats show Christian Petracca is charting Patrick Dangerfield’s rise to KFC SuperCoach stardom

8. AVOID PREMIUM DOUGHNUTS

Another (theoretically) simple rule to guide you to SuperCoach success is to select players who play every week!

It’s all well and good that Josh Kelly averages 113-plus every year but he also has played only 29 of a possible 44 SuperCoach matches in the past two years.

Points on the field are the only thing that matters, so select players who don’t miss games. Lachie Neale (130 of his last 132 SuperCoach matches) and Patrick Dangerfield (at least 19 games in every season since 2009) are great examples of this principle.

Josh Kelly is a brilliant scorer. Can you trust him to stay fit? Picture: Phil Hillyard

9. MILK THE MOST OUT OF YOUR CASH COWS

It’s important to not trade your rookies too early!

With the right planning and listening to the right podcasts (tune into the Jock Reynolds SuperCoach podcast wherever you get your podcasts) you can squeeze plenty of cash out of your fattened rookies as their average reaches their Break Even.

Generating value from your rookies is integral to being able to afford those premiums you want in your side.

A great tool for keeping on top of your cash generation is by subscribing to SuperCoach Stats, you’ll be able to see all of your rookie price projections throughout the year.

10. ENJOY YOURSELF!

This is the most important rule I have for SuperCoach.

At the end of the day SuperCoach is a game, so have some fun.

Don’t let a poor SuperCoach score ruin your weekend of footy, being upset doesn’t change the result but footy does bring us all together.

I make sure that I never check SuperCoach scores when I’m at a Carlton game with family and friends, it keeps me engaged and prevents me from getting upset when something doesn’t go right.

If you want to hear more from me or have your own SuperCoach rules you want to discuss, you can hit me up on Twitter @LekdogSC or over at jockreynolds.com.au, where you can subscribe to our podcast.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach 10 commandments: Follow these rules for success