KFC SuperCoach 2022: Introduction to trade, selection strategy

Ready to take your KFC SuperCoach game to a new level? Long-time players lift the lid on the value picks and trading strategy you can use to get ahead in 2022.

Earlier in the pre-season, Clarky and Baron Von Crow from the Jock Reynolds SuperCoach community presented the rules to follow when selecting a KFC SuperCoach team.

Now you know the basics, it’s time to manage your team like a winner because starting selections are only part of what makes a good KFC SuperCoach side.

There are many tactics that can be used throughout the year to put you ahead of everyone else. Lekdog, Damo and Azza reveal the inside info that can help you join the KFC SuperCoach elite.

VOIDS OF SIGNIFICANCE

When we refer to a “void of significance” we are talking about positional gaps within a team that have appeared either through the trading of a player in the off-season, another player being dropped to the reserves or an injury to a key contributor.

Identifying these voids of significance can give us insight into potential value selections. These could be players who are underpriced and could see a scoring increase or even a rookie who is ready to debut.

Keeping up to date with injury lists, “best-22’s” and team news during the week, will help you stay on top of the best trade options throughout the season.

Players who might fill a void of significance in 2022:

Brayden Fiorini ($551,600 MID) – averaged 110.6 from Round 17 onwards in 2021 for the Suns after Hugh Greenwood went down with injury. Greenwood left the Gold Coast in the off-season so a spot in that midfield is up for grabs.

Mitch McGovern ($256,000 FWD) – has been training with the Carlton defenders during the pre-season and may be called upon to fill Liam Jones’ role.

Mitch McGovern could play a much more KFC SuperCoach-friendly rule at the Blues in 2022. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Darcy Tucker ($323,200 DEF) and Will Brodie ($224,300 MID/FWD) – have both been playing midfield minutes in Fremantle’s match simulations at training and appear to be the main beneficiaries of Adam Cerra’s departure.

Nathan Kreuger ($198,100 DEF) – was traded to Collingwood in the off-season and should get a crack at filling one of their key forward posts in 2022.

Charlie Dean ($102,400 DEF) – mature-age Magpie recruit is in the mix to fill in for Jordan Roughead who will miss the early rounds with a shoulder injury.

Voids of significance can appear at any time in the pre-season – who will get more midfield time at Carlton while Sam Walsh is out? – or during the year, and can be a great indicator of a player jumping onto the KFC SuperCoach radar.

ROOKIES

You want rookies who are playing because their most important role is to increase the value of your team, allowing you to upgrade them to premiums later in the year.

A rookie will earn money based on the scores they produce compared to their Break Even – the score a player must achieve to raise their value (you can see every player’s Break Even in Supercoach Plus).

For example, Suns cheapie Elijah Hollands has a Break Even of just 23 points in Round 1, if he scores more than that his value will start to jump once price movements start in Round 3.

Generally, people will trade a rookie when their Break Even is higher than their average score.

Read all about the best rookies in our 2022 Rookie Bible.

TRADE RULES

Form is temporary, class is forever … or so they say.

As a rule, you don’t trade your premium players. These are guys you’ve paid the big bucks for, and are expecting to hold for the entire season. Form slumps happen, but they are premium selections for a reason, and will usually bounce back.

The only reasons you would trade a premium might include:

1. A clear role change – Michael Walters was targeted as a premium forward option in 2021 due to his stints in the midfield in previous seasons, but returned to his customary role as a small forward and saw a slump in his scoring output.

2. Long-term injury – your player is expected to miss an extended period of football.

3. Lingering injury – this is often a 50-50 call when your premium player is playing hurt but not playing quite badly enough to justify using a trade.

If one of your players is suspended for six weeks, that’s a must-trade! Picture: Phil Hillyard

DEALING WITH INJURIES

How long you hold an injured player for has long been debated in the KFC SuperCoach community.

Trades are good as gold, so they need to be used wisely. You don’t generally trade someone who’s only going to be missing for 1-2 weeks or is still playing while injured, but you are going to trade someone who will be missing for more than four weeks. However, whether you trade or not depends on what your team needs. Things to consider when deciding on whether you hold or player or not might include:

1. Do you have 22 scoring players this week?

2. Do you need a big win in your league?

3. Where do you sit in the overall rankings? Can you afford to hold the trade and use it at a more crucial time of the season?

4. Is your injured player still playing and are they performing badly enough to justify a trade?

OPPOSITION ANALYSIS

Players tend to play better against some sides, and not so great against others. This goes for venues as well. Through SuperCoach Plus and other similar tools, you can identify players to target with your trades, which bench players to put on-field, or who to captain each week. Things to consider when looking at match-ups:

1. Does the opposition team use a tagger?

2. Does your player perform well or poorly against this team (recent average versus opponent)?

3. Does your player perform well or poorly a this venue?

4. Is your player excelling at their current role or is there a chance their coach might shake things up?

LOOPHOLES

In your starting side you want as many playing rookies as possible. Teams can quickly come unstuck if they have a bench full of players who aren’t getting games or increasing in value.

However, selecting a non-playing rookie has its perks.

You can use a non-playing rookie to “loophole,” which is a tactic savvy SuperCoaches use to get two bites at the cherry for their captain or a rookie to get the higher score.

To set up the rookie loophole, you’ll need to start with two scoring rookies on the bench, and your non-playing rookie on the field. Nominate the bench player who plays earlier in the round as an emergency and, if he scores well, leave your team as it is – the non-scoring rookie will score zero and you will get your emergency score instead.

If the emergency player fails, substitute your second scoring rookie onto the field and move the non-playing rookie to the bench. Then you will get the playing rookie’s score (just hope they score more than the first player!).

If you try out the vice-captain loophole, it pays to hae a solid back-up captain like Clayton Oliver or Max Gawn. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

The captaincy loophole follows the same principle. Nominate a player who features early in the round as your vice-captain and if they go bananas, you can put your non-playing emergency on the field and make them captain; when they score zero your vice-captain’s score will be doubled.

If the VC doesn’t live up to expectations, make a player later in the round captain and play on as normal.

Loopholes can deliver valuable extra points but they can also cause headaches based on the order of games, so make sure you check the fixture before setting up your loophole(s) for the round.

That wraps up Supercoach 101 part two. For more content from Damo, Azza, Lekdog and the whole Jock Reynolds team, head to jockreynolds.com.au.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach 2022: Introduction to trade, selection strategy