KFC SuperCoach beginner’s guide: How players score points, scoring system explained

Kicks, marks and handballs are just part of the KFC SuperCoach scoring formula. Here’s how it works and which players dominate in the key scoring stats.

Every round players in your KFC SuperCoach team will earn points based on their performances in real AFL games.

The scoring formula has been developed by Champion Data and refined over many years to reward the stats that help win matches.

Getting a lot of kicks and handballs is a good start for scoring well in KFC SuperCoach, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

There are more than 50 statistical categories that count towards every player’s score. You don’t need to know all of them, but being across the key stats will help you pick the right players for your team.

The most important rule to remember is: winning your own footy and using it well when you get it are the foundations of a great KFC SuperCoach score.

Contested possessions – made up of hardball gets and loose ball gets – are worth 4.5 points, and a contested mark is worth six points. Demon Clayton Oliver led the AFL for contested possessions in 2021 with Ollie Wines, Jack Macrae and Christian Petracca in the top five.

Disposal efficiency is also rated very highly, kicks are worth more than handballs and long kicks are worth the most of all. Brisbane’s Daniel Rich had more kicks than any other player last season, ahead of Bailey Dale, Jack Macrae and Jack Ziebell.

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Jack Macrae ranks highly in lots of KFC SuperCoach scoring categories. Picture: Michael Klein

For defenders, a great way to score KFC SuperCoach points is via intercepts – a contested intercept mark ranks alongside a goal as the highest-scoring action in the game, both worth eight points.

Also look for defenders who take kick-ins, especially if they play on a lot. Running outside the square is an easy way to add another long kick to your tally. An effective kick-in from inside the goalsquare is worth only one point.

Ruckmen can be great KFC SuperCoach scorers – just look at Max Gawn, one of the best players in the game and one of the first picked in many teams. A hitout to advantage is worth five points, but beware a hitout that doesn’t go to anyone doesn’t earn any points and a sharked hitout is valued at minus one.

Tackles are another good scoring avenue, with an effective tackle worth four points. Ask Jack Steele how that can boost a points tally in KFC SuperCoach – he averaged 8.4 tackles per game in 2021.

Scoring assists are also rewarded as well as stats like knock-ons and spoils, but you would need a lot of those to post a big total.

Not every stat is positive. Ineffective disposals don’t earn any points and negative acts like clangers and free kicks against lose points (both -4 points). And you really don’t want any of your players giving away a 50m penalty – that’s a whopping 8.5 points off a player’s total.

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Max Gawn racks up lots of points from hitouts to advantage. Picture: David Crosling

Defenders like Tiger Jayden Short, who win plenty of the ball and kick long, are the kind of players you want in your KFC SuperCoach team. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

Another unique aspect of the KFC SuperCoach scoring system is that every game is worth the same number of points – 3300. That’s because every AFL game is worth four points on the ladder, so it doesn’t make sense for players to earn more points in a 35-goal shootout than in a wet weather slog in Tasmania in which only 12 goals are scored.

It also means Champion Data is constantly adjusting the scores throughout the game – you can follow live scores with a masthead subscription – and after the final siren there is usually a couple of minutes before scores are final. These final adjustments are known as scaling and can deliver a welcome boost to some of your players.

There is one more way for players to earn a big points boost. The scores for each stat are a base but every player’s score is weighted relevant to everyone else in the game (following the 3300-point rule) and based on margins in games. A simple way to think about it is the same action is worth more in a tight finish than in junk time of a blowout. Gawn hit the jackpot with his contested mark and matchwinning goal against the Cats last year.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach beginner’s guide: How players score points, scoring system explained