KFC SuperCoach: Mick’s Mid-Price Madness team for 2022

The majority of KFC SuperCoaches follow the tried and true approach of rookies and premos. Not Mick Randall. He’s got six Suns — and none of them are Touk Miller.

Let me preface every word of this article by saying my KFC SuperCoach study has been limited this year by a bigger focus on covering the two Melbourne teams while they dominate the NBL.

It’s been fun, but it means I’m behind the eight ball in SuperCoach.

Who am I kidding? There is no eight ball when it comes to my teams.

Cue the ‘how s**t is this team’ from the Twitter trolls and Facebook keyboard warriors.

Rather than the cut and paste ‘guns and rookies’ strategy, I enjoy the graft of trying to pick guys on an upward trend who can either become premos, or at least make some money and be upgraded to premos.

Here’s the wacky 2022 incarnation of Mick’s Mid-Price Madness, with the usual asterisk that reserves the right to wholesale changes before the first bounce.

Enjoy.

DEFENDERS

Confessed Hawks supporter here, Sicily is reportedly showing no ill-effects from his injury and Will Day is just fantastic and on track for an early season return. You have to start with Lloyd and it looks like Ziebell is going to pick up where he left off last season. Zac Williams back to half back under Voss and hopefully he can become what we were all expecting him to be last year. O’Driscoll’s on everyone’s cheapie radar and I’ve got two Pie big cheapies, waiting to see if one gets a gig for Jeremy Howe.

Noah Anderson is primed for a big year. Picture: Getty Images

MIDFIELDERS

How good are the midfield kids this year? Daicos? Lock. Horne-Francis? Lock? Charlie Ward? Lock (because he’s a Hawk — pick with your heart, not your head, is the KFC SuperCoach motto, right?). Macrae’s the best in it. I had Parish in and out of my team right up until the start of last season and left him out — massive mid-price madness mistake. He can go to another level again this year in an Essendon side tipped for big things. I realise I have a lot of Suns, but it’s justified. Anderson is a gun, Rowell is far too cheap to ignore, given the potential, Stewy Dew reckons Davies will get a chance at the Hugh Greenwood gig and I have never been able to fathom why Chris Scott refused to play Constable at Geelong. Cripps should bounce back with more midfield support. Hollands is a popular cheapie pick, but there is a chance Tom Green lands in here before the start of the season.

Can these mid-priced stars become KFC SuperCoach premos in 2022?

RUCKS

Here’s where I’ve gone real batty. No Gawn. No Grundy. I toyed with this last season and settled on starting just Gawn — which looked a shocker after round 1. Expect I’ll end with them, but Witts is proven and will re-assume the No.1 mantle at the Suns. Preuss — let’s see what happens there with the GWS ruck situation. I will be more definitive on a rookie bench closer to the season, but Comben is the pick for now. I also reserve the right to start Grawndy.

FORWARDS

Zak Butters was my first player picked. Kid could win a Brownlow one day. Absolutely love his game and so does SuperCoach. I will die on Shai Bolton’s hill. Treloar under $500k — couldn’t resist. De Goey on his last chance? Yep, especially after the finish to last season. Can Isaac Heeney finally stay healthy? I hazard to pick Coniglio, but he’s pretty cheap there. Rachele looks the part and could crack the Crows’ midfield rotation. Similar to the two Pies in defence, I’ve done the same thing with the two Bomber boys. If one or none of them gets a gig, I can swing changes.

Round 1 VC and C — My vice-captain is always someone most people wouldn’t touch. It’s Treloar. The poor bloke has lost two grand finals. I know he butchers the footy, but reckon he might have some revenge on his mind against the Dees. Having said that, the Dogs will probably get smashed, so lucky I have Patrick Cripps as my captain. Ha, crazy, right? Round 1 is for experimentation. He’s fit, firing and the Blues ‘are coming’ under Voss. Guaranteed 63 SuperCoach points, now. I can also guarantee that these two blokes won’t be it when round 1 comes along.

Mick Randall's Mid-Priced Madness team for 2022.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach: Mick’s Mid-Price Madness team for 2022