KFC SuperCoach Plus: 11 things we learned from the AAMI Series

With the start of Round 1 only days away, it’s time to get your KFC SuperCoach team in order. The Phantom looks at 11 vital things we learned in the pre-season.

The countdown to Round 1 is officially on, KFC SuperCoaches.

To help you get your final team in order, The Phantom has gone back over his notes, all the AAMI Series scores and the key KFC SuperCoach Plus stats to make sure you are across everything you need to know.

SuperCoach Plus is a treasure trove of stats and tools including Break Evens, score and price projections, a bye planner, the new Trade Assist button and lots more. And now SuperCoach Plus subscribers can see live KFC SuperCoach scores for every AFL game in the 2022 season.

And you get exclusive weekly analysis articles just like this one!

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Matt Rowell scored 121 KFC SuperCoach points in the AAMI Series. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

1. Matt Rowell is back

The sight of the Gold Coast midfielder running around freely and without layers of strapping brought a smile to the faces of KFC SuperCoaches. But, after Rowell finished with 27 disposals, a game-high 18 contested possessions, eight clearances, seven tackles and 121 points, it’s also brought about a dilemma – how and where do you fit him in? Because, at $342k, he presents tremendous value, given his scoring power – remember he averaged 124 points in the first four games of his career in 2020 before a shocking injury run. At that price, too, although he has keeper potential, you don’t exactly have to pick him to be one, given his likely cash generation could justify the selection alone.

2. So is Patrick Cripps

Last week when I was asked the question of whether Patrick Cripps back, I said maybe. Now, it’s more than a maybe. After a flawless pre-season, the Carlton skipper hit the ground running in the practice match, before going to another level in the club’s AAMI Series clash. Cripps finished with a huge 157 KFC SuperCoach points, on the back of 30 disposals, eight tackles and four goals, against the Demons. At $454k, he’s underpriced on what he’s achieved in the past but can he jump back into top-eight contention in the midfield? That’s the other question you have to ask yourself.

PRE-SEASON INTEL: EVERY SUPERCOACH SCORE FROM THE AAMI SERIES

ROOKIE RANKINGS: THE PHANTOM’S TOP 10 CHEAPIES ON EVERY LINE

Is Mitch McGovern ready to make his mark at the Blues? Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

3. Mitch McGovern is a serious option

Staying on the Blues, the forward-turned-defender must be considered in KFC SuperCoach. Don’t worry, I tried hard not to be impressed, either, but it was hard to be in Carlton’s AAMI Series win. McGovern lined up behind the ball, just as he’s done for most of the pre-season, and proved very hard to get past. The 27-year-old took a game-high six intercept marks and had 19 disposals, on his way to 100 KFC SuperCoach points. When he wasn’t marking it back off the opposition, he was spoiling, and he played on with his two kick-ins. Add his name to big list of value forward options, but he could be the only one who gets defender status by Round 6.

4. It’s finally Will Brodie time

Brodie averaged 121, 127, 124 and 100 in his four VFL seasons at Gold Coast and in the final six senior games of 2019, he ranked first at the Suns for hardball-gets, second for tackles and handballs, third for disposals, fourth for clearances and fifth for contested possessions. But he was constantly overlooked, and made just 25 senior appearances at the club after being drafted in 2016. That looks like it’s finally to change this year, with Justin Longmuir impressed with the recruit’s pre-season at the Dockers. Brodie tallied 28 disposals and 124 points in the practice match against the Eagles and he backed it up a week later in the AAMI Series, finishing with 23 disposals, eight tackles and 100 points. He only played 67 per cent of the game but, while that might happen again as he continues to build his fitness, Brodie proved he doesn’t need to be out there for as long as some others. Nat Fyfe didn’t play, but Brodie’s rise might allow Fyfe to spend that extra time forward, anyway.

5. It really is the year of the expensive rookie

If you’re going with Brodie, you probably have him alongside Josh Rachele. That’s $400k right there – and that’s just the forward line. You should have Jason Horne-Francis (16 disposals, 2.2 and 87 points) and Nick Daicos (31 disposals and 100 points) in the midfield, too, and now Josh Ward has made his case. With Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara missing, Hawthorn’s top pick tallied 29 disposals, a game-high 19 contested possessions and a team-high 124 points against the Tigers. If you can’t squeeze him on field, there’s merit in an expensive rookie bench, with there are so few sold basement-price picks around. Third-year Swan Dylan Stephens (20 disposals and 63 points) looms as another $150k+ starting option. KFC SuperCoach plus stats tell us Daicos, Horne-Francis, Rachele and Ward are all in the top 10 most-owned players.

Josh Ward starred for the Hawks against the Tigers. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

6. Sam De Koning could be our rookie saviour in defence

Mitch Hinge ($180k), Josh Gibcus ($171k) and Paddy McCartin ($157k) are three of the top rookie picks in a very shallow rookie defender pool, further highlighting the need to spend more on the cheapies in 2022. But, while the weekend started with Nathan O’Driscoll being left out of the Dockers side, it finished with young Cat Sam De Koning recording 92 KFC SuperCoach points, on the back of 19 disposals, five marks and no clangers. And his price is far more appealing at $123k. Sure, he may not win as much of the ball when Tom Stewart and Jack Henry return, but lock him away on your bench.

7. But the rookie ruck strategy is dead

Even before Braydon Preuss was suspended for one match for rough conduct, the rookie R2 play looked risky. Although the former Kangaroos and Demons big man featured in the centre more as the game went on, he started forward against Collingwood as Matt Flynn assumed the lead ruck role, like he did in the practice game. It just wasn’t meant to be. Maybe it’s saved us some KFC SuperCoach pain.

8. Tristan Xerri could be North’s No.1 ruckman

Another ruck battle is looming. If the pre-season is anything to go by, the 22-year-old could be about to overtake Todd Goldstein as North Melbourne’s main man. In the AAMI Series game against the Swans, as Goldstein spent plenty of time forward, the aggressive Xerri finished with 96 points on the back of 17 disposals, 14 contested possessions and 29 hitouts. And in his five VFL appearances last season, the ball-winning big man posted scores of 110, 105, 102, 125 and 109, proving he could be a solid scorer in the role. But is Goldstein really finished? I’m not convinced just yet.

9. Sean Darcy’s scoring power is something else

Just on No.1 ruckmen, Docker Sean Darcy again sent a reminder of his KFC SuperCoach power. The 23-year-old, who scored 193 and 183 in consecutive weeks last year, tallied 95 KFC SuperCoach points from just eight disposals – six of them handballs. Darcy recorded 11 hitouts-to-advantage and won five his possessions in a contest. He does find a way to cop a knock – like he has done again over the pre-season – but the upside is big.

Touk Miller is set to go big again in 2022. Picture: Albert Perez/AFL PhotosImages)

10. Touk Miller could really be the No.1 midfielder

After scores of 140 and 149 in the pre-season, Miller deservedly sits alongside the top KFC SuperCoach midfielders of the competition. And not just because he had a good year in 2021. Miller has an almost-unmatched workrate and fills almost every column in the stat sheet. Against the Cats, Gold Coast’s co-captain, who is in only 19 per cent of teams, finished with 32 disposals, 14 contested possessions, nine tackles, seven clearances and two goals.

11. Andy McGrath could finish the year as a top-six defender

The young Bomber might be a midfielder in KFC SuperCoach now, but he could be one to benefit from the introduction of the in-season position changes. While he, again, featured at the centre bounce, McGrath rotated across half-back – like he did early in his career - during the pre-season and had a big impact in both of Essendon’s matches. He scored 115 points in the practice game against the Bulldogs and then backed it up with 21 disposals and 102 points in the AAMI Series.

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Originally published as KFC SuperCoach Plus: 11 things we learned from the AAMI Series