SuperCoach 2026 Reflections – What Did We Learn?
The end of another AFL SuperCoach season is almost here.
In a couple of weeks, most of us will stop thinking about AFL SuperCoach altogether. Some will move onto BBL SuperCoach, others will turn their attention to EPL Fantasy, and before we know it we’ll be back again in January trying to remember what we learned from 2026.
And that’s the problem.
We spend six months making hundreds of decisions – starting selections, rookies, mid-pricers, captain choices, upgrades, sideways trades, injury trades and bye planning – and then when the season finishes, we basically shut the door and forget about it.
So before we do that, I thought it would be worthwhile taking a moment to reflect on the 2026 season while it’s still fresh in our minds.
Go back and look at your original Round 1 team. Have a look through your trade history. Think about the selections that worked, the ones that didn’t, the trades you nailed and the ones you’d love to have back.
Most importantly, take a few notes.
What did you actually learn this year that might make you a better SuperCoach player in 2027?
I’ve put together a series of questions and answered them based on my own season. I’m currently sitting 1,407 overall with two rounds remaining, so there have been plenty of things that have gone right – but also plenty I’d do differently if I had the season over again.
I’d love everyone to answer the same questions in the comments.
If we get enough people sharing their experiences, we might spot some common themes. Did mid-pricers actually work? How many trades did injuries cost everyone? Did we sell our good rookies too early? What starting selections paid off? What mistakes kept being repeated?
We spend plenty of time during the season sharing advice about what we’re going to do.
This is our chance to share what we actually did – and what we learned from it.
Then we can all save a few notes, move onto BBL or EPL……and hopefully remember to read them before we make exactly the same mistakes again in 2027.
HOW MANY OF YOUR ROUND 1 PLAYERS ARE STILL IN YOUR TEAM?
My answer: 7 – Jackson, Clark, Daicos, Dawson, Gawn, Sheezel and White, who remains my R3 loophole.
Petracca almost counts – I started him, traded him out when injured and eventually traded him back in.
WHO WAS YOUR BEST STARTING PREMIUM?
Jordan Dawson.
He was a bit of a POD to start the year. After an understandably difficult start to the season following the death of his brother, he missed two of the first six games and averaged just 94.
From Round 7 onwards he’s averaged 117 and become a must-have.
Starting Gawn and Jackson at R1/R2 also worked out pretty well.
WHO WAS YOUR WORST STARTING PREMIUM?
Jordon Clark.
And he hasn’t exactly been terrible – he’s averaged around 92 and hasn’t missed a game. If that’s my worst starting premium, I’ll take it.
HOW MANY MID-PRICERS DID YOU START – AND HOW MANY WORKED?
Six. And none of them.
Young and Parish were my $300k-$400k fallen-premium types, with Budarick, Bruhn, Coleman and Windsor between $230k-$300k.
They all got injured and none really worked.
I got sucked into the pre-season form of Windsor and Budarick.
WHAT WAS YOUR BEST TRADE-IN?
Bailey Dale – Round 10.
He gave me a 141 first up. I’d actually looked at him two weeks earlier when he was about $70k cheaper, but I was still very happy with the trade.
WHAT WAS YOUR WORST TRADE-IN?
Hugh McCluggage – Round 10 for $474k.
His first three scores: 57, 47, 68. Then he got injured and I traded him out.
HOW MANY TRADES WERE YOU FORCED TO MAKE BECAUSE OF INJURY?
18
Premiums – 10: Rozee, Petracca, C. Serong, Butters, Callaghan, Flanders, Dale, Holmes, Sinclair and Nas.
Non-premiums – 8: Windsor, Robertson, Sharp, Budarick, Parish, Young, Coleman and Steene.
And I’m guessing I’m not alone – even going into Round 23, injuries are still causing carnage for SuperCoach teams.
Go through your trade history and count yours. I’m really interested to see everyone’s number.
WHAT WAS THE BEST TRADE YOU DIDN’T MAKE?
Holding Xerri in Round 18.
I was ready to trade him because his role didn’t look right.
I held, he scored 133, and more importantly I saved a trade that I desperately needed when Holmes, Butters, Dale and Callaghan got injured.
WHAT TRADE DO YOU WISH YOU HAD MADE?
Sam Durham – Round 13 at $365k.
I watched him go: 127, 90, 128, 109, 106, 113.
Then I finally bought him for $496k.
WHO WAS YOUR BEST ROOKIE?
Jack Carroll.
He looked shaky early but eventually gave me two 100+ scores and made around $200k.
WHO WILL BE FIRST PICKED IN YOUR 2027 TEAM?
There could be some serious value.
Tom Green is the obvious one. After missing the entire season, he could be around $420k.
Then there’s Nic Martin, potentially around $380k as a FWD, and Rozee, potentially around $400k as a DEF.
They’ll all need a full pre-season, but those prices will be hard to resist.
Outside the injury discounts, I’m loving Will Ashcroft at potentially around $550k and Gulden as a FWD at around $560k.
WHO IS ON YOUR NEVER-AGAIN LIST?
Nobody. Everyone has their price.
But I’ll be very wary of starting premiums aged 31+.
Bont, Whitfield, Merrett and that age group worry me. I think that’s around the tipping point where we can start seeing a decline in scoring. Unless you play in defence for North Melbourne.
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST STARTING-TEAM MISTAKE?
Mid-pricers. Again.
Young and Parish were defensible as fallen-premium types, but the cheaper stepping-stone selections weren’t.
I’d have been better finding a couple more rookies and using the money to get another premium.
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST TRADING MISTAKE?
Selling good rookies too early.
Jagga Smith, McAndrew and Jai Serong all had good roles and passed the eye test.
I was too quick to cash them in. Hold them and use the trades when you really need them.
Sometimes we need to trust what we’re watching rather than automatically selling a rookie because they’ve reached a certain price.
HOW DID YOU GO WITH CAPTAINCY?
My average captain score: 127.
That’s reasonable. But another 10 points per week and I’d potentially be sitting inside the top 500 instead of around the top 2,000.
I don’t think I ignored a VC score over 125 all season. Maybe 135 should be my VC cut-off in 2027?
WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE IF YOU COULD START 2026 AGAIN?
Plan the mid-season byes much better.
Rounds 12 and 16 were particularly bad and I came out of the byes about 2,000 ranking spots worse than I went into them.
I’ve probably worried too much about the early-season byes and not enough about the ones that can really hurt.
WHAT LESSONS DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR 2027 SELF?
A few notes for when I inevitably forget all of this next February:
Stick to Guns and Rookies.
Any mid-pricer must be a genuine fallen premium, have a full pre-season and have the potential to finish top 10 in their position.
No stepping stones.
Be careful starting premiums aged 31+.
Every trade-in should either be a rookie making money or a top-10 player in their position.
Be patient. The expensive players always get cheaper.
Don’t sell good rookies too early.
Plan the mid-season byes. Don’t worry as much about the early-season byes.
And above everything else: Make every trade count (they become more valuable as the season goes). After being forced into 18 injury trades in 2026, you never know when you’re going to desperately need the trade you were thinking about wasting three weeks earlier.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN – YOUR 2026 REFLECTIONS
Before you move onto BBL, EPL or whatever comes next, take five minutes, look through your team and trade history and answer these in the comments:
How many Round 1 players remain in your team?
Who was your best starting premium?
Who was your worst starting premium?
How many mid-pricers did you start – and how many worked?
What was your best trade-in?
What was your worst trade-in?
How many premium injury trades were you forced to make? Who were they?
How many non-premium injury trades? Who were they?
What was the best trade you DIDN’T make?
What trade do you wish you’d made?
Who was your best rookie?
Who will be first picked in your 2027 team?
Who’s on your NEVER-AGAIN list?
What was your biggest starting-team mistake?
What was your biggest trading mistake?
How did you go with captaincy?
What would you change if you had 2026 over again?
What lessons do you want your 2027 SuperCoach self to remember?
I’m particularly interested in everyone’s injury trade numbers and the lessons people are taking into next year.
If enough of us share our answers, there might be some genuinely useful lessons for the whole SuperCoach community to take into 2027.
And when I start talking up another $250k mid-pricer next February… please remind me that I wrote this.
Thanks fellas