Along with any other thoughts you have go ahead and copy the template and fill out, to whatever extent you like, your early calls for SC 2026.
Locks:
Never Agains:
Watchlist:
Discounts:
Starting DEFs:
Starting MIDs:
Starting RUCs:
Starting FWDs:
Structure & Strategy Thoughts:
For a bit of fun, Phil, AJ, GKMC, Hass, Cripps Walk and Dyanasis, here’s last year’s iteration of this and your responses:
https://supercoachtalk.com/poll-sc-2025/
For never agains last year I said – and I quote – “Satan. Won’t bother till he’s 100% in order. Would take an epic preseason at a new club.”
…and yet, I panicked at his ownership and started him. Lol. Such a sheep.
Way to throw me under the bus highlighting me saying Rowell and Jackson are never again, GD!
Lmao, they’ve both averaged 115+. Dead.
Wow, great work keeping this GD. I mostly stuck with my locks and starting predictions, and avoided Blues all season (not that it helped me enjoy the games this year). Too bullish on Sheezel at over $600k, glad I avoided McKercher. I started Oliver despite making fun of him, the high ownership was the trigger in the end. And I kept some trades for the end, which was lucky given I got hit by Xerri, JHF and co a few weeks ago.
Yep. No 600kers absolutely the go, Ash.
I’ll probably end up being tempted by someone over $600k, but they’ll need to be lock C/VC options. Let’s remind each other in preseason!
Absolutely!
Stringer & no 600kers. Done.
Lock it in, Ash!
Me too! Was also on my never again list and he’s still in my team!
Never again….how many on Bomber’s list atm ??
Locks: Bont until he retires, Max Holmes, Jagga Smith
Never Agains: Sean Darcy, Jack Steele, Sam Walsh
Watchlist: Luke Jackson, all of this year’s rooks who didn’t play much (Bo Allen, Jagga, Smillie), Liam Henry (what the hell happened to this guy)
Discounts: Houston, JHF, Kiddy Coleman, Gulden, Will Day
Starting DEFs: Holmes, Coleman, Houston
Starting MIDs: Bont, Gulden, Day, J Smith
Starting RUCs: Jackson
Starting FWDs: Kozzy, Rankine
Structure & Strategy Thoughts: meh
Locks: Bont, NWM, Butters, Daicos, Jagga Smith
Never Agains: JHF, Neale (legend but best days are behind him), Caleb Daniel, Oliver
Watchlist: Ned Long (could see him becoming a Dunkley type), H Reid, Wardlaw
Discounts: –
Starting DEFs: NWM, Holmes
Starting MIDs: Bont, Butters, Daicos
Starting RUCs: Xerri
Starting FWDs: Rankine
Structure & Strategy Thoughts: don’t fall for preseason traps just because others are (Oliver, Jayden Short). Go for POD premos in the midfield – most of the top mid scorers this year started the year off as PODs. Get off your stepping stones early, don’t let them get stale (held on to Roberts and Cerra far too long).
Locks: Bont, Xerri, Daicos.
Never Agains: LDU, Neale.
Watchlist: Pou.
Discounts: Jagga, Reef McInnes, Jesse Dattoli. Kiddy. Shrek.
Starting DEFs: Clark, NWM, Rozee(if Def/Mid), Kiddy, Reef assuming Holmes mid only.
Starting MIDs: Bont, Daicos, Dawson, Callaghan
Starting RUCs: Xerri, DCam.
Starting FWDs: Martin, Draper
Starting Flex: Shrek
Structure & Strategy Thoughts: No speculative mid pricers, only proven players that are heavily discounted, although there won’t be many.
Get a playing R3 with fwd DPP (or the one most likely to play), Boyd was a failed pick this year, and cost me flexibility. Less mid pricers so I can focus on turning over dead rookies early instead of correcting picks that went wrong.
Aim for some value in every pick.
Get Gawn when he bottoms out as Flex.
Back my gut, was right about fading JHF, didn’t back my gut with DCam & Jackson.
In Pre Season, don’t replace a pre season injury with a like pick, eg I went Baz to Sanders when Baz looked injured. Sanders was never a good pick, should have seen it.
Locks: None. Unless any of Bont, Daicos, Xerri, Gawn or NWM are under $600k. I’m determined to not start with anyone over $600k, which I’ve told myself the last two years and broken the rule.
Never Agains: Will stick with my no Blues rule (other than Jagga Smith as a rookie), which I managed to stick to mostly this year other than Binns for a cash grab.
Watchlist: Harley Reid has to take off at some point right?
Discounts: Kiddy Coleman (a lock if he has full preseason), JHF? Phillipou?
Starting DEFs: Holmes
Starting MIDs: Richards
Starting RUCs: Xerri/Gawn, maybe Cameron (I had all three until Xerri got suspended)
Starting FWDs: Darcy?
Structure & Strategy Thoughts: Depends on rookies, but I’ll try and avoid trading in any fwds above $500k (they all become fallen premos at some point). Will probably try and avoid starting value midfielders, I started Will Ashcroft and Finn Callaghan, both of them averaging around 100 (until I traded Finn when he got injured), probably held me back. Will look for value in Def & Fwd.
Locks: NWM bc of non-ownership trauma this year.
Never Agains: Nank, Nuke, Satan. And a controversial one: Will Day. Injury profile so cooked. He’s a gun but I don’t want to put myself through it.
Watchlist: Rowell. He’s developed an outside profile with a leaner build and Ando soaks up tags like a sponge. He and NWM will be the only 600k shades I’d consider.
Discounts: Will look at players who have discounted themselves, if that makes sense? Like Rankine and JHF left so much money on the table this year it wasn’t funny. Even Petracca is far better than this year’s 97 avg. Sheezel also played in the dumbest role this year. He’ll be a nice shout.
Starting DEFs: NWM, Bowey, Sicily. Maybe Fletcher and Farrell?
Starting MIDs: Ashcroft, Serong, Callaghan
Starting RUCs: TDK and Sweet if solo and clear.
Starting FWDs: Darcy I’ll do if the Dogs get a good opening fixture and Humph. Like both. Ascending talents who get good service.
Structure & Strategy Thoughts: No 600kers!
Locks: 1 of Bont or Butters (duh), NWM (another duh pick, could’ve saved 100k starting him this season instead of Sheezel), Ash (starting him over Stewart/Sicily really paid off),
Never Agains: Serong at 620k (happy to go for him at 550kish), Meek (should’ve gone Darcy Cameron to start), Jayden Short
Watchlist: Sam Darcy, Thilthorpe, Max Hall, Phillipou, Jagga Smith, Sam Flanders, Sheezel
Discounts: Houston, Kiddy Coleman, Gulden, Hayden Young, Flanders, McKercher (maybe)
Starting DEFs: NWM, Ash
Starting MIDs: 1 of Bont/Butters, 1 of Dunkley/Rowell/Brayshaw/McCluggage
Starting RUCs: Xerri, Darcy Cameron
Starting FWDs: Matt Kennedy?, 1 of Darcy/Thilthorpe/Pickett
Structure & Strategy Thoughts: No top price non-ruck players apart from Bont/Butters/maybe NWM, don’t trade out rookies too early and don’t do stupid corrective trades.
I’ve been developing a theory and I’ve looked into a little that I’m going to try next year. IF any of my players hit 700K during the season, I’m trading them in for a fallen premium that’s about rise in cash. I’m planning more research to see if 680K is actually a better price for this strategy. Definitely want to treat the players more as commodities next season. Think it’s an avenue to create greater cash generation. It’ll take some guts to jump off the big dawgs when they’re looking awesome but I believe there’s merit in it.
I eagerly await the thumbs down 😉
Lots of merit in this. But there is probably a cut off point for the run home. Say round 18. Unless you are 2 premos short
Yeah, I’ve been wondering about that idea as well. I think it would depend on how many trades I’ve got left late in the season but i think it’s just as viable a move later in the season. Culling a $736K Grundy this week to get a $585K Gawn gives someone $151K to upgrade a lesser premo like Caleb Daniel that we all get stuck with.
Also, like GD and a few others have been discussing, i reckon aiming for the sub 600s in the preseason as much as possible is a great starting point for teams.
My early watch list:
Sicily, Doedee, Coleman, Philippou, Lohmann, Newman, H Reid, Zerrett (think he’ll be unders and Bombers can’t be that bad again). Gulden.
Locks
Mckercher, Callaghan, Darcy, Curtin.
Will want to own Butters Bont and Naicos, but maybe won’t start them. Possibly throw NWM into that list. Will probably start Heeney.
Never again
Steele, Newcombe, Oliver, LDU, Rankine (he’s had every opportunity to be elite SC this year with extra CBA’s etc, teams flying, but he’s just not there). young and Day both score well but too injury prone. Carlton midfield, Collingwood defenders. Serong – I think he’s a A- or B+ midfielder. Don’t think he’s elite for SC. JHF is a great player but maybe not a SC option. Warner has burnt me too many times. Sanders – not really developing. Will no doubt prove me wrong, but he probably won’t get me again. Tom Green – also probably not elite SC. Never again might be too strong a phrase, but unlikely for me.
Fixture
Trying to get my head around the number of best 18 rounds. Initially thought it meant itself to more GnR, but now I just don’t know. Feels like a Rubik cube that I just can’t solve.
Rucks
I wonder if the bias towards rucks scoring is sustainable. Wouldn’t be surprised to see a rule change that deflates that balloon. I hope so, because I can never get my ruck selections right. The answer has always been Gawn but I don’t know why I never take him.
At the start of the season we saw Sheezel, JHF, Naicos and Xerri as almost must haves, as they looked almost certain to be the top of their line. Estafter preseason games. None were. As much as I wanted to only hunt value, I ended up starting Sheezel and JHF. I hope to be more disciplined next year.
Locks: Bont! I feel like I was going to trade him in every week after round 8 this year, and yet somehow managed to finish the year without him. NWM and the Cats tag team of Holmes and Baz (if they retain DPP status, not hopeful though) have been shining lights this year and will be hard to pass up. Jagga Smith will probably be everyone’s first rookie pick.
Never Agains: Ugh, how much time have you got. Zorko and Neale were finally superseded this year by their younger teammates. Caleb Daniel. Liberatore, but only because of concerns about his age and coach. Jai Newcombe. Clayton Oliver. Tom Stewart.
Watchlist: Gulden, Mills and Hayden Young are all watchlisted for obvious reasons.
Discounts: Nic Newman might be worth a look if his rehab has gone well. The blokes in my watchlist might be a bit cheaper too (hopefully!)
Starting DEFs: NWM (hopefully he keeps that status), Whitfield
Starting MIDs: Bont, JSmith
Starting RUCs: new year’s resolution is to not burn trades on this line. It’ll be two of Gawn, Grundy and Xerri, set and forget.
Starting FWDs: Going to be a lottery here again. No idea at this stage!
Structure & Strategy Thoughts: I made a lot of trades this year that, in hindsight, were impatient or to counteract my own boredom lol. Next year, my main goal is to have 5 trades left for SC finals.