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
How many Round 1 players remain in your team? 6
Who was your best starting premium? Sheezel/Daicos
Who was your worst starting premium? Clark
How many mid-pricers did you start – and how many worked? 3, none
What was your best trade-in? Darcy Cameron – round 18
What was your worst trade-in? Jaeden Short
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? Xerri when he was killing it early
What trade do you wish you’d made? Rankine around round 19
Who was your best rookie? Jagga Smith / McAndrew
Who will be first picked in your 2027 team? N. Daicos
Who’s on your NEVER-AGAIN list? Petracca / Sicily / Short
What was your biggest starting-team mistake? Taking notice of practice games, except rookies
What was your biggest trading mistake? Using 3 boosts by round 6
How did you go with captaincy? Think I went with my VC 60%, would have been higher if I had players to loop in first half of the season.
What would you change if you had 2026 over again? Its a marathon not a sprint. used 25 trades in the first 12 weeks, 13 in rounds 13-22. Try to get to round 12 next year with 20 trades remaining and 2 boosts.
What lessons do you want your 2027 SuperCoach self to remember? Play the byes well again increased rank from 30k to 10k from rounds 12-17.
Agree with Derek, to quick to move on McAndrew, Jagga & J.Serong.
i think i sold Serong and Jagga to get Bont for over $700k
i also should have mention Sheezel as a ‘best’ starting premium, he was so highly owned he just went under the radar every week. what a star. even as a mid only, he must be considered next year.
If his name was Harry Daicos no one would ever shut up about how good he is. Like Nick it’s just been the same level since day one… such a great mover, has always reminded me of Darren Jarman.
i think Will Ashcroft is about to go to that level. he doesn’t seem to be moving or trying hard, but the ball finds him (of does he find the ball?)
Reflecting on a season full of hope 5k after Round 3. Now sitting 35K with no trades and several premiums on my bench.
Trading is the lifeblood of this game.
Wish we were given 2 trades per week, every week.
Bulk injuries killed what I thought was a positive season.
With the injures, do you think there was any pattern? 3 big Saints players is interesting? Or just bad luck?
I think it’s bad luck. They were all significant injuries. Shame that a lot of us just had to shelve our teams weeks ago.
How many Round 1 players remain in your team? 4 (Sheezal, Petracca, Clark, Walsh) – only proud to be holding one of them.
Who was your best starting premium? Sheezel
Who was your worst starting premium? Clark
How many mid-pricers did you start – and how many worked? 6 – None
What was your best trade-in? Bazlenka – just got the job done week in/out
What was your worst trade-in? Tom Stewart – traded in against WCE for 47
after averaging 117 the first month and had his roll changed every week after.
How many premium injury trades were you forced to make? 12
What trade do you wish you’d made? Chad Warner after his bye. Was umming for so long and missed deadline. Avg 113 since.
Who was your best rookie? McAndrew
Who will be first picked in your 2027 team? Daicos
Who’s on your NEVER-AGAIN list? Tom Stewart (again again)
What was your biggest starting-team mistake? Focused to much on non-early bye premiums (No Bont/Daicos/Smith/Neale). Brayshaw/Walsh/Dawson all severely under scored.
What was your biggest trading mistake? Dawson? Missed 3 in first 8 rounds, traded out as I was falling far behind only for him to light it up coming back.
How did you go with captaincy? Shit.
What would you change if you had 2026 over again? Stop paying top price for players. Xerri/Jackson/Gawn/Bont/Grundy/Daicos all the week they turned and plummeted.
What lessons do you want your 2027 SuperCoach self to remember? Set forget top rucks.
Great post, Derek!
How many Round 1 players remain in your team? 5 – Clark, Naicos, Gawn, Dawson, Sheez and like you, I stupidly brought Trac back after trading him out.
Who was your best starting premium? By virtue of having the highest average, I’ve gotta give it to Big Maxy.
Who was your worst starting premium? Rozee. Scores of 105 then 55 then done for the year.
How many mid-pricers did you start – and how many worked? 4 – Windsor, Blackiston, Young, & Bruhn – none of them worked. I love the idea of finding someone no-one else has but it never happens. Will it stop me from trying it again next year? Probably not.
What was your best trade-in? Luke Jackson
What was your worst trade-in? Lot to choose from here. Lukosius, Rachele, Sweet, Stewart, Sparrow, Petracca, NAS (for Holmes in Round 20)
How many premium injury trades were you forced to make? Who were they? 6 – Rozee, Trac, Sinclair, Butters, Stewart, Holmes. I’m out of trades and NAS, Bont and Murphy Reid are all sitting on my bench with a bunch of injured rookies/midpricers
How many non-premium injury trades? Who were they? Not sure on this one.
What was the best trade you DIDN’T make? Heeney. Started the year hot but faded from R18 on. Not starting NAS was the right call I reckon. Sinclair was better in the early half of the year.
What trade do you wish you’d made? Bailey Smith. Expensive but worth every cent.
Who was your best rookie? Jagga The Bagger. Did I trade him too early because Voss refused to play him in the guts and his scores suffered because of it? Yes – R7.
Who will be first picked in your 2027 team? Sheez
Who’s on your NEVER-AGAIN list? Houston
What was your biggest starting-team mistake? Too many mid-pricers
What was your biggest trading mistake? See previous answer – Sparrow, De Goey, Reid, Houston – I thought I could beat the market
How did you go with captaincy? OK. Threw it to Maxy whenever in doubt. He usually delivered.
What would you change if you had 2026 over again? I’d give players more of a chance before shipping them off.
What lessons do you want your 2027 SuperCoach self to remember? Start the season with a pure GnR team. It’s popular because it works. Don’t trade blokes in until they’ve played 2 games and been named for a third. (see Edwards, Charlie)
How many Round 1 players remain in your team? 4 – Clark, Daicos, Sheezel, Jackson
Who was your best starting premium? Sheezel, Daicos, Jackson, Butters & Sinclair before injury
Who was your worst starting premium? Jye Caldwell and Clark
How many mid-pricers did you start – and how many worked? 6!! Big mistake. Only 2 worked as stepping stones – Flanders pre-injury and Bruhn was okay.
What was your best trade-in? Bailey @ 438k and Warner @ 428k in Round 14 before he went on a tear. More recently, Gulden and Rankine.
What was your worst trade-in? Geez where do I start. McCluggage goes without saying. Paying top dollar for Archie Roberts only for him to hit bad form and then get injured. Rowell in Round 13, took ages to hit form. Finn Callaghan early on, just never really got going all year. Noah Anderson after his hot patch, paid top dollar and then he dipped.
How many premium injury trades were you forced to make? Who were they? 14! Gulden, Petracca, Rozee, English, Nas x 2, Serong, Flanders, McCluggage, Roberts, Sinclair, Holmes, Butters, Callaghan
How many non-premium injury trades? Who were they? 2 – Caldwell, Cameron.
What was the best trade you DIDN’T make? Was tempted by Dunkley all year, never got him.
What trade do you wish you’d made? Mills over Sicily. Getting Holmes in early instead of Rowell/Anderson/Callaghan.
Who was your best rookie? McAndrew and Cook, but Sharp has come on really nicely and has been a good hold for coverage.
Who will be first picked in your 2027 team? Daicos, Tom Green, Nic Martin. Mills in defence – reliable and consistent. Uwland seems on a good trajectory. Maybe Harley?
Who’s on your NEVER-AGAIN list? Clark, Petracca, Sicily.
What was your biggest starting-team mistake? Way too many mid pricers. Too many risks. Caldwell as a midfield premo in a terrible team.
What was your biggest trading mistake? Trying to ‘time’ a player’s rebound and predict good form i.e. McCluggage, Rowell, Callaghan, instead of just going for a proven scorer who’s been consistent all year i.e. Holmes, LDU. This was probably my single biggest lesson this year and biggest mistake.
How did you go with captaincy? Mostly good, just wish I took more risks. Easy to just stick with Bont/Daicos/Xerri early on. But lot of times I had a gut feel about a player – Rankine the last 2 weeks for example – but bypassed.
What would you change if you had 2026 over again? Finding the right balance between getting good consistent scorers and not paying top dollar. ~550k is the sweet spot for trading in players.
What lessons do you want your 2027 Supercoach self to remember? De-risk your starting team as much as possible. Any PODs should be players with a track record who are healthy and in a good role who happen to be low % ownership. Don’t be contrarian for the sake of it. Start off with a safe foundation, and then find PODs, value, fun picks later on throughout the season. Starting off with a bad team will just leave you playing catch up all year.
Biggest mistake is taking many mid pricers. It has got to be guns and rookies next year. Feel I always trade pretty well and finish the season off well every year. If I can get my starting lineup right just once, I should have a very good season. Never seen a year where injuries to guns has happened so much. It probably worked out even for most teams as no one was spared from the carnage.
Good write up Derek quite interesting
Thank heaps.
The final scene in Burn After Reading feels relevant here:
“I guess we learned not to do it again.”
“Yes sir.”
“I’m f**ked if I know what it is we did.”
“Yes sir, it’s uh, hard to say.”
How many Round 1 players remain in your team?
8
Who was your best starting premium?
Sheez
Who was your worst starting premium?
Miller
How many mid-pricers did you start – and how many worked?
Too many and none really
What was your best trade-in?
Rankine – but too late
What was your worst trade-in?
English
How many premium injury trades were you forced to make? Who were they?
English, xerri,
How many non-premium injury trades? Who were they?
Can’t recall TBH
What was the best trade you DIDN’T make?
Cameron
What trade do you wish you’d made?
Gulden
Who was your best rookie?
Herbert
Who will be first picked in your 2027 team?
Sheezel
Who’s on your NEVER-AGAIN list?
Petracca , Houston
What was your biggest starting-team mistake?
Petracca , Houston
What was your biggest trading mistake?
Xerri out , Xerri in
How did you go with captaincy?
ok
What would you change if you had 2026 over again?
hang on to the boosts and not smash them all before the byes
What lessons do you want your 2027 SuperCoach self to remember?
G&R , kepe two boosts for the finals
But Hey – still had a ball with you guys !