SuperCoach AFL 2023: How to Play, Choose a Team, Prizes, New Rules, Trades, Beginners, Bargains

And we’ve been working behind the scenes to make Australia’s biggest fantasy sports game better, easier and more fun than ever.

Sign up today and build your own team of AFL superstars – just don’t break the $10 million salary cap.

Challenge yourself and compete against your friends, sniff out the best AFL intel from preseason, cheer on the group chats and begin your quest for over $100,000 in prizes and the ultimate bragging rights.

Scroll down for everything you need to know about KFC SuperCoach AFL in 2023.

WHAT’S NEW

There are a variety of new features and gameplay changes to make KFC SuperCoach 2023 more fun and flexible.

EXTRA BYE, EXTRA TRADE: The 2023 AFL season includes an extra round, with each club playing 23 home and away games in 24 rounds, and one more bye round than we’re used to. To help us face the new challenges, each KFC SuperCoach will have 36 trades for the season – one more than last year. For all four bye rounds – Round 12 (four teams to bye), Round 13 (two teams), Round 14 (six teams) and Round 15 (six teams) – KFC SuperCoach will score the best 18 points, with only the best 18 scoring Players counting towards your total. Teams also have access to up to three trades (or four with a trade boost) for each of the four bye rounds.

TRADE BOOST: We listened to you and Trade Boosts are back for 2023 after making a very popular debut last year. Up to five rounds during the season, you can activate a Trade Boost for a third trade (or fourth during bye rounds) to use for that round. A Trade Boost can be activated for each round and comes from your 36 total for the season.

LEAGUES: Standard 18-team public and private head-to-head leagues will expand to 20 teams and start one round earlier in 2023, from Round 2, while 10-team leagues start one round later, now from Round 3. You can continue to create Custom leagues from 6-20 teams, set your own starting round, endgame format and more. All final series take place in rounds 21-24.

WEBSITE MAKEOVER: All the great features you love about KFC SuperCoach are now easier to find after a complete website redesign. No more opening menu systems or digging through navigation layers to switch between screens, games and sports. Now everything is neatly organized and available on the desktop at the top of the screen and in the app at the bottom of the screen, so it never takes more than a click to navigate each game’s sections. The home dashboard has also been updated to show the information you need most in preseason or during a live round.

SUPER COACH PLUS: Great new tools are available to SuperCoach Plus subscribers this year, including coach selection options that let you see how many of the top 1 percent, 5 percent, and 10 percent of teams in the overall rankings own each player. The functionality of the Trade Assist feature has also been expanded to help you make the right call each week – nominate a player to trade in or out and SuperCoach Plus will find the best trade for that player. Live scores – available only to SuperCoach Plus subscribers – are now site-wide.

SUPERCOACH DESIGN: Goalie leagues will now automatically carry over each season. There is no longer a need to reactivate a goalkeeping league and invite everyone to rejoin again – your league just keeps going. There will also be more customization options as league commissioners will be able to edit the draft order for each selection round as well as player retention settings. You’ll also be able to control bye round scoring, filter the waiver in more ways, pause a live draft, and more.

GREAT PRIZES

At the end of the AFL home and away season, the country’s top SuperCoach takes home $50,000 in cash. Second place gets $5000 and places 3-10 win $1000 each.

There’s also a weekly prize of $1000 for the best score in each round – doubled to $2000 if you’re a SuperCoach Plus subscriber.

And that’s not all. KFC is delivering delicious Kentucky Fried Chicken each week for the top 11 scorers, special offers for everyone who chooses KFC SuperCoach, and more epic merchandise, experiences and chicken prizes to be won throughout the season.

REINFORCED TEAM OF EXPERTS

Former Giant and Magpie Heath Shaw is back as the Official KFC SuperCoach Ambassador for 2023. He will lead a team of former AFL stars and trusted SuperCoach players, including 2022 and 2021 winners and some of the most trusted voices in the KFC SuperCoach -Community.

Stay tuned for more big names and their expert advice.

THE BASICS: HOW IT WORKS

You are a coach with a team you choose, a salary cap you must work under and games you must win.

Select a group of players from across the AFL and score points based on their real-world performances in AFL games using a unique formula developed by Champion Data.

As the year progresses, you’ll deal with form and injuries like an AFL coach, but with the benefit of being able to replace substituted or out-of-form players and improve your roster.

Challenge your buddies in your own private league for the ultimate braggart rights and track your progress against all other SuperCoaches in the race for weekly and big prizes.

HOW TO PLAY

Once you have registered for KFC SuperCoach AFL:

YOU have a $10 million salary cap and 30 players to choose from.

Choose eight defenders, eleven midfielders, eight forwards and three rucks. Remember to save your team!

YOU need a mix of top stars you can count on for high scores every week, lowest priced players who are increasing in value, and a few in between – look for players who are due to injury or a role change are undervalued.

NEED help choosing a side? Try the auto-pick feature that uses our smart technology to instantly select a team for you.

CHANGE your team as many times as you like until Round 1 begins on March 16th.

BEFORE each round, choose a starting number 22 and nominate one of your benchers in each position as an emergency. Your score counts if one of your 22 starters does not play.

NOMINATE a captain who earns double points and a replacement vice-captain.

YOU have 36 trades to keep your side up throughout the season. Each week you can make up to two trades, except for the bye rounds when you get three trades.

STAY on top of your team with our free Apple and Android apps.

HOW PLAYERS EARN POINTS

Players earn KFC SuperCoach Points through actions in real AFL games, using a formula developed by Champion Data to reward actions that have the greatest impact on games – SuperCoach offers more than adding up kicks, marks and handballs .

This game rewards players who win a crucial one-on-one competition and hit a target when the game is at stake.

The ability to win the ball (contested possession), use it well (disposition efficiency), influence the scoreboard (goals and assists), push the footy back from the opponent (intercept possession), and tackle tackles all points well.

There are also negative actions that cost players KFC SuperCoach points, such as losing possession and giving away free kicks and 50m penalties.

ROOKIE BIBLE: EVERY KFC SUPERCOACH CHEAPIE YOU NEED TO KNOW

EXPERT PREDICTIONS: THE TOP 3 SUPERCOACH GOALS IN EACH CLUB

IMPROVE YOUR SUPERCOACH EXPERIENCE

KFC SuperCoach is completely free to play, but you can delve deeper into the world of stats and sports news by choosing one of three subscription plans:

1. Super Coach Plus: A set of tools and stats to give your friends an edge for $24.95 for a 12-month subscription.

2. Code Sport (including SuperCoach Plus): Subscription-only sports website and app CODE (codesports.com.au), delivering in-depth, premium sports journalism from Australia, the US and the UK. CODE includes all SuperCoach news articles and analysis to give you an edge. Sign up now for just $1 for the first three months.

3. Masthead Subscription (including SuperCoach Plus): Get full access to all KFC SuperCoach articles and more – including local, national and world news, opinion, entertainment and your daily newspaper’s digital print edition for just $1 a day.

NEED TO KNOW MORE?

You never have to worry about being left in the dark when making your KFC SuperCoach selections and calls. Visit your News Corp site for the latest news and expert tips, and follow SuperCoach on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach AFL 2023: How to Play, Prizes, Everything You Need to Know