SuperCoach AFL 2023: The Phantom’s Expert Team Revealed, Breakout Contenders, Best Awards

I ask myself that question every year. It forms the basis of my article on the breakout contenders in KFC SuperCoach.

And it’s the answers — right or wrong, we won’t know for a while — that laid the foundation of my first team for 2023.

I love picking the next big thing in the game. I hit a few but of course took a big swing and missed others.

Yes, Tom Green is back on my team this season.

But it doesn’t have to be five steps. For a KFC SuperCoach starting selection to be successful, one step – the next – may be enough.

Last year I started with Will Brodie ($224,000) and Jake Bowey ($265,000). One became a striker-keeper – see, there’s a big one I hit right – and the other, Bowey, became a top defender very quickly, through trade, after a solid start that included a huge scoring.

Armed with the extra trades and the boosts, I was aggressive in 2022, turning my non-keeper mid pricers and rookies into premiums whenever the opportunity arose. There’s no more time to milk every penny. And halfway through the season I was in the top 100.

You’re never going to put all the big names on your launch team, so I won’t try.

Instead, I’ve opted for players who can get me to one quickly, along with a few who could move into the “big name” category themselves.

DEFENDER

James Sicily (Haw) $624,700
Hayden Young (Freo) $508,200
Nick Daicos (Coll) $502,500
Jack Bowes (Geel) $277,500
Reuben Ginbey (WC) $171,300
Darcy Wilmot (Bris) $123,900
Will Gould (Syd) $123,900
Rhett Montgomerie (Ess) $102,400

At this point, I’m only going with one of the $600,000 defenders, and that’s Sicily, whose score I think will most closely match its start-of-the-year price tag. Tom Stewart finds various ways to miss games and playmakers Jordan Dawson and Jack Sinclair could get a little more attention. It’s hard to be sure how Fremantle’s back-six will perform each week, but I still think Young will become more of an attacking weapon in 2023 and build on his 99-point average from the last 12 games last season. I’m betting he’s betting 10 points on his 92-point average he’s priced at. Daicos could be similar and given his finish of the year and stellar pre-season, this could be his bottom. Then there’s Bowes, who, like his almost eponymous Bowey, could help improve defense early on. You shouldn’t be surprised that he’s been training with Geelong’s midfield squad, as he was drafted as a midfielder – a 17-year-old who impressed against the stronger bodies in Gold Coast’s NEAFL side. In the VFL last year, Bowes averaged 27 disposals, 13 contested possessions, seven clearances, six inside 50s, five tackles and 120 SuperCoach points in his last 11 games.

MIDFIELD

Clayton Oliver (Melb) $699,800
Jack Steele (StK) $604,400
Tom Green (GWS) $534,600
Tom Mitchell (Coll) $528,600
Jacob Hopper (rich) $332,000
Marcus Windhager (pcs) $266,200, Fwd
Will Ashcroft (Bris) $202,800
Will Phillips (NM) $158,300
Matt Johnson (Freo) $123,900
Josh Sinn (Port), $123,900, Fwd
Corey Wagner (Freo), $117,300, Def

Would you bet again against Oliver who averages over 120? Me too. After an overwhelming and injury-interrupted 2022, Steele is underrated as he too is capable of surpassing the 120 point mark as he has in the previous two seasons. With Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper and Tanner Bruhn absent, Green could make a few extra moves this year — and stay there. At Collingwood, Mitchell, playing the inside role he was built for, could step down a notch or two and comfortably beat his 96-point prize. Hopper is priced at 67, and at $332,000, he doesn’t need to be picked as a keeper. In my article on the ‘breakout contenders’ for 2023, I predicted that a sophomore, Saint Windhager will hit 80 this season after an impressive summer and a first year learning midfield as a tagger. If you watched him closely last season, you’ll know why. If he can get a few scores of 80 or more, he’ll enjoy an early price spike and act as a solid option on the field. I think you now understand the idea behind the whole team.

BACK

Rowan Marshall (StK) $506,500
Darcy Cameron (Coll) $456,900, Fwd
Nick Madden (GWS) $102,400, Fwd

What are we doing in jerk? I’m not even sure. As the Ruckman #1, Marshall is a lock, but there’s still some uncertainty there, as is the case with a number of other top-priced options. Cameron as Collingwood’s leading big man fits into the underpriced bill after its demise until 2022 when Grundy went under. But I’m far from imprisoned here.

FORWARD

Josh Dunkley (Bris) $596,400, middle
Connor Rozee (Port) $513,800, mid
Tim Taranto (Rich) $503,100, Medium
Errol Gulden (Syd) $472,000, Medium
Tarryn Thomas (NM) $296,700, middle
Toby McLean (WB) $178,900, center
Jacob van Rooyen (Melb), $123,900
Blake Drury (NM) $102,400, center

Rozee has a price of 93, but the Power Young Gun finally made his mark in midfield in the back half of last season, averaging 110 over the last 10 games. He’s a midfielder now and Ken Hinkley needs him in there. Taranto will pretty much be Richmond’s first player in 2023, while my love for Guilders needs no explanation – read here for my big leap this season. Then there’s Thomas. He’s had his off-field struggles but he’s said to fly on it and fit seamlessly into a new role at centre-back. If he’s named there in Round 1, he fits perfectly into the idea of ​​this site at $296,000.

Originally released as KFC SuperCoach 2023: The Phantom’s Team Revealed