AFL Supercoach 2026: Captain Loophole Gold – Best R3 Strategy for the Opening 8 Rounds

If you haven’t been listening in to the SCPlaybook podcast on YouTube, you need to be. Great discussions, insights and team reveals every week. This week they discussed who is the right player to put at R3 for a loophole option, so I thought I would deep dive into that, plus analyse who might be some good VC and C options that work.

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The Loophole Mechanic

Pick a VC who plays early in the round (Thursday, Friday, or early Saturday). If they pop off, sub on your R3 player who never plays and make them your C. Put an E on your benched premium ruck.

If the VC misfires, leave the R3 on the bench. Captain someone who plays Saturday, Sunday, or Monday instead.

You need VC options playing early and C options playing late. Which teams give you that setup?

The Fixture Breakdown

Here’s how every team’s fixtures fall across the opening 8 rounds:

Team	Thu/Fri	Saturday	Sun/Mon	BYE
Collingwood	🟢 5	2	🔴 0	1
Adelaide Crows	🟢 5	2	🔴 1	0
Carlton	🟢 4	2	🔴 1	1
Western Bulldogs	🟢 4	2	🔴 1	1
Fremantle	🟡 3	4	🔴 1	0
Hawthorn	🟡 3	3	🔴 1	1
Sydney Swans	🟡 3	3	🔴 1	1
Geelong Cats	🟡 2	3	🟡 2	1
Richmond	🟡 2	4	🟡 2	0
GWS Giants	🟡 2	2	🟡 3	1
Brisbane Lions	🔴 1	4	🟡 2	1
Essendon	🔴 1	5	🟡 2	0
Gold Coast Suns	🔴 0	4	🟡 3	1
St Kilda	🔴 0	4	🟡 3	1
North Melbourne	🔴 1	3	🟢 4	0
Port Adelaide	🔴 1	3	🟢 4	0
Melbourne	🔴 1	2	🟢 5	0
West Coast Eagles	🔴 0	2	🟢 6	0

Key:

• 🟢 High (4-6 games)
• 🟡 Medium (2-3 games)
• 🔴 Low (0-1 games)

🟡🟤 HAW v GEEL Match Sim 🔵⚪️

📈CMacdonald increased mid mins
2️⃣Meek/Reeves split on the cards for OR
✅SButler + JClark lively
⭐️JWeddle + JNewcombe solid
🐱JPolkinghorne one to watch
🏃FPerez firming for Hawks SSP spot
❌OGreeves + HHustwaite unlikely for OR
😷TBruhn illness

— Dylan Bolch (@DylanBolch) February 16, 2026

For Vice-Captain Options (Thu/Fri games):

Collingwood and Adelaide dominate with 5 games each. Carlton and Western Bulldogs sit at 4. These teams give you consistent VC access.

For Captain or R3 Options (Sun/Mon games):

West Coast leads with 6 Sunday/Monday games. Melbourne has 5. North Melbourne and Port Adelaide both have 4.

Teams in the middle have balanced fixtures. But for pure loophole strategy, you want the extremes.

R3 Loophole Option: Melbourne vs West Coast Eagles

Round	Melbourne	West Coast Eagles
1	Sunday 3:15 pm	Sunday 6:10 pm
2	Saturday 7:35 pm	Sunday 6:10 pm
3	Sunday 3:15 pm	Sunday 12:30 pm
4	Sunday 3:15 pm	Saturday 7:35 pm
5	Saturday 1:15 pm	Sunday 12:30 pm
6	Sunday 3:15 pm	Sunday 5:10 pm
7	Friday 7:40 pm	Sunday 1:10 pm
8	Sunday 3:15 pm	Saturday 4:15 pm

🦁BRIS v CARL Match Sim🔵

🤔KColeman classy at HF
🔁LMcCarthy busy in new HB role
🔒JSmith showed his quality
🪽DAnnable wing, warmed into things
2⃣Reidy shared ruck w/ Pittonet
✅HDean positive signs, TByrne 3 gls
💪SWalsh, WAshcroft, LAshcroft, ZBailey, LNeale solid as always

— Dylan Bolch (@DylanBolch) February 18, 2026

The Players

Kalani White (Melbourne, $99.1k) vs Harry Barnett (West Coast, $119.9k)

White saves you $20k. Barnett saves you headaches.

Harry Barnett: Zero Headaches

Six Sunday games. Two Saturday night games (Round 4 at 7:35 pm, Round 8 at 4:15 pm). Every week is a loophole option.

Your VC plays Thursday/Friday/early Saturday. Barnett sits there ready to captain if they pop off. Set and forget.

Kalani White: The $20k Discount With Conditions

Five Sunday games plus a Saturday night game (Round 2 at 7:35 pm). Six out of eight rounds work perfectly.

Rounds 5 and 7 need specific VC options.

Round 5 (Saturday 1:15 pm): White plays early arvo. Here’s what happens before Melbourne’s game:

• Thursday night: Adelaide vs Carlton (7:40 pm)
• Friday night: Collingwood vs Fremantle (7:40 pm)

If you’re running Nick Daicos (Collingwood Friday) or a premium from Adelaide/Carlton (Thursday), the loophole works.

Round 7 (Friday 7:40 pm): White plays Friday night. Here’s what happens before Melbourne’s game:

• Thursday night: Western Bulldogs vs Sydney Swans (7:30 pm)

If you’re running Marcus Bontempelli, Errol Gulden, Brodie Grundy or Tim English, we’re laughing. No Bulldogs or Swans premiums? Barnett’s your guy.

Embed from Getty Images

The Call

I’m running Daicos and Gulden. White saves me $20k for upgrades elsewhere.

No Thursday/Friday premiums? Pay the extra for Barnett. It’s worth it to guarantee loophole access every week.

VC and C Teams That Work

The VC Setup: Early-Playing Teams

Collingwood – Nick Daicos ($628k)

This is why he’s in my team. Massive ceiling. Five Thursday/Friday games across the opening eight rounds gives you consistent loophole access.

Adelaide – Jordan Dawson ($611.3k)

Not in many teams. But if you’re bullish on Adelaide, this adds the cherry on top. Five Thursday/Friday games, no early bye.

Carlton – Sam Walsh ($543.9k)

No one I’d trust unless you’re a huge Walsh fan. Four early games, but the role and scoring aren’t reliable enough.

Western Bulldogs – Marcus Bontempelli ($706.8k), Ed Richards ($602.3k), Tim English ($600.9k)

None are in my team, but all elite in their positions. Four Thursday/Friday games. If you’re running any of these three, the VC loophole works smoothly.

Embed from Getty Images

The Captain Options: Late-Playing Teams

West Coast Eagles

Next team please.

Melbourne – Max Gawn ($698k)

Not for me after watching Origin. Five Sunday games if you’re backing him.

Port Adelaide – Connor Rozee ($568.5k) and Zac Butters ($654.8k)

Both in a lot of teams. Easy run, late games. Four Sunday/Monday slots across the opening eight rounds.

North Melbourne – Tristan Xerri ($687.3k) and Harry Sheezel ($580.4k)

Both great options. Four Sunday/Monday games. Xerri’s a set-and-forget ruck who plays late. Sheezel’s a premium midfielder with huge upside.

The Verdict

Interestingly, without me even planning it, almost all of my $550k+ players work as VC or C options across the opening eight rounds:

• Errol Gulden covers White’s early game in Round 7
• Nick Daicos covers White’s early game in Round 5, plus gives me very early VC options across the opening stretch
• Connor Rozee, Zac Butters, Tristan Xerri and Harry Sheezel all give me late-round captain options when the VC score is a dud

I want my premiums being captain options. This structure makes me feel great about saving the $20k on White rather than paying up for Barnett.

White vs Barnett comes down to your premium mix. If your expensive players play early or late consistently, White works. If they’re scattered across Saturday afternoons? Pay for Barnett.