AFL Supercoach 2026: Harry West’s full team reveal + analysis

Why I Never Build My Team Line By Line

Everyone builds defenders first. Then mids, rucks, forwards. I don’t.

The game is about value and how quickly you can build it – so I start with the picks that matter most when you aren’t budget-conscious.

Rookies first. Underpriced keepers second. Gaps last.

Here’s how my 2026 side is taking shape.

Step 1: Nail the Rookies

Your rookies dictate everything – which lines have depth, how many premiums you can afford, how fast you build value.

Get them wrong, and you’re chasing the rookies you missed while everyone else is fixing up their mid-pricers.

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Grlj ($172k) and Lindsay ($122.5k) lock in on-field in defence.

Slightly nervous about Grlj, but there is bench cover if I get it wrong.

Lindsay should play Round 1 and his elite kicking points to solid SuperCoach scoring.

Serong ($119.9k) is that cover on the bench – keep an eye on his role at the Swans.

Smith ($119.9k) is locked on field in the mids.

Genuinely baffled why some teams don’t have him. First name on your list.

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Phillipou ($168.4k) found the footy all pre-season and isn’t going anywhere.

Robertson ($119.9k) posted 94 SC points in the pre-season game – mature body, safe on-field option in a line that doesn’t offer many cheap alternatives.

Marshall ($147.9k) is on the bench and could sneak on the field yet.

McAndrew ($119.9k) currently sits in the Flex. He has to be on the field somewhere – the question is where.

Play him at R2, and if he loses his spot, you’re looking at a full restructure, potentially two costly trades to fix.

Play him in the Flex, and you’re locked into a second ruck I’m not confident in.

Risk vs reward toss-up for now, but Flex feels the safer home heading into Round 1.

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The rest of the bench fills with the best of a promising crop.

Jaques just needs to hold his spot at the Dogs.

Blamires wasn’t on my radar two weeks ago, but looked sharp after being signed late – we know the Roos half-backs can score.

Sharp posted a respectable 63 against a grand-final-bound Saints side.

Lombard plays for a quality side at a cheap price. They’re all in.

Step 2: The Locked Keepers

With the rookies set, I know exactly what’s left and which lines need premium coverage.

These don’t move regardless of Round 0.

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Butters ($654.8k) has been in my side since the game opened.

Port face North Melbourne, West Coast, Essendon, and Richmond in the first month – there’s a world where he’s averaging 140 over that stretch. Lock him in.

Gulden ($566.6k) had an injury-interrupted 2025 and still scored well.

With a full pre-season and potential CBAs on offer, the ceiling here is enormous.

Rozee ($568.5k) stays alongside Butters. Both are slightly underpriced, and both have no early bye.

Happy to be safe with Port numbers.

English ($600.9k) gets the R1 spot over Grundy, Xerri, and Jackson.

The ruck rule changes suit him perfectly.

He looked incredible in the pre-season game, and his 2023 form shows what he’s capable of when everything clicks.

Feels the safest ruck to me right now.

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Sheezel ($580.4k) – not a heap of upside at this price, but he’ll be a top-six forward by season’s end.

I don’t fancy being in the 27% that don’t have him.

Flanders ($396.6k) is a lock lock lock. St Kilda are giving him the midfield role Gold Coast wouldn’t. Back it.

Step 3: The Gaps

With the foundation set, here’s where I’m landing on the remaining spots.

Pretty locked:

McKercher ($449.6k) scored incredibly when moved to his natural half-back role last year.

Fit and available, he’s in. Could end up a keeper.

Blakiston ($295.5k) alongside him is a solo ruck play – just needs to hold the role long enough to build cash.

Walsh ($543.9k) and Petracca ($522.3k) are my two Round 0 watches.

Walsh, because it’s been a while since we’ve seen him fit and all the signs are there – leave him out, and he pops off, I’ll regret it.

Petracca because he always lets me down, but his pre-season role is convincing me.

The R2 bye is still annoying on Walsh, though, and it’s cost me Daicos for now.

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Parish ($334.6k) is just cheap compared to what he can do. Hard not to get him.

Steele ($510k) loves a tackle, and there’s opportunity in the Melbourne midfield.

Young ($389k) is amazing value, but I’m not sold on the Freo game style and his market share of points.

Jackson ($611.2k) is the one I’m least convinced on – Cox rucked more than expected in the pre-season game.

Don’t be surprised if he drops out before Round 1.

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50:50s:

Rowston ($271.7k) vs Bruhn. Big opportunity at the Giants with their injury toll, but genuinely torn and weighing it up right until the lockout.

Macdonald ($381.1k) vs Rachele is a straight coin toss on who keeps the role.

Windsor ($283.3k) vs Rivers or Coleman – I had Rivers originally, Windsor saves coin with similar upside, but I don’t love the pick.

Carroll ($119.9k) is a watch rather than a lock – loved his role at the Saints, but not sure how he translates to the real stuff.

Reidy ($119.9k) I genuinely don’t love, if he scores poorly, I might be better off with a red dot for looping.

But if either fires in Round 0, they are straight in.

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The Play

Most managers finish their team and then wonder why their rookies are all in the wrong positions, or why they are stuck with a mid-pricer they don’t believe in.

Build it the right way, and those problems don’t exist.

Rookies first. Keepers second. Everything else fills the gaps.

The foundation is locked – 18 players, I’m not moving.

The remaining 13 take shape after Round 0.

Stop building line by line. You’ll thank yourself in Round 10.