AFL Supercoach 2026: Round 6 Wrap – 9 Things We Learnt

Round six is in the books and for once, the carnage (at the time of writing mind you), hasn’t been too bad… 

I posted a score of 2208 this week which saw my rank fall to 5012. 

To be honest, it probably could’ve been worse given I had Dayne Zorko and Noah Anderson out injured and botched my captaincy.

Note to self, don’t be caught in a place with no reception when you’ve got to decide on whether you take your VC loophole…

It finally feels as though upgrade season is upon us, with several rookies ready to be cashed in. 

Here’s what we learned in round six.

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1. Angus Anderson is the best downgrade option this week

A mature-ager out of the SANFL, Anderson has impressed in his first two outings at senior level for the Pies.

A beast at the coalface who loves a tackle, Anderson’s CBAs dropped from 50 per cent to 29 per cent, but he was still able to score reasonably well.

He’s now posted scores of 79 and 64, giving him a breakeven of -75. 

2. Bont faders are licking their lips

Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli averaged 141.8 SC points through his first four fixtures in 2026, peaking in price at $722k.

But a score of 84 against the Hawks and then 66 against the Cats means his price has already dropped to $648k and with a breakeven of 238, he’ll get even cheaper. 

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3. Justin McInerney might be the real deal

Outside of Christian Petracca, Harry Sheezel and Kysaiah Pickett, the forward upgrade options aren’t clear cut.

Sydney’s Justin McInerney might be the best of the rest however, after a strong first six weeks of the season, averaging 101.2 SC points per game.

McInerney has seen an increase in CBAs this season, averaging 58 per cent (ranked third amongst Swans midfielders). Importantly, he’s been super consistent as well. One to seriously consider.

4. Is Elijah Tsatas an option?

I’ve been burnt by Essendon so far this year. Darcy Parish rediscovered some form after I traded him, while Dyson Sharp was a rookie that needed correcting.

I thought long and hard about former captain Zach Merrett but opted against him and he’s flying.

The next Bomber I’m really considering is young midfielder Elijah Tsatas, who after toiling away in the VFL for several seasons looks ready to finally cement his place in the senior side.

A prolific ballwinner at junior level, Tsatas has scored 82 and 101, giving him a breakeven of -49 this week. I’m still on the fence about this one.

As impressive as he’s been, I’m still not certain he’s locked into this Bombers line up long term.

Essendon’s CBAs are all over the shop and I’m still unconvinced that Tsatas’ game holds up from a Supercoach perspective.

He’s a low metres gained type given his poor ball use and he doesn’t get all that many tackles either.

I feel like he’s more likely to settle at about an 80 average, which mind you could still be enough. If he goes at 80s over the next month I think he’ll make about 130k… can he sustain that? 

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5. Jason Horne-Francis is building

I wrote before about how the best forwards this year still remain unclear and there’s definitely a world where ‘JHF’ becomes one of the better options.

Horne-Francis was fantastic against the Hawks, posting a score of 119, his second best score of the year.

After an interrupted pre-season, it feels as though Horne-Francis is finally starting to find some form. Don’t go there yet, but he’s one to watch.

6. It’s time we start talking about Saints defender as a genuine option

The hype throughout the summer was for Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, while Jack Sinclair has been a reliable performer for a while now.

But there’s another name we need to keep an eye on. Co-captain Callum Wilkie has started 2026 with a bang, averaging 115.8 SC points per game with six consecutive tons.

He’s averaged in the 90s for three years running so it’s not totally out of the blue, but he’s definitely gone to another level.

He’s also in less than three per cent of teams so is a great point of difference option.

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7. Star’s new role turns heads

Wow, I did not think I’d be writing about Cam Zurhaar as a Supercoach option this week.

After struggling to get into games throughout the first month of the season, Roos coach Alastair Clarkson made the switch to shift Zurhaar, a dynamic forward, to the back half, where he thrived.

He often was involved in chains of possession and even took a few kickouts as well.

It’s too early to go there yet, but certainly one to watch and one I’d be happy to try and pick up in Supercoach Draft.

A watch on Colby McKercher, who was shifted into the front half against the Tigers though…

8. Star Lion is going to be VERY cheap

Last season, Hugh McCluggage averaged 119.4 in what was the best season of his career.

This year, he’s been hampered by a calf injury and started pretty slowly. The good news? He’s going to get very cheap.

Currently priced at $542k with a breakeven of 185, there’s a world where McCluggage drops below $500k.

Having said that, I think we’d want to see some evidence of some form before jumping on too quickly.

His CBA numbers are slightly down, which could just be because they’re easing him into things. 

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9. Eagles rucks continue to leak points

This is hardly a groundbreaking revelation by any means, but each week we should be considering any ruck who plays the Eagles as a captaincy pick.

This week, Luke Jackson cashed in with 125 SC points, while Brodie Grundy, Tristan Xerri and Jarrod Witts have all posted monster scores against them this year.

Rowan Marshall (and maybe Tom De Koning) await this week but you probably won’t captain, while Max Gawn and the Dees will play the Eagles in round nine.

To be honest, we should be targeting West Coast as a captaincy fixture for non-rucks too given how prolific players have been against Andrew McQualter’s side this year.