AFL Supercoach 2026: Round 10 Wrap – 9 Things We Learnt

Well, I’m glad that is over.

Round 10 was one of the grimmest Supercoach rounds I’ve had in a long time, scoring a measly 2048 which saw my rank plummet almost 4000 spots to 5.4k in the overall standings. 

I was forced to cop a donut with Dayne Zorko a late withdrawal on Thursday night and it didn’t get much better from there. 

My two trade ins, Archie Roberts (93) and Liam Henry (34) flopped, scoring less than my trade outs in Josh Lindsay (97) and Willem Duursma (87). 

I was bundled out of the SC Cup and most of my top end premiums also stunk it up, which undid my last few weeks of gains. It’s fair to say, this was a round I’d like to forget.

Let’s get into the things we learned in round 10.

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1. McCluggage disappoints new owners

He was the talk of the town last week, but Hugh McCluggage failed to fire against Geelong in round 10, posting just 57 SC points.

The star Lion had just 16 disposals and operated at just 50 per cent disposal efficiency which is why his score was so low.

Positively, McCluggage played 81 per cent time on ground and attended 63 per cent of centre bounces.

I’m fully expecting him to bounce back against the Giants. 

2. Is Brodie Grundy essential? 

There are four rucks who have separated themselves from the pack.

Max Gawn has tonned up every week but no longer has the ceiling he once did given he is sharing the role with young Max Heath.

Luke Jackson’s been terrific in 2026 but had a rare stinker against the Bombers, while Tristan Xerri continues to be an explosive asset despite missing three weeks through suspension.

But Grundy might be the best of the lot.

The star Swan dominated his former side in Collingwood on Friday night, posting a whopping score of 203 SC points.

If you didn’t own him, your rank certainly took a hit, while those who captained the big man were rewarded in a big way.

Over the next month, he takes on Geelong, Richmond, St Kilda and Port Adelaide. He might never come down in price… 

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3. Suns half-backs get it done again

Gold Coast’s backline has been a gold mine in recent weeks.

John Noble has been one of the best defenders this season and is firing, while Daniel Rioli has a three-round average of 114.3 and Bodhi Uwland has a three-round average of 124.

Mac Andrew’s also had a nice little period.

Who is relevant from an SC perspective?

That quartet are all currently owned by less than 2.5 per cent of the competition, so there’s gains to be had if you can pick the right one.

Having said that, are they just going through a purple patch? I’m happy to wait until after the round 12 bye before reassessing. 

4. Izak Rankine is a buy… but post-bye

You’ll probably need to pay over 500k to get him in post-bye, but that’s probably the way to go.

The star Crow tore shreds off the Roos at the Adelaide Oval and looks like a great asset to own moving forward.

After a sluggish start to the year, Rankine has seen an uptick in CBAs over the past month which has been great for his scoring.

It’s been tough to get a gauge on the forwards this year but I think Rankine has plenty of upside going forward. 

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5. A cautionary tale at the Hawks

Plenty of coaches will flock towards Bodie Ryan in Supercoach this week as a defender on the bubble, but I’m not yet sold.

He hasn’t exactly shot the lights out from a scoring perspective and I’m not sure how good his long term job security is, especially given the form of Sam Mitchell’s side over the past three weeks.

I currently own Lachie Jaques, Flynn Perez and Todd Marshall as guys who can’t get a game, so not sure I want to be adding another speculative cheapie to that mix. 

6. Why there’s a watch on the Blues

Michael Voss’ reign is over and it’s now Josh Fraser in the hot seat as the interim coach.

While the Blues didn’t change that much up against the Bulldogs, one key change was that Jagga Smith was more prevalent in the CBAs than over the past six or so weeks.

Smith’s breakeven is back down to 33 and I think he’s a definite hold.

Elsewhere, youngster Jack Ison impressed on debut, kicking a goal from 15 disposals at Marvel Stadium.

I don’t like going early on rookies, but he’s one that I’m seriously considering this week given the lack of decent options.

Speaking of cheapies, Wade Derksen had another strong outing in the VFL and continues to push his case for selection in the senior side.

The Blues will need to find out more in regards to some of these fringe players, so expect them to get a chance at some stage. 

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7. Do we need to take Josh Treacy more seriously? 

Josh Treacy is one of the premier key forwards in the competition and it’s time we start taking him more seriously as a Supercoach prospect.

Treacy was elite early at the MCG, before fading out a bit in the second half.

Key forwards have notoriously been a bit of a no-go at this time of the year when upgrading, but maybe we need to start considering Treacy more closely.

He’s been the third best forward this year on average and has just the one score below 74 for the season.

One I’ll be monitoring throughout the byes. 

8. Star Saint is worth targeting over the next fortnight

How would you feel if I told you that there is a defender averaging 110 (excluding an injury affected game) for the season available for just 463k who could get even cheaper?

St Kilda captain Callum Wilkie will be one of the top trade targets during the byes given his price and form in 2026 and rightfully so.

There’s a plethora of good defensive options right now but he’s near the top of the list. 

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9. Gun Giants are genuine tag risks

Ugh, I was hoping that Lachie Whitfield and Finn Callaghan would save me some face in the final match of the round but they just increased the pain.

Whitfield was well clamped by Milan Murdock, while Brady Hough did a great job on Callaghan.

It’s something the Giants will need to contend with weekly and I’m not sure either have shown signs of being able to break a tag right now.