AFL Supercoach 2026: Final Word – Round 12

Welcome to carnage.

SuperCoach success, unfortunately, doesn’t just come from luck.

It requires skill and a fair bit of planning because, as much as I continue to turn a blind eye to it, the byes are really what separate the wheat from the chaff.

Here’s hoping you’ve got your team set up accordingly, because the next five weeks could make or break your season.

Become a member of the SC Playbook community by subscribing for less than $2 per week! Gain access to additional premium articles on site every week, our Discord community, prize money and plenty more. Check it out here.

Injuries

I’ll be pretty brief here because I have one rule of thumb when it comes to short-term injuries during this stretch of the season…

HOLD.

We’re lucky enough to have best 18 scoring throughout the bye period and, because of that, it makes holding injured players far easier than what it would normally be.

Having 21 players to choose from instead of 22, for example, is a much better proposition than burning a trade, bringing in a guy who will ultimately miss one game anyway (because of their bye), and then scrambling to bring BACK IN the guy you already traded out.

Think about how much better off your team will be when you emerge from the byes with all the same premos you had going in – plus an extra four or five from upgrading your rookies around them.

So, if you own the likes of Rankine, Whitfield, Serong etc… hang on to them, as long as it’s not going to force you into copping a donut.

Embed from Getty Images

Trade Talk

It’s always a risk making trades in the first week of the byes because, as previously stated, anyone you bring in now is just going to miss a week anyway.

So now is the perfect time to use these trades as an opportunity to get your team’s structure in order before sh*t hits the fan.

Anyone who plays for a team with a semi-aquatic animal as its mascot must be at the top of everyone’s trade plans.

I’m, of course, talking about the Swans – in particular Brodie Grundy and Isaac Heeney. If you can’t afford those two uber premos, then have a look at Nick Blakey or Justin McInerney.

They play Richmond this week, and big points on the board in the first week of the byes is invaluable.

Embed from Getty Images

Outside of them, the other fixture I’d love to target is the Bombers against the Eagles – with Zach Merrett and Archie Roberts the top of my list for non-owners. 

Essendon should be raring to go under new leadership, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they come out and absolutely pump West Coast – albeit with their injury crisis. You should feel safe bringing in Merrett, and immediately sticking the armband on him.

In terms of rookies, it’s Jack Ison and Charlie Banfield… and then daylight.

Value is still the name of the game for me, so I’ll be bringing in Callum Wilkie who has well and truly bottomed out in price, and also has the favourable Round 16 bye.

Wilkie is averaging 108 without his injury-effected 24, and is priced at just $438k – a measly $29k more than our rookie saviour Lachlan McAndrew.

McAndrew -> Banfield

Lindsay -> Wilkie

Carrol -> Holmes

Embed from Getty Images

Skippers

VC:

1. Grundy
2. Bailey Smith
3. Heeney
4. Holmes
5. Sinclair

C:

1. Bont
2. Nick Daicos
3. Merrett
4. Darcy Cameron
5. Luke Jackson