AFL Supercoach 2026: Round 13 Wrap – 8 Things We Learnt

A very minor rank rise for me this week, climbing 24 places into 2047 in the overall standings. 

Unlike last week where Isaac Heeney fired as a captaincy option, there weren’t too many mega scores this round.

My new recruit LDU flopped in a big way, but I’m hoping he can turn things around this week against the Eagles. 

My forward line remains a serious concern and I’m looking to bolster that a little bit this week – barring any carnage at selection…

Here’s what we learned from round 13.

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1. Jordan Dawson is a genuine top 8 contender

It was a tough start to the year for the Adelaide skipper, but Jordan Dawson has found some strong form over the last month. In his five most recent outings, Dawson has scored 111+ SC points on every occasion.

He stands up in clutch moments and is the definition of leading from the front. He’s already had his bye too, making him a great option.

2. Young Dog is getting close to must-have areas

Plenty of coaches have already locked in Harry Sheezel, Christian Petracca and Kysaiah Pickett, but Ryley Sanders is mounting a very strong case to be the best of the rest.

Another 23 disposals and 99 SC points later, Sanders continued his prolific 2026 campaign.

The round 16 bye is awkward, as is the looming return of veteran Tom Liberatore, but he’s going so well Dogs coach Luke Beveridge might just leave him in the engine room. 

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3. What to make of Xerri’s performance? 

The matchup against Luke Jackson wasn’t ever going to be ideal, but we’ve now got a real conundrum on our hands.

Do we trade into the star Roo with great fixtures who still has a mega breakeven, or wait a little longer?

Only 12 disposals and four tackles against the Dockers was a concern, but the time on ground did tick over to 73 per cent which was a positive.

Whether you trade into Xerri or not now could really make or break your season.

4. Keep an eye on young Lion

I wrote about Darcy Wilmot last week and he delivered in spades against the Suns, putting up a score of 120 SC points.

With Dayne Zorko and Keidean Coleman sidelined, Wilmot is running the show down back for the Lions. A great point of difference option. 

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5. Murdock might not be the F6 we were hoping for

I won’t lie, I have been hoping that I could ride Milan Murdock at F6 for a little while longer (he’s actually my F4 right now, but let’s not talk about that).

A score of just 54 however highlights why it’s a good idea to pull the trigger to a premium if you can.

Jason Horne-Francis, Ryley Sanders, Zac Bailey, Shai Bolton and Josh Treacy all had great performances in round 13 and if you were stuck with Murdock instead, it really hurt. 

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6. Hold fire on Brodie Grundy… for now

Following a week’s rest, Sydney ruck Brodie Grundy struggled to combat St Kilda’s two-pronged ruck attack in round 13, amassing just 90 SC points.

While he’s clearly one of the game’s most prolific SuperCoach assets, he’s priced at about 660k and has a monster breakeven now.

He takes on the Power next week before his bye, so I think it’s one to reassess in round 16, especially given coach Dean Cox has flagged more management in the back half of the year. 

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7. Could Dons hard nut be our forward saviour? 

Essendon will no doubt try a few different things in the back half of the year and their latest curveball was deploying former captain Zach Merrett in a role across half-back.

That isn’t ideal for Archie Roberts owners, but it does create an opportunity for other players.

With Parish and Caldwell out injured and Merrett in the backline, Sam Durham, alongside Will Setterfield and Elijah Tsatas, saw increased midfield minutes.

Durham was on fire in the first half and finished with 127 SC points and if he maintains the CBA role, could be a bargain buy.

A guy with that sort of scoring potential available for less than 400k has to be considered, especially given the lack of convincing forward premium options. 

8. Mature Pie arrives just in time

Avid VFL fans would be familiar with the name Mitch Podhajski and it won’t be long until AFL fans are either.

The Coburg product kicked a nice goal on debut and looks set to fill the void left by the injured Jamie Elliott in Collingwood’s forward line.

Won’t set the world on fire from an SC perspective, but if he can nab a couple of goals a game he could be handy bench fodder. The best part is he’s only 99k.