AFL Supercoach 2026: Round 21 Wrap – 9 Things We Learned

Just three weeks now to go.

I’m coming off one of my best Supercoach weeks in recent memory posting a huge 2572 points in round 21, the 158th highest score of the week. 

That score slashed my rank by 874, taking me into 661st on the overall rankings. 

I’m finally heading in the right direction, so fingers crossed I can keep building momentum.

Here’s what we learned in round 21.

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1. Nick Daicos is becoming tag proof

Are the days where Nick Daicos gets totally clamped over?

The Collingwood star was able to shrug off some close attention from Geelong gun Oisin Mullin to post a really solid score of 125 SC points.

He’s so crucial to how the Pies play and appears a near certainty to claim the Brownlow Medal this year.

He’s going to be a Supercoach favourite for the next decade.

2. Bont flops in a major way

Bontempelli has been one of the best and most reliable SC scorers for several years now, but even he is prone to the odd down game or two.

The Bulldogs captain managed a score of just 61 SC points against the Dockers on Friday night, putting those who had the armband on him in a world of hurt.

It just goes to show how important it is to get your VC and C right, because at this time of year, captaincy makes a huge difference.

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3. Gulden delivers again

Errol Gulden has to be one of my favourite players to watch in the competition and owning him across the last month or so has been an absolute pleasure.

After a season rocked by injury, Gulden looks back to his best, regularly getting involved in chains and working hard to rack up possessions across the ground.

With fixtures against Port Adelaide, Essendon and North Melbourne on the way home, I’m hoping for some more big scores. 

4. Roos veteran’s role change

Luke Parker has dominated across half-back for the Kangas this year which has been a huge win on the Supercoach front for us.

Roos coach Alastair Clarkson swung the magnet in round 21 against the Hawks though, thrusting the former Swan into the on-ball mix.

Parker attended a season-high 77 per cent of CBAs, a huge jump from his previous best of 20 per cent against the Cats in round eight. Interesting.

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5. Giants half-back delivers in style

Lachie Whitfield has been a bit of an underwhelming own in recent weeks, but he looked back to his best against the Power on Saturday.

The Giants jet found plenty of the footy in the back half, dominating for Adam Kingsley’s side.

The Giants need everything to go right from here if they’re to sneak into a wildcard spot and Whitfield will need to be at his best to help get them there.

6. Young Lion continues rich vein of form

Shoutout to SCPlaybook expert Harry West who put Will Ashcroft on the map during the mid-season byes, because he was bang on the money.

Across his last seven games, Will Ashcroft has averaged 134 SC points per game, making him one of the AFL’s premier players in the competition.

He was available for just $430k if you jumped on board before that stretch. 

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7. Mid-season draftee delivers again

Speaking of shoutouts, Marcus Herbert has been massive in the last two weeks.

As trades dwindle for many teams, Herbert has starred over the past fortnight with two consecutive scores of 130+.

Whether or not he can keep it up over the final three weeks of the season remains to be seen, but he’s finding plenty of footy in the back half for the Eagles right now, regularly linking up with the likes of Tom McCarthy to create rebound out of D50. 

8. Petracca woes continue

It feels like this is a weekly entry at this point. Suns star Christian Petracca just can’t get going at the moment, averaging just 72.6 SC points per game in his last six matches.

It’s a far cry from the sort of footy he was producing in the early parts of the season.

To make matters worse, the ex-Dee attended just 14 per cent of CBAs against his former side, his lowest for the year.

If you’ve got trades up your sleeve, do you sideways out of him? 

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9. Star Crow repays the faith

How good has Izak Rankine been over the month?

After an injury interrupted season to date, Rankine has been hot in recent weeks, averaging 132 SC points per game.

He’s got that midfield role we were all waiting for and is absolutely dominating.

He’s getting very involved in transition and finding ways to hit the scoreboard still.

With a matchup against the Tigers this week, hopefully he can deliver once more.