AFL Supercoach 2026: Power Rankings – Finals Week 1

The home and away season is over, but Supercoach isn’t finished just yet.

I slid to 717th in the overall rankings after a grim round 24, but I’m pretty happy with how the season panned out, despite all the carnage.

But now attention turns to Supercoach Finals, which is a little bit different to the format we all know and love.

In Supercoach Finals, there’s unlimited trades, no salary cap and your captain gets triple points, while your vice-captain gets double. 

Crucially, there’s a three-player limit per team until grand final week, which means you can’t just stack your team with players from one club.

The first week consists of a pair of exciting Wildcard games. The Pies take on the Bulldogs on Friday night, before the Dees host the Blues on Saturday night. 

Let’s take a look at the best players to pick from each team in each position.

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DEFENDERS

1. Bailey Dale
2. Jake Bowey
3. Oliver Florent
4. Josh Daicos
5. Dan Houston

Western Bulldogs defender Bailey Dale returned from a shoulder injury in round 24 and will have a big say in whether the Bulldogs can progress through to an elimination final. The star Dog is one of the most explosive defenders playing this week and has monopoly on the kick-ins. Dale scored 106 against the Pies earlier this year.

Melbourne defender Jake Bowey has also had an underrated season, averaging 102.3 SC points per game. He’s been a pillar of consistency this year, with just two scores under 93 all season.

The form play is Blues back Oliver Florent, who is averaging a ridiculous 114.8 SC points over his past five matches. The former Swan is taking plenty of kick-ins, is a key distributor under new coach Josh Fraser and posted 104 the last time he played the Dees.

A pair of Pies in Josh Daicos and Dan Houston round out the best defensive options. Daicos has been inconsistent this year but has averaged 95.5 SC points per game, while Houston was a frustrating own for coaches this year, but can explode on his day.

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MIDFIELDERS

1. Nick Daicos
2. Marcus Bontempelli
3. Ed Richards
4. George Hewett
5. Patrick Cripps
6. Sam Walsh
7. Kysaiah Pickett
8. Jagga Smith
9. Jack Steele

There’s a clear Tier 1 here, with Nick Daicos, Marcus Bontempelli and Ed Richards all players to consider as captaincy options. They’re rolled gold Supercoach assets, are in great form and will be crucial to their teams success. I suspect they’ll all be very highly owned, so not selecting one would be a big anti-POD move.

In terms of the next best options, it’s tough to split Carlton’s on-ball brigade. George Hewett is a contested beast who will thrive on the finals stage, Patrick Cripps leads from the front and steps up in big games, Sam Walsh is revitalised under Fraser and young Jagga Smith has worked into his AFL career nicely.

Melbourne livewire Kysaiah Pickett is the wildcard player who could score 60 or 120, while his teammate Jack Steele should be suited to finals footy although hasn’t scored 100+ in his past six outings. 

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RUCKS

1. Max Gawn
2. Darcy Cameron
3. Tim English
4. Marc Pittonet

Max Gawn is the clear number one pick here, he’s averaged 128 SC points per game this year and is a great captaincy shout. Earlier this year he posted 131 against the Blues. Things get interesting from there.

Darcy Cameron is a strong option, if Bulldogs ruck Tim English doesn’t play. English is under an injury cloud with a knee issue, but is in the mix to make a shock return. If he does get named, he’s worth considering, but it would be very risky off the back of limited preparation.

Selecting Marc Pittonet would be wild given he’s scored just four tons all year. 

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FORWARDS

1. Jordan De Goey
2. Kade Chandler
3. Joel Freijah
4. Patrick Lipinski
5. Francis Evans
6. Lachie Schultz
7. Harrison Petty

The forwards were a headache all season and it looks as though there aren’t any clear-cut options for the Wildcard round either. Positional changes for 2027 have already been taken into effect for Supercoach Finals, which means Pickett, Smith, Ryley Sanders and Tom Sparrow have lost forward eligibility.

Collingwood star Jordan De Goey is probably the best of the lot and has a strong finals record across his career, averaging 98.6 SC points per game. After that, there’s a real opportunity to take a flyer on someone.

Melbourne forward Kade Chandler was unlucky to miss out on All-Australian squad selection after a solid campaign, while Western Bulldogs youngster Joel Freijah has seen a big uptick in CBAs over the past few weeks.

Collingwood should be bolstered by the return of winger Patrick Lipinski, while a pair of small forwards in Blue Francis Evans and Pie Lachie Schultz are other names to consider.

Dee Harrison Petty is coming off a score of 134 in round 24 and could be a point of difference play.

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