The following 11 KFC SuperCoach commandments are guidelines more than they are rules, but, if followed, could set you up for success when building your 2022 KFC SuperCoach side.

I’ve spent years honing these rules to perfection and I’m sure if I actually followed them my results would’ve been far better.

So, do as I say and not as I do, and you’ll be on your way to winning that work league, toppling your mates in a head-to-head or winning it all.

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1. PICK THE BEST ROOKIES

The definition of the ‘best’ rookies has changed a fair bit over time.

The ‘best’ rookies used to be limited to the cheapies who were named in Round 1 and projected to make us a quick injection of cash – this is still the case.

However, there was a time when KFC SuperCoach fanatics wouldn’t have even considered a rookie priced around the $200k mark. It used to be sacrilege to suggest starting someone in this price range.

But the times, they are a-changing, and 2022 presents a situation where the ‘best’ rookies are the ones we need to pay the big bucks for.

Jason Horne-Franics ($207,300 MID), Nick Daicos ($193,800 MID) and Josh Rachele ($184,800 MID/FWD) are just some of the higher-priced players you need to lock into your team right now.

They are all highly touted juniors, they all project to be decent KFC SuperCoach scorers and, more importantly, they have great job security. In KFC SuperCoach, a rookie’s best ability is their availability and as long as these guys are on the park, they’ll be contributing to your team’s value.

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2. AVOID THE INTERRUPTED PRE-SEASON

This is maybe the simplest, and most effective, commandment year in, year out.

In 2021, it was reported that Patrick Dangerfield had groin issues in the off-season, he missed 9 of Geelong’s first 11 games. It was also reported that Lachie Neale was having an injury interrupted pre-season, he went on to average just 96.5 across his first six games, losing over $140k in value before missing eight games throughout the rest of the season.

Pre-seasons matter, and we should be watching them closely.

This year, I’ll be avoiding players like Aaron Hall (hamstring), Jeremy Howe (abductor), Nat Fyfe (shoulder) and Mitch Duncan (calf) who have all had injury interrupted pre-seasons and focusing on selecting more historically durable players.

3. DON’T P.O.D FOR POD’S SAKE

Points-of-difference (POD) are a great way to make your team unique, but too many of them can land you in a world of hurt.

Often coaches will select a few PODs so that their team doesn’t look too ‘cookie cutter’ but I’m here to let you know that cookie cutter is OK.

The best players in KFC SuperCoach are the best players for a reason, and there’s no shame in selecting the best players for your team!

If you have a player or two who you are desperate to select but appear in no one else’s team, take them.

By all means start with Jack Ziebell or Patrick Dangerfield, but only if you have identified them for a reason and not just because no one else has picked them.

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4. PRIORITISE VALUE OVER BREAKOUT POTENTIAL

Normally I try and steer coaches away from the dreaded mid-pricer. This year, I don’t think that’s going to be possible.

Instead, we must prioritise the selection of undervalued mid-pricers (fallen premiums), who have previously performed in KFC SuperCoach, rather than the potential breakout contenders of the world.

Coaches who started with Jack Ziebell and Joe Daniher in their 2021 forward lines were at a clear advantage to those who didn’t.

Compare those two fallen premiums with the selections of breakout contenders Matt Rowell and Jye Caldwell and you’ll potentially see the difference between a top-1000 finishing squad and a top-10,000 finishing squad.

There are a number of players we could consider as fallen premiums heading into 2022:

Matt Crouch ($482,000 MID) has averaged 110 multiple times in his career

Stephen Coniglio ($261,300 FWD/MID) averaged 91+ from 2015 to 2020

James Sicily ($448,100 DEF) was averaging 108.2 in 2020 before suffering a season-ending injury.

MID-PRICE RANKINGS: THE TOP 25 VALUE OPTIONS IN 2022

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5. PLAN FOR THE WORST

In a world where we’ve seen games moved, cancelled and delayed, we need to be prepared for anything.

Here are some things to consider when planning for the worst in 2022:

– Don’t pick multiple premiums from the same team, meaning if a game is cancelled or delayed, you won’t be as punished.

– Save your trades until the very last moment every week. If there are any late-outs or any games are moved, you’ll still have the flexibility to improve your side.

– If you have a good VC score, play safe and take it. You never know when your captain might get hurt in the warm-up!

6. PLAN FOR THE BYES

Planning for the byes can be a really worthwhile exercise when you are selecting your starting team.

Spreading out your initial premium options across the three bye weeks will make trading through the early parts of the season far simpler.

This might mean that if you are starting Clayton Oliver you might not also start Lachie Neale as they both share the Round 14 bye. Instead you might target Adam Cerra (Round 12) or Rory Laird (Round 13).

By having an even spread of premiums to begin with, you should be able to trade just about anyone you want into your side throughout the year and still have enough coverage for the bye rounds in Round 12, 13 and 14.

Using this tactic should also give you captaincy options across all bye rounds.

7. LOOPHOLE, LOOPHOLE, LOOPHOLE

At this point we probably need to rename the loophole because it has become a staple part of the game.

The loophole can be used for captaincy scores and bench scores.

Essentially you’re just putting a non-playing player onto the field to get your emergencies’ score. Generally, your emergency will have played earlier in the round and scored well enough that you want to lock his score in.

This also works for captaincy. Chuck the VC on someone earlier in the round and if they score well you put a non-playing player onto the field, whack the C on him and make sure you have slapped the E on the player you switched out.

This is a simple way to lock in a mammoth score and increase your total points.

It’s also something you should be doing just about every single round of the year.

8. MANAGE YOUR TRADES

While starting selections are important, it’s trading that can separate you from the pack.

Ideally your trades will be used to turn two rookies who have appreciated in value into a cheap rookie who is about to do the same and a proven premium scorer.

The goal of trading should always be to increase your team’s total points output, your team’s total value or both.

We run into trouble when we waste trades that we could’ve held.

For instance, many coaches will panic early in the season when one of their emergencies scores highly and will waste a trade bringing in a non-playing rookie to ensure they get the score. This is short term thinking and you won’t be thankful you got those extra 100 points in Round 1 when you’ve got no trades left and an injury to deal with in Round 20.

Only use trades when it’s time to cull a fully fed rookie, to replace a premium player who will miss more than three weeks or to jump on a cheapie who is rocketing in value.

9. DON’T WASTE YOUR TRADE BOOSTS

The Trade Boost is a new feature of KFC SuperCoach in 2022 and, like normal trades, it shouldn’t be wasted.

Essentially, you’ll have five Trade Boosts for the year which will allow you to make one extra trade in up to five rounds of your choosing.

Like with regular trades, coaches will get themselves into trouble if they look to use these Trade Boosts just to secure an emergency score from the bench.

The Trade Boost should be held to replace a premium player who might’ve been a late-out in a clutch KFC SuperCoach matchup or reserved for the bye rounds to ensure you can field a full scoring side.

Coaches may also consider holding some Trade Boosts throughout the season as insurance against any Covid related changes to the fixture.

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10. CHANGE PLACES!

If last year taught us anything, it’s that we’re going to need flexibility to cover ourselves and that means utilising dual-position players (DPPs) to our advantage.

This year we have some great options that can provide some cover. Jack Crisp (DEF/MID), Stephen Coniglio (FWD/MID), Keidean Coleman (FWD/DEF) and Campbell Chesser (DEF/FWD) are all popular options.

A new feature for KFC SuperCoach in 2022 is the positional update rules. Players could have dual-position status added after rounds six, 12 and 18. They can’t have a position taken away during the season.

This gives us even more flexibility and something to keep an eye on throughout the year.

11. ENJOY THE RIDE

I’ve been lucky enough over the last couple of years to include this commandment and it’s applicable once again.

KFC SuperCoach is a game that we play to enhance our football experience and to engage with our communities. It’s supposed to be fun.

There will be low points this year; players will get hurt, starting selections won’t pay off, games might be cancelled.

But there will also be high points; that round where you nail your captain in a nailbiting victory, when you top score in your league for a week and when you taste that sweet premiership glory.

So enjoy it! 2022 is going to be a fun ride.

If you want to hear more from me or have your own KFC SuperCoach rules you want to discuss, you can hit me up on Twitter @Lekdog or over at jockreynolds.com.au, where you can subscribe to our podcast.

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