SuperCoach AFL waiver wire: Best bargain picks, sleepers ahead of round 2

Primarily, these suggestions will be players who are in less than 60 per cent of SuperCoach Draft leagues and my advice might not fit every single league.

You will need to consider whether one of my suggested pick-ups is worth more than one of your current players or not.

Heading into round 2 we are already faced with two teams having the bye — Carlton and Brisbane.

If your league, like many of mine, plays through the bye rounds, then you’ll need to decide whether you hold onto those fringe Blues or Lions or jump off and try to capitalise with a win this week.

You won’t be jumping off quality players like Patrick Cripps or Josh Dunkley, but you could consider moving on from someone like Blake Acres or Jarryd Lyons.

DEFENDERS

TOP TARGETS

Massimo D’Ambrosio – 122 Average – Picked in 16.2% of leagues

A huge first game from D’Ambrosio in Hawthorn colours saw him dominate from halfback and own a large chunk of the MCG wing against Essendon on the weekend. A popular SuperCoach Classic selection due to his price but he can also provide value in deeper Draft leagues with a very friendly role.

It’s hard to confidently say that he’ll be able to reproduce his 122 points each week, but it’s a great time to jump on and reassess later if required.

Brayden Maynard – 112 Average – Picked in 54.6% of leagues

Maynard stood up with 20 kicks from his 20 disposals against Sydney, producing a mammoth 131 SuperCoach points in the process. But he isn’t here just for the weekend’s effort, Maynard is a consistent scorer and is available in more leagues than he should be.

He doesn’t miss games of footy, he has averaged at least 80 across the last four seasons and has a ceiling as shown in Round 1. Jump on and if it looks a bit shaky, jump off at his bye.

Jayden Hunt – 93 Average – Picked in 24.6% of leagues

If West Coast call themselves the Eagles, then Jayden Hunt might as well call himself the Seagull. It looks like West Coast will try to kickstart their play through their more veteran defenders in Hunt, Jeremy McGovern and to a lesser extent Alex Witherden.

As a result we saw Hunt take eight kick-ins on the weekend and he played on from all eight of them. Given how many shots on goal it looks like West Coast will allow this year, there’s plenty of opportunity for Hunt to pick up plenty of cheap possessions.

CONSIDER

Lachlan Bramble is someone I was hot on this pre-season. Combine the fact that Bevo seems to love him with his DEF/MID flexibility and he could be a sneaky selection for deep leagues.

He produced 107 points on the weekend and is in just 3.4% of leagues.

Dyson Heppell is in just 29% of leagues and produced a very nice 106 on the weekend but it’s his upcoming opponents that interest me.

Heppell averages 95 against Sydney (and 91 at the SCG) with recent scores of 116, 97 and 70 against Swans. He also averages 89 against St Kilda (93 at Marvel) and 89 against Port Adelaide (84 at Adelaide Oval).

MIDFIELDERS

Brayden Fiorini – 104.5 Average – Picked in 30.4% of leagues

Supercoaches everywhere have long awaited the awakening of the G.O.A.T, Brayden Fiorini and right now it looks like he is wide awake. We’ve seen glimpses of Fiorini’s ceiling in the past, he averaged 101 across nine games in 2021, but since then he hasn’t been SuperCoach relevant.

It looks like Fiorini has made the move to a hybrid-wing role which thus far in 2024 has been an equitable one for SuperCoach options. I am sceptical that Fiorini can continue to generate 100s every week but we should grab him now until at least the Gold Coast bye round.

Tom Atkins – 90 Average – Picked in 58.9% of Leagues

Geelong have been transitioning their midfield recently and I think that Tom Atkins is a beneficiary of that. He’s one of the more experienced players in the mix and can support the likes of Tanner Bruhn and Jye Clark by way of playing that defensive midfield role.

Atkins is still able to find the footy despite giving attention to opposition midfielders in the mold of an Ed Curnow or Josh Dunkley on occasions. After his 90 points on the weekend you should consider picking him up if he’s available in your league.

CONSIDER

Will Setterfield was great against Hawthorn, he’s in 56.5% of leagues and was able to produce a 119 on the weekend. He seems to have supplanted Ben Hobbs and Dylan Shiel in Brad Scott’s midfield.

I think he has value even when Darcy Parish returns to the Essendon side but while he’s missing, Setterfield is a must-add.

If Jack Sinclair is still missing this weekend then Riley Bonner, in 37% of leagues, is a fantastic option. Scores of 107 in the pre-season and 102 in Round 1.

Travis Boak, in 18% of leagues, is old and at risk of missing games due to rest. But he showed on the weekend that he can still be impactful on the outside and delivered a respectable 90 points.

He has recent scores of 79, 116 and 110 against Richmond.

FORWARDS

Archie Perkins – 124 Average – Picked in 18.1% of leagues

24 disposals to go with 12 tackles and two goals for a huge 124 points. I saw that people were calling Perkins a future Norm Smith, Brownlow and Best & Fairest winner. If the sample size of Round 1 is anything to go by, they might not be wrong!

He is worth taking the punt on and could well end up being a top-ranked forward for the year.

Max King – 115 Average – Picked in 16.8% of leagues

Is it the year of the SuperCoach key forward? Jesse Hogan, Noah Balter, Tom McDonald, Charlie Dixon, Todd Marshall, Jeremy Cameron, Harry McKay and Max King all went 100+ in Round 1!

I suspect that we’ll see these numbers drop off but Max King is worth a shout if you’re lacking in the forward department. He won’t have it easy against Collingwood (high score of 81) but he won’t mind playing a depleted Essendon the following week.

Stash him on the bench if you can.

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan – 90 Average – Picked in 31.8% of leagues

If you do believe that it’s the year of the SuperCoach key forward then Jamarra isn’t someone you should ignore.

With Gold Coast, West Coast, Geelong (who allowed 115 points to Max King) and Essendon to come over the next four weeks, he could be a key difference maker in your SuperCoach Draft side.

CONSIDER

As surprising as this is for me to write, we should be looking at Tom McDonald this week. He scored a 101 against the Bulldogs on the weekend and seemed to relish a move to the backline.

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He has a high score of 136 against the Hawks and a low score of 55, a bit of a gamble but one that could be taken in deeper leagues.

Jack Billings has only been selected in 27.3% of leagues thanks to his Round 0 sub-affected score. A 119 off 23 disposals and 15 marks on the weekend shows that he can still impact games.

Grab him if he’s available in your leagues.