Wondering which clubs/players have the best loophole draw in the 2023 season? Wondering what a ‘good loophole draw’ is? You’ve come to the right place to get an advantage in AFL Fantasy and SuperCoach.
The 2023 AFL fixture was released months ago, with times and days confirmed across the first 15 rounds, while those details in Rounds 16-24 are yet to be determined.
But having the first 15 rounds confirmed means we can scrutinize over which clubs are suited to picking a VC and which clubs are suited to using players as a non-playing player (NPP) for a loophole.
Still following? If not, the snapshot is the earlier you play in the round, the more likely it is you can use a player from that club as a VC. If that fails, you’ve got time to turn to another player as captain. If it succeeds, you’ve got time to put the C on a NPP to claim your VC double score.
On the flipside, it always helps to have an NPP from a side who plays late in the round. Often coaches turn to NPPs in the ruck division as this is the least complicated division to execute a loop, as there’s only a few players in that line.
Still following? We hope so.
Below is a round-by-round breakdown up until Round 15 of the order in which clubs play per round, offering up the aforementioned information.
On the far right, is the club’s average for when they play in a round, which we’ve sorted and ordered for ease of information.
As you can see, Brisbane plays early in the round more than any other club, meaning the likes of Josh Dunkley or Lachie Neale will be ideal for VCs.
Similarly, Carlton, Port, Geelong and Sydney aren’t far behind, so that brings in the likes of Sam Docherty, Tom Stewart and Callum Mills into considerations. Note, Sydney’s early run of games doesn’t really kick in until Round 7 onwards.
We’d hardly advocate for this being a reason to pick one of these players in your starting squad, but it may be a factor in a 50-50 call which tips the balance.
On the flipside, the clubs who regularly play late in rounds offer up suitable NPP options, led by Essendon, Collingwood and GWS.
As we mentioned early, rucks are often popular NPPs, especially if they are dual position players (DPP) as that adds flexibility. You also want someone who is as cheap as possible to not waste money on your loop and someone who is also very unlikely to play.
So some of the best NPP picks this year will be Essendon’s Cian McBride (AF $200k SC $123k D/R), Oscar Steene (AF $200k SC $102k RUCK) and the already-popular Nicholas Madden (AF $200k SC $102k R/F). None of those guys seem close to playing AFL footy any time soon.
Madden is already owned by 4% of AFL Fantasy coaches, but in SuperCoach he’s at a staggering 50.7% ownership.
One other thing, it’s worth noting, the Pies play early in the opening four rounds but then it switches. Collingwood defender Charlie Dean (AF $200k SC $123k DEF) has been placed on their Inactive List due to a foot injury, so he won’t be playing any time soon, so he’s another option, although he lacks DPP flexibility.
