AFL Supercoach 2026 | Where to spend your upgrade cash?


<p>Finally, a week with no injuries. Can&#8217;t remember what that feels like. </p>



<p>After weeks of forced trades just to keep a full team on the park, we&#8217;re into upgrade season, and for the first time all year, I actually get to choose where my money goes. So let&#8217;s make it count. </p>



<p>The mid pool doesn&#8217;t look like it used to. Defenders are having their best season in years, and the right upgrade path right now is clearer than it&#8217;s been all season.</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The Game Has Changed</strong></h3>



<p>2026 is playing differently, and the scoring reflects it.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Stat</td><td>2025</td><td>2026</td></tr><tr><td>Disposals per game</td><td>355</td><td>366</td></tr><tr><td>Clearances per game</td><td>37.6</td><td>35.1</td></tr><tr><td>Contested Poss %</td><td>37.7%</td><td>36.3%</td></tr><tr><td>Marks on Lead</td><td>7.7</td><td>10.8</td></tr><tr><td>Metres Gained</td><td>5,869</td><td>6,095</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>More ball movement, fewer clearances, more marks on lead. The game is rewarding high-disposal, marking types, and squeezing the contested possession accumulator. </p>



<p>The players who built their scores on clearance volume are finding it harder. That&#8217;s not bad luck. That&#8217;s structural.</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Who&#8217;s In, Who&#8217;s Out</strong></h3>



<p><strong>Defenders averaging 100+:</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td></td><td>2025</td><td>2026</td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>10</td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>In the tier</td><td>Ash, Blakey, Clark, Dale, Laird, Rozee, Sinclair, Wanganeen-Milera, Whitfield, Zorko</td><td>Andrews, Ash, Blakey, Clark, Daicos, Milera, Parker, Roberts, Sinclair, Whitfield, Wilkie, Worrell</td></tr><tr><td>New to the tier</td><td></td><td>Andrews, Daicos, Milera, Parker, Roberts, Wilkie, Worrell</td></tr><tr><td>Dropped out</td><td></td><td>Dale, Laird, Rozee (injury), Wanganeen-Milera, Zorko (injury)</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p><strong>Midfielders averaging 100+:</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td></td><td>2025</td><td>2026</td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>23</td><td>16</td></tr><tr><td>In the tier</td><td>Anderson, Ashcroft, Bontempelli, Brayshaw, Butters, Callaghan, Daicos, Dawson, Dunkley, Green, Hewett, Heeney, Holmes, Liberatore, Macrae, McCluggage, Merrett, Neale, Richards, Rowell, Serong, Smith, Walsh</td><td>Bontempelli, Butters, Callaghan, Daicos, Davies-Uniacke, Heeney, Holmes, Merrett, Neale, Oliver, Richards, Serong, Smith, Steele, Taranto, Walsh</td></tr><tr><td>New to the tier</td><td></td><td>Davies-Uniacke, Oliver, Steele, Taranto</td></tr><tr><td>Dropped out</td><td></td><td>Anderson, Ashcroft, Brayshaw, Dawson, Dunkley, Green (out for season), Hewett, Liberatore (injury), Macrae, McCluggage (injury), Rowell (back from injury)</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>Injury has distorted the mid numbers significantly. But even adjusting for that, the pool is thinner. The real story, though, is at the top end.</p>



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<p>The elite tier has exploded.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td></td><td>2025</td><td>2026</td></tr><tr><td>Total 120+</td><td>2</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>In the tier</td><td>Bontempelli, Butters</td><td>Butters, Daicos, Heeney, Holmes, Merrett, B. Smith</td></tr><tr><td>Dropped out</td><td></td><td>Bontempelli</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>Players averaging 120+ jumped from just 2 last year (Butters, Bontempelli) to 6 this year. That&#8217;s not a small shift. That&#8217;s a complete restructure of how the position scores. </p>



<p>What it means for your team building is important: the 100-110 range that used to represent a solid midfield pick is now the danger zone. Those players aren&#8217;t keeping pace with the elite. </p>



<p>By season&#8217;s end, the gap between a 105-averaging mid and a 120-averaging mid compounds into a points deficit you can&#8217;t recover from. The position has polarised. </p>



<p>You either want the elite or you wait for them at a discount. Everything in between is a trap.</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Defenders: The Smart Money Right Now</strong></h3>



<p>The game is structurally rewarding defenders; more are cracking 100 than ever before, and you can still find value. This is where to spend.</p>



<p>Jack Sinclair ($575.7k) is my top pick if you don&#8217;t have him. Down $31k on his starting price despite averaging 117. West Coast, Carlton, and Richmond in the next four weeks, with a Round 16 bye as a bonus. Grab him.</p>



<p>Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera ($559k) is also worth a look. He&#8217;s averaged below 100 this year, but I expect him to bounce back above that mark. Watch the tag risk, though. If he cops one, stay away that week.</p>



<p>Lachie Whitfield ($555.5k) is down $44k and great value. I prefer him slightly over teammate Lachie Ash ($565.3k), though you&#8217;ll probably end up with both. Ash&#8217;s time in the mids last week worried me &#8211; he scores better from half back. Whitfield is a pure half-back and the price gap is almost nothing.</p>



<p>Archie Roberts ($554.4k) is the highest risk of the three but could be the highest reward. The Essendon game style is producing big scores across the board, and Roberts is already up $101.7k. Facing Collingwood this week, one of the easiest teams to score against for defenders, he&#8217;s a live VC option.</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Elite Mids: Wait for the Window</strong></h3>



<p>The ceiling at MID has never been higher. Six players averaging 120+. But buying them at peak price is a trap, and here&#8217;s why.</p>



<p>Take Bailey Smith ($678.1k). He&#8217;s averaging 129.5 after back-to-back 151s. Incredible. But at $678k, he&#8217;s priced at roughly 130 points, meaning he needs to sustain that average just to hold his value. At some point, he will drop a 100. Or a 75. When that happens, his price craters, and you pick him up for value. That&#8217;s the play. Not now, at the peak.</p>



<p>Zach Merrett ($599k) is the exception. The only elite mid priced below $600k, coming off a 150 against Gold Coast, where he was pushing back into defence for kick-ins late in the game just to rack up extra touches. That&#8217;s a player hungry for the ball. He&#8217;s good value right now and my midfield upgrade of choice.</p>



<p>Two to flag this week: Zak Butters has a tag incoming, and I&#8217;m expecting a sub-80. Don&#8217;t bring him in. Isaac Heeney is out entirely. Hold if you own him, but this isn&#8217;t the week to chase.</p>



<p>For the rest, a tag, a bad run of form, a short injury. When they dip, pounce. Not before.</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Value Mids: Buy the Dip, Not the Peak</strong></h3>



<p>Not all mids are a trap. Two names worth watching closely over the next fortnight.</p>



<p>Marcus Bontempelli ($648.9k) is already down $57.9k from his starting price after a 66 with knee trouble. He&#8217;s playing this week but risks the Jordan tag and could shift forward. If he averages 100 against Sydney and Port, he&#8217;ll be sitting around $550k. I paid top dollar, and I&#8217;m jealous of anyone who gets him at that price. Non-owners, set the alert and be ready to pull the trigger.</p>



<p>Hugh McCluggage ($542.7k) averaged 117 last year. He&#8217;s sitting at 50.7 this year after a 13-point game in Round 0 at 17% TOG, then 56% and 67% TOG in Rounds 5 and 6 as he worked his way back. Score 100 against Adelaide and Essendon, and he drops to around $480k. He has averaged 80%+ TOG for eight straight seasons. When that number returns, I&#8217;m jumping on.</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>My Plan</strong></h3>



<p>Ideally, I&#8217;m grabbing Roberts this week and taking the ceiling on offer. But the forward line is forcing my hand. Cook, Marshall, and Pou are all fielded, so I need to trade a forward in before I can even think about a defensive upgrade. Not the move I want to make. This is probably why I&#8217;m sitting at 70k.</p>



<p>Plan is a decent forward this week to get one of those three to the bench, a defensive upgrade the week after, then into Bontempelli or McCluggage once one of those windows opens. The data is clear on where the value sits. Back your research, stay patient on the elite mids, and don&#8217;t settle for the 100-averaging mid that&#8217;ll be miles off the pace by season&#8217;s end.</p>



<p>The upgrade path is there. Don&#8217;t overthink it.</p>


AFL Supercoach 2026 | Where to spend your upgrade cash?

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