The best KFC SuperCoach BBL coaches plan weeks in advance.
That’s because having one eye on the next double game round – or even the double after that – should help guide your overall trade plans.
Long-term planning might sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.
To show you how easily you can adapt to KFC SuperCoach BBL, we’ve devised a trade plan for the first half of BBL12 (to the end of round 7).
Of course, price changes, injuries and selection will dictate how many of these trades can be accomplished.
What’s more important is to show you how achievable this planning can be and set out a template for how every coach could approach KFC SuperCoach BBL this summer.
Hopefully this helps your planning – good luck!
BEFORE ROUND 1
You have unlimited trades and can make as many changes as you want/need to.
AFTER ROUND 1
Trade three Melbourne Stars to three Perth Scorchers or use a Trade Boost and trade four Melbourne Stars to four Perth Scorchers.
Why? The Stars have a bye in round 2 and the Scorchers play twice. And you might need four trades to get Mitch Marsh.
Examples: Trent Boult, Adam Zampa, Joe Clarke to Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye and Phil Salt, Or Trent Boult, Adam Zampa, Joe Clarke and Marcus Stoinis to Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis, Jason Behrendorff and any cheapie with a low break even.
MORE: SIMPLE GUIDE TO THE KFC SUPERCOACH BBL FIXTURE
AFTER ROUND 2
Trade three Sydney Thunder players to three from Brisbane Heat or two Brisbane Heat players and a cash cow you have missed. Or trade four Thunder players to three Heat players and a cash cow using a Trade Boost.
Why? Sydney Thunder has a bye in round 3 and Brisbane Heat has a double. Most teams will have lots of Thunder players after their round 1 and 2 doubles.
Example: Jason Sangha, Daniel Sams, Alex Hales and Rilee Rossouw to Mark Steketee, James Bazley, Sam Billings and Mitch Swepson.
AFTER ROUND 3
Take your pick of the best available players within your trade budget as there are no teams with a double in round 4. Alternatively, you can start planning for round 5 when the Sixers and Renegades both play twice.
Why? Targeting all-rounders is the best way to boost your score in a KFC SuperCoach BBL round when there are no teams playing twice. But as this guide tells you, planning ahead by bringing in Sixers and Scorchers will boost your score significantly in round 5.
The Sixers also have a double in round 8, so you can’t really have too many of them in the middle of the season. Just don’t trade in Andre Russell as he leaves before the round 5 double.
Example: Trade two premiums with high break evens (who will lose value) and a cheapie who looks to have maximised their cash generation. Trading Heat players off the double will be a popular move. For example, Michael Neser, Sam Billings and Mitch Swepson to Josh Philippe, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Akael Hosein.
AFTER ROUND 4
Trade any Strikers or Hobart players you have as they both have the bye in round 5. Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Sixers play twice.
Why? The Sixers are Renegades play in round 6 and 7 after their round 5 double, so it is safe to trade Strikers and Hobart players to players from either of them. Hobart doesn’t have a double until round 8, so you will have time to bring any players you want for that double back. Ditto the Strikers, who have their next double in round 9.
Example: Rashid Khan, Matt Short and D’Arcy Short to Kane Richardson, Sean Abbott and Tom Rogers.
AFTER ROUND 5
No teams have the double in round 6 or round 7, which also means no byes. Try to hold onto your Sixers stars with the round 8 double in mind. Most teams will want to have an 11 which is practically all Hurricanes and Sixers players by round 8. Whether you trade for Sixers or Hurricanes ahead of round 6, round 7 or round 8 should be dictated by break evens and price changes. Round 6 shapes as the perfect round to target 2-3 fallen premiums (players who started with a high price but have dropped in value).
Why? Assuming you already had 3-4 Sixers in your team for round 5, you won’t need to go too hard on trades to prepare for the round 8 double they share with the Hurricanes. You would only need to use 6-7 of your trades between the end of round 5 and start of round 8 to end up with a full team on the double. Round 6 should be about bringing in at least two stars whose values have bottomed out.
Example: We’re guessing who fallen premiums will be here – but to give you an idea of the sort of trade you should be thinking of…
Marcus Stoinis, Ben McDermott and Tim David to Shadab Khan, Nathan Ellis and Dan Christian*
* Break even and price dependent.
AFTER ROUND 6
Now is the time to start ramping up your preparations for what could be a bumper round 8 double for the Hurricanes and Sixers. Every team features in round 7, so tailor your trades around cash cows who have peaked in price (where their break even is similar to their average) or premiums with high break evens (break even is significantly higher than points average).
Why? You won’t get a full team of Sixers/Hurricanes in for round 8 unless you start preparing a few rounds in advance. There’s no shortage of players from those two teams who can score well in rounds where they only feature once, like round 7.
Example: Josh Inglis, Chris Lynn and Mitch Marsh to Matthew Wade, Riley Meredith and Ben Dwarshuis.
AFTER ROUND 7
If round 8 seemed to be weeks away and you haven’t done any trades, start panicking. No, that’s bad advice. You don’t need to panic in KFC SuperCoach. This year we have three Trade Boosts available and this would be a great round to use one (if you haven’t exhausted them already). The Strikers and Perth play twice in round 9, so you would ideally hold any players from those teams. All eight teams feature in a bumper round 8 so your trades should be dictated by which of the Sixers and Hurricanes stars you don’t have. The Sixers have a bye in round 9, so don’t go too heavy or you could leave yourself short.
Why? The Hurricanes and Sixers boast some of the best scorers in KFC SuperCoach and most KFC SuperCoach teams will aim for a minimum of nine players from those two sides. You risk being left behind if you aren’t prepared.
Example (using a Trade Boost): It’s not really worth listing any players here as it’s so deep into the season we couldn’t accurately guess your teams. But you should be aiming to trade four players with only one skill (who only score from batting or bowling) to four Sixers/Hurricanes players. Or three if you were prepared for round 8 already. This might be the round you have to sacrifice Daniel Sams to bring in a top-liner such as Sean Abbott, too.
AFTER ROUND 8
You’re on your own. Use all the trade lessons you’ve learned, tap into SuperCoach Plus stats and chase KFC SuperCoach BBL glory. OK, one last tip – make sure you’ve got Rashid Khan back by round 9, pending his availability!
Originally published as KFC SuperCoach BBL: Plan your trades for early rounds using this easy guide
