AFL Supercoach 2023: Midfielder bargains, prices and selection guide

Kieran Francis

AFL Supercoach 2023: Midfielder bargains, prices and selection guide image

Arguably the most important line of your AFL Supercoach 2023 team is the midfield.

This where you select the most players for any position and also where you will generate the most points.

Your captain selection will also most likely come from this crop of players the majority of the time.

The Sporting News looks at the prices of the AFL midfielders and analyses the questions you want answered.

Top 20 Premium Midfielder Prices

Name Club 2022 Avg. Price
Rory Laird Adelaide 127.8 $703,900
Clayton Oliver Melbourne 127.1 $699,800
Lachie Neale Brisbane 122.8 $676,700
Touk Miller Gold Coast 120.3 $662,400
Callum Mills Sydney 116.7 $642,400
Marcus Bontempelli Western Bulldogs 116.1 $639,500
Jack Macrae Western Bulldogs 115.2 $634,400
Christian Petracca Melbourne 112.4 $618,600
Zach Merrett Essendon 112.2 $617.500
Andrew Brayshaw Fremantle 111.9 $615.600
George Hewett Carlton 111.4 $613,300
Patrick Cripps Carlton 111.1 $611,900
Sam Walsh Carlton 111.0 $610,900
Darcy Parish Essendon 110.9 $610,800
Jack Steele St Kilda 109.8 $604,400
Josh Dunkley (FWD) Brisbane 108.3 $596,400
Josh Kelly GWS 105.8 $582,300
Ollie Wines Port Adelaide 105.5 $580,700
Travis Boak Port Adelaide 105.4 $580,200
Tom Liberatore Western Bulldogs 104.8 $576,700

Hands up if you ever thought Rory Laird would ever be the top Supercoach midfielder when he was a good defender a couple of years ago?

While $700k is probably a bit too much for the Adelaide gun, he certainly must figure in your thoughts.

There is an awful lot of quality midfielders priced in the $600k-plus range, so it will be a tough choice out of the likes of Clayton Oliver, Lachie Neale, Touk Miller, Callum Mills, Jack Macrae and Marcus Bontempelli.

Some of the cheaper options in the top echelon loom as possible value picks, including Andrew Brayshaw, who you would expect to get better in 2023.

Jack Steele has also fallen in price after averaging 122.5 (2020) and 126 (2021) before a 109.8 in 2022.

Once he recovers from injury, Carlton star Sam Walsh is another who could continue his improvement, while Josh Dunkley might average more with extra midfield time at Brisbane.

#rory laird

Cheaper/Bargain/Mid-Priced Midfielder Options

Name Club 2022 Avg. Price
Luke Parker Sydney 103.9 $572,100
Brad Crouch St Kilda 103.7 $571,000
Hugh McCluggage Brisbane 103.7 $570,800
Tom Green GWS 97.1 $534,600
Tom Mitchell Collingwood 96.0 $528,600
Connor Rozee (FWD) Port Adelaide 93.3 $513,800
Tim Taranto (FWD) Richmond 91.4 $503,100
Dustin Martin (FWD) Richmond 87.3 $480,400
Ben Cunnington (FWD) North Melbourne 49.5 $419,000
Jason Horne-Francis (FWD) Port Adelaide 63.4 $348,800
Jacob Hopper Richmond 67.0 $332,000
Dom Sheed West Coast 67.0 $332,000
Nat Fyfe (FWD) Fremantle 63.3 $313,600

There is some tasty options at around the $300k mark, including Fremantle Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe, new Richmond signing Jacob Hopper and West Coast on-baller Dom Sheed.

Another new Tiger pick-up Tim Taranto could be another to become a top 20 Supercoach midfielder in 2023 with a new lease of life at Punt Rd.

Continuing with the Richmond theme, Dustin Martin is priced intriguingly, but only if he gets a little more time up in the midfield.

Port Adelaide talent Connor Rozee had a breakout second-half of the season and is a good candidate to one of the top midfielders this season.

You can expect solid scores from seasoned midfielders Luke Parker and Brad Crouch, while Hugh McCluggage is one with an unknown ceiling.

Tom Mitchell is also quite cheap but will he excel in a new environment at Collingwood?

dustin martin

Rookie Midfielder Options

Check out our guide to AFL Supercoach rookies in 2023: AFL Supercoach 2023: Rookies, cash cows and cheapies to keep an eye on

Kieran Francis

Kieran Francis Photo

Kieran Francis is a senior editor at The Sporting News based in Melbourne, Australia. He started at Sportal.com.au before being a part of the transition to Sporting News in 2015. Just prior to the 2018 World Cup, he was appointed chief editor of Goal.com in Australia. He has now returned to The Sporting News where his passions lay in football, AFL, poker and cricket - when he is not on holiday.