How to play AFL SuperCoach Finals 2026: Rules, Toyota HiLux main prize, who to pick

Australia’s biggest fantasy game is about to level up with the biggest names, the biggest matches and the biggest prize in the game.

Welcome to SuperCoach Finals 2026.

This year the best 10 teams in the AFL will face off over five weeks, kicking off with the all-new Wildcard weekend.

And fans can have a stake in the action in an all-new competition with all the SuperCoach features you love plus some exciting rules tailor-made for September.

This is when the best of the best stand up.

Can you beat your mates and take home the grand prize – a Toyota HiLux valued at up to $79,000 (inclusive of on-road costs)?

With unlimited trades you can pick the biggest stars in SuperCoach – Nick Daicos, Max Gawn, Bailey Smith, Marcus Bontempelli and Isaac Heeney, to name a few. Smart strategy will separate the contenders from the pretenders.

HOW IT WORKS

• No salary cap – pick the best players, no price tags attached.

• Unlimited trades – select a new line-up each round.

• Scoring based on real SuperCoach stats – with two major twists:

– Captain is worth triple points

– Vice-captain is worth double points

• Team limits apply – maximum three players from any team from weeks 1-4, maximum of five players in grand final week.

• New positions – Champion Data will allocate player positions based on 2026 stats, potentially adding or removing DPPs.

TEAM STRUCTURE

• Select a squad of nine players, best eight scores count.

• Pick 2 defenders, 3 midfielders, 1 ruckman, 2 forwards and 1 Flex.

COMPETITION DATES

• AFL finals series: August 28 – September 26

WHO TO PICK

The ruck dilemma is back. With just one on-field slot – and potentially a second in Flex – who do you pick from Max Gawn, Luke Jackson and Brodie Grundy?

Final ladder positions will be key – in week one coaches might have the opposite dilemma. Based on ladder positions with two home-and-away rounds remaining, none of of the big three will be playing in Wildcard week. Who’s your pick of Darcy Cameron, Mitch Edwards, Marc Pittonet or whoever the Bulldogs find to replace injured big man Tim English?

With a host of A-grade midfielders to choose from, narrowing the choices to three won’t be easy. Geelong tagger Oisin Mullin could be the most important player in SuperCoach Finals. If a team is playing the Cats, look elsewhere.

The forward line could be where SuperCoach Finals is won and lost. There’s no Harry Sheezel, the clear No.1 forward in SuperCoach this year, and new positions have been locked in based on where players have spent time this season. That means stars including Kysaiah Pickett, Izak Rankine and Shai Bolton can only be picked in the midfield.

But we do have a huge gift in the form of Errol Gulden, who has played significant time forward since his return from injury and is classified as a FWD-MID in SuperCoach Finals. Zac Bailey, Jordan De Goey and Max Hall are still MID-FWDS.

AL’S TOP SIX PICKS

1. Max Gawn

Gawn has scored more SuperCoach points than any other player in 2026, and is leading Melbourne to its first finals series since 2023. Elite tap work is the cornerstone of an elite all-round game, capped off by Gawn’s ability to haul in intercept marks at the death. Can dominate any opposition. Make him captain or vice-captain each week.

2. Errol Gulden

Will be the top forward pick by a wide margin after earning FWD-MID status. On a heater in the run home and Swans are on track to play a home final in week one, and dodge a trip to Perth to face Fremantle.

3. Will Ashcroft

Mr September lifted several gears when finals came into sight in the second half of the home-and-away season. Can he join Dusty as a three-time Norm Smith medallist?

4. Nick Daicos

Now seemingly untaggable, Daicos scored 111 and 130 in Collingwood’s two finals last year and he is getting the ball even more this year – averaging five more disposals a game. Brownlow night should cap off a huge month, depending how deep the Pies go.

5. Jai Newcombe

The Hawks have been incredibly even all year but Newk is built for the finals pressure cooker, where every touch is hard won. Has played five finals over the past two seasons and scored over 130 SuperCoach points in three of them.

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