Supercoach Gold has landed.
So, just what is Supercoach Gold and what does it provide?
The biggest change to the Supercoach landscape in terms of Supercoach Gold is that it costs you money to join – after an optional free 14 day period, Gold costs $20 for the season or, if you would rather (and who would?), $4.95 per week. For this outlay you receive a stats package that is, in their words, the“ultimate statistical data, tools and analysis package, providing player stat analysis, price, break-even & scoring projections!”
As a Supercoach tragic, of course I have already outlaid the cash, and there are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, I figure I have got so much enjoyment out of this competition over the last few years that slinging them a few dollars and getting something back for it is a worthy donation. In addition, to have a myriad of statistics (and you do get a lot) at my beck and call on the SC website makes life a lot easier when it comes to trades and researching players, particularly as the season progresses.
HOWEVER…in the big scheme of things, there probably isn’t a lot in the additional material that can’t be found on a number of other SC dedicated websites – including this one of course! Whilst the individual sections of the Gold material are quite interesting and intriguing (Your personal in depth team analyzer, regular News items, the Trade Wizard and a dedicated area to Past Stats) most of this is, sadly, stuff that can easily be located elsewhere for free.
The other issue with stats and info packs like this are that they can have the tendency to ‘water down’ the whole SC competition, providing almost anyone with all the info they need to put together a decent team. One of the most enjoyable aspects of SC over the past few years was finding those hidden gems – players very few knew about, or even better, those established players who were due to have a break-out year that only you had recognized. This was the skill that separated the men from the boys – and it is something that has become harder and harder to do as the popularity of the competition increases and more and more information is provided. Whilst this can only make the competition as a whole stronger, it also has the effect of reducing most team’s composition to the same group of core players. I remember playing a match in 2010 where I and my opponent only had five players different in our whole squad! Crazy.
The silver lining in the cloud, however, is the addition of a new competition – Supercoach Pro. This is the added bonus for joining up to Gold, and provides a new niche that is a LOT of fun. Having experienced a similar set-up in a NFL fantasy competition last year, I can attest to the fact that this innovative version of fantasy football is a winner – and, in due course, may in fact become the only form of Supercoach we end up playing.
Supercoach Pro works like this – you join a league of ten players. Your league is then involved in a draft at a nominated time, where each “team” in the league gets 1 minute to select one player, then the choice moves to the next team. Much like the AFL draft, teams keep picking players until their side is full. So, in your league each player can only be selected once, making for much varied teams and a more exciting method of playing for mine. Should you be unable to make up your mind or not be able to make the draft time at all, your “pre-draft selection list” comes into play and simply picks the next player you had in line on your list.
Once squads are finalised, the comp starts with scoring the same way as the normal comp. However, the remaining pool of AFL players can be accessed for an unlimited number of trades at any time throughout the season, and you can also offer up underperforming players in your squad for potential trades with your direct opponents.
It is a LOT of fun, and will catch on really quickly – it really lends itself well to the AFL style of game, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it becomes more popular than the normal form of the game.
With this Gold/Pro offer you also get early access to 2012 players lists and to “team planner” type software before the 2012 SC competition opens in order to pre-plan your squad for 2012.
So, the big question remains – buy or not buy?
If you are looking for the stats, only shell out the dollars for convenience sake as most of it can be found elsewhere for free. But if you are looking for an even deeper Supercoach experience, Supercoach Pro will be well worth the money.
Give it a crack I say – what have you got to lose?