SuperCoach Round 2 2026: The Injury Carnage Edition

Round 2 delivered what the injury gods always deliver eventually. In one week: Petracca (hamstring), Connor Rozee (soft tissue), Errol Gulden (injured), Todd Marshall (injured), Milan Murdock (hamstring), and Matt Phillipou (injured) all came off or didn't finish.

The community reaction was immediate: "Mate im so cooked. Worst start to the season I've had in 10 years of playing."

"I've copped Young, Gulden, Trac and Rozie. Still top 5% but burning trades."

Here's the breakdown.

The Injury Damage Board

| Player | Injury | Timeline | Price | Impact | |--------|--------|----------|-------|--------| | C. Petracca | Hamstring | 4-6 weeks | $522,300 | FWD premium, R3 bye (GC) anyway | | C. Rozee | Soft tissue | TBC | $568,500 | DEF/FWD, popular trade target | | E. Gulden | Injured | TBC | $566,600 | MID, ~90% ownership — mass problem | | T. Marshall | Injured | TBC | $147,900 | Cheap FWD, easy to replace | | M. Phillipou | Injured | TBC | $168,400 | Low-mid price FWD — watch the news | | M. Murdock | Hamstring | TBC | $168,400 | Engineered FWD rookie, costly timing |

Petracca is the headline. A 4-6 week hamstring for a player who opened with 152 in Round 1. Gold Coast has the Round 3 bye, so he'll miss at minimum R3 (bye) + R4-R7 depending on recovery. That's $522k dead in your forward line for 4-6 weeks while the price drops.

The Round 2 Winners

While most teams were burning, three players bailed out the coaches who had them.

Tristan Xerri was the story of the round. He scored 199 — the highest ruck score of the 2026 season so far. After pre-season scepticism about the ruck rule changes, he answered definitively. At $687,300 he's no longer cheap, but every round that passes without him is a points loss.

"I reckon there's been a slight over reaction to the ruck rule changes. Just a bit. Xerri and Gawn making most of us look silly." — 14 upvotes

Brodie Grundy produced 135 in Round 2. If you had him as VC and looped his score, you had a very good week regardless of the carnage elsewhere. At $677,900 he's not cheap, but relative to what he's putting up, he remains undervalued.

Tim English scored 114. Modest for a premium, but at $600,900 with a solid matchup, coaches who had him as VC and kept the score rather than looping Butters made the right call.

The Captain Butters Disaster

The highest-scoring post in the entire Round 2 data: "Captain Butters..." — 47 upvotes of collective pain.

The community had Zak Butters as the consensus captain for Round 2. He disappointed. Coaches who had Tim English as VC and chose to loop his 114 rather than risk it on Butters came out ahead.

Lesson: captain consensus picks are consensus because they're usually right — but when they misfire, the pain is universal.

What the Ruck Data Actually Says

Two rounds in, the ruck picture is clearer than the offseason noise suggested.

| Ruck | Price | R2 Score | Verdict | |------|-------|----------|---------| | T. Xerri | $687,300 | 199 | Lock — season-high score, has been elite | | M. Gawn | $689,600 | 141 | Elite, validates price | | B. Grundy | $677,900 | 135 | Strong value, playing for Sydney | | T. English | $600,900 | 114 | Solid, will go bigger | | L. Jackson | $611,200 | — | Still finding his feet |

The rule changes didn't flatten the ruck position — they narrowed the gap at the top slightly. Premium rucks are still premium rucks. The coaches who paid up are being rewarded.

Price Movements After Round 2

Prices move after Round 3 (3-game rule). But Round 2 sets the trend:

• Petracca — on a 4-6 week TL, DNP scores will tank his average rapidly from 170. By Round 6 his price could drop $100k+ from $522,300. The window to trade is now.
• Xerri — on track for a price rise. If you don't have him, the gap widens every week.
• Grundy — 135 is his best Round 2 performance. Price rise incoming if he backs it up.
• Gulden — injury timing is brutal. If he misses multiple rounds, his price will crater from $566,600 while your forward cash-cows rise.

What to Do This Week

Petracca owners: Gold Coast has the Round 3 bye. Sit him through it — that's a free week. The real decision comes in Round 4 if he's still listed as 4+ weeks.

Rozee owners: Wait for the timeline. Soft tissue can be 1-2 weeks or 6. Don't burn a trade until you know.

Gulden owners: Hold. One injury doesn't kill your season. If he's back in 2 weeks, trading him out for a mid-pricer and then trading back in is two wasted trades.

Don't panic-trade in bulk. Two injuries happened to half the competition. If everyone trades the same players out, you're on the same trajectory as everyone else. Pick the most critical gap and fill it.

Data note: Scores and prices via community reports and RookieBible data. Timeline for Rozee, Gulden, Marshall and Phillipou pending official confirmation — treat as TBC until team news drops.