KFC SuperCoach AFL: Super nan Elizabeth Mullin on being Australia’s top female player
Meet the super nan who is one of Australia’s best KFC SuperCoaches.
Elizabeth Mullin, a 73-year-old from Lower Templestowe, was the top-ranked female in KFC SuperCoach last season — finishing 75th overall.
She had played for three seasons but never taken Australia’s favourite fantasy game seriously until last year.
“I think SuperCoach is just 80 per cent luck, 20 per cent knowledge. You have to be really lucky,” she said.
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That undersells her achievement though.
Mullin earned bragging rights at home by finishing about 900 places ahead of her grandson and avid KFC SuperCoach Zak Yahiat.
“When I got to close to 100, Zak and all of his mates were discussing what I should be doing,” she said.
“I would still do what I want to do, but they would all be saying ‘tell your nana this’. I loved it.
“Apart from anything because he lives with us, it’s a really good way to bond with someone who’s younger than you.
“He’s 21. I’m 73. We can discuss this with one another and debate with one another.”
The only disappointment from her season was losing a head-to-head battle with husband Don, something she’s often reminded of.
KFC SuperCoach also helps them keep in touch with their son Stewart, who lives in Denmark and is part of their league every year.
“The four of us play and we’re all a bit competitive,” Mullin said.
“My husband keeps saying to people, ‘when it was head-to-head I beat her’.”
Elizabeth Mullin has bragging rights at home over her grandson Zak. Picture: Jason Edwards.Source:News Corp Australia
And she’s picked up some of the KFC SuperCoach lingo from her grandson too.
Elizabeth loves talking PODs (point-of-difference selections), premiums and rookies and has put in hours of study to prepare her team for another successful season.
“There were two people I started with last year which he called PODs — one was Petracca and one was Brayshaw from Fremantle,” she said.
“I thought those two were due for a good year.
“I said to Zak, ‘I’m going to have them’ and he said ‘you have to have Dustin Martin’.
“And I said ‘I’m not having Dustin Martin’. He plays really well in the finals, but during the year if he’s in the mood he plays and if he’s not, he doesn’t.”
Her gut feel paid off.
Petracca averaged 117.5 points a game, Brayshaw 101.3 and Martin 100.8.
Sam Docherty is a player Elizabeth Mullins picks every year.Source:Getty Images
A diehard Carlton supporter, Mullin said Sam Docherty and Clayton Oliver were her must-have players every year.
She’s particularly keen on North Melbourne’s Jy Simpkin this season but can’t fit him in to her starting team, which includes St Kilda co-captain Jack Steele after he was crucial to her top-100 campaign.
“Last year I was watching a St Kilda game and I said to Zak, ‘there’s a young midfielder I want to get in, but I don’t know what his name is’,” she said.
“He showed me a photo and it was Jack Steele. I said ‘as soon as I can afford him I’m going to get him in’.
St Kilda co-captain Jack Steele helped launch Elizabeth into the top-100 last season.Source:News Corp Australia
“He said ‘no, you don’t want to get him’. We had this debate. But I ended up getting him in and he was such good value for me.”
Elizabeth hopes her success inspires more women and grandparents to get involved in KFC SuperCoach this year.
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Elizabeth is a big fan of Jy Simpkin but can’t fit him into her budget.Source:News Corp Australia
ELIZABETH MULLIN’S FIVE STANDOUT KFC SUPERCOACH PICKS
1. Rory Laird (Adelaide) DEF — “Rory Laird’s one I usually have on the backline.”
2. Sam Docherty (Carlton) DEF — “Docherty I have always had in my team because he’s a really good SuperCoach scorer.”
3. Clayton Oliver (Melbourne) MID — “I have always had Clayton Oliver because I love him. He’s fiery and he’s usually pretty good value.”
4. Joe Daniher (Brisbane Lions) FWD — “Even if he just helps me make money for the first (few months) I might be able to make some money and get someone better than him.”
5. Jy Simpkin (North Melbourne) MID — “If there was an unlimited salary cap I would have him in because I think he’s got that sort of grit.”
Originally published asThe super nan who conquered KFC SuperCoach
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