There is one part of the AFL Supercoach season that every competitor dreads: the bye rounds.
For three consecutive rounds in June, six AFL teams will take a rest each week - meaning you will likely be missing a chunk of players when selecting your squad.
However, with the rules slightly adjusted for these rounds, you can develop a strategy that allows you to excel during the byes and get the jump on your less-prepared opponents.
It's also worth noting that there could be more rounds affected by byes if there is postponements caused by COVID-19.
Sporting News takes you through the bye rounds, adjusted rules and how to prepare a successful strategy.
What are the AFL Supercoach bye round rules?
During rounds 12, 13 and 14, each AFL team will have a bye once over the period - meaning six sides a week will be missing from action.
There is also the possibility that other rounds will be affected by byes - probably due to postponements because of COVID-19 - and they will also follow the below rules.
In usual Supercoach weeks, your 'best 22' of your squad of 30 will score points - but during the bye rounds only your 'best 18' will score, making it easier to field a team despite the player absence carnage.
Every Supercoacher is given 35 trades to use across the season - of which two can be used each week - except during the bye rounds, you're allowed to use three to help with your bye strategy.
However, up to five times during an individual round per season, you can activate a 'Trade Boost' which will allow you to use an extra trade that week.
This means you can use three trades in weeks you usually have two, and four trades when you usually have three in bye rounds - but all trades come out of your 35 total.
How to prepare a bye strategy?
Having a successful bye period can make-or-break your season and there is a good chance many of your opponents won't think about this period until it's much closer.
When you pick your squad to start the season, you will select premiums to be your top individual scorers for the whole season.
This is where you can get an advantage - by ensuring that you spread your premium selections out among the teams as much as possible and also try not to pick too many from the same bye period.
A balanced selection strategy of premiums prior to the season starts will also mean it will be easier to trade in any premium once the season starts because your won't upset your distribution of players across the bye period too much.
You don't need to take this into consideration too much when selecting your rookies and cash cows in pre-season but as the game progresses closer to the byes, you must ensure you don't unbalance your team significantly.
It's worth noting that the nine-to-12 trades you can use through the bye period do allow for surgery to ensure you can field enough players. These trades can be used strategically to bring in premiums once they have already had their bye.
However, the less trades you need to use to fix your team, the more you can use to make your squad stronger for the latter stages of the season.
We'll examine when teams and key players in the game have their bye below.
Round 12 bye - Carlton, Essendon, GWS Giants, Port Adelaide, Richmond, St Kilda
This the most important round to not select too many premiums from bye teams when you pick your team to start then season - as you only have access to three of your nine trades each round (four trades if you use your Trade Boost) throughout the bye period to fix any unbalance.
Players that you could be missing this week include Sam Walsh, Patrick Cripps (Carlton), Zach Merrett, Darcy Parish, Jordan Ridley (Essendon), Josh Kelly, Tim Taranto, Lachie Whitfield, Stephen Coniglio (GWS), Dustin Martin (Richmond), Jack Steele, Rowan Marshall and Jade Gresham (St Kilda).
Round 13 bye - Adelaide, Geelong, Gold Coast, Sydney, West Coast, Western Bulldogs
The middle bye round is when you want to consolidate your strategy through the period - by bringing in premiums who have had their bye to deal with this round and the next.
This will be the perfect time to bring in players who have had their bye in round 12, such as Steele, Walsh, Whitfield and Martin.
Players that you could be missing this week include Patrick Dangerfield, Cam Guthrie, Mitch Duncan (Geelong), Touk Miller (Gold Coast), Callum Mills, Jake Lloyd (Sydney), Nic Naitanui (West Coast), Jack Macrae, Marcus Bontempelli and Josh Dunkley (Bulldogs).
Round 14 bye - Brisbane, Collingwood, Fremantle, Hawthorn, Melbourne, North Melbourne
The final bye is looming as a tricky one with key rucks Max Gawn, Sean Darcy, Brodie Grundy, Todd Goldstein and Oscar McInerney all absent.
You can look to bring in the likes of Dangerfield, Miller, Macrae, Bontempelli and Dunkley to strengthen your team for the run home.
Other players that will be absent include Lachie Neale, Jarryd Lyons, Daniel Rich (Brisbane), Jack Crisp, Taylor Adams (Collingwood), Andrew Brayshaw, Nat Fyfe (Fremantle), Tom Mitchell, James Sicily, Will Day (Hawthorn), Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca (Melbourne), Jack Ziebell, Aaron Hall and Jy Simpkin (North Melbourne).
Final word on the byes
Don't panic. There is only so much planning you can do.
But by being aware of your team structure heading in the bye periods, it can give you a significant advantage over others who don't have a plan.
And that could make all the difference for the success of your season.