Champion PODs: Rd 2, unique players to find an edge

• SPY TALK: Answering the big SuperCoach questions ahead of Round 2
• STAT ANALYSIS: Vital numbers to beat the best atop the rankings

Welcome back to the 2021 SuperCoach season weekly point of difference (POD) column, wow is it shaping up to be a good one.

Round 1 has established that you really do get what you pay for with premium fullbacks and halfbacks nowadays in SuperCoach, and some guys are impossible to anti-POD if you want to take home the overall honours.

In my PODs article this season, I will try to capture who I think are the highest upside players while keeping the core structure of your team intact for the bye rounds and State of Origin.

This list will include players who are around 10% or less overall ownership:

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Mitch Barnett – $543,300 – 5% owned

For a guy who averaged 65+ last season on 80 minutes, Barnett came in severely under owned this season given that we knew he was goal-kicking until KP is back in a month.

He should average upwards of 75 over this period and can jag tries here and there to bolster that average even higher, as proved in round 1.

Barnett should be on everyone’s buy list for the short-term as he is $100k cheaper than some of the other premiums in 2RF.

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Jarome Luai – $551,400 – 9% owned

I came into the season expecting Cody Walker and Cameron Munster to be well ahead of their competition when it comes to the 5/8 position in SuperCoach.

But this season I believe they have another contender for top spot if Jarome Luai sees a similar amount of attacking ball as Nathan Cleary.

Luai looked electric every time he got some time and space in the opposition 20, albeit against a terrible Cowboys outfit.

If Luai continues with his Round 1 pace and intensity he certainly has to be one of the early POD 5/8 moves to make this season.

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Daniel Tupou – $626,900 – 3% owned and Brett Morris – $637,200 – 3% owned

I put these two blokes in the same category, likely because they will be the number one and two premium CTWs this season.

Both guys should see plenty of tries as the Roosters really look to reassert their dominance early in the 2021 season.

Of course, caution is always advised when paying over $600k for any CTW in SuperCoach.

However, it could be the case that these Roosters wingers may produce a Nofo 2020 like season at CTW.

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Anthony Milford – $304,600 – 3% owned

I tell myself every season no Milford, and this year I kept to my word and started without him.

However, upon seeing his performance in round 1, for $300k it’s fair to say he definitely turned some heads.

We know that if the Broncos can put some wins together then Milford is severely under-priced for his ceiling, and the question remains whether they will actually win any games.

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Jai Arrow – $474,900 – 3% owned

Arrow looked to be playing extremely Supercoach conducive footy in his 70 points from 48 minutes with just base and base attack.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see Arrow quickly moved into the starting line-up over the next few rounds, and if he can secure 55-60 minutes then it’s safe to say that he is heavily under-priced at his current $450k.

If Jai continues to run across the field busting tackles and linking up with Cameron Murray in some offload plays then I can’t see how he doesn’t become a must-have as we move forward in the season.

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Tevita Pangai Jnr – $616,200 – 8% owned

I had to add TPJ to this list, though a shout out must go to Joe Tapine who did actually outscore TPJ for the round.

An insane 79 points in 38 minutes for TPJ consisted of seven efficient offloads.

I’ve always been a fan of the TPJ train to hop on and off of at certain stages of the season, even if the Broncos aren’t winning games this guy is still tackle busting and offloading the ball which is pure SuperCoach gold for a dual FRF/2RF player.

If TPJ’s minutes increase over the opening rounds I will probably jump on, however he is fine to give another week or two before buying as of right now.