Weekly Wrap: Highs, lows and shocks, Rd 3

Oh SuperCoach, why do you hurt us so!

Round 3 started in the worst possible way with Cleary, Papenhuyzen and Matterson all not getting named, not only making any trades this week all the more harder, but fielding a strong 17 was near impossible!

If you decided to go with the AE option, fingers crossed you ended with Staines or Fusitu’a and not The Wish version of David Fifita from the Roosters or Ryan James who both notched up single figure scores due to differing reasons.

It’s been a huge comedown for most since the Round 1 heroics where we all pictured averaging 1300+ scores with the captain registering 150+ each week.

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Injuries really hampered this weekend with a number of players either missing or going down throughout the matches. I’d hate to be paying the NRL’s medical bill this week!

If you were able to see green arrows this week, well done, you got through it.

It’s now time to start making some cash and considering bye-planning which can be all too much sometimes.

Keep an ear or an eye out on the SC Playbook website for some articles or podcasts in the coming weeks regarding bye planning. It can make or break your ranking through the Origin period!  

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Panthers v Storm

In one of the better games of football I have watched in recent times, SuperCoach scores become somewhat irrelevant.

Two sides that will feature heavily come September gave us a great way to start the weekend of footy.

Unfortunately for most, Charlie Staines decided to get his jumper dirty and bang out a solid 56. If you kept him in your NPRs like I did, we can lay that squarely on The Spy.

A quick recap of last week’s podcast at exactly the 16 minute mark, he said and I quote “Don’t play him this week absolutely against Melbourne”. And he calls himself a SuperCoach expert.

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Kurt Capewell was huge getting through a mountain of work on that right edge and was rewarded with a try late to notch up a season high 95. Luai looked as dangerous as ever, but just couldn’t crack Melbourne’s defensive line.

For Melbourne, Munster was a star and did everything in his power to get them home, both he and Walker are far and away the best scoring 5/8s going around with Walker outscoring Munster by only 18 points.

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Dragons v Sea Eagles 

Speaking of sides that will be there come September, the Dragons are looking decent and may be a sniff despite early critisicm. It’s been a tough run early for Manly, but that’s the luck of the draw.

With the arrival of Josh Schuster in the back-row for Manly he becomes a serious option at 5/8. I’m not sure how much pull the Overlord has left over at SuperCoach headquarters, but if he can make a call and make him dual position he is a must buy.

We saw a huge return for Lomax owners with 92 points. He’s set to drop a touch in price but is a serious option as he was last year. He has good base and his goal-kicking is better than ever, although there was one goal that was a bit dubious on Friday night.

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Rabbitohs v Roosters

A huge match to recap here. With Luke Keary out for the year we will see the impact that has on James Tedesco moving forward.

He’s absolutely not a sell, but with the lack of experience they now have in the halves, I’m tipping his ceiling drops and we may not see the 130+ scores all that often from him.

If you are brave enough to anti-POD him, Latrell Mitchell looms as the likely option, whilst AJ Brimson and Clint Gutherson have low-ownership, and then there’s Turbo..

For Souths, Cody Walker was just unstoppable. He scored 95 and just controlled the match inside the Roosters 20m line.

The Rabbits draw really gets soft now for the next couple of weeks, so he is a huge captaincy option moving forward, whilst players like Latrell, Cam Murray and Damien Cook are all solid trade targets in the next month.

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Raiders v Warriors

This result didn’t really surprise me! The Raiders haven’t been at their best all year and both teams have some points in them. There were some huge efforts from the Raiders with only one player left on the bench early in the first half.

Ryan James succumbed to a HIA, so his score of 5 is forgivable. Not forgivable though if you brought him in for this week.

The Warriors though really outdid themselves with both Kodi Nikorima and RTS going 130+.

Tohu Harris also went big with 87 which included a try-assist, but is still as solid an option in the 2RF as anyone.

Another one to keep an eye out on is Addin Fonua-Blake. He scored another try this week to finish with 82, but his 49 last week was injury affected so he is one to keep in mind when looking for a FRF.

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Broncos v Bulldogs

For a side that has spent a fair bit of time on the bottom of the ladder, the Broncos are a serious SuperCoach side.

Popular trade target Fanitesi Niu was kept quiet, but is still set to rise heavily in price, however he does come up against Justin Olam and the Storm next week so he may register a low one.

I’m on the Turpin train, but the past few weeks have been tough knowing Jayden Brailey has been absolutely killing it. If you like me are an owner, I’d be trying to move him on. He just doesn’t seem to be able to break that 40 base, with a bit of a reliance on attacking stats.

Ferguson has his second and the Sharks finally break!#TelstraPremiership #NRLEelsSharks pic.twitter.com/uDDd1xcoqt

— NRL (@NRL) March 27, 2021

Eels v Sharks

Fergy Ferg slow down son! He has somehow recaptured his form of two years ago and now can’t stop scoring tries!

With scores of 92, 32 and now 84, he has become one of the better options in the CTW position and has a draw as good as anyone for the next six weeks.

Junior Paulo, Dylan Brown and Reed Mahoney were okay without being great. Both Paulo and Mahoney were popular options for this week before the price rises. Paulo’s score was rescued by a late try-assist.

For those who held Ryan Matterson, just beware that if he does run out this week he may not have Mitch Moses to run off.

He is one of the 56 odd players currently sitting at RPA waiting to be checked up on after a bad concussion on Saturday night. It’s a bad week to be an NRL doctor!

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Knights v Tigers

After some pretty low scores across SuperCoach, a lot were turning to the likes of Brailey, Connor Watson and Mitch Barnett to get them out of a bit of trouble. Thankfully all three of them were able to score 77+ with Watson going big with 104!

Brailey just continues to score well and sits second behind Mahoney in points scored in the hooker position.

He Jumped $94.6k in price this week but still has a breakeven of -10 and takes on the Dragons on Sunday afternoon next week. There might be other trade targets for you, but it’s a serious option even after the price rise.

I’m super impressed with Daine Laurie! He made owners a stack of money over the weekend and it’s only going to be more over the coming weeks.

As for David Nofoaluma, he found the line on the weekend to score 80 but has a massive breakeven of 106, so he might be prime for the picking next week if you, like The Spy, like saving a buck.

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Cowboys v Titans 

This was like watching boys play men. David Fifita might be on the banned list for next time he returns to the Cowboys Stadium he did so much damage there.

He had the performance of the week in my eyes, and it made it all the more better that he features in my side.

Both him and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui were enormous for the Titans with scores of 112 and 61. Tino did make a few errors, but he looks to be getting better and better every week.

The Cowboys don’t have too many SuperCoach relevant players, however with Val Holmes taking up position at fullback, he might be worth a look with the dual position status at CTW also. He scored 70 while setting up a try.