Captain’s Challenge: Who to skipper in Round 10?

• SQUAD BREAKDOWN: SuperCoach team insights, Round 10
• STAT ANALYSIS: Vital numbers to beat the best

In the space of a week we’ve seen the captaincy options narrow significantly.

Last round we had a plethora of picks, but injuries/suspensions to the elite of the game in Kalyn Ponga, David Fifita, Cam Munster, Harry Grant etc have thinned the field.

Add in the uncertainty around Ryan Papenhuyzen and we’re even more strapped for options.

Last week’s picks were bang on the money. Tommy Trbojevic was our first pick who saluted with 191 points, and our secondary options of David Fifita and Nathan Cleary both delivered.

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While getting crafty with a POD skipper is always enticing, it goes to show that sometimes it’s worth sticking with the guys proven to go large time and time again.

Suncorp Stadium is so conducive to point scoring that there may well again be some high SuperCoach scores, so nailing the player that goes big is as vital as ever.

Let’s take a look at the options in Round 10.

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SAFETY FIRST

TOM TRBOJEVIC

Turbo will again be among the most skippered players this week, and why wouldn’t he be? Injury risk aside…

The man is on a tear with three big tons in four games since returning from injury, and he faces the leaky Broncos defensive unit.

The Broncos concede the second most points to fullbacks in SuperCoach.

Tommy’s involvement since returning from injury has been exceptional, I can see him going very large again this week, depending on what Brisbane outfit turn up.

Manly play in the second game of the round, so vice-captaincy options will be limited, but we can live with that.

NATHAN CLEARY

Cleary plays in the final game of the round.

He has four tons in eight games this season and is doing it with relative ease.

He has a low score of 69 which shows how reliable and safe he is as a skipper.

The Titans can score points as we know, but my word they can leak them too.

They do concede the 8^th and 10^th most points to 5/8s and halfbacks which isn’t horrible, but Cleary and Penrith are another story.

They’ve conceded a stack of points in the NRL over the past month and a bit and they’ve lost some key players, namely David Fifita.

Cleary could go very large, while Jarome Luai remains a strong alternative and will be far more of a POD option if that’s what you’re seeking.

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JAMES TEDESCO

Teddy has been on a steady decline of late by his lofty standards, but he’s about to remind us why he’s one of the best players in SuperCoach.

Very little has gone his way since the early stages of the season. Injuries have cruelled the Roosters, and mid-game at that, which has severely hampered cohesion.

Key position players Victor Radley and Drew Hutchinson were prime examples of that last week.

Despite it, the Roosters look pretty damn good. If they can get through 80 minutes without injuries look out!

They face the Cowboys this week who concede the fifth most points to fullbacks. While they’ve improved of late, their defence is shotty at best to be honest, particularly on the edges where Teddy will do his damage. I’m really tempted, but the HIA risk is also in the back of my mind.

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RISK IT TO GET THE BISCUIT

RYAN PAPENHUZYEN

Obviously this is pending team news as he’s been named outside of the 17 for now.

Yes there’s risk of injury if he does play, but with Melbourne cruising and the more than capable replacement of Nicho Hynes at fullback you wouldn’t think they’d risk him if not ready to go.

At the conclusion of Round 9, Papy was owned by just 8% of the top 100 ranked teams and 19% of the top 10,000.

He’s arguably the best player in SuperCoach at the moment, and gets a dry Suncorp surface against the Dragons.

Papy averages 117PPG this season with three tons in five games, including a top score of 197.

The Storm play late in the round, but fortunately Nathan Cleary is a perfect replacement option in the final game as skipper if Papy doesn’t make the final team.

CLINT GUTHERSON

With a season average of 85PPG and just two scores under 50, King Gutho probably isn’t that risky, but he is a POD skipper option.

He takes on the depleted Warriors who have conceded the most points in SuperCoach to fullbacks this season.

Prior to last week he had three straight tons, and there’s no reason why he can’t do it again this week.

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AVOID

ISAIAH PAPALI’I

No knock on Papa who I’m likely bringing in this week, I just think SuperCoach has changed so much this year that you have to target the players with 180+ ceilings.

Papa is a weapon and is ultra-consistent including three decent sized tons in his past five games.

But he’s had stacks of attacking stats to aid his 56 base per game and his top score has been just 129.

That’s brilliant, don’t get me wrong, but we want those MONSTER scores and need them if you realistically want to win SuperCoach.

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VERDICT

It’s Nathan Cleary for me this week who could cut the Titans to pieces to end Magic Round.

Penrith are so lethal across the park in attack that SuperCoach points can be shared, but if they put 40+ on the Titans there will be plenty to go around.

I think he’s knocking on the door of a 150+ score and hopefully it’s this week.

My second option as skipper, or vice-captain if you’re going Cleary, is Tommy Turbo.

He’s going from strength-to-strength on return from injury and has an excellent match up with Brisbane. It’s really tight between the two this week.

With the huge individual scores we are seeing it’s looking more and more like 140+ minimum is needed to loop this year provided another option has a friendly match up.

Look no further than last week with Nathan Cleary who looked on track for 130-140 prior to unfriendly updates.

Many looped for good reason, then Turbo went on to score 191. Keep that in mind when looping as it’s looking like the cut-off line for looping is getting higher by the week.

For a rundown of last week’s captaincy choices see Adam Driussi’s stats below.