Weekly Wrap: Highs, lows and shocks, Rd 20

Well it would only be fitting that the Supercoach record gets beaten in the midst of an Olympic week! Tommy Turbo you star! 

I’m not sure what has put in more work over the past week, my lounge or the remote, but both have been superb these past few days with the NRL heating up and the Olympics just being an absolute Gold mine for Australia – pun intended.

I tossed up the notion of using a loop on Cody but worked out that Turbo would need to score 170 for me to lose my head-to-head match and even that wasn’t enough for me to use thankfully!

We now have five weeks of footy left and are nearing the finals for those head-to-head players and it seems trades are going to be the big problem! 

The injuries to stars and the ceilings on show are going to mean some sides will struggle to field a fully fit 17 which is barely believable for this time of year.

My ploy of holding trades has seemed to work so far, with six left heading into the remaining five weeks which will see me being able to cover any more injuries which seem to be occurring more and more often.

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ROOSTERS v EELS

Well surely by 9.30pm on Thursday night you all joined me and put a line through the Parramatta Eels? They couldn’t overcome a Roosters side that has spent more money on doctors and physio bills than what they have spent in their salary cap.

Joey Manu continued his electric run of form, bagging a try and finishing with a huge 104 to kick the weekend off. He has scores of 79, 87, 97 and now 104 so he is trending upwards whilst Sammy Walker too had a solid all round game, splitting the Eels defence to finish with a handy 87 for owners.

For the Eels, popular Supercoach players Mahoney, Matterson and Gutherson all failed to break 60 with the latter as vocal as ever explaining to the referees why they were wrong with every call against Parra. 

We all know how bad their run home is so play them at your own risk!

Minute Watch – Radley 53, SST 36, RCG 8 (Injured), Matterson 69, Paulo 66

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TIGERS v WARRIORS

Gee I’m betting the Tigers are glad the cameras stopped rolling for Tiger Town before this match! 

Absolutely awful they were. Watching it I wondered if the box of beer I get at the end of each year doing these wrap ups is worth it.

Daine Laurie broke his leg in the opening minutes which meant my Round 20 POD trade was a good move for all of three minutes.

Despite the Tigers being the absolute worst, Adam Doueihi continues to be the shining light and is now the must-have 5/8 to partner Cody Walker for the run home. He scored a huge 97 and it’s a safe move to use one of your remaining trades to bring him in.

The Warriors were gallant and will welcome the return of both Matt Lodge and AFB next week as will most of Supercoach.

Minute Watch – Twal 80, Blore 80, Aitken 80 (second-row), Tevaga 26

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BRONCOS v COWBOYS

The battle of the north isn’t as hyped up as previous years when Thurston and co were running around, but we got a glimpse into Brisbane’s future and it’s not as dire as once thought.

Kotoni Staggs was enormous but unfortunately won’t be back for season 2021 with a knee injury. His 90 on Friday night included two tries so his runs are more about quality over quantity. I will put it out there and say he’s my first choice for 2022.

I’m now finally an owner of Payne Haas which is a nice feeling knowing 70 odd points will be lobbing into your side anytime Brisbane plays.

Scotty Drinkwater continues to grow and with another year of first grade under his belt will do him wonders. I’ll make him pick number 2 for 2022.

Minute Watch – Haas 65, Palasia 61, Riki 80, Taumalolo 64

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KNIGHTS v RAIDERS

Well we finally got to see the KP we have been longing for in 2021! 

He didn’t score as high as owners would have hoped with 98, but signs are good for a trade in as he is priced at a ridiculous $535k. 

It will be a toss up whether he or Papenhuyzen scores more in the next five week but the price difference between the two is massive this week and the Knights draw is more appealing, however it is the Knights you will be relying on. If you can wait, Papenhuyzen will drop stacks of cash this week.

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Bradman Best didn’t waste any time making his mark on his return from six weeks out notching up a season high of 104. It will be tempting to bring the gun centre in, however looking at his scores from this season it makes for dire reading and as an owner I’ve been burnt before.

For the Raiders, despite losing by 10 points, they were never really in it. 

Corey Harawira-Naera didn’t see much ball which meant little to no offloads, but on the flipside, Jordy Rapana was again solid in that fullback jersey that has had more casualties for the Raiders than a John Wick film. Nice POD for the remaining five weeks.

Minute Watch – Barnett 80, KP 68 (Rested), Watson 44, CHN 67, Tapine 56

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STORM v PANTHERS

Well this was the match we have waited 20 rounds for yet I think we all knew what the result was going to be even before kickoff! 

This Melbourne side is absolutely firing on all cylinders and it will take something (or someone with the initials TT) to bring them down.

Harry Grant was huge on his return scoring a try and banging out an 88 with owners like me being rewarded for patience in a season that has shown holding trades are turning into gold.

Nicho Hynes spent some time on the bench which was horrible for owners and now the wait is on to see if he holds his fullback spot or gets moved to halfback with reports that Jahrome Hughes has come down with what young farmers also experience, a calf complaint.

Matty Burton did enough to hold his spot in most teams still owning the Panthers utility with 62. Hopefully he doesn’t drop too much in cash over the next couple of weeks and those with trades can move to Cleary.

Minute Watch – Grant 59, B Smith 54, Papenhuyzen 46, Hynes 48, Hughes (Injured), Martin 63

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DRAGONS v RABBITOHS

Remember the days when a VC score of 151 was a no brainer to do a loop regardless of who your AE was? 

This is the Supercoach world we are in now with Cody’s superb performance against the Dragons quickly forgotten by Monday night.

For any of those who did take the loop, you missed out on at least 75 points so hopefully that didn’t cost you too many head-to-head battles.

Latrell showed his strength and scoring ability, finishing the night with a big 123 to go with last week’s 108. Could he be the smoky POD fullback for the run home?

The Dragons did well to hang in this one but will now be without Ben Hunt who has busted his arm. He could be out for a few weeks at least while Jack Bird will be back next week after sitting out for attending the most expensive BBQ in NRL history.

Minute Watch – B Burns 80, Arrow 59, Milne 80

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BULLDOGS v TITANS

We were waiting till Monday afternoon for this one just to see David Fifita run riot, however it turned out to be a bit of a fizzer. 

This is a match they could definitely have used the ‘Generate Match’ function and just given out a bunch of random Supercoach scores and no one would have minded.

Fifita was well contained however only managing 58 in his 57 minutes. I’m only guessing but that number will increase to close to 80 when the Titans come up against the top sides.

Brian Kelly bagged a double and now has three scores of 90+ in the past three weeks. He’s a very cheeky POD but the Titans run is good enough to play him.

Minute Watch – Fifita 57, Tino, 59, Peachey 35

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TOMMY TURBO v SHARKS

And I thought the Australian Swim Team had a big week! Spare a thought for the Fox Lab who were tasked with tracking the great man last night.

I’m not even going to waste words on anyone that wasn’t wearing the number one jersey for Manly. 

I don’t know if there is anything more I can say. Tom Trbojevic is simply outstanding. 

This is a guy that is only 24-years-old and is toying with the NRL like it is his hobby. 

I mean these blokes he’s playing don’t have second jobs and are paid to play rugby league, although he made most of them look like they should have a second job to fall back on.

He broke Nathan Cleary’s record with 226 points after updates and he only played 66 minutes. 66! 

He scored 164 points in 28 minutes just after halftime to put the game to bed. 

The rest of the fullbacks in the comp aren’t fit to clean the dirt off his boots.

Minute Watch – Talakai 80, Nikora 80, Turbo 67 (Rested), Siro 20, Schuster 80