Weekly Wrap: Highs, lows and shocks, Rd 23

How did we all fare in Round 23? It seemed to be a week dictated by whether you owned Teddy or not.

With the late omission of Turbo, sides were scrambling – again to field a competitive 17 and a decent captain option. Step up Teddy!

For those on the KP train, hop off as soon as you can and take any other FLB train that has some upside.

Team list Tuesday will be a doozy I’m guessing with some sides set to rest some players for the final two rounds. Who it is and whether it’s this week remains a mystery but we will see some dollars in our NPRs!

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If you have any trades left to this point well done, it makes the final two weeks all the more interesting. The big fish for the weeks ahead will be Nathan Cleary. He is now priced at $950k and you will need two trades to get him. Have you got enough and are you willing to spare a gun or two to recruit the best halfback in Supercoach?

Good luck to all those who won through in their head-to-head battles and are looking at a preliminary final. Have a look at your match up and see if you can find a nice POD to get you the W or take a risk and bench a gun in favour of a cheapie.. Go on you know you want to…

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Titans v Storm

That 19 in a row won’t count for too much if Melbourne can’t get the job done. They rested some stars on Thursday night but still found a way to beat the Titans and comfortably due mainly to the form of Papenhuyzen, Munster and Grant.

The trio were outstanding and would have given Craig Bellamy a massive headache with where to play all his stars. Harry Grant has to play 80 or near enough whilst Papenhuyzen and Hynes have to fit in somewhere.

Bellamy’s biggest weapon coming into the finals might be the classification of Ryan Papenhuyzen as an endangered species. Every time he got tackled the referees blew a penalty just to make sure he was okay!

I know he’s a touch light on and is coming back from a head knock but seriously… Assuming he plays the next two weeks at FLB, he is cut price for a Supercoach gun.

Cameron Munster has been building for the past month or so and Thursday was a snippet of what we have expected from him all year. Most will have Cody as their five-eighth for the run home, but he looks a completely different player and is only owned by 18% of teams. POD anyone?

I mentioned last week that benching David Fifita may be a good move and on Thursday I was made to look like a genius. 7 runs in 73 minutes. He may as well stay on the bus.

Minute Watch – Fifita 73, Grant 80, Hynes 80.

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Raiders v Sea Eagles

Well with the omission of Tommy Turbo for this one, coaches were left scrambling and all eyes were on the rest of the Manly lineup to see if they could do it without their star.

They fell over the line thanks to a DCE field goal, but things weren’t looking good there for this one-eyed Manly tragic.

Garrick is looking and playing more like Robin Boy Wonder and seems to struggle without his trusty sidekick in Turbo. I’m expecting the Dynamic Duo to score close to 300 together next week against the Dogs.

DCE looks an enticing option for those looking away from Cleary. He scored 84 on Friday and has a very soft draw and is about $250k cheaper.

Minute Watch – Schuster 80, Taupau 40.

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Panthers v Rabbitohs

Well if this game taught me anything, it’s get Nathan Cleary at any cost! He just scores points for fun and has five weeks to make up for it. Taking on the Tigers next week, he will be a tick over $900k but worth every cent. He will probably win you your head-to-head prelims!

It was never going to be a very high scoring Supercoach match so getting through it without too many injuries is a win. Mitchell and Walker were good for Souths but couldn’t go with Penrith in the second half, whilst Cam Murray was huge, scoring 71 without an attacking stat.

Alex Johnston’s return from a hamstring injury didn’t go to plan for owners as he struggled on his way to 28. Hopefully the tries come back in the next two weeks.

TPJ got through a lot of work in his minutes. I wouldn’t be playing him if you have 17 other guns but he’s a handy bloke to have on your bench.

Minute Watch – Kikau 59, Martin 80, TPJ, 26, Murray 69.

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Tigers v Sharks

Another week, another effortless performance from the Tigers, it’s like they are happy having a few wins here and there before missing the finals.

The scoreboard attendant at Browne Park in Rockhampton was close to being the busiest person in QLD on Saturday as a massive 70 points got racked up.

Unfortunately for owners of Doueihi they weren’t from the Tigers as he had an off week scoring only 34, his first score under 80 since round 14.

It was all the Sharks as Trindall, Mulitalo and Tracey ran riot, all notching up 100+ scores with Trindall a massive 130. Mulitalo crossed for two and gave one away for his 112 but unfortunately picked up a broken jaw and won’t be back for 2021.

Nofoaluma is becoming a thorn in most owner’s side as he continued his run of dud scores notching up 30. He comes up against Penrith side which won’t help his or owner’s causes.

Minute Watch – Utoikamanu 59, Blore 64, Talakai 52, Wilton 53.

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Bulldogs v Knights

For those out there who used their last trade on KP, I’ll look to set up a support group in the coming days.

Wow what a disappointment the mercurial fullback has been! His draw was so enticing and his price yet he hasn’t produced and it’s costing owners big time, considering what the likes of Papenhuyzen and Teddy are doing.

Most owners would have captained him too which cost many their head-to-head elimination finals matches (Shout out to Scho).

Ponga will need big games against the Titans and Brisbane to win over his owners.

The Knights snuck home against what I thought was a very gallant and brave Bulldogs outfit but competition points aren’t won on bravery. They could have folded in the second half but credit to them they came back.

Thompson owners will be filthy as he is set to spend more time on the sidelines thanks to the judiciary. I hope the Bulldogs lawyer isn’t included in their salary cap.

Connor Watson and Mitch Barnett had strong games for Newcastle with the latter relishing the move back to the edge. His 71 points included a try-assist but the 80 minutes is what is pleasing most owners

Minute Watch – Thompson 50, Brailey 67, Barnett 80, Watson 62.

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Eels v Cowboys

The flat track bullies are back! Good for the Eels to sneak a win in before matches against the Storm and Panthers before they will be bungled out in week one of the finals.

Gutherson went another week without being able to crack 60 but owners of him probably don’t need reminding. He’s priced at $448k meaning he has lost all trade value. We know how tough the Eels draw is so he will be lucky to score 100 pints in total in the coming two weeks.

Papali’i’s move to the middle has been disastrous for all owners as he scored 45 to go with last week’s 46. His minutes are down and he doesn’t have that same tackle busting ability he does on the edge. The only upside is everyone seems to own him so it’s not a massive issue.

Huge kick in the guts for Val Holmes owners as he was shifted to the wing with the return of Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow. Holmes managed only 41 and is a real chance to spend the remainder of the year on the wing.

Minute Watch – Papali’i 46.

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Dragons v Roosters

And Teddy arrives to save the day! What a much needed 182 from Tedesco!! Everyone was staring down the barrel of a rough week of scoring and that still may be the case, if you aren’t an owner of J Tedesco.

He will prove the difference this weekend in the rankings, with those who owned and captained him set to skyrocket past those who don’t.

Teddy was enormous, setting up four tries on his way to a 2021 record score for him. Amazingly his 182 didn’t include a try! What a weekend to turn it on. I’m obviously an owner hence the upbeat attitude to this match wrap up…

Daniel Tupou also had a day out but it took him until the 55^th minute to get going. Up until then he was relatively quiet but three tries in 25 minutes sent him on his way to 112.

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Despite Sammy Walker scoring 76, his benching in favour of Lachlan Lam will have owners very concerned come team list Tuesday. He was busy when he was on but the Chooks looked good under the guidance of Lam and Robinson may run with the same setup next week against the Rabbitohs.

For the Dragons, season 2021 will be one they should have made more impact on.

Missing Zac Lomax for a large part of the season hasn’t helped but they are better than they have shown us.

Lomax showed his class setting up two tries on his way to 95. He’s priced at $426k, I reckon he could be a good pickup for the remaining two rounds.

Minute Watch – Taukeiaho 49, Tupouniua 80, Walker 38.

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Broncos v Warriors

What a matchup to finish the round! The Warriors playing for a spot in the finals and Brisbane some pride.

This Brisbane side isn’t the same as the one that started the year and any notions of an easy matchup against them have gone out the window.. KP anyone?

Reece Walsh was in everything but couldn’t steer his side home despite having two cracks to do it.

His 71 included two try-assists. It’s a shame he left his kicking boots at the resort and couldn’t take the Warriors to Golden Point. Mind you, the match finished at 6.05pm meaning Peter Overton would have been having kittens had the match gone into extra time.

It was a great battle up front between AFB and Payne Haas. AFB was superb scoring 85 in which most of that were base points! His 85 included 36 in tackles and 31 in hitups. Hopefully the return of Matt Lodge doesn’t dampen his output because he has been the late season surprise.

Josh Curran couldn’t back up his previous week’s exploits but was strong scoring a try to finish the afternoon with 70.

Minute Watch – Haas 61, Curran 73 (HIA), Aitken 80, AFB 63.