Final Word: Trades, tactics, tips, Round 8

There was some mammoth scoring in Supercoach this week with 13 players scoring over 100 and three scoring over the 150 mark! 

The fact that Cleary and Papi were two of those players over the 150 mark and they were the two highest percentage captained players certainly saw some huge scores. 

The poor old Warriors got steamrolled after halftime after actually playing quite well for the first 40-45mins of the game. 

Plenty to ponder for Supercoaches with many left scrambling to find ways to bring in the big players most namely Talakai and Cleary if they hadn’t already done so. 

Those players that actually traded out Papi with the thought he might be impeded or even rested with the sore ankle would be regretting that decision big time. 

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Strategy 

Probably not a bad time to identify some cheap money earners and cash in the players that you feel have peaked, particularly if you are planning to make a play for Tommy Turbo upon his return. 

It’ll be a big question for Supercoaches if and when they decide to bring in Turbo when he is named for Manly. 

Finding the money for that transaction may be difficult. Thankfully he’s still probably marginally overpriced as he hadn’t really hit his straps early in the season so Supercoaches can probably afford to wait maybe even until after Origin. 

Look, if I am to get found out later in the season for a lack of trades or trade boosts than I have no one to blame but myself. 

At this stage I’m happy with the strategy of front ending my trades and trying to hang on late in the piece if I can keep myself in the top 1% overall. 

Going into this week placed in 1,370^th place after trading out Fermor, Schneider and Dylan Brown (last minute change) and bringing in Cleary, Taafe and Sasagi. 

The D Brown to Sasagi trade was very speculative, but I feel like with the Knights struggling, Sasagi’s role is only going to increase in the side as he is an attacking weapon. 

Unfortunately for Dane Gagai he is out with an injury this week and this luckily opens the door for Sasagi to play 80mins at centre, albeit against the hard match up of the Melbourne Storm. 

Trade targets this week are Cody Walker, Jazz Tevaga, Tom Starling and Joseph Suaalii. I think given what I saw of Suaalii he is the only definite trade with the others requiring a deeper dive into their prospects. 

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PODs & Super PODS 

Here’s the players I’ve identified as PODs (Point of Difference players – less than 10% owned) and SuperPODS (less than 2% owned) that should be on your radar. 

I’ve listed them in ranking order of who I believe is the best to take the risk on: 

PODs (My top-4 ranked) 

1.    Tom Starling – It’s hard to ignore his three scores since he’s been entrusted with the 80mins stints by Ricky Stuart. 58, 83 and 72 in the last three weeks and he only played 65mins v the Panthers with CNK coming on for him. At under $500k he’s arguably still a bargain and plays the first bye. 

2.   Cody Walker – Has seemingly bottomed out and the team is gelling better and coming into a very soft part of the draw. Now is probably the time to pull the trigger on Cody if you believe the Rabbitohs can put it all together.  

3.   Tevita Pangai Jnr – Has quietly averaged 61 this year and does play the first bye, so he has significant appeal if he can stay out of trouble. 

4.   Ronaldo Mulitalo – Playing outside Talakai has its advantages and Mulitalo right now is one of the hottest CTW’s in Supercoach. You’ll have to pay almost $700k for him, but he’s still on his way up with a BE of just 18 and enticing match ups with Broncos, Warriors, Raiders and Titans in the next four weeks. 

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Super PODs (Top-2) 

1.     Jazz Tevaga – 58 SC points in a game the Warriors got flogged 70-10 in is a remarkable effort. Consider how much time was lost with tries and also there weren’t many tackles made by the Warriors in the second half because the Storm kept scoring. If Tevaga gets minutes his output is top shelf. 

2.    David Nofoaluma  – Former Supercoach gun who is benefitting greatly from the Tigers resurgence. Not the tackle busting machine he once was, but can finish a try with the best of the them. 

CLOSE WATCH

This segment will list the players to keep a close watch on over the next month for their Supercoach prospects:

1.     Simi Sasagi – Not the right week perhaps to get him in with the Knights up against Storm and the Olam match up, but this kid has attacking ability and has a future.  

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ROUND 8 MATCH-UPS 

The first game that really catches my eye is the Darwin clash between the Eels and the Cowboys. 

The Cowboys own a surprising 4-3 record, but if you look a bit closer they may have had the softest draw in the comp. 

In their first seven weeks they have beaten Raiders twice and beat their QLD rivals Broncos and Titans to secure their four wins. 

Arguably none of those sides will make the top-8. They’ve also lost close games to the Warriors and Bulldogs and got towelled up by the Roosters. 

No doubt they are much improved, but are they anywhere near the level of the Eels? I guess we’ll find out in Darwin Saturday night. I tend to think not and that shapes well for Mitch Moses and Isaiah Papali’i.  

The two Sunday day games also loom large with the Storm’s red-hot team taking on a depleted and downtrodden Knights, albeit in Newcastle. 

I don’t think it will be a rout like the Warriors game, but I still like the match up for  Cameron Munster, Papi and Harry Grant. 

In the last game of the round the Tigers meet the Dragons in what should be a cracker. Expect Zac Lomax to match up well against the Tigers left centre most likely Oliver Gildart. 

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CAPTAIN

Somewhat tricky this week with Nathan Cleary, Nicho Hynes and Papi all with very favourable match ups but all playing away from home which is important to note. 

If you have the kahunas to pull the trigger on Nicho Hynes in the first game he might well be the best option, but many will VC him with Cleary and Papi games to follow. 

Talakai is a left-field option, but surely Kotoni Staggs fares better than Morgan Harper last Thursday night. 

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Round-7 Recap

The lock of the week got up again with the Sharks winning and the Panthers easily taking the game out 13+. 

The 5-leg multi I dropped to four legs after the Bulldogs Covid scare and that saw me collect at around $14,  but I wont count that as with my article completed early in the week I couldn’t get that info to punters. 

Round-7 Best Bets (Odds courtesy of TopSport) – Total Bets $100

Lock of the Week 

Sharks/Eels/Storm/Panthers @ 2.00 (TopUp) x $80

To score a try Multi 

N Hynes/N Cleary @ $11 (TopUp) x $10

N Meaney/J Olam/B Smith @ $12 x $10

Last Tryscorer

Last Tryscorer – Nathan Cleary @ $15 x $10