Captain’s Challenge: Round 11, skippers to target and avoid

Apologies in advance for a much less flamboyantly written captain’s article compared to what we are used to from Clem.

Turbo Irvo barely scraped 900 this week after a rush of blood trading in Turbo and Burbo for Manly’s big matchup against the Broncos.

As I took my seat at Suncorp and watched Turbo (VC) lumber out heavily strapped and then miss the ball straight off kick-off I knew I was in for a long and humid weekend on the $11.50 middies.

I don’t want to spend too much time on Turbo because the score of 23 speaks for itself – he was not in full flight and wasn’t feeling confident enough on that knee to really inject himself into the game.

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In saying that I’m too stubborn to trade him out this week, especially after Des Hasler assured the media circus that there was no serious injury.

In my eyes a recovering Turbo is still a more dangerous proposition for most Supercoaches than most other fully fit players.

Call me crazy, but the 84-16 scoreline in favour of Manly in their last two games against Paramatta (including a 20+ demolition at Bankwest) have put Turbo at the top of my radar for another VC this week.

Isaiah Papali’i will be the man doing everything in his power to make sure Turbo and co. don’t run riot again.

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It’s tough to put into words just how magnificent it was to see the sheer speed and power of I.Pap in person and the ease with which he ran straight around James Tedesco with barely a finger on him.

As a non-owner (which will be rectified this week) it was hard to swallow what he did to that poor Rooster left edge defence, but I just couldn’t take my eyes off the action.

 I.Pap is a borderline set-and-forget captain for the rest of the season (especially in rain effected conditions) if you want to solidify an 85 average.

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Nathan Cleary stands a cut above the rest this week for mine, he seemed to effortlessly graft out 85 against a strong Melbourne defence.

This week he gets a crack at the same Roosters left edge who were demolished last week by I.Pap and Moses.

Before we even get to the verdict – this is the verdict. Don’t try to get tricky with it, just stick it on Cleary and enjoy watching him scheme and accumulate his way to another fruitful Supercoach score.

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Nicho Hynes and Harry Grant are the only other week-to-week realistic options right now, both averaging 90 for the season.

Hynes obviously had a poor showing last week against the Raiders, but I doubt the Titans will be able to hold him back for too long on Sunday afternoon, especially with his move back to halfback.

Harry has looked solid as a rock so far this season and still managed a respectable 58 last week in a tough loss to Penrith.

However, the Cowboys matchup this week won’t be a walk in the park for Grant due to the current level the Cows are playing and defending at.

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Verdict:

Those who have Hynes at Fullback – VC Cleary into C Hynes

Those who have Hynes at Halfback – VC I.Pap/Turbo into C Cleary