Final word: Strategy, skippers, trades, Round 6

Some massive scores pumped out for Supercoach this week with a lot of the guns performing up to and beyond their price value.

Now we are well and truly into the season, it’s important to find that balance between judiciously using trades and being patient with your team, and saving those trades for later in the year when you will need them.

The temptation is to continue to chase the players you have missed and burn those trades but the reality is if you’ve missed a player then it’s probably not a smart trade to bring them in now.

Be patient, it’s a long season and other cheapies and value propositions are sure to materialise.

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Strategy 

After using 9 trades in 3 weeks – including 3 of my boosts – it’s time to take a step back and take stock.

Although I’m currently placed 18,132^nd, I am reasonably happy with the make-up of my team.

The clear trade this week after TLT appears to be to bringing in Zac Hosking.

I imagine a lot of Supercoaches will be trading out J’maine Hopgood as his SC scores and game time are trending down and he has been named on the bench.

Hopgood is a hold for mine for at least a week but possibly longer. When you look at Parra’s forwards and bench I could see Hopgood getting 55-60 minutes and I think that’s enough for him to make a serious impact and score some Supercoach points.

If he does actually start the game off the bench, it could be a blessing in disguise for him as he’ll come on when the Tigers forwards are fatigued and he’ll offload and ball play like we saw in the first two games of the season.

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Adam Doueihi will be traded out by a lot of supercoaches like Hopgood but for mine he’s a hold.

If you are going to trade out Doueihi it would have to be to go up to Munster, Brown or Cody Walker I reckon.

Brown and Munster seem overpriced at the moment but they are proven performers who deliver SC scores on a weekly basis.

Cody Walker is coming into a favourable 2-game stretch against the Bulldogs and Dolphins but following that, Souths have Penrith, Broncos, and Storm.

If I had to pick one player to trade to it would be Cody but I’m not confident he will outscore Doueihi in that time so therefore I think I’ll stick with the underperforming Tiger.

I have no interest in getting in Josh Schuster despite his -10 breakeven and cash-making potential.

Schuster’s Manly side comes up against the Panthers and Storm in the next two weeks and his low base has to be a concern for owners.

If Schuster is your secondary 5-8^th that can earn cash on the bench while not requiring you to play him then go for it, but I have Katoa already doing that albeit at a slower pace. Not worth the trade in my opinion.

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Best Value Propositions

Zac Hosking – I know Luke Garner is lingering in the injured squad awaiting a return but surely Hosking holds his spot. He’s looked far more solid in defence and runs great lines in attack to rival the best of what Garner has produced over the years. Hosking in for me – great value. Possible keeper.   

Greg Marzhew – Said it last week ….. if he is in the side he will punch out great supercoach scores. I think his spot in the side looks fairly secure so if you wanted to pull the trigger and go with Marzhew I don’t think he’ll disappoint. Currently $528k and could get as high as $800k. With a -44 breakeven and a significant price rise coming next week its now or never for supercoaches in my opinion.

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad – Appears to be trending upward this year in Supercoach. Tricky price in the mid-range however his play on the field has been outstanding and would be a lot higher priced if it wasn’t for injury. Take on trust.

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PODs & SuperPODS

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:

PODs

1. Jaxson Paulo – on the end of that Roosters backline I think we’ve seen one thing indicated for sure …. he’s going to score plenty of tries this year even though he’s right side winger.
2. Connelly Lemuelu – has to stay in as a solid POD, however as a value proposition he’s starting to get close to his peak price.
3. Shaun Johnson – turning back the clock with vintage performances … SJ at halfback at a lot cheaper price than Nicho and Cleary.

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SuperPODs

1. Kurtis Morrin – I think he’s underpriced and I want him in. However I’ve got bigger fish to fry before I get to that. Less than 1% owned and a SC gun who is suited to the Tigers new style.
2. Ryan Matterson – Rock solid but you’ll have to pay up for him. Probably worth watching for another few weeks to see how Brad Arthur works the forwards rotation with Paulo back.
3. Greg Marzhew – is going to be one of the most traded in players this week and it’s understandable why. Tackle breaks lay the foundation of his Supercoach scoring and his attacking upside is special.

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ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS

The clear standout for match-ups this week is the Rabbitohs taking on a buoyant yet bruised and battered Bulldogs side.

Bulldogs have something like 11 players out of the side and many of them forwards.

The Rabbitohs will be looking for a bounce back after a low-energy performance against the Melbourne Storm.

I expect the attack to click and I expect the Rabbits to put a score on the Dogs.

Mitchell, Walker, Johnstone and Graham should all be really good plays on the weekend.

The other game that seems a mismatch given the teams current form is the Broncos against Raiders at Suncorp.

The Raiders are just really lacking attacking punch this year and no Jack Wighton accentuates that problem.

Broncos are airborn.

Expect big games from Walsh, Cobbo, Staggs, Farworth and Payne Haas.

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CAPTAIN

Safe Plays

Latrell Mitchell – Great match-up …… day game …. Coming off an underwhelming performance last week with a license to thrill from the coach.

Nathan Cleary – Panthers turned the screws against the Raiders last week. Manly have started the year well but the Panthers defence is a whole other ball game. Meanwhile, whilst sitting in 4^th position on the ladder, Manly are still conceding on average over 20+ points a game. Cleary masterclass.   

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Left-field option

Reece Walsh – highly reliant on attacking stats but behind that forward pack, Walsh gets plenty of opportunities to showcase his unique speed and skill.

We’ve linked up with betr for the 2023 season, where we’ll deliver a weekly SC Playbook market, with the integration of NRL Fantasy (not to be confused with NRL Supercoach, slightly different point system. This week, we’ve got Latrell to score 50+ NRL Fantasy points into a Cody Walker try at $3.25 Follow us here 👉 https://bit.ly/3nOjmMY

Betr Bets of the Week

Please Gamble Responsibly

Sths 13+/Pen/NZW/STG @ $10.97

SGM – Ravalawa & Alofiana Khan-Periera Anytime Tryscorers & STG win @ $6.50

Jackson Ford Anytime Tryscorer @ $5.00

Brandon Smith First Tryscorer @$26