Weekly wrap: Round 17 winners, losers, injuries

I’ll be happy to put Round 17 in the bin!

All the talk throughout the year was bye planning this and Round 13, 16 and 19 that, but they have turned out to be the least of our worries! It’s these “sleeper” rounds where three teams have a bye, players decide gameday they don’t want to play, and Coaches seem to chop and change last minute. Makes trades, final reserves and captaincy options a nightmare!

Munster was ruled out late with what was deemed “Caxton-it is”, scuppering plenty who were looking to bring the five-eight in, Tino was a game day withdrawal meaning owners had to scramble for a fill in and Sunday produced three stinkers with Walsh, Walker and Teddy all failing to break 45.

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And we have Round 20 to look forward to! Dead set the winner this year might have to be the luckiest son of a gun… And probably avoids playing Schuster.

For yours truly, I was lucky to crack 1000, finishing with 1022 post updates. I had more players in the 20s and 30s than I care to deal with, and had only five players scoring above 63.

My co-writer didn’t fare much better so please don’t come here for Supercoach advice )although we do love to give it), Clem finished three points ahead of me for 1025. With Nicho on the bye, she turned to the next best-looking player as a captain in Reece Walsh and that only garnered 44 points. A few blinks of those eyelashes and all was forgiven. Might be his ploy at the judiciary…

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Dragons v Warriors

By Nick Moon

DWZ! CNK! AFB! SFKNJ! This Warriors side is humming and Shauny Johnson has the keys! What a performance from the fan favourites taking apart the Dragons.

DWZ has gone to levels unmatched in recent times, and I’ll put it in writing, the Spy did call for him! But in typical Spy form, he only talked the talk, couldn’t walk it, and never traded him in… As they say, if you throw enough darts.

His 175 kicked off a massive weekend for owners, scoring four tries and setting another up, the sight of his hair flying over the corner post warmed the heart on a brisk Cooma night. He is priced at around 700k after lockout so he isn’t too unachievable. Does have a tough-ish run for the next three weeks though but covers the major bye rounds and those Warriors are a legit top 4 team. Any winger in a top side is a massive shout.

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And any winger playing outside CNK and SJ is worth a look! What a duo these two are forming! SJ has been the form player of the competition and is a Dally M out of reach? I don’t think so. SJ had the ball on a string, scoring 112.

Harris, Ford, and AFB all had big games running through a non-existent Dragons defence. Harris was probably the one most affected by the big blowout as he only managed 56, whereas Ford and AFB found some attacking stats.

Minutes played – F Molo 44, Bird 80, JDB 80, AFB59, Egan 68, Ford 68, Tohu 68,

Injuries: Moses Suli (head knock)

Judiciary: Marata Niukore (Careless High Tackle), Jack de Belin (Careless High Tackle), Jack de Belin (Dangerous Contact)

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Dolphins v Eels

By Nick Moon

If there is one thing you can set your watch to, it’s Parra absolutely blowing a side off the park in 40 minutes then proceeding to play like hit pads in the second half.

They were clinical in the first 40, putting 42 on the Dolphins but failed to strike a blow in the second stanza, losing the second half. Thankfully though for owners of most of the Eels players, the damage was done as Moses, Gutherso,  and Hopgood all cracked the magical 100 mark.

Moses put his Origin woes behind him to post a solid 105 with many being able to loop that score for a stress-free Sunday whilst Hopgood joined him with 105 and has just gone to another level in the past month! He hasn’t scored under 60 since round 8… about when I sold him and despite the Eels having what seems to be seven edge backrowers and 5 middles, he still demands his spot and minutes are also up. A season long keeper who was 298k to kick the year off!

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I won’t go into too much detail on the fullback, but he seems to be playing ok. Set a try up and scored two himself for 109. Scores in the past three weeks of 81, 138 and 132; he will make a mountain of cash but I ask you this.. are the points worth it?!

For the Dolphins I ask, has the shine worn off? Been trounced in their past three matches and only the Hammer broke 70 Supercoach points. Despite seeing little ball, Isakko fought his way to 67 and VTW crashed over close to the line for 56. Will remain to be seen whether Bennet sticks with him, looked like he was searching for his QLD Cup opposition a few times.

Minutes played – Stone 50, Lemuelu 55, Matterson 63, Hopgood 60, Davey 54, Carty 80,

Injuries: Nil

Judiciary: Maika Sivo (Dangerous Contact)

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Panthers v Knights

By Nick Moon

“How did the Knights lose?” Asks myself and Christian Welch… Well, it’s like this for the Panthers, whenever someone comes in, they turn into Sauron, the Dark lord from LOTR trying to retrieve a ring.  

My LOTR knowledge is very limited but that’s what this Penrith team seem to represent. 30 blokes keen for a ring. No matter who puts a jersey on they go to another level!

And no one epitomised that more than Tyrone Peachey! Named to play NSW Cup, he was parachuted into the team after all the Origin stars were rested, much to the delight of plenty of owners, he went absolutely nuts, carving up the Knights’ right edge defence. He had it on a platter, crossing over for a double and setting another up. Finished with 109.

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He was the only player in the game to score more than 75. The inclusion of Peachey wasn’t all good, his outside man Turuva was starved of the footy. If glue hands inside him passed the ball on a couple of occasions, it might have been him cracking the 100. Alas, he only managed a measly 39.

Any team coming up against the Panthers risks a low SuperCoach score and that was the case for the Young’s, Crossland’s, and Ponga’s as they all failed to crack the Panthers’ brick wall.

Greg Marzhew though made the bus on time, which was a blessing for owners as he barged and crashed his way to 69. Scored 14 points in tackle busts and 38 in hit ups alone!

Minutes played – Luke 15, Hosking 66, Sorensen 80, Crossland 47, Elliot 67

Injuries: Nil

Judiciary: Nil

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Storm v Sea Eagles

By Nick Moon

Sort of feels like anytime Manly take the field without Turbo, or Jake, or DCE, it doesn’t really count, and that’s what the rest of 2023 will be like… Gee, doesn’t 2021 seem like an age ago! Turbo sure has gotten his money’s worth out of Medicare…

In Saturday’s game, it was a rampaging NAS that stole the show. Seriously, this bloke running at you on an edge is very, very unfair!

Jahrome Hughes seems to have his mojo back, scoring a very solid 86 in a halfback spot that is looking increasingly thin. He seems to kick into another gear around this time and without Munster, he took control setting up two and scoring one for himself.

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Not all of Melbourne’s guns came out firing. Harry Grant couldn’t crack 50, scoring only 48. I traded him in for Luke which was good and bad. Bad because he is worth 600k and scored only 48, good because I finally got rid of Luke! Halleluiah!

The wingers though had a field day, as most wingers do playing Manly because for some reason we like shooting up off the line and letting them breeze on by. Coates scored two late for his 97 whilst Warbrick backed up last week’s 136 with an 80. Set to make a heap of coin for patient owners.

Garrick got moved to fullback which was a relief, whilst Schuster can move to NSW Cup if he keeps putting in performances like that! He will find himself as the most traded out player come Monday and good riddance! Although, I did play you for your 106 so I got something out of you. Hold Garrick though, he will be busy and some attacking stats will arrive.

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Ola is a big shout now there is no Turbo, the only player in the Manly side that benefits when he doesn’t play.  A lot of the attack will be focused through DCE and he loves a hard running backrower off his hip. I expect Ola to average 65+ from here on in. Finished Saturday night with 81.

Minutes played – Grant 75, Welch 68, Ola 80, Paseka 50,

Injuries: Aaron Pene (ankle), Jason Saab (pre-match – shoulder)

Judiciary: Aaron Pene (Dangerous Contact)

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Broncos v Titans

By Clementine Cassidy

AKA: The One with the 22 Point Captain.

Let me set the scene:

I’m at my mates, beer in hand, settled in on the couch for a solid Sunday arvo of footy. I have cleverly and astutely made the decision not to loop Moses’ 105 points, because:

a. how can I possibly give up Billy Smith’s incoming 30 for the loop, and

b. Reece Walsh hot off a hot Origin performance on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Suncorp vs the Titans? Well, he IS the Sir Captain of the round – double ton incoming for him!

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And I, like a good little Reece Walsh disciple, held on to the hope the ENTIRE first 70 minutes of the game, that there would come a point when he would just go “boom!” and whack out a casual 90 points in 10 minutes and all would be right with the world again.

I’m pretty sure even at the 76-minute mark – I turned to my mate and said “SOMETHING’S going to happen. It’s Reece Walsh!”

And then 80 minutes. Full-time. The whistle blew.

22 points. 22 points that were in tasting distance of being so much more, except every time my heart leapt in elation and I jumped off the couch high-fiving my mate (who also Captained) and celebrated a try assist or a try or JUST AN ACTUAL TOUCH OF THE BALL – the ref and the bunker gleefully sent me crashing back down to earth – with a forward pass, or an obstruction on fastest man in the world, David Fifita, from 2 kilometres left of where the try was scored…

But what can we do but laugh through the tears and move on…this week’s OUR week, fellow Reecey Wash owners/Round 17 traderinners/Captainers…THIS week’s our week…

…if he makes it past this week’s judiciary that is…

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Now let us move on to the other Broncos who suffered an unexpected loss at the hand of the Titans, who took out the Queensland derby, 12 – 18, despite losing their coach this week and having their Captain Big Tino rested prior to kick-off.

And hard-working Patty Carrigan came to the party for owners with 79 points. Thomas Flegler crashed over for the first try of the match after a scoreless first 29 minutes, to finish on 71 points, whilst Payne Haas scored a consistent 59 in his 45 minutes – a must post-Origin in any team.

But the victory belongs to the Titans, who evened the score 6 all just before half time when Big David Fifita crashed over for a try, and managed to have 2 tries allowed to the Broncos 1 in the second half, securing the win – their first vs the Broncos in five games.

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And speaking of David Fifita – 121 points. And my god. I regret the day I traded him out. A try, a try-assist, tackle busts, offloads, just a bloody glorious performance and another that you MUST consider having in your team post-Origin.

And Khan-Pereira – the man has some absolute speed on him. 83 points including a try and THREE-line breaks – that’s 14 tries in 13 games.

While for those with an eye on Brimson in ‘the battle of the fullbacks’ outscored his opponent SuperCoach-wise to finish on a 61, running 173 metres and breaking 7 tackles.

Injuries: Nil.

On report: Thomas Flegler (Dangerous Tackle), Isaac Liu (Dangerous Tackle)

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Rabbitohs v Cowboys

By Clementine Cassidy

A Sunday afternoon thumping saw the Cowboys reign victorious over the Bunnies, with a 31 – 6 victory thanks to a second half annihilation, pushing them up to 10^th on the ladder after securing 3 big wins in a row.

And oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

As somebody who owns no less than four Bunnies (including a last-minute trade in of a Koloamatangi), this error-ridden Rabbitohs side was not pretty viewing when I opened my SuperCoach app.

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Top-scorer for the Bunnies was Ilias on 69 points, who scored their only try. Campbell Graham managed a 62, which owners can be very happy with. Cameron Murray played and tackled his heart out in his 68 minutes to score a 56 which included time off for an HIA (excellent going for a man who warmed the bench for 50 minutes the Wednesday before).

And the afore-mentioned Koloamatangi scored a 52 which you have to be reasonably happy with too – chuck a few attacking stats on there and you’re laughing (but DOES he make Origin 3?).

Let’s talk about the other Bunnies and those who brought in Kennar can feel extremely pleased with his 52 points, 64k cash injection, and -5 BE. Absolutely beautiful trading for you.

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But then we have AJ – 45 points, Damien Cook – 41 points, and error-riddled Cody Walker on 36 points. I own all of them and I can’t talk about it. That is all.

But let’s talk about the victorious Cowboys who had five players backing up from Origin 2.

And if you brought in Scotty D way back when he was an option for the bye rounds, well, I congratulate you friend. 3 line-breaks, 4 try assists, a line-break assist, 5 million tackle busts, and ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY points. Literally basically the same amount of points as all four of my Bunnies players in this game, and he now has a 3-round average of 113. And my god. What a SCORE! I’m so completely stoked for you!

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Dearden continued to score for his handful of owners too  – 95 points including a try, an assist, 2 try contributions. He now has a 3-round average of 89.

For those who held Val Holmes, a double in the space of 2 minutes would’ve got the heart soaring and the adrenaline pumping. Finishing on 91 points it was certainly a Sunday session to remember for you!

Injuries: Jason Taumalolo (pre-match – hamstring), Reece Robson (hamstring)

On report: Jacob Host (Late Tackle)

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Roosters v Raiders

By Clementine Cassidy

It was the Raiders who took the glory, 18 – 20, despite a second half comeback from the injury-ravaged Roosters who came back from 12 down at half-time.

Corey Horsburgh owners rejoiced, the passionate man getting fully involved, offloading and tackling his heart out with 51 tackles and making 145 metres from 18 hit ups. Did he do enough for Game 3 Origin selection – we all collectively hold our breath in fear with our eye on that Round 19 bye vs the Dragons – we WANT him in our teams!

Tapine also came through for owners, 71 points in 50 minutes. While those who still own Croker got a little Round 17 injection of 62 beautiful points.

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Joey Manu is a King and his 2 tries on either side of half-time say as much. Lindsay Collins is also a King, who, hot off his Player of the Match in Origin 2, managed to crash over the line to put the Roosters within sniffing distance of a win.

As mentioned earlier, I debated the Moses loop pre-Walsh Captaincy, and after deciding I couldn’t possibly part with Billy Smith’s 30 points (because this is the year that I do fun random things like that), went into the game on a wish and a prayer and a manifestation dance that this might just be the week he tons up, and it was not to be.

But look, I will absolutely take his 43 points – what is this man if not consistent (plus I ate the world’s most delicious mashed potatoes whilst watching this game, and the buttery goodness was so glorious that even if Billy had scored a 10, I’d have still been in heaven with my head buried in the sand a bowl of mashed potatoes).

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In other life consistencies – “Victor Radley on report..etc etc”.  And Teddy. Terrorised under the Fogarty high-ball to finish on just 32 points. A BE of 138 this coming round and a 60-point average. If you’ve kept up to now, does the man put on an absolute score vs Manly, or is it honestly, finally time to cut those ties with Teddy…

Injuries: Nat Butcher (pre-match – ankle), Sitili Tupouniua (pre-match – shoulder) Josh Papali’i (shoulder), Angus Crichton (MCL), Egan Butcher (head knock), Jake Turpin (rib)

On report: Victor Radley (Dangerous Tackle)