NRL Round 4 Supercoach Wrap: 10 Things We Learnt

Back to the drawing board it seems as Round 4 rolls on past!

Another week where scores seemed vastly spread out, Nicho Hynes finally came good, Kalyn Ponga was superb whilst some cheapies really hit their strides and are finally making some cash!

Trades are running low for this guy already. Injuries have not helped one little bit – owning Tino for 32 minutes was fun but by lockout today, I could start to see the light.

I’ll be out of boosts if I keep going the way I am by round 7 but that’s what it might take this year! Got to get aggressive and get in front of the pack.

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Hope we all enjoyed the Easter break!

I was lucky enough to spend Saturday with the overlord, Mr Tim Williams as we both captained Tommy Turbo.

The stuttering Kayo stream we had camping didn’t get any better, and in fact maybe made Manly look worse!

His weekend got better as an owner of Jack Bostock and Josh Kerr whilst this poor guy got stuck with an AE – more on that soon.

Turbo’s Hamstrings came back to the pack a bit, scoring 1039, but my blushes were largely saved by a late decision to play Kayal Iro who banged out a massive 97, getting me into the 4 figures for the weekend and sitting 12,349 overall.

My trades of Kai Pearce-Paul and Reuben Garrick didn’t go as planned, but my alternates did a lot worse – Zac Hosking HIA. I too would have had a headache had I traded him in for this week.

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10 things we learnt from Round 4

1. RTS – My word!

Give this man the number 1 jersey and the NRL Supercoach bean counters will need to double their staff!

He was immense on Sunday arvo filling in for the injured Tuaupiki having 24 runs, 6 tackle busts and dishing out a few broken ankles.

But.. and there is a but, he only managed 58!

Now, to the uninitiated that doesn’t scream elite Supercoach score and it doesn’t, so as a non-owner for him not to break 60 I felt like it was a win.

Many brought in the Warriors superstar hoping for a breakout performance but he was relatively held back from an attacking point of view!

I winced every time the Warriors scored hoping he wasn’t involved and thankfully he wasn’t, but I don’t think I can watch for too much longer if CNK doesn’t get named. 

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2. Manly absolutely awful

I don’t remember a worse performance from Manly!

Coupled with the fact it seemed like a Supercoach gold mine for many; afternoon game, fast track and against the Dragons, they couldn’t have driven a knife any further into us poor owners.

They were so sideways throughout the whole game, I was worried they would end up on Tom Thumb Island off the coast of Wollongong. 

Turbo’s first involvement was improbable offload to set up Tolutau Koula, then he tried to play the next 76 minutes with oven mitts on, dropping more balls than my eyes could scarcely believe.

He was a popular captaincy choice but could only manage 55. I keep saying he is ready to explode, but if that comes in Round 27 I’ll be a frustrated and loyal owner. 

In a Supercoach world where a fullback seemingly gets dethroned of the crown each week, Turbo hasn’t gotten over the castle walls yet to lay a claim. 

Reuben Garrick was strong in base, finishing with 71 but takes on the Panthers and Warriors next, 2 sides who haven’t let too many Supercoach points past them in recent weeks.

Luke Brooks had a week many would have expected as an owner of Brooks, shame it came when many would have played (or traded) the five-eighth

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3. Hynes finally delivers.. then has a bye

The headline was going to be vastly different, had he not lofted a ball over to Sione Katoa with 33 seconds to go, in a move that landed him 24 points to finish the night with a season-high 94!

It was a pass that might have saved the blushes of many this weekend as the popular half finally gave owners something to smile about.

Still, as a non-owner, I might have won this matchup, albeit with a few bruises as Nicho heads into Round 5 with a bye.

If you bought him for the first 4 rounds judging on matchups against the Warriors, Dogs, Tigers and Raiders, you would have hoped for a better output than the 62 he has averaged. 

The halfback stocks are looking awfully empty come this week, meaning Drew Hutchinson might be the most popular player running around in teams this week!

Nicho will take on Souths, Cowboys, Canberra (again?!) then St George in the next run, before heading into Melbourne, Roosters, Penrith, Parra and the Broncos in arguably the toughest 5 weeks of the year for him. 

Hold again? Or sell for an estimated 650k?

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4. Terrell May we are not worthy

What more can be said about the game’s elite FRF?

Terrell May was enormous on Thursday night. The overlord provided the stats across the WhatsApp groups – 35 tackles, 19 runs, 7 tackle busts and 2 offloads for a team-high of 77.

If you missed him 2-3 weeks ago, I think you missed him. Unless you are willing to spend an extra 80k more than what he was 3 weeks ago.

In the FRF valley of death, he has only scored 19 fewer points than AFB this season. If he finished with more points than Haas I wouldn’t not be surprised.

God, I hope he never has a bye. 

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5. Wet Queensland derby brings tears to owners aplenty

It was meant to be a coronation of Cowboys Supercoach points here with a fast track and depleted Brisbane side but if there’s one thing I have learnt in my winters, you have to throw all form out the window when these 2 teams meet!

Brisbane was very good, suffocating the Cowboys and their attacking flair for the most part. Adam Reynolds‘ kicking game was far superior making Scott Drinkwater look like a punter who won a XXXX Gold contest to catch a bomb at halftime. 

Val Holmes had some strong carries, scoring a try off a kick but only managed 59, after last week’s 144.

Only 59 is a bit tough, but priced at 829k now, he is as elite CTW as you will find and has a very enticing matchup this week.

Tom Deaden pulled off the tackle of the century, which is a crime if you realise he was awarded 1 point for it whilst Jason Taumalolo found some minutes for his 41, but takes on the Titans next week, meaning he may only get 3 minutes.

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6. Hammertime

Plenty bought into the hype and didn’t he come through with the goods!

But he banged out an impressive 112 on Saturday night after being one of the more popular trades.

Those that went Dom Young over him will be looking for a hammer to put through their computer screen… I’m guessing.

His 112 takes him to a season average of 95, the best in the league of those who have played 3 games.

Breakeven of -1 he will be making owners some serious cash

Hammer has linked up magnificently with Jack Bostock, who has made owners 90k already and has BE this week of -41.

I sat off him and am still not sold. He has been good from a Supercoach point of view, but from a Rugby League eye, he has been found out a couple of times.

He made a few errors early but did find the line twice. 

And no I’m not salty I don’t own him!

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7. The Titans were awful

Not sure what Des Hasler has done in the pre-season, but it wasn’t tackling and ball skills!

An SC Playbook favourite in Brett White too might be getting a bit hot under the collar as the defensive coach.

They have taken a step, or 7, backwards with no signs of improving!

Tough watch for many, no one likes seeing a club look bad so early on but if he can’t right the ship quickly, it’s going to get messy. The end of August is a long time away.

No Tino for the year, but David Fifita did have his first hit out of 2024 getting through 55 minutes for his 57. It’s a wait-and-see for mine, even with his pedigree I’ll be cautious about getting him in.

What it means for Supercoach though is to target anyone playing the Titans in a run.. a quick look at the draw sees Val Holmes playing them twice in 5 weeks. Dear God!

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8. Gutherson an option?

From purely a Supercoach point of view, and I can’t stress that enough, is Clint Gutherson firming as the SuperPOD for the FLB position? 

Again, just from a Supercoach stance – I can’t and won’t entertain the thought and the day I do I’ll be handing in my SC playbook hall pass, is he the number 1 option for the next 6 or so weeks?

Once again, I’m ONLY TALKING from a Supercoach viewpoint, but he looks as good an option (for Supercoach) as any number 1!

Kicking goals, running the show, will be in everything, including the referees’ debrief, you could do a lot worse.

Scored 109 on Monday, 27 more than his nearest teammate you know what you are going to get and history shows, without Mitchell Moses he will score well.

(That took all my might and effort to write that paragraph).

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9. The Galvinator 

Shocking nickname Dezzy by the way, but if he keeps playing the way he did on Monday I’ll call him anything he likes!

So far, he is the best cheapie of 2024 and there seems to be no sign of slowing the cash train down!

Although a hip drop charge has put a dampener on the Galvin Express, he is set to miss 2 weeks. But patience is the key and when he returns, will have a negative breakeven that not even 10 sin bins could account for. 

Last time there was this much hype about a young Tigers half following in the footsteps of Benji, Luke Brooks was the great white hope for the orange and black faithful.

I hope Galvin follows suit and ends up playing outside Daly Cherry-Evans in about 2036.

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10. Check yourself before you wreck yourself (or Supercoach week)!

I laughed on Friday morning when someone tweeted to Rugby League Guru alluding to the fact he had left Nathan Cleary in his team from last week and with the Panthers playing the first game, was locked out in the position.

Haha I thought..

And then I felt my stomach drop. Hang on.

I’ve done the same!

A momentary lapse where I had made my trades, then decided to wait until Friday to do them, I undid my changes and went about my Thursday pondering which and how many eggs I would consume on Sunday.

This is more of a PSA – check, then double-check your side before kickoff. It wasn’t the first and won’t be the last!

Minute Watch:

Roosters v Panthers
May 55, Sitili 54, B Smith 52, Henry 40, Geyer 30, 

Rabbitohs v Bulldogs
Murray 61, Koloamatangi 80, Kikau 80, Curran 58, Salmon 68, Hughes 14

Broncos v Cowboys
Willison 33, Carrigan 74, Cotter 59, Finefeuiaki 67, 

Dragons v Sea Eagles
JDB 62, RFM 28, Ola 80

Titans v Dolphins
Fifita 55, Fermor 80, Kerr 26, Plath 45, Flegler 50

Warriors v Knights
Harris 68, Barnett 56, AFB 44, KPP, 80, Lucas 80, Elliot 60

Sharks v Raiders
J Williams 45, McInnes 80, Wilton 80, Smithies 56, Hosking 43 (HIA), Horsburgh 47, Levi 63

Eels v Tigers
Paulo 53, Hopgood 55, Lane 80, Matterson 52, Lussick 60, Stefano 52, Api 80, Pole 58, Fainu 37