Head-to-head focused NRL Supercoach bye planning

The bye rounds mean many things. We get the creme de la creme of our sport; State of Origin.

Players will turn up next week with new leg tats. And importantly, we’re almost halfway through our overall SuperCoach season!

If you’re focusing on Head to Head, most leagues will already be over the ‘halfway’ mark, with Finals kicking off typically in Round 23.

In this article, we’ll look at which teams have the best draws from rounds 13 – 20 to maximise your chances of winning your league.

Going one step deeper into the draw may allow you to find the best players for match-ups during the period, and help decide which guys to sell to ensure you’ve got a strong 17 each week.

To help, let’s take a look at the full draw before we take a peak minus the major byes.

SUBSCRIBE TO SC PLAYBOOK IN 2024! Access extra premium articles every round of the season, access our subscriber-only Whatsapp group with contributor feedback, late mail and other threads, our major unlimited group prize and plenty more. SIGN UP HERE!

Full Calendar – colour coding is based on current total SC points conceded

Teams with the best match-ups (including major byes)

Storm:

Miss two of the major byes, but have a very soft run against teams conceding bulk SuperCoach points. Play all ‘mini-byes’.

Sharks:

May depend on if Nicho is playing for NSW, but should be largely unimpacted and outside of the Broncos game (after their contingent play Origin), it’s a very soft run

Panthers:

Similar to Storm, miss two major byes but only the Broncos in round 18 would concern them.

Stay in NSW from round 13 – 18. Play all ‘mini-byes’.

Rabbitohs:

Who knows if they’ll be good, but the draw is at least ok.

Sea Eagles:

Only tough match is going to be a Panthers side weakened by Origin.

Roosters:

Not a single tough game until round 20 against the Storm after Origin 3.

Titans:

Outside of a tough game at Shark Park in round 18, a very solid run against teams conceding a lot of points.

Dolphins:

Play the three major bye rounds.

The Storm and Panthers match-ups are post-Origin.

Absolutely blessed, why couldn’t that be the Tigers draw…

Bulldogs:

Roosters match-up will be during the Origin bye week.

The bye in round 15 will be manageable as the only side impacted. Play all ‘mini-byes’.

Teams with the worst match-ups (including major byes)

Tigers:

After Round 13, there’s no bye until Round 26 but that three-game stretch from 17 – 19 is brutal. Play all ‘mini-byes’.

Dragons:

Playing the high-flying Panthers and Broncos in the bye roundS does soften the blow a little, but another Roosters match-up in 18 makes this tougher.

Knights:

The stretch from Round 14 – 16 is rough as.

Does open up from 17 (and also finishes nicely for H2H finals). Play all ‘mini-byes’.

Warriors:

Two byes in the major bye rounds. Plus match-ups against the Storm and Broncos to boot. Play all ‘mini-byes’.

Cowboys:

Two byes in the major bye rounds.

Roosters in 13 and Panthers post Origin 2 helps but still tough. Play all ‘mini-byes’.

Broncos:

Miss 13, 16 and have tough games against the Sharks and Panthers. Play all ‘mini-byes’.

Teams match-ups (ignoring major byes)

Cowboys:

Move from a poor draw to a solid one.

Dragons:

Similarly improve without the prospect of match-ups against the Panthers and Broncos

Titans:

Not quite as favourable with the round 17 bye and Sharks in R18.

Dolphins:

Lose significant relevance with two byes and two tougher match-ups

Eels:

Gain more relevance, especially with Moses and Gutherson returning

Straight away, taking this snapshot of the season like this you may start to be forming a picture as to the type of guys you’ll want to buy for this period OR similarly the guys you want to hold.