2024 NRL Supercoach Wrap: 9 Things We Learnt This Year

Well pack her up its time to go! 

2024 is but a statistic now as we farewell Supercoach for another year!

Seems like only yesterday we were spruiking our Round 1 teams, and wondering how many minutes Poasa Faamausili would get…

Answer – 19 in round 1, a solitary minute in round 2, 22 in Round 6, and 17 in Round 11.

We all headed into the year with high hopes and dreams of claiming top spot, or even just winning your league so hopefully some of the SC Playbook contributors got you to where you wanted to be.

Turbos Hamstrings had a mediocre finish to the year, holding 2 trades for the final rounds and bringing in Sua Fa’alogo  – 73 and a hammy and Nicho – 50 odd.

So that didn’t pan out as I planned. (My plan was for them both to combine for over 700 points and everyone in the top 1000 to forget to set their team and I Steven Bradbury it to win)

I finished with 1174, taking my own advice and setting my side on Thursday and not touching it until Sunday.

That left me with a rank (that’s the right term – Rank) of 8112 overall.

BBL started yet?

Lastly, thanks to all that have read, commented, retweeted, liked or shared the articles throughout the year.

I’ve always enjoyed looking back at the weekend that was and trying to put a lighthearted opinion on it just to remind us all it is a game, and we do this for fun. 

The Supercoach community is a brilliant community and all at SC Playbook are lucky to be a part of it and we hope we get you back for season 2025..

So again, thanks to all and I hope Timmy forgets to schedule my performance review and auto-renews me for 2025 

Enjoy the Finals!

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1. The best get better

If I learnt anything in 2024 it’s that the elite just find another gear.

James Tedesco was far and away the best player of the season, finishing with an average of 94 including notching up 7 tons since Madge decided he was no longer cut out for State of Origin football.

He started the year with a bang averaging 100 for the opening 3 rounds, and was only outdone by HIAs.

If you take that Bulldogs game out, his return and the one v Penrith the weekend before he averaged 104 for the season.

He will take up about 25% of your salary cap for next year but that might even be unders if he can replicate that form.

Turbo finished the season $700 shy of being the only million-dollar player of the season, and as worth every dollar of that price. 

And whilst it took him a but to warm up (Turbo engines don’t usually fire first time every time – I think) once he found his groove, he quickly reminded everyone that Supercoach is made for Tommy T and he is made for Supercoach.

Scored 5 tons in his last 7 outings including a 158 and a 174 to send owners into raptures and left us non-owners with more egg on our faces than after a dinner at teppanyaki.

Latrell, whenever he was on the field, was another than showed us class is permanent and although some will disagree, he is still an absolute gun of this great game and if he can string a season together, he could really push the aforementioned duo out of their top spots.

Cleary, Edwards and KP all had brilliant seasons, again, when they were on the park.

Cleary may draw the ire of many who traded him in and out God only knows how many times, but it’s clear when he is on, he is on.

Maybe an off season with Mary will strengthen those hammies and shoulders up

And lastly, Hynes showed glimpses, but if Trindall hangs around, his 2023 season may be an outlier.

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2. Injuries, Suspensions, Restings – get used to them

4pm on a Tuesday was about as exciting as some of my weeks got down here in the winter months in Cooma!

Team list Tuesday and seeing who was named, not named or in the extended squad was sometimes a highlight of the week!

It seemed with each passing week there was more and more resting’s, slight injuries, players getting benched and some taking the week suspension.

This meant we were forced to go short or play a player that was only going to get max 30 points. 

Couple that with the fact that we are dealing with HIAs each and every week, meant getting your 17 right and on the field was a challenge within itself.

The rise of HIAs have given coaches another headache to contend with (Used that joke more times than I should be allowed to).

I was subject to plenty this year – mostly coming from Rueben Garrick, but no coach was spared.

Whether it happened in the first 5 minutes, or after a blitz of 20 minutes like Daine Laurie, they make our weeks very hard. 

Hopefully the boffins have a look into it for 2025 but if not, just don’t go pulling your hair out when you cop one. 

So with the increase in rounds and players more susceptible to missing games, I think we will start to see coaches rest players at any opportune time.

Especially if they see the benefits some of the elite players having a spell which in turn, means they are fresh come September. 

P.S Shoutout to Adam Stiles who did God’s work, giving us all on time updates so we were all informed as to who had been cut, promoted or put to the bench!

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3. Bye bye, bye planning

2 years into the new bye weekend and it’s safe to say it’s probably easier to navigate than crossing the road.  

Years gone past we would be forced to pillage and pilfer any and every player playing that certain weekend, now we can safely go into the round with 8-10 and just make 3 trades for some guns playing that weekend that will get us close to the mark.

And that means we don’t have to hold a player like Smithies for night on 15 weeks for his 40 points in that one weekend 

And with everyone on a level playing field, it means those with a good side, wont kick too far clear.

But as I said early in the year, it’s the weekends with 3 teams on the bye that are the worry and where a lot of people came undone on those rounds.

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4. FRFs suck and the least spoken about the position the better

Not the ones in the 8 and 10 on the park respectively, but the whole Supercoach position in general!

We get so caught up in the high scoring players in the halves, fullbacks and centre/wings, that making a trade for a 45 minute plodder to get you 50 odd points is a bit of a ball buster!

But alas, we are all in the same boat and when I start thinking about my side for next year, I’ll be looking at one gun FRF regardless of price, and partner them with a plodder.

Instead of going into the season with 3 plodders and Poasa, hoping 2 of them turn into some AFB/Haas clone.

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5. Plenty of trades – if we use them 

I can’t remember exactly how many trades I used this year on a player for one week, only to punt them the next but if it wasn’t 5 it was close!

If you can somehow nail the FRF and hooking position to begin the year, you will be in a whole different boat and be able to make bulk trades chasing those cheapies and high upside players.

These 2 positions don’t historically have world beaters or players that can week in, week out go large so getting this right early will mean you can blow the rest on the high upside spots chasing some big big ceiling players.

And I don’t think holding a lot for the final rounds does any good which I’ll touch on.

Seemed everyone who went well this year, used most of their trades by Rounds 24 and got rid of the dead wood, instead of me, holding onto Lemuelu hoping he would bag a try.

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6. Boosts aren’t just a great chocolate bar

5 is plenty and if you count the 3 major bye rounds, then its nearly 8 boosts we get throughout the year. 

Too many? I’m sure there are some out there that didn’t use all 5 but the key is when to crack open emergency chocolate trade. 

Those who went hard early, probably used most before the major byes started whilst those like me, saved a couple for the final few rounds.

I used 2 in back-to-back weeks so I’ll be doing the same next year.

Use 2 in the opening 3-6 rounds. Save one for the bye period and 2 more to run home. 

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7. Don’t be too timid

I do this every year, and it ends roughly the same way.

What do they say about stupidity?

I’ve always been one to hold onto a few trades, be conservative and hope for some carnage to end the year and I can make a run.

But you can’t make up a lot of ground in 2 weeks!

We heard alot from Dez on the podcast this year who went hard early, used his boosts and he had a successful year which might be a blueprint for us all in the coming years.

As noted above, we get plenty of trades, so the quicker you can set your side up and run with it on the way home, the better placed you inevitably will be. 

So next year, I don’t think ill hold as many trades as I did and get a bit more aggressive and try set my team up earlier than Round 27.

Because trust me, whilst my side looks good now, it means nothing come week one of the finals

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8. Best Trade

If we are talking about the crux of Fantasy/Supercoach it’s to buy low and sell high.

So taking that into account its players like Angus Crichton and around 440k, or the likes of Schiller, Talagi or Armstrong who really made their mark and allowed me to upgrade to some keepers. 

Galvin and Iro too were brilliant (not really breaking news) but most jumped on early and held for the whole year.

But there could only be one for me and who else but Jacob Liddle.

When everyone was watching the world burn at Hooker, I had the one bloke playing 80 minutes, making 60 tackles and scoring the odd try. 

And when points are hard to come by in a tricky position with players like Api going big one week, only to get binned and fail the next, he was the only player to bang out a consistent 50+ each week.

He also allowed me to make (waste) my trades elsewhere.

In a Hooking position that isn’t much chop, we don’t want to be wasting trades so to only have made 1 there all year, Levi to Liddle, it was one less headache to have as Robson was doing a job.

Not a great one of late, but to start the year he was doing a job.

And for the final time in 2024, banged out an impressive 119, most of them coming in the opening 10 minutes.

Hope Cook doesn’t eat into his minutes next year

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9. Worst trade

I think back to round 3 and using my first boost to bring in Tino, Lomax and Joe Chan in.

Tino busted his knee 30 minutes into the match and Joe Chan lasted about 3 weeks. 

But that wasn’t the only time I traded in a player for one week.

Nicho in Round 17 for 68 points and a broken leg 2 days later. And Haas at least got me 2 good weeks.

But I think the cake – make that cakes of bad trades belong to one bloke and, like a British tourist on Bondi beach, just chased a good-looking bloke with a mullet a bit too hard trading in Papenhuyzen in Round 8 for 73 then traded him out in Round 9, only to go back to the well again in Round 16 for 39 points and missed the next game so traded out again in Round 17. 

Paps don’t do it to me again next year.

And if anyone mentions Izack Tago next year as a serious option, I will personally find you, come to your house and give you a mirror to have a good long hard look at yourself.

If you have read this far, come find me at Magic Round, show me this article and I’ll buy you a beer and a burger.

Go Manly!!