NRL Supercoach Round 8 Wrap: 9 Things We Learnt

Moving day in golf is usually the 3^rd round, moving week in Supercoach has just gone!

Massive week as plenty of highly owned guns went BIG big setting up some monster scores!

The spate of sin bins couldn’t stop us as a record (not checking it to disprove it) 17 players hit triple figures and of those 17 players, 11 of them went 120+!

Question though is how many of them did you have? We still have some guns faltering, and faltering is being kind, which would have pulled you back somewhat, but if you found the right mix of so-so scores with the big ones, you would be looking at something massive, so well done to you.

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The Reapers finished with 1287 and was let down by Captain Cleary – more on that later, my second rowers who Centrelink should be auditing for not doing any work and Ponga who I can’t and won’t get rid of. But enough about last week.

I’ve already put it behind me and my eyes firmly fixed on Brisbane and Magic Round! Will get to see Toby Couchman up close and personal and witness the Spy be everyone’s best mate for a couple days. If you mention this mention this article and he will buy you a beer!*

So long as the groundsman at Suncorp don’t sleep for the next 4 days and prepare a new “wicket” for us, the footy should be fast and the point scoring high.

See you all at the Caxton at 3pm on Friday, Timmy’s shout.

*Yet to be confirmed

1. Chasing fullbacks

It’s not fullback roulette for me, I’m like a puppy with ADHD, chasing everything and anything that is shiny!

Missed the first couple weeks of Ponga which hurt big time, so picked him up a month ago – great. Started with Hammer who was unsighted early so he got the flick, only to turn it on in the last few weeks.

Jumped onto Gutho with everyone, got one good score out of him and now I am staring at 3 scores of sub 60, and has lost all the money he made for us early on.

Couldn’t afford Teddy when I should have, Had Turbo for too long… the only thing I’ve done right down there was avoid Trell!

Anyway its doing my head in. Thankfully Turbo has a bye this weekend, because if he put up anything solid 2 weeks straight, you know I’m jumping right back in! 

2. Sandon strikes 

All that hooking chat across various platforms, and the bloke who tipped it all on its head was a five-eighth!

Sandon Smith had a day out on ANZAC Day against the Dragons and had plenty of owners in raptures after his 2 try performance, winning him the ANZAC day medal for best on ground, despite spending some time in the bin. 

After updates rolled in, he finished with 129 and could have been more had it not been for the binning, as he missed the chance to pot a couple goals over.

An absolute blessing for those owners who held firm and were able to play the young gun as a hooker especially after Grant went down last week. I doubt many would have bought him into their sides, but having the ability to swap between 2 different positions meant he likely ended up in the hooking spot, where he will stay for weeks to come now!

3. Cowboys get the whips cracking

3 losses to start the year, and Todd Payten was updating his profile on seek.com. Not sure what speech he gave the boys after their loss to Brisbane in Round 3, but some sides could seriously do with it.

4 on the trot for the Townsville men, and boy didn’t they fire some shots on Saturday! 

4, lets call it 5 (Taulagi with 99) scored 100+ in a 50 point performance. The tries came in a flurry and when they did, seemed most of the players had some sort of hand in them!

Drinky was a popular trade in, and boy did he repay the faith of those willing to buy! Scored 132, that included only 2 try assists, and no tries. Kicked 6 goals which helped, but as a non-owner watching it, I think we may have gotten away with it.

A few times there he was a whisker away from scoring, or the last pass just got held back. If things went his way, we could have been looking at 180+ and that’s not exaggerating.

Tommy Dearden reminded us all he plays five-eighth, which has been the death knell for most players this year with a sublime 143 including 4 try assists and 3 try contributions.

And may not make the Queensland side with Munster and DCE! Its screams chasing points, but those who were smart enough to hold on trading out Campbell, may have just fallen into a honey pot of points.

4. Haas and May. 

I might have heard it wrong but is it true these 2 boys are still out int the middle of Suncorp and Leichhardt respectively still taking hit-ups, offloading and making tackle busts!? Because the Full-time hooter wasn’t going to stop them.

80-minute FRFs who tackle bust, offload and score freely should be held in the highest regard.

Both have been superhuman to open the season and in their 8 weeks, have already done more than some FRFs who played 24 games last year!

The wet weather on Friday really helped Haas out, fending away Dogs like he was a park ranger. Set up a try for Reynolds and didn’t stop running. His second 100+ score of the season was a welcome sign for those clever enough to captain him, or at least VC.

And with every carry May takes, Roosters fans must furrow their brow deeper and deeper, wondering what bonehead decided his services were no longer needed. Just out and out Supercoach stud. The FRF stocks for NSW are bulging, but if he and Haas don’t get first dibs on the 8 and 10, bye planners may benefit.

5. Cleary bombs out

Don’t ever captain someone against your own side. 

I do not recommend it!.You should never be cheering on an opposition player to score or set up tries. I felt dirty afterwards and not even confessing here is making it feel any better.

Thought I would join the masses this weekend and place our trust in Cleary. Form leading in was good, Panthers won last week, and he was brilliant, so all signs pointed to a strong back up performance.

Not to be! Was strangled out of the match by a Manly aide hell bent on winning. They forced their hand early and from then the Panthers were on the back foot.

He seems to be severely missing the go forward of Turuva, To’o and JFH, playing behind a beaten pack isn’t easy, just ask nearly every halfback to play NRL. 

But like I said at the top. Never worth captaining against your own side. 

6. Sin Bin mania.

Don’t look at their head, don’t pat them, don’t you dare get that shoulder or arm anywhere above the collarbone. 

A record number of sin bins in Round 8 and I can’t see it getting any better anytime soon!

The NRL love a crackdown more than they love teasing a Bears comeback so it was to be expected, but it’s set some nasty precedents, many of which will give Timmy and co plenty talk about.

It’s going to have a huge impact on the game, if you lose 2 to the bin, that’s a quarter of the game with a man down.

Minus 8 points, they might want to look at changing that if this trend continues. 

Just need to hope your players are good little soldiers and bend their back. Sometimes, it may not matter even if you do.

7. Ponga free zone from next week

This will be the last I speak of him. I’ve spent far too much ink on him over the last month and if I spent every week talking about players that scored 45, 35, 34, 46 and 44 in their last 5 games this report would be 10000 words long.

Another week of broken promises from the Knights number 1 man. And by number 1 I only mean the jersey on his back. Taking on the Wahs was always going to be a tough ask, but in a match riddled with errors again, he couldn’t stamp his authority and only managed a try contribution in his 44.

Plummeting in cash, you would be mad to sell now for what is likely to be less than 550k on Monday. If there is a glimmer of hope, its that Dylan Lucas successfully returned on Friday, so he has got the band back together on that left edge. His average in 2025 with Lucas? 85

So, until he scores 100+, I won’t be uttering another word about him.

8. Gut feels

Just another late-night thought but when your gut is telling you something, it’s best to give it some consideration. And I’m not talking about pounding all those easter eggs in one sitting so “you’ll have none left then you can start afresh” type feelings.

Like the feeling about Fermor this week as a trade in. Went against it and scores 132. Or trying to get Teddy in over the last couple of weeks with an eye to the ANZAC Game. Couldn’t do it and he plays his typical ANZAC Day game.

Or wating a week on Campbell to see what five-eighth jumps out; instead went Munster who did his best work on the weekend behind the cameras on Super Saturday on Fox Sports, whilst Dearden looks a viable option..

Not sure what my gut will tell me on the ground in Brisbane this weekend, but rest assured ill be following it! 

9. Minute Watch

Broncos v Bulldogs

Haas 66, Carrigan 72, Willison 80, King 54, Kiks 73, Preston 80

Roosters v Dragons

Whyte 49, Crichton 80, Wong 76, Watson 80, Couchman 51, Egan 49, Liddle 35

Warriors v Knights

Barnett 53, Halasima 40, Egan 80, Lucas 77, Cant 27

Storm v Rabbitohs

Wishart

Cowboys v Titans

Nanai 72, Bateman 80, Cotter 50, Tino 63, Fermor 80, Fifita 59

Panthers v Sea Eagles 

Sorensen 70, Yeo 80, IPap 44, SST 43, Ola 80, Bullemor 41

Raiders v Dolphins

Taps 57, Starlo 63, nicholson 80, Hosking 46, Horse 55, Gilbert 75, Finefeuiaki 66, 

Tigers v Sharks

May 84, Seyfarth 89, Api 86, Hunt 28, McInnes 69, Nikora 79, AFB 62