NRL Supercoach Round 13 Wrap: 8 Things We Learnt

After getting the cream of the crop on both Men’s and Women’s Origins, the NRL action certainly seemed to be in slow motion for most of the weekend!

Kicked off with the Dragons and Knights, which, after the two Origin matches, was like getting served up a banana paddle pop after two high-quality meals!

The scores weren’t on the higher side, unless you still had the likes of Metcalf, Purdue and Tamale, who all had huge games for owners!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE SC PLAYBOOK SUBSCRIBER COMMUNITY

Tedesco, Cleary and Scotty Drinkwater were all closely watched, more so from non-owners, to see if they their decision to fade them was right!

Points decision either way as the trio scored well, but probably under for what they are worth and what’s expected of them.

The less said about Hughes, Munster & Sharpe, the better!

The Reapers of Mars saw some green arrows after scoring 1253, moving 390 spots up to 16601 overall.

Here are the things we learnt from Round 13 of NRL Supercoach…

Embed from Getty Images

1. Keaon keeps keeping on 

Welcome to the thousands of new owners of the Keaon ownership saloon.

I’ve been here since the start of the year, and I was getting pretty lonely.

But now it’s getting awfully busy, so quickly grab a seat and settle in.

It’s warm, comfortable, and the points are flowing!

Another standout performance to welcome the masses who traded in the Souths’ front row forward.

Scored an early try, so from there it was smooth sailing to 100+.

Finished with 110 pre-updates and a lazy 5RA of 86.  

Has been rock solid since putting the number 10 on his back, and now a near must as a Supercoach buy.

Those who held off would have been rueing the decision.

The problem is now with the injury to Barnett, he may find himself in a Blue jersey, meaning he will miss the Major round 15 bye.

Tough one for non-owners. Wait a week for Origin teams to be picked, or pick him up now for fear of missing out.

Oh, and will get a duel in Round 18. Haas, May, Keaon and Tino in your FRF.

What a world we are living in.

Embed from Getty Images

2. Treacherous Mini bye round number 1 done

The sleeping killer.. the mini bye has come and gone, and all but two Origin stars backed up for us!

There weren’t too many tricky calls to be made this weekend, with coaches seemingly forcing their stars to back up after a pretty uneventful Origin opener.

Usually, this round is the trickiest, but Round 13 came and went with little fuss!

I would caution you to look ahead to Round 16, where the Sea Eagles, Dogs (Again) and the Dragons are on the bye.

This will also coincide with Origin 2 in Perth, so just assume none of your Origin players will back up.

Bring it on!

Embed from Getty Images

3. Hi Lehi 

Who was that other fullback we used to have? Blond hair.. Spent most of his time on the sideline injured.. Tim Someone..

Whoever it was, the new Prince has arrived, and it’s an injury-free sight to behold!

Breakout performance in the number 1 from Lehi Hopoate!

A target for plenty heading into the major bye rounds, he solidified those new owners’ decision with a huge 107-point game vs Brisbane on Saturday night.

Since coming into consideration about 4 weeks ago, he has put together scores of 52, 89, 100 & 107.

Nothing in his previous weeks suggested this uptick in scoring, but his work rate has gone through the roof, carrying the ball for the fun of it.

He has found some attack, and if he can somehow stay at fullback or get an extended run there, it might be time to break the bank and get him in.

Seems a lock for the run home in the CTW and if Manly get their ass into gear, I don’t think you would want to go without him

Embed from Getty Images

4. Dearden rules in the Wild West for the Cowboys

There’s a new Sheriff in town, and thankfully for non-owners of Scott, his name is Tom, and he is all about the Cowboys’ attack!

If this weekend just gone was an Origin audition, he would have the 1, 6, 7 and 9 on his back in Perth!

Outstanding guiding the Cowboys to a nail-biting victory on Saturday afternoon with 2 assists and 5 line break assists to end with 114.

He seems to still be the undiscussed 5/8 targets, considering the opposition he has in the spot.

Only has one score under 55 since Round 3.. 

Owned by only 6.7% of teams, he sits 4^th behind Metcalf, Brown and Munster for total points for the year.

Obviously he will be Origin-affected, either starting or off the bench, but if the Cowboys continue scoring at this rate of knots, the Origin byes need not be a factor.

Embed from Getty Images

5. Wet Footy 

If this is a ‘things we have learnt’ article, then it would be remiss of me not to mention the wet weather!

Not sure what it seems to be this year, but whenever there is a bit of rain about, you can put the Supercoach scores in the bin. 

Those who targeted the Titans Storm match must not have watched Tim Bailey or enjoy watching some dour footy because it was torrential on the Gold Coast and the scores followed suit!

The Melbourne trio of Paps, Hughes and Munster found the heavy 10 conditions trying, with Hughes, a popular target for this weekend and beyond, struggling in the wet.

He hasn’t looked like getting close to his 2024 form, only managing 32. He now has only one score over 76 since Round 5. 

Munster too couldn’t fire after Origin scoring only 41, but will come up against a Cowboys side who look happy to win 38-36 if need be next weekend, which might be a timely reminder heading into Origin 2

Katoa scored 68 in base and power, and has gone off the radar for a lot of coaches who don’t own, but after their next bye in Round 15, he will be bottom dollar and one to grab and lock in for the year.

Only has two scores over 77 all season, but one score under 60 all year.

Embed from Getty Images

6. Peaking Players

The cash certainly has come in droves this year, and it might be time to let go of some of our cash cows and say goodbye, sayonara, farewell, au revoir, or whatever we want to say!

It’s always hard letting go, but they have done their jobs and some, and it’s time to start thinking of the end game.

Players like Jenkins, Toia, Horsburgh, Shibasaki and Iongi have all been superb, but it’s time to go.

Even if they keep giving us a game to hold.

Whilst they are still giving us something, Toia came through Origin unscathed, and scored a late try to get to 58 on Sunday afternoon, but with a negative BE he will still make some money.

Although he now won’t play for the next two weeks with the Chooks bye and Origin, and there is a chance he doesn’t back up after Origin 2 in Perth, so that’s 3 weeks of a $600k+ player not playing.

It might be silly, though, to say goodbye to Tamale, Metcalf and Purdue.

Just when you think you have sold at the right time, they just give and give and give!

Embed from Getty Images

7. Buying and Selling

I don’t remember watching players I don’t own so closely than I have done in these past three or so weeks!

Unable to afford the likes of Drinkwater and Tedesco, I decided against ripping my side apart just to accommodate either of them and since then, stress levels are higher, but it might be paying off!

Tedesco, after his 2 back to back 120+ scores, has gone 70, 68 & 91 and now has a bye, which to me, seems like those who have held off might have won this early battle.

But after Round 15, he is a near must.

Scotty Drinkwater is not a fun watch if you don’t own!

Knowing how quickly the Cowboys can score means you look away, and he could go from 17 to 70 in a flash. 

Although things might be looking up as he has a mountainous BE this week of 181, and since going three triple figure scores in a row, has posted 14 & 71, and now plays Melbourne.

The move of Purdue into the 6 role, seems to have stifled his involvement, and it appears Purdue has taken the role of sweeping to both sides of the ruck now, with Drinkwater holding down the right edge.

Give this another week, but if things continue the way they have, he could be a sell.

Even his goal-kicking took a hit on the weekend, handing off one shot to Laybutt.

Embed from Getty Images

8. Minute Watch

Dragons v Knights
Stewart 54, Couchman 80, Su’a 23, Lucas 78, KPP 80

Titans v Storm
Fermor 80, Tino 71, EKat 80, Wishy 45

Cowboys v Tigers
Nanai 76, Cotter 55, Bateman 80, Hunt 15, May 75, Seyfarth 79

Sea Eagles v Broncos
Ola 80, Tevaga 69, Burbo 80, Haas 58, Riki 80, Carrigan 55

Rabbitohs v Warriors
Aitken 80, Keaon 80, Hubner 40, Barnett 21, Clark 55, Halasima 45

Panthers v Eels
Sorensen 80, Yeo 68, Williams 72, Kautoga 66, Smith 66

Roosters v Raiders
Watson 61, Crichton 76, Steep 39, Pattie 47, Sasagi 50, Hosking 68, Horsburgh 40, Taps 43