Clem’s Captains: Round 27 NRL Supercoach Skippers

Friends… We. Are. Here.

The final countdown…The last hoorah. 

The call for last drinks has been made (I’m having a whiskey), Closing Time’s playing, the lights are about to come on, and in approximately 95 hours we will have a new SuperCoachChampion and will know if Round 27 sent us soaring up the ladder or saw us fall flat on our face at the final hurdle.

And as your Playbook Support Group Specialist, I truly hope everybody soars.

Except my forever SC nemesis, that dastardly SC Spy. 

277 points.

That is all that separates us now. 

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Coming out of Round 21, I was 1161 points behind him, and I have clawed and scraped my way over the past 5 rounds to gain 884 of those points back.

And now, with one round to go, there is still a chance.

It’s a Manly making the eight kind of miracle chance, but it’s still a chance…

Which is mainly hinging on more of Spy’s team being rested… Let the resting manifestation begin…

And what about the last round! It was raining tons! 

It was like peak Oprah! “And you have a ton and you have a ton and you have a ton too!”

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15 of them, and some of them massive tons – and I would like to go on a quick tangent to tell you about my superstitious service to Mark Nawaqanitawase owners:

I owned around 50 Chooks players in that game.

And at around 30 minutes in, I thought, ‘ahhh well there goes my chance at a good round’ (at this point Sandon was on 0); I turned the game off and read my book instead.

And at around the 45-minute mark, I checked my score and almost had a heart attack.

Because joy of joys!

What had happened since I turned the tv off?? 

And then, like any logical person would think, I concluded the correct answer was ‘I stopped watching the game’ – and so I sat there for the next 30 minutes watching the game through the SC app scores instead, not daring to turn the actual game back on… just in case I jinxed Mark and his try-scoring frenzy through the TV.

And you are very welcome, my friends.

I take my duties as Support Group Specialist very seriously. 

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And is choosing who to use your last trade on literally the hardest decision in the entire SC year?

That, and choosing your final sit/starts?

I almost envy the Spy with his 17 players + Royce and his 0 trades. 

Because I am a glasshouse of indecision!

And Round 27 hasn’t given us an easy finish on the Captains either, so with only a few hours left before the first game, let’s get into some choices – and let’s jump into tonight’s Thursday Night Blockbuster where Contention to Hold Fourth Place takes on Redemption for Losing Bellamy’s 600^th Game:

Storm vs Broncos

And here is the game where we ask ourselves the questions – do we choose a VC here, and more importantl,y can we ride the Reece Walsh rollercoaster one more time?

With Broncos playing to maintain their position in the top 4 after they cruelly helped knock the Wahs into 6^th, and the Storm basically full-strength and coming in hot fuelled by what was surely a Bellamy Blowup after last week’s second half battering by the Chooks – I’m not game to Captain in this game, but if you want to – here’s some VCs:

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Reece Walsh: and let’s start with the Champion of H2H GFs everywhere, and I think this is the perfect time to give the man a round of applause – a 3-round average of 154, three tries and 5 try assists in his last three games…

The giver of points, the saviour of H2Hs. 

Your local plumber.

Thank you for your services to mine and every other owner’s team in the back end of the season sir!

Let’s just ignore the fact that he scored a 26 vs the Storm back in Round 23 and VC if you have a special feeling… it is final drinks after all – why not?

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Payne Haas: Of course, you might like to play it more safe and have a go at a VC on Mr Safe as Haases. 

Playing to maintain top 4, you’d think Haas is going to take to this battle like someone’s stood on his shoes. 

He managed 83 vs the Storm back in that fateful game in Round 23 and has managed a 98 point 3-round average since then. Okay if you like safe things – I prefer rollercoasters.

Lil’ Papi: A 3-round average of 60 and a last score of 33 might not exactly scream VC – but fuelled by the Bellamy Blowup, does he have one of those freakish games like he did back in Round 10 and pull out some Round-defining points for lucky owners? 

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Manly vs Wahs

And as much as it pains me to say it, I think we can find a couple of likely VCs in this game in the form of Turbo and DCE. 

Because Manly will be out for blood, and while the Wahs are playing to get back into the top 4 should Broncos lose tonight, it’s DCE’s final game for Manly, it’s being played at Brookie, and everything screams a fairytale finish.

Turbo: A 3-round average of 113, scores of 100 and 180 in his last two games, a hoodoo curse broken last week – if you have Turbo in your team, consider him for the VC, and sit back and watch him soar up the field like a beautiful sea eagle in front of the thousands of Manly fans who will be packing that hill and score a ton or two.

(I will also be on the hill – in my Wahs jersey – pray for me).

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DCE: His final game for Manly (unless there is a Round 27 miracle and they make the eight…a chance is a chance…)

But DCE. The man is playing out of his skin the last couple of games!

The third highest score last week at 157, 115 in his game before that, SIX try-assists in those two games… a crowd behind him for his final Manly game…it screams fairytale finish.

If you own, you should risk the VC.

I am not going to jinx any of the Wah’s players by calling them out as VCs in this article – I would just like to say that I am very sad Egan isn’t playing – my sign for Friday was “Doin’ the Egan Rock”.

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Roosters vs Souths

Teddy. Teddy is a VC on Friday night.

Or maybe even a Captain.

But please consider him for something.

There is nothing more glorious than a grudge match to get the blood pumping, and this is one where Teddy loves to come out to play.

101, 140, 135 – those are his last 3 scores vs the Bunnies. 

In his last 4 games, he’s made non-owners cry with a 189 and helped pants the Storm with a 131 last round.

He’s had 4 tries and 8 assists. I could go on…

The Bunnies aren’t going to just roll over, but honestly. Teddy.

That is all.

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Panthers vs Dragons

The gangs all back – and there’s Cleary, and Edwards, and everyone’s here… just in time to take on the might of the Dragons, who have lost their last 3 games and had 40 points put on them in their last two.

Outstanding timing.

And Nathan Cleary is clearly the Captain of the Round.

And it doesn’t matter if you sort the Coaches Choice on the SC to 1%, 5%, or 10% – he is the overwhelming favourite to Captain this week – and if you don’t want to take a risk, here is a Safer than Haases choice than Haas himself.

Three tons in his last 5 games, 175 points last time he played the Dragons – coming off a nice rest – it’s a slam, dunk… or is it?

Because I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate for a tic, and if we look at the team list, there’s a man named Schneider who lurks there in number 14 – so how many points can Cleary score in 60 minutes, because if the Panthers are giving the Dragons an absolute hiding, surely Cleary gets a nice early shower…

Just something to think about…

Of course, you may like to go for an Edwards pod Captaincy in this game, except I don’t own him and Spy does, so I will not be putting the potential for him to go large out there in the universe.

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Other Choices

And there are other Captains who are a bit more poddy, but if you want to take a risk that could send you soaring, why not have a go at:

A Dolphins player.

Coming up against a deservedly depleted Raiders side who are resting half their players because they’re winning the whole thing, the game is being played in Redcliffe, and if cards have fallen the Dolphins’ way over the Round –they’re playing for a spot in the eight…

You could give Trai Fuller a look in if you have a final trade and think he can replicate the 113 he put on the Titans last Sunday. 

Herbie might be back for the ultimate pod choice, and you can’t disregard it being Hammer time a few times on Sunday afternoon… 

And if you want to wait until the very last game of the Round – you might as well chuck it on Lomax – while he hasn’t exactly set the world alight with points in his last few games – the Knights had seven tries put on them by the Sharks last week – three of those to Mulitalo out on the wing, unfortunately not the edge Lomax will be running at.

This could be a points-fest.

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Verdict

My heart says I want to ride the Reece Walsh Rollercoaster one more time… but my head says Turbo or Teddy into Cleary…

And what a season!

Thank you for coming along on the Captaincy adventure where we’ve picked some winners and backed some… ahhh… not winners… It’s been the Reece Walsh of seasons over here – But whether we’ve been up or down, it’s been so much fun!

See you all at the community hall on Monday for a final celebration circle where Mariah will sing Hero to our Hero of the Round (and those of us who didn’t back them will sit in the corner in a lamentation circle and quietly weep into our bottle of whiskey… *whispers – ‘please be Spy’),

And then… see you on the other side for Finals!

How glorious is that we have a whole new game to go!

Just SO good! The SuperCoach Gods truly giveth.

And on that note, I hope your Captain scores you a ton, and you soar up the rankings, and you have the most beautiful weekend!

Clementine xxx