Clem’s Captains: Finals Week 2 NRL Supercoach Skippers

There is a distinct lack of Reece Walsh in this article, and I am not okay.

Because what even was that performance on Sunday expect the peak of gloriousness with a touch of bad-boy rogue – it had it all:

Tries, try assists, 40/20s, goal kicks, linebreaks… throw in a headbutt and a sinbin for good measure and Walsh is the gift that keeps on giving…

Pure. Cinema.

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But we can’t have all the nice things all the time, and this week we must work with just four teams (why does this make it infinitely harder haha), and there is one glaring Captain Obvious this week who we cannot look past:

Nathan Cleary.

But before we jump in, let us take a moment for the Spy.

I was watching the game with him on Sunday (we’re friends again until Classic Round 1 next season…), and the poor sir just needed the Raiders to win to win his bet…

And he won his bet and then subsequently lost his bet THREE times in a row – and surely this is peak glasshouse of emotion.

And after riding that rollercoaster with him for NINETY-THREE minutes, the second Hunt kicked the Golden Point win, we sat on the couch in silence for a few seconds resembling that scene from a movie where the characters sit shellshocked with hair standing on end from the PURE EMOTION –

And then I turned to him and said:

“You just lost.”

So clearly I was the Captain Obvious of last round (insert hair flick here).

Now without further ado, let’s get into our actual Captain Obvious for this week, who is a Safe as Haases and Classic High-Flyer all rolled into one:

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Nathan Cleary

86 points last week was a pretty decent score whether he was your VC or your Captain – we’ll take it (I say while secretly muttering to myself ‘I’d have taken a 0 if it meant the Warriors won…)

But we move onto this week, and playing the injury-depleted Bulldogs in the Sunday arvo BLOCKBUSTER, if you don’t own Cleary – you are either going to beat us all with that crystal ball you carry around in your pocket, or you are a slave to Sexton in your HB spot…

Because Cleary must be attaching that ball to himself with fishing-wire, because I’ve looked carefully the last couple of weeks and I can’t see a string.

The Storm halves had a field-day against the Bulldogs last week, the Panthers have the whole crew back together, and Cleary’s only had two scores under 80 in his last nine games – including FOUR tons.

He’s a VC at least. No. Brainer.

89% of SuperCoachers own him so far… If we go down, we all go down together…

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Hudson Young

So Safe as Haases I’d have thought he was Payne Haas in disguise if they weren’t on the field together last week…

A 101 vs the Broncos that included a try, a try assist, and 10 minutes of ref-imposed reflection time in the sheds for channelling his inner-Mulitalo – Hudson Young is the SuperCoach (and entertainment) gift that keeps on giving!

And in a Round where we’re short on options, he’s a glorious godsend and one that should absolutely be considered for an armband.

There’s more precedence here than a sinbin for rarking up the opposition with some gentle banter too  – Back in round 5 he scored a 110 vs the very Sharks he’s playing this week.

After having the glory of a win snatched away from them THREE times, and with the risk of being knocked out 3 weeks early – the Raiders will be out for blood – the very sort of game Hudson Young will be very up for.

Captain or VC with confidence.

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Dylan Edwards

Something I’ve loved about Finals is being able to own the players I didn’t or couldn’t in Classic. And Dylan Edwards was one of those.

By the time I’d got round to getting him, I’d been priced out, and went Walsh instead (which was the most fortuitus moment of my absolute life – akin to finding a lotto ticket on the street and winning the Powerball).

So now I own him, and this week joy of joys, with limited picks, he’s looking like a look-in for your VC.

A 51 last week and a 27 the week before might not exactly scream ‘give me an armband – any colour will do!’. But last time he played the Bulldogs back in Round 17 he scored a tidy 102, and in a week with limited options with one of the easier matchups of the Round, you have to at least consider the player with one of the highest ceilings in SuperCoach.

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The Poddy Rogues

Now because we like going rogue in this article, let’s look at two or three options if you want to go against the pack. All you need to do is chuck it on a CTW who could go large, go and sit behind the couch for 80 minutes, and cross your fingers a bit. Easy.

Brian To’o

A 72 last round that only included one try – the man just racks up points. With one of the easier matchups of the two in the Round – should he score a double, you’re laughing all the way to a ton.

Ronaldo Mulitalo

He is UP FOR IT!

An 85 last round vs the Chooks where he played diamonds and scored a double – the man who loves a bit of gentle banter with his opposition, has scored SEVEN tries in his last FOUR games.

*Special note for this game: grab some popcorn, sit back, and get ready to watch the two best banterers in rugby league go head to head – Huddy Young v Mulitalo – how many times will they need to go write lines in the shed…

…and now, two more rogues for good measure – Hail Marys if your Week 1 Finals didn’t go quite to plan – the ones who broke my heart when I owned them, came good and then broke it all over again:

Casey McLean x Kaeo Weekes

The King of the Gift Try vs the Ceiling. If your seasons already on the line, have a whack at a VC on one of these two.

Hail. Mary.

(Please do not quote me on this – it could also go terribly wrong, in fact, forget I said anything).

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Verdict

As much as I love a rogue, my money’s on the Cleary/Hudson one-two punch this week.

Although, if I’m feeling particularly frisky tomorrow morning, I might flick the VC to Edwards or To’o pre-first game…

But Cleary. Definitely.

But I best be off now! I’ve got to get to the Community Hall where we’re holding a special “Waiting for the Footy to Start Like…” session, where we’ll all just walk in circles for the next 24 hours til the first game…

If I don’t see you there, I hope you have a beautiful weekend and I hope your Captain scores you a triple-ton (x 3).

Clementine xx