NRL Supercoach Final Word | Round 4 trades and skippers

As the dust settles after a turbulent round 3, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that many of us are going to have to trade boost our way out from underneath the rubble, myself included. 

Turbo Irvo sits 1814th overall after knocking out a middling 1224, which could’ve been so much more if I hadn’t disastrously left Joe Chan‘s 128 on the pine. 

Injury and suspension chaos are no strangers to the realm of SuperCoach, though normally, it comes much, much later than round 3.

Alas, we adapt and get on with the job at hand, navigating the carnage while maximising points and cash. 

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Round 3 Trade Strategy:

Amazingly, I’ve managed to lose all 4 of my FRF players in one round, which is truly diabolical and requires my first boost of the season to rectify.  

Payne Haas’ AC joint injury gave me flashbacks to 2022, when he had the same injury and decided to play through it, averaging significantly lower.

This is enough for me to pull the plug on him and invest the $800k+ elsewhere. 

Jackson Ford and Stefano Utoikamanu are far and away the two standout options to replace Haas with. 

Ford has been exceptional for the Wahs and should continue to see big minutes and plenty of attacking ball to snag a few more tries. 

Stefano has also looked outstanding and is clearly in career-best tackle-busting form, which should pay dividends in the form of meat pies sooner or later.

The matchup against the Cowboys this week would have me suggesting sooner, and therefore, he is my pick of the two. 

For those looking for cheaper options, Alex Twal at $488k playing 60 minutes will produce 60pts for you week in week out, while Arama Hau and Taniela Paseka in the low $300k range are also great value for money, provided they stay on the same minutes moving forward.

I will be bringing in one of these guys, probably Paseka, because of job security concerns at the Titans. 

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For my final trade, I will be sliding Reece Walsh into flex.

The plan was always to get him for the run, and now that run is here.

With or without the goalkicking doesn’t phase me whatsoever, neither does the omission of Payne Haas from that Broncos side.

It’s greasy Reecey time, and I won’t hear otherwise! 

Another team with a fantastic upcoming draw is the Dragons, who face Titans, Cowboys, Manly and Souths over the next month.

This makes perennial CTW gun Valentine Holmes a near must-have in the short term and should be a priority trade-in for most coaches who don’t have to deal with FRF carnage or those who already own Walsh. 

Jaydn Su’A also needs to be talked about in depth, but I fear whenever I do, he gets injured or knocked out, so that’s all I’ll say about that. 

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Round 4 Captaincy Options:

Captains this week are wide open, with a bunch of extremely high ceiling players all coming up against weak opponents. 

Tanah Boyd and Jackson Ford owners would have to seriously consider a VC against the Tigers on Friday night to see if they can both continue their rich vein of form. 

Reece Walsh and Herbie Farnworth are both great VC options as well for a Suncorp blockbuster. 

Nathan Cleary and Sua Fa’alogo are the standout captaincy options this week against the Eels and Cowboys, respectively. 

Though for those who like a risky late Sunday C Valentine Holmes might just be the guy to bring you home the bacon. 

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NRL Supercoach Round 4 Trades and Captains:

Trades

Payne Haas -> Stefano Utoikamanu

J’maine Hopgood -> Taniela Paseka

Ryan Couchman -> Reece Walsh 

Captains:

VC: Walsh

C: Fa’alogo