NRL Supercoach | Clem’s Captains, Round 7 Skippers

All hail King Kini!

Because talk about a Sunday Saviour!

157 points including 3 try assists, FOUR linebreaks, and 2 line break assists…

The very definition of a bounce-back game!

And if you captained him vs the flailing Eels – what a massive ranking rise for you!

I didn’t captain, but with everyone jumping ship, I held on tight, and when he updated to 157 – well, all I can say is apologies to my neighbours, but if you were me, you’d be screaming with joy too…

The trade hoarding came through!

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And somehow, thanks in great part to Kini, the Friday Beers have snuck into the top 1% and are on the cusp of breaking into the top 1000…

We’re currently 1015 place to be exact… But the very best stat is that I’m now beating my nemesis, the SC Spy, by 529 points…

What will this week bring?

And this week feels like the week where Captains are wide open, there are so many options, and a bunch of poddy options too.

And sometimes you have to go a bit pod to get a leg-up on the competition.

With the overall points this year so close and teams looking very similar, is it time to be a bit brave on the VC or the Captaincy and zag when everyone else is zigging?

Imagine if you’d Captained Kini!

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Now watch Alex Johnston cross for four tries v the Dragons, smash his own record (again), and be the first player to double ton in 2026…

*Immediately trades him into her team*

Anyway, let’s get stuck into some options, starting with tonight’s Battle of the Fullbacks:

Tommy T vs Scotty D

Both are strong VC contenders this week, and at the time of writing, Tommy T is the third most VC’d by all coaches this round, with Scotty D a more poddy choice for the 6% who are lucky enough to own and are liking what they see.

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Tommy T – Manly have NEVER lost at Queensland Country Bank Stadium. They’re finally finding some form coming off back-to-back wins and will be looking to make it a three-peat vs the Cowboys, who they beat in both games last season. 

Tommy T is looking fit and firing, and Manly’s attack is running through him. He’s got an 84-point average and crossed for his sixth try of the season last week… that’s a try in every game so far.

Scotty D – After a very slow start to the season, the Cowboys are also in some form enjoying four straight wins. 

Scotty D also had a slow start but now has a 3-round average of 100, including a 120-point effort last week vs the Broncos that included a try, a try assist, and 3 linebreak assists. 

He’s also playing his 150^th game for the Cowboys tonight… 

If I owned both, I’d find it hard to choose…but most of us have one or the other, and as a Tommy T owner, I’m going with him.

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Sua Fa’alogo

After Captaining Sua Fa’alogo vs my Wahs last week for a measly 66 points, I’m not confident to go here again.

I’m calling Sua a VC only until we see a repeat of his first two games, but how can the Storm literally come off FOUR losses in a row and not throw everything into smashing the next team?

One thing we do know is that Sua can pile on the points out of nowhere, and he’s managed to cross the line 8 times this season already, with 7 linebreaks to his name too. 

If the attack clicks for Melbourne, it could be happy days for those who VC or Captain him…

But I’m sitting this one out…

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Nathan Cleary

Can you imagine a world where the Panthers lose 13+ to the Bulldogs, and don’t come into the next game baring their fangs?

This isn’t even considering the fact that a Panther would definitely beat a Dolphin in a fight on dry land.

Manly piled 52 points on the Dolphins in Round 5 – a 9 try effort – even with their main man, Tommy T, out of the action in the second half. 

Cleary might have had a rare down game last week, but he’s still got an 89-point average and 3 tons to his name this season so far. 

The Panthers aren’t the kind of team to come off 15 handling errors and repeat their mistakes again.

This screams a bounce-back game!

(A special note to the 5 people trading Cleary out for Soni Luke – a Supercoach glitch may have wiped his stats from the app… but those who owned him when he played for the Panthers remember…I had him as an AE nightmare for an entire year).

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Latrell Mitchell

The Bunnies are playing the Dragons on Saturday arvo at Accor.

Do I need to say more?

A Tiger – Choose Your Own Adventure

How can you not consider a Tiger this week at least as a super poddy option?

Against the decimated Broncos at Campbelltown Stadium, the entire team are scoring points for fun (bar Makasini, who is the only Tiger I own… but THIS is OUR week).

There are options for super pod Captains all around the park – think Adam Douehi with an average of 94 and possibly the kicking with Jock Madden out and KPP running against the open-door defence of Ezra Mam. 

I’d love to give more insights, except I have a glaringly massive lack of Tigers in my team – so you’re on your own here.

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Mark Nawaqanitawase – your Pod Saviour

155 points. 3 tries. 5-linebreaks. The sound of 2000 owners rejoicing as Sunia Turuva took on Greg Marzhew and won last Sunday arvo.

Next to line up in the wing spot against the Knights’ left edge is this week’s pod Captaincy play – Mark Nawaqanitawase.

Currently, only 10% owned, Mark should be on everyone’s radar as a potential trade-in with a 36 BE and an upcoming run of games that looks pretty ideal.

An average of 71, which includes an 81 with two try assists last week v the Sharks, and a ton and a two try effort in his prior game v Manly. 

If you’re not looking at Mark as a trade-in and a potential pod-Captain this week… what are you doing?​

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Jacob Preston – your Sunday Saviour

The Eels vs the Galvin x Preston Short Ball.

Let the points-fest begin.

118 points for Preston last week. A try. A try-assist. Three linebreaks. Against THE PANTHERS.

How many points will he get this week against the Eels?

The Titans piled on the points last Sunday in a 9-try decimation, and now the Eels can’t win the comp two times over. 

Will this be the third nail in their wooden spoon coffin?

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Verdict

For me, I’m leaning into a Tommy T or Nathan VC with the armband on Latrell, which isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but with Captaincies pretty spread across the park this week between the big three of Nathan, Latrell, and Sua – it does seem like the funnest choice.

But if I’m feeling especially poddy come Saturday morning, I’ll give the armband to Mark…

I’m so tempted by that match-up, and if the Knights left edge suddenly learns to defend… well, there’s 20 weeks left to make up the points…

And on that note, I hope you have a beautiful weekend, and your Captain scores you a ton…

Clementine 

xxx