NRL Supercoach Final Word | Round 8 trades and skippers

As I awoke this morning to news that my SOS call out to Agent Smith to delete Simi Sasagi from the Supercoach matrix had indeed pulled through, I can’t help but feel momentum building for Turbo Irvo as I make an aggressive push for the top 1000.

1599 last week with a VC on injured turbo saw me climb up to 2400th overall, which is well within reach of my short-term goal of a triple-digit rank.

New recruits Marky Mark and Teddy blitzed the knights and look good to repeat the action this weekend against the struggling Red V.

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I think it’s as straightforward as it gets for non-owners: load up on Teddy and Mark, and if you want to take the extra step, then Siua Wong and Sam Walker are prime candidates for a gigantic Roosters stack that could run amok over the next month.

So many have traded out Walker over the opening months, and it’s seriously tempting me to grab him just to punish the sellers.

I’m gonna hold off and instead will be bolstering up my forward pack with safe and sound points.

My third boost in a row feels a little unnecessary, but I’m prepared to stay on the offensive and worry about my lack of trades later once I’m well and truly consolidated at the top end of the rankings.

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Arama Hau has the bye and has just about peaked in price, so he will be going straight to the best current FRF SuperCoach player in the game, Terrell May.

Back-to-back tons for Terrell has made him target numero uno for Turbo Irvo, and the 800k price tag is fair game.

As long as he doesn’t get named for NSW, he and Tedesco will be the top-scoring players for total points over this entire next 10-week period.

Stefano Utoikamanu is another guy who might be picked for NSW and has underperformed (much like the Storm) ever since an early round purchase.

Uto will be making way for a man who has no threat of being picked for Origin, a man who plays for the best team in the NRL, a man who has dual FRF/2RF status and Supercoach pedigree up the wazoo.

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That man, of course, is Isaiah Papali’i.

Ipap knocked out 90pts last week with an assist to Milky, and if I can’t afford Milky or McLean, I at least want some piece of that Penrith edge, and at 620k, he is a genuine steal. Tries are coming, mark my words.

Thirdly, busted Turbo will be turned into returning possible gun/keeper Ryan Couchman, who is starting at edge backrow, no brainer.

It should be noted that if I had the cash for him, I would 100% be grabbing Tolutau Koula as well this week, playing fullback against the Eels.

The breakeven of 100 shouldn’t really bother you as a potential buyer; what should bother you more is the matchups against Penrith and Brisbane straight after.

Nevertheless, he’s a tackle-busting speedster with a 200 ceiling and a prime target for those who have room.

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Latrell Mitchell proved to faders why he’s a must-have against weak defences as he notched up a four-try 177 in his sleep.

I wouldn’t hold my breath for a repeat performance anytime soon, so I would probably advise you to let this one go and grab him back after origin at whatever price he sits then (hopefully hundreds of k cheaper).

Herbie Farnworth, on the other hand, refinance your house to get this son of a gun into your team. He’s a powerhouse player and it’s seemingly impossible to wrap up his ball-carrying arm.

No origin to worry about and fantastic bye schedule, if you don’t own, prioritise him over all else.

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Captains this week are anyone’s guess.

If you own Hynes, you could take a punt on him as VC up on a lightning-fast QCBC track and hope the Cowboys don’t show up again.

For me, Tedesco is the obvious play after seemingly hitting his stride right in time for a 4pm Anzac Day against the Dragons.

For the Dragon’s sake, I hope what unfolds isn’t too reminiscent of what occurred at Gallipoli all those years ago, but for Supercoach purposes, let the blood spill.

Cleary C against the Knights will be a great fail-safe, as the Penrith juggernaut will very likely continue to roll on, along with Cleary 100s.

Trades

Arama Hau —> Terrell May
Stefano Utoikamanu—> Isaiah Papali’i
Tom Trbojevic —> Ryan Couchman

Captains

VC: James Tedesco
C: Nathan Cleary