NRL Supercoach 2026 Round 13 Wrap: 8 Things We Learnt

Oh, the Mini byes! Like that 4-day-old Chinese that’s been in the fridge; you’ve dismissed it at your own peril, thinking you will be right…then BAM!

It hits you.. And there isn’t a thing you can do to stop it!

Round 13 was the first of the mini byes, and boy do they suck! Players being rested after Origin, getting limited minutes, and players named just not showing up!.

We also had 3 teams on the bye, injuries piling up, and underperforming stars…

Oh, and the Dragons beat the reigning premiers!

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I think I said last year to mark the mini byes because they come at you hard.

Koula than Kaeo spluttered and bunny hopped to a miserly 1159. Reece Walsh was looking like a 1-week play with 10 minutes to go, and the love affair I have with Leka from 2025 is not the same one I bought in 2026.

1. Brailey Breaks 

179 games (or thereabouts DYOR) on the trot before a HIA ruled him out 2 weeks ago…He comes back and breaks his bloody arm!

Disaster for the Blues and Sharks rake who tried to use his skinny little forearms on Paseka and came off second best. Only lasted the 54 minutes but had the Eagles all at sea in that time – not to mention the difference he made when on the field for the Blues.

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Split the defence and set up Puru for a debut try in his debut game. An early TA when you are a Brailey owner is just the best – you know there is 80+ incoming without doing too much more.

Unfortunately though, the break cruelled him, and he is not set to go full Terminator and have some metal plates installed. It might be worth jumping on the phone to Travis Head – He is one player I know that does a lot of damage with an armguard!

And in a HOK position that has been pretty dire all year, it’s a trade many other owners, and I were hoping not to have to make. Decision though is to hold, play Grant and take the AE when he doesn’t play, or sell to a spud.

Either way, you will want him post Origin for the run home. 

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2. Sammy Walker breaking Records

Nathan Cleary and Nicho Hynes scored 1 more point than Walker this weekend.

If you didn’t follow a single game, you would have thought, ok, Sammy has played well, Cleary & Hynes averaging 90 or so…

Nope.. He has updated somewhat, so this isn’t as good or grand as I was thinking when I saw him on -11, but Sammy Walker created history, posting the lowest score of someone who played 80 minutes! 79:52 if you want to get all numbers on me.

An absolute mare by the QLD half, who now hasn’t fired a shot in 3 halves of football…Wink wink.

A sin bin with mere seconds to go capped off his night, along with the missed conversion, and 10 errors he had to finish with -1 and kneecap owners who are set to lose around 80k, and a monster breakeven for the second week running.

It’s probably been saved with the new flex position, so you would have to be going badly for his score to count. Should make it a rule that any score less than 0 counts!

Nothing went right for him, as the Storm finally showed up in 2026 and negated any threat he and the Roosters had. If only there was a cheap halfback currently tearing it up owners could move to..

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3. Tigers forwards roaring

Don’t know what Benji has been putting in the forwards water before they run out, but whatever it is, he needs to bottle it, mass produce it and sell that to the masses.

Massive efforts from his big men who continue to punch out huge numbers.

Terrell May looks further away from a Blue jersey than can be believed. Banged out an impressive 100 neat on Saturday afternoon, and you must go all the way back to Round 4 to find a score under 79. Minutes are lower than last year, but what he is doing inside those minutes is pure Supercoach gold. 

KPP was a popular target post their bye last weekend and posted 75 with a try assist. Massive effort in base stats, as he didn’t see much ball, despite the Tigers losing Fainu on the other edge. Just find a way to get him in and your second row will look much better for it. Will find some attack in the coming weeks and 100+ is not far away.

And Alex Twal. In what was meant to be the cherry on top of this “things we learnt” part has been soured by a knee injury he picked up late. Was still seen, shirt off, bouncing around the sheds belting out the team song, but Benji has said he will “miss a bit of time”.

As cryptic as it gets. 

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4. Second Row gold mine 

The second row forwards came to play in Round 13!

Watching Dylan Lucas run away for his first try made me make a mental note: Gotta get him in ASAP. He shone on the left edge after a week learning off the great Olakau’atu. Finished terrorising the Eels with a season high of 120.

Whether he gets a start for NSW is yet to be seen, but he appears next off the shelf either way. Having him in your side fit and firing come Round 20 will be a blessing.

Not to be outdone, Sunday saw the duo of Young and Willison explode with some big scores. Young, coming off an almighty Origin performance, had a hand in 2 tries to finish a point short of 100. Looks the most premium option post Origin and at 800k+, will want to turn in more performances like that.

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Willison barged over late for a try to finish with a game-high 104, and with Carrigan leaving the field in a Nick Moon boot, looks a lock in the middle for a while yet. Still cheap at 600k, he will be starting week in, week out until Brisbane go to Bali, which, after Sunday, is probably after their Round 27 clash with the Dogs.

Sitili looks the only attacking option at the Bulldogs. Risky play, but hey, we are in that weird Origin period where it’s ok to take a flyer on a player like Sitili. Could be 25, could be 80. Enjoy the ride.

And final shoutout to Zac Hosking! The mule just gets to work. 3^rd game now playing 80 minutes with scores of 73, 81 and 80. Plays the next 4 matches with no sign of Martin or Simi.

Still cheap at around 560k post lockout. He is one of Ricky’s favourites, and that’s enough for me.

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5. Reneg the sell on Sua

Last week I told everyone and anyone who was listening (or reading) to sell Sua Fa’alogo…

Well, I hope you kept your receipts because it seems holding him was the play!

Another death ride watch on Saturday night, and boy was he unlucky not to go 150+!

Every time I looked up from my Indian (Nothing spicy, don’t you worry), he was making a line break deep into the backfield!

If it wasn’t for some fast-moving legs from Cody Ramsey and Walker, he might have been destined for a try or 3.

So, for him to finish on 92, I thought non-owners got out of it ok, and sellers are probably cursing themselves…Especially when he picked up the kicking tee!

Fact is, he is averaging 80 in a well-beaten side and now takes on the goalkicking, which should up his average to high 80s, touching 90. 11064 people traded him out before Saturday night, and I’m guessing there aren’t too many in that boat who don’t regret it.

I’ve been calling for his head for a while now, but he looks like the perfect guy to bring in now, although the byes in Rounds 15 & 18 don’t really stack up.

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6. Purdue where have you gone

He has taken his money and run – not quite literally, but ever since signing his $1 million contract, he has not been the same player!

In fact, I’m not sure he has made an effective tackle or looked like making a line break since putting pen to paper on the dotted line.

Still owned by 1 in 4 players (Whether active or not), he has teased and blueballed owners all year. Went on a 4-week run with scores of 73, 115, 68 and 108, and since then, only has one score above 57.

7 weeks of footy with an average of 46 in that time and true to form…you know what he scored on Sunday against the Raiders? Yep, no prizes for guessing correctly, but 46…

Not a player you would be looking to sell as it’s like trying to flog off a used mattress – and no one is rushing to buy him, so we owners are stuck with mediocrity, uncomfy sleeps and a musty smell.

I know, though, he will be first picked in 2027 at Fullback.

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7. Teddy Musings

2 weeks straight and the great man has failed to break 50! We aren’t counting Origin, but after the 21 he posted against the Cowboys in Magic Round, he has backed up that with a measly 48 against the Storm!

Set to have a breakeven resembling Dizzy Gillespie’s highest test score, where are we sitting with Teddy?

The easy answer is hold, and that’s where the smart money is, but here’s why I am a self-proclaimed “Supercoach Expert” and ranked 40000…

He heads down to Canberra to take on the Raiders, then will miss the Dolphins fixture with Origin, then has the Sharks post Origin. 

But then he plays the Broncos on Friday, 5 days after their Sunday night game against the Sharks. Does Robbo play him in 3 games in 9 days?

Not a chance he fronts up against the Sharks, then a bye after Brisbane.

This is all hunch-related, but 2 games in the next 5…

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8. Minute Watch

Sharks v Sea Eagles

Brailey 54, AFB, 44, Burns 80, McInnes 54, Colquhoun 40, Paseka 49, Burbo 80

Knights v Eels

Mooney 43, Lucas 80, Crossland 80, Williams 62, TDS 59, Tuilagi 80 

Tigers v Bulldogs

Twal 72, KPP 80, Api 56, Makasini 28, May 64, Thompson 57, Sitili 80

Roosters v Storm

Lisati 80, Grant 62, Clarke 76, Stefano 59, Crichton 73, Whyte 48

Broncos v Dragons

Haas 80, Willison 80, Carrigan 42, TCouch 66, RCouch 69, Stewart 80, Egan 80

Raiders v Cowboys

Hosking 80, Taps 48, Young 80, Luki 80, Mahoney 80, Mikaele 51

Panthers v Warriors

IPap 80, Garner 52, Egan 69, Leka 41, Clark 54