NRL Supercoach | Clem’s Captains, Round 18 Skippers

One. More. Major. Bye. To. Get. Through.

And will this week’s most popular Captain be the loop?

Because there is a clear-cut VC of the Round but more on that later.

Firstly, I have a confession to make. 

I have quite clearly been guilty of some serious 2RF neglect.

And as I watched the Olakau’atus and the Tallis Duncans of the world score doubles and make it rain points for their owners, I was left looking at my 2RF with one glaring question on my mind:

Why doesn’t my 2RF look like this?

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And so when I opened the app on Monday morning to find I had only dropped 17 places to 151^st overall, I firstly celebrated, and then made a pact with myself to fix my 2RF stat.

13 trades left suddenly seems like not quite enough…

Now let’s bypass the first two games and go straight to Suncorp on Saturday night, where we’ll find this week’s most popular Vice Captain – he of the glorious wet locks:*

Nicho Hynes

Prince Nicho is 40% Vice Captained by the top 5%, and for good reason.

It might only be his second game back from the calf injury that saw him miss the Round 15 major bye we’d all pencilled him in for, but now he’s back, and SuperCoaches who jumped off him are scrambling to get him back in their team.

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Because this is Nicho. Six tons in his 11 games this season. A 92-point season average. Second only to Nathan Cleary for top-averaging Halfbacks this season.

And the Sharks are playing the Broncos. The decimated Broncos. The same Broncos who have lost SEVEN games in a row and seem to be falling apart at the seams.

And now, they’re missing Haas, and Reece, and Patty Carrigan, and Reynolds and the Sharks will smell blood in the water and be ready to attack. 

Nicho is the Vice Captain of the Round, and this is a week that could really hurt you if you don’t own. 

To the 17 people currently trading him out – I promise you, your team does not need Ethan Alaia or Jake Clydsdale: Step. Away. From. The. Trade. Button. (or give me your crystal ball).

*P.S – As your Playbook Support Group Coordinator, I ALWAYS have your back. The weather at Suncorp on Saturday is a sun, so you best believe I’ve already couriered 17 tubs of V05 Wet Look Gel to the stadium.

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Now that we’ve covered The VC of the Round, let’s look at the scenarios where you:

1. Want to Captain Nicho (I applaud your commitment to the hair sir!)
2. Have been looking forward to the Round 18 bye so you can finally drop that pesky halfback with the 92-point season average to bring in noted SuperCoach gun, Ethan Alaia.

And if you are in either of these camps, you’ll want some more options and as we all have a free loop to Captain, lets dive into some more possible VCs:

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Tommy Jenkins

And a shout-out to The Overlord here, for his Captaincy on the great Milky Jenkins last round, where he netted a stunning 182 Captaincy points, a true leader and a shining light amongst those of us who Captained Cleary or Ponga.

And even though the Panthers are without their Origin stars, with a free loop on offer, a 3-round average of 95, six season tons, and 22 tries including TEN doubles – you’d like to think you have a chance to shoot up the rankings with a VC on Jenkins…

…If only Tago can de-glue his hands (I am willing to drive out to Commbank on Friday night with a bottle of anti-adhesive, just let me know).

VC with a level of confidence, just not quite the confidence of Nicho VCers.

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Terrell May

Honestly, if the thrill of a high-upside VC and a free loop is too much of a rollercoaster for you, just give the armband to Terrell May on Saturday vs the Dragons and be done with it. 

A 3-round average of 98, Base+Power through the roof – Terrell May is a copy paste Captain every week.

Fun fact: If you had captained him every week since his first game in Round 2, you would be 2460 points rich – surely that is some sort of record for a FRF not named Haas?

Once we make it into the Sunday games, we find ourselves with two likely Captaincy options – the hardest part is going to be, which one to choose?

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Tommy T

Imagine knowing Turbo was 550k and playing the Eels on a Sunday arvo and not bringing him in.

Even if he doesn’t hit the ton, the reward is greater than the risk or some such philosophical quote which basically means – get on or suffer the consequences if he goes off.

Not off the field, because we don’t want him getting an early mark or the other thing which I don’t want to put into the universe – but goes off. 

As in, goes bang. Goes nuts. Goes soaring up the field at Commbank like the glorious Sea Eagle he is, racking up attack stats left, right, and centre, and also out to the wing. 

(As a Lehi purchaser who watched him left out in the cold last round I would very much like this last one please. A Turbo x Lehi stack would be truly stunning times).

While he hasn’t quite hit the heights he was looking to get back to pre-injury – if for some reason the Nicho-traders DO have a crystal ball, and if you want to take a punt on a Captaincy which has all the hallmarks of a high-ceiling play – give the armband to Tommy T. 

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Herbie Farnworth

Okay but if you do want to leave the Captaincy for the very last game of the round – you can look no further then Herbie vs the Knights.

A 110-point 3-round average. 67-points average in Base+Power. Two tons in his last five games – and all of those over 80 points.

The Knights are good, but they’re also without Ponga and Best. The Dolphins have been making a statement the last few weeks and even though they also have troops out – does matchup really even matter to Herbie?

Captain if you want a safe 80 with some serious upside.

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Verdict

Get ready to loop.

Even though we only have five NRL games this round, we have some serious VC and Captaincy options playing. 

My money’s on Nicho. Especially as I just got the notification that the V05 gel has been safely delivered to the Suncorp sheds.

IF for whatever reason that doesn’t come off – I’m going the high-upside route and putting the Captaincy on new recruit, Tommy T.

But whoever you Captain, I hope they score you a ton and the bye round is kind to you…

Clementine xxx