Thommo Aitken
2019 SuperCoach BBL overall champion
NBL Supercoach 2026/27 | Cheapie Analysis
Former Supercoach champion Thommo Aitken gives his full analysis on all the most popular cheapie picks in NBL Supercoach
NBA
September 19, 2026
The cheapies are always one of the most important parts of building an NBL SuperCoach team.
Finding a player at the right price who can step into a bigger role, produce some decent scores, and generate enough cash to upgrade elsewhere can make a huge difference to your season.
The flip side is that there is nothing worse than filling your bench with “cheap” players who spend most of the season watching from the sideline.
For this analysis, I’ve defined a cheapie as any player priced at $120,000 or less to start the season.
I’ve also focused on players with 5% ownership or higher at the time of writing.
If you’ve found a sneaky POD cheapie sitting below 5% ownership, well done! Make sure you let the SC Playbook crew know who it is.
I’ve rated each player based on two things: their likelihood of being a legitimate starting pick and their potential to increase in value enough to become a useful cash generator over the opening rounds.
So, who are the cheapies worth considering heading into Round 1?
Embed from Getty ImagesDash Daniels — South East Melbourne Phoenix
Position: Guard
Price: $115,000
Ownership: 38%
Daniels makes the move to South East Melbourne after spending his rookie season with Melbourne United. As the younger brother of NBA player Dyson Daniels, there is naturally plenty of interest around what Dash can produce in his second NBL season.
I don’t expect him to walk straight into the starting five, but there is plenty of potential for his minutes to increase from the 14-or-so minutes per game he averaged last season.
One thing that caught my eye was his role in South East Melbourne’s final preseason game. He played the second-most minutes off the bench, in what looked to be the closest thing to a regular-season rotation the Phoenix had put together during preseason.
That gives me some confidence that he is going to have a meaningful role. At $115,000, he doesn’t need to become a star to be useful. If the minutes increase and the production follows, he could provide exactly what we want from a starting cheapie.
Verdict: Strong chance
Embed from Getty ImagesAnthony Dell’Orso — Perth Wildcats
Position: Guard
Price: $100,000
Ownership: 30%
Dell’Orso is entering his first NBL season after finishing his college career with Arizona. At this stage, he looks likely to come off the bench behind Elijah Pepper, although there is a chance he could see a start early in the season depending on when late import signing Brandon Knight arrives in Australia and is ready to play.
If Knight’s arrival is delayed, that could open the door for Dell’Orso to receive more minutes and usage early in the season. That’s exactly the sort of opportunity we are looking for with a $100,000 player. The other part of the equation is whether he can actually turn those minutes into SuperCoach points.
Hopefully, he can knock down a few threes early because some scoring production from outside could make the cash-generation story very interesting.
Verdict: Strong chance
Embed from Getty ImagesSunday Dech — Cairns Taipans
Position: Guard
Price: $69,000
Ownership: 28%
Dech joins Cairns this season, and the big question is exactly what role he will play. The situation becomes more interesting with highly touted young guard Luke Paul set to miss the early part of the season through injury, potentially opening up some minutes.
However, Dech averaged just 6.6 SuperCoach points last season and didn’t have a particularly large role. For me, this is a classic wait-and-see, especially with some reports of possible injury concerns.
I want to see what his role looks like in Round 1 before committing. If he surprisingly gets meaningful minutes, there is a very obvious trade-in opportunity given Cairns’ upcoming run of double-game rounds. He is one I would keep firmly on the watchlist rather than rushing into my starting squad.
Verdict: Limited chance
Embed from Getty ImagesShaun Bruce — Cairns Taipans
Position: Guard
Price: $76,500
Ownership: 13%
You could almost copy and paste the Dech analysis here. Bruce averaged 7.3 SuperCoach points last season with the Sydney Kings and now joins Cairns looking for a role.
The attraction is obvious enough given his price and Cairns’ schedule, but I want to see how the rotation looks once the regular season starts. There could be an opportunity here, but I’m not prepared to assume it before seeing the minutes.
Round 1 should tell us a lot.
Verdict: Limited chance
Embed from Getty ImagesDaniel Grida — Illawarra Hawks
Position: Guard/Forward
Price: $92,300
Ownership: 10%
Grida is the ultimate hype man and bench-energy guy. He has been around the NBL for a few seasons now and has carved out a role as someone who can come into the game when the starting five aren’t getting the job done.
Unfortunately, I don’t see a major change coming in his SuperCoach production. He could certainly have his moments, but I don’t see enough evidence of a significant increase in minutes or usage to make him a viable cheapie.
Verdict: No chance
Embed from Getty ImagesPatrick Ryan — South East Melbourne Phoenix
Position: Guard/Forward
Price: $58,500
Ownership: 8%
At $58,500, the price is certainly appealing. The problem is that I would be surprised if Ryan plays enough meaningful minutes to make that price particularly useful.
Cheap is only valuable if the player actually gets on the court.
Verdict: No chance
Embed from Getty ImagesPreston Le Gassick — New Zealand Breakers
Position: Guard
Price: $69,000
Ownership: 5%
There is a little buzz around Le Gassick after a strong NBL1 campaign with the Gold Coast Rollers and some preseason opportunities with the Breakers. The concern is playing time.
The biggest obstacle is PJC. I expect Parker Jackson-Cartwright to play heavy minutes when available, which makes it difficult to see where enough court time comes from for Le Gassick.
The new coaching staff could have different ideas, of course, and that is why he is worth monitoring. But at this stage, I am not convinced there is enough opportunity to make him a starting SuperCoach cheapie.
Verdict: Limited chance
Embed from Getty ImagesHunter Goodrick — South East Melbourne Phoenix
Position: Forward/Centre
Price: $69,000
Ownership: 45%
This is one of the ownership numbers I struggle with. Goodrick was a bit-part player with the Sydney Kings last season, and I see a fairly similar role for him at South East Melbourne. I would be surprised if his minutes suddenly increase enough to result in a significant jump in SuperCoach scoring.
At 45% ownership, there is clearly plenty of interest from SuperCoach coaches, but I am struggling to find the path to the sort of cash generation we want. For me, this is one to fade unless the preseason evidence or early-season rotation tells us something different.
Verdict: No chance
Embed from Getty ImagesBen Gold — Tasmania JackJumpers
Position: Forward/Centre
Price: $69,000
Ownership: 32%
Gold is one of the cheapies I am warming to. There are a few things that make him interesting as a potential starting bench forward or centre. Firstly, he has seen a decent amount of preseason court time, including games where he has played well over 20 minutes.
There is an obvious caveat. Some of those minutes have come when key players such as Will Magnay, Sean Bannan and Majok Deng have been unavailable. That said, availability is part of the equation. Tasmania’s big men have missed games through injury over the past couple of seasons, and if that trend continues, Gold could find himself with more opportunities than initially expected.
Coach Scott Roth has not always given his backup bigs huge minutes, but Gold could be a slightly different proposition as a first-year professional looking to establish himself. Bannan being a game-time decision for Round 1 only adds to the intrigue.
At $69,000, there is enough here for me to take him seriously.
Verdict: Strong chance
Embed from Getty ImagesJason Spurgin — Sydney Kings
Position: Forward/Centre
Price: $69,000
Ownership: 11%
Let’s keep this one short and sweet. I can’t see many minutes for Spurgin behind Xavier Cooks. Sydney also has import Andrew Carr and emerging big Harry Wessels competing for frontcourt minutes, while Torey Craig can spend time at the four. There simply aren’t many minutes left over. If I am wrong, we can always pivot.
Verdict: No chance
Embed from Getty ImagesAngus Brandt — Perth Wildcats
Position: Centre
Price: $100,000
Ownership: 8%
Brandt will provide backup minutes behind Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., but the big question is how much court time he actually receives. He has been a quality player overseas for a long time, but he is approaching 37 and playing for Perth comes with the additional challenge of significant travel.
Will he play enough minutes to generate points quickly? Will Perth manage his workload? And, most importantly for SuperCoach, will there be enough opportunity for his price to rise quickly? I’m not completely ruling him out, but there are enough question marks for me to wait.
Verdict: Limited chance
Embed from Getty ImagesEllis Biggar — South East Melbourne Phoenix
Position: Centre/Forward
Price: $69,000
Ownership: 5%
I would be surprised if Biggar is part of the regular rotation. At this stage, I don’t see enough opportunity to make him a serious SuperCoach consideration.
Verdict: No chance
Embed from Getty ImagesReuben Te Rangi — New Zealand Breakers
Position: Forward
Price: $97,100
Ownership: 21%
Te Rangi feels like the perennial SuperCoach cheapie. Every year, he seems to find his way into the conversation. He has hovered around the 10 SuperCoach point mark for several seasons and has done so across different teams.
The current opportunity is interesting because Josiah-Jordan James’ hamstring injury could push Te Rangi into a starting role. But I feel like I’ve seen this movie before. And I’m not sure I need another screening. Could he go well? Absolutely. Could he make money? Absolutely. But I am not confident enough in the role to select him from the start.
Verdict: Limited chance
Embed from Getty ImagesCarlin Davison — New Zealand Breakers
Position: Forward
Price: $121,600
Ownership: 6%
Davison is just over our $120,000 cheapie threshold, but close enough that he is worth including in the discussion.
As mentioned with Te Rangi, the injury to Josiah-Jordan James creates some minutes and opportunity on the wing for the Breakers during the opening rounds. Davison has shown that he can put up a score when given the opportunity, with games of more than 20 SuperCoach points on his résumé.
The problem is that he can also go very low, including games where he has finished in negative SuperCoach points. To be fair, his role has been highly irregular since making his NBL debut a couple of seasons ago. I couldn’t pick him with any confidence heading into Round 1.
Verdict: Limited chance
Embed from Getty ImagesLat Mayen — Brisbane Bullets
Position: Forward
Price: $69,000
Ownership: 4%
This could be my Bullets bias talking, or maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but Lat Mayen is one I am warming to as preseason progresses. Mayen is entering his first season with Brisbane after bouncing around the league without ever fully cementing himself in a consistent role.
He barely saw the floor for Perth last season, but there have been flashes at previous stops with Adelaide and Cairns, where he produced scores in the teens and twenties when given regular opportunities. Could this finally be the year it comes together?
There is certainly a pathway to minutes. Injuries to Taine Murray and Sam McDaniel early in the season could open the door for Mayen, although exactly how much playing time he receives remains unclear. What really caught my eye was his most recent preseason game, where he started and played more than 24 minutes.
The obvious question is how much of a dress rehearsal that game really was. Still, it is intriguing. The good news is that there is no need to rush into Mayen given Brisbane’s early schedule. He could be a Round 1 watch before becoming a potential Round 2 or Round 3 option if the role looks genuine.
With a fresh coaching staff and plenty of changes around the Bullets, perhaps Mayen can finally find the consistent opportunity he has been looking for.
Verdict: Some chance
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Verdict
Unfortunately, there is no slam-dunk cheapie heading into Round 1. And yes, that was a basketball pun. None of the players on this list look completely locked into a starting-five role, and I don’t currently see an obvious player who combines a rock-solid rotation spot with enormous cash-generation potential. That doesn’t mean there aren’t players worth considering.
The key with cheapies is that cheap doesn’t automatically mean good. A $69,000 player who spends most of the night on the bench isn’t particularly useful, no matter how attractive the price looks. We want legitimate rotation pieces who have a realistic pathway to meaningful minutes and, ideally, enough SuperCoach production to generate cash.
At this stage, Dash Daniels, Anthony Dell’Orso and Ben Gold are the three names that stand out most to me, while Lat Mayen is an intriguing watch given his preseason opportunity and Brisbane’s early injury situation. There are also several players who could quickly become relevant if their roles change.
And that’s probably the biggest takeaway heading into Round 1: don’t force a cheapie just for the sake of having one. Sometimes the best move is to watch the opening round, see who is actually playing meaningful minutes, and then jump on before the price rises. So while I don’t see a must-have cheapie right now, there are enough interesting situations to make the opening few rounds particularly important.
Do you agree with some of my thoughts, or have I completely airballed a free throw?
Let me know who I’ve missed, who you’re backing, and which cheapie you think could become the next SuperCoach cash cow over in the SC Playbook Discord.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.