Is it time to throw down your guns?

Is it really worthwhile having SuperCoach weapons Tom Trbojevic and James Tedesco locked in at fullback to start the season? The Mastermind has analysed the stats and found your answer.

Put the weapons down ... it’s time to talk about SuperCoach gun control.

That’s right, lay down your gun players and surrender to The Mastermind’s superior scientific analysis.

Is it really worthwhile having SuperCoach weapons Tom Trbojevic and James Tedesco locked in at fullback to start the season?

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Turbo was the No.2 ranked player in average points per game with 73.9, Teddy was just behind him with 73.6.

Roosters’ James Tedesco makes a break to set up a try for Roosters last year. Picture: Brett Costello

That’s $691,200 for Turbo and $689k for Teddy – $1,380,200 is a massive chunk of your $9.6 million salary cap.

Results in the Mastermind lab show both players are stronger finishers than starters.

Turbo had an average of 65.3 in the first nine rounds of 2018, finishing with 88.3 average in the back end of the season – boosted by an atomic SuperCoach points haul of 194 against the Gold Coast Titans.

The 2017 results are much the same – 71 average to start the year, 83 in the back end.

Teddy went from a 62 average in the first nine rounds of 2018, finishing with an incredible average of 96, notching three centuries and a 180-point haul against Parramatta as the Roosters found form running into the finals.

Tom Trbojevic is a gun, but is he worth breaking the bank for? Picture: Phil Hillyard

With the Wests Tigers in 2017, Tedesco started at 63 and came home with 76.

In 2018 they both scored nine tries, Teddy had more tackle busts, while Turbo had more try assists.

These two guns are hard to split and you’ll want them both eventually, but if they’re going to start slow you can be patient and wait for a price drop.

Sorry SuperCoaches, you can’t go all Des Hasler backloading those players prices into next season’s salary cap.

Speaking of Hasler, welcome back to a like-minded man of science.

Hasler was lauded as a great innovator during his first spell at Manly.

Who can forget the grand final wins and … calf blood injections?

But it’s Hasler’s most recent season at the helm of the Bulldogs that should be firmly in the minds of SuperCoaches looking at Trbojevic.

Des Hasler’s scientific mind appeals to the sensibilities of The Mastermind. Picture: Gregg Porteous

The Bulldogs’ forgettable 2017 season saw them bottom of the attacking charts with 360 points for the season at just 15 points per game.

Hasler’s tactics were a blackhole for attacking players, sucking all the creativity and SuperCoach points from his squad as they took a nice safe hit-up on the last tackle rather than an attacking option.

Turbo owners will be hoping Hasler has fresh ideas after a year on the sidelines but the Mastermind is not taking that risk.

Tedesco is my weapon of choice and fits perfectly to the Mastermind winning formula W=JT2.

You can never have enough quality JTs.

So what to do with that Turbo-sized chasm at fullback?

Ben Barba. The answer to and cause of all our problems. Picture: Zak Simmonds

EXPERIMENT OF THE WEEK

Ben Barba, $467,300: 15% owned:

The North Queensland Cowboys fullback is one of only two players to have won the Dally M Medal and Man of Steel (the English Super League player of the year award).

Last year at St Helens he scored 28 tries and assisted 24. Barba’s last season in the NRL saw him score 17 tries and produce 21 try assists at an average of 62.5 in the 2016 Cronulla grand final-winning team. If he reaches those levels again he’s seriously undervalued.

Sounds great, but here’s where this experiment could blow up in your face.

The Cowboys were ranked bottom for offloads last year and have been thereabouts for the entirety of Paul Green’s spell in charge.

Will the Cowboys coach change the attacking game plan with Johnathan Thurston gone?

Without the offloads creating the opportunity for Barba to run at a broken defensive line, he’ll struggle to score.

The other dual winner? Sharkies legend Gavin Miller, now he would have been a SuperCoach gun.

CHEMISTRY COMBINATIONS

Carrying dual position players can give you much better flexibility when injuries hit or it’s time to trade out those cash cows.

There’s plenty of options with upside to consider at fullback/five-eighth position all at fair discount on Tom Trbojevic.

Assuming you’ll have rookie halves from the Eels and Warriors locked in. You might want to slot one of these players in at fullback to start and slide them into the halves when those cash cows peak in value.

Gareth Widdop ois taken from the field after dislocating his shoulder.

Gareth Widdop, $553,400, 8% owned: Guaranteed points as one of the best goal kickers in the competition, hitting 84%. He moves from five-eighth to fullback, so should see more attacking points. Finished last season with an injury affected score of 5 to dent his average and put him at a very juicy price.

Matt Moylan, $483,500, 8% owned: After a season where he scored just two tries playing at five-eighth, he’s clearly undervalued as he moves into the Sharks fullback spot jersey vacated by Valentine Holmes. He notched 3 centuries in the last 4 games of 2016 and then there was that 2017 five game streak of 101, 103, 87, 100, 96. When he’s hot he’s hot and getting on early could make your season.

Cameron Munster should improve in 2019. Picture: Mark Stewart

Cameron Munster, $548,500, 12% owned: Munster wants to play fullback and every SuperCoach wants him there as well. Except for Craig Bellamy it seems. Last time he filled the Storm No. 1 jersey for an extended run he averaged 69. He’s coming off his worst SuperCoach season with an injury affected average of 58.6. Should improve fullback or not.

Kalyn Ponga, $614,300, 40% owned: Yikes, look at that ownership. The most exciting young player in the game understandably has the backing of SuperCoaches after an average of 65.7 in his first full season of NRL with the Knights. But a move to five-eighth means he’ll lose some of his hit up and tackle break points. Expect opposition coaches to run him ragged in defence to try dent his attacking ability further. Put me in the 60% without him for now.

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