KFC SuperCoach NRL 2021: Cheapie Bible Round 2

Many KFC SuperCoaches took a risky route in round one and failed — here’s the guys to grab and avoid before the all-important Round 3.

Trent Copeland

12 min read

March 18, 2021 - 12:54PM

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So… anyone else roll with the ‘cheapie CTW’ strategy?

Ouch.

I don’t think the most hyped players — think Staines, Niu, Simonsson, Jimmy the Jet et. al. could’ve avoided the try line more if they tried!

Things didn’t go to plan, but, one thing I want to make very clear for the newbies to KFC SuperCoach is to not overreact to one week of data. If your trust in a player’s role and eyeball test is a pass mark, then trust that FAR more than the round one score next to a player’s name.

Nailing the right cheapies over the next two weeks however is essential to long term success, so that’s what I’m here for.

By definition a ‘cheapie’ will be referenced when under $300,000 (so no Anthony Milford, or Lachlan Lam at $310k despite him being a very good buy) and actually relevant for KFC SuperCoach purposes. Key word being relevant.

Here we go!

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Charlie Staines scored 18 points as the most popular player (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

David Mead CTW | FLB (Broncos) $230,300 - 77 points

Well then! Of all the thousands of words I wrote in the Cheapie Bible last week, David Mead was not mentioned in a single sentence other than the Watchlist. Well, we watched, and we saw a much improved Broncos outfit and Mead was a big part of that. A try and two line breaks were fantastic, but for me it was the impact he had on EVERY run he made even off his own line — 28 points in H8s, and 10 points in tackle busts — that was most eye catching from a long term perspective.

VERDICT: BUY. But let me be clear, do NOT trade sideways from a healthy CTW cheapie who may have had a down week ie. Saab. That is a move to make next week after two good performances, as what’s to say Saab doesn’t score a hat trick this week?

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Charlie Staines CTW | FLB (Panthers) $297,700 - 18 points

Staines scored SIX tries in one and a half games last season, but the Panthers looked heavily to their left side last week and any time Staines got near the ‘red zone’ things just didn’t fall his way. One thing is for sure, though, and that is the Panthers look every bit a top four team once again and with Nathan Cleary pulling the strings on the right edge you can bet Staines is on like Donkey Kong for a big haul in the near future. In fact, I’m calling at least one try this weekend against the Bulldogs.

VERDICT: BUY/HOLD. If you even thought about selling to David Mead, give yourself a stern talking to, reverse trades and watch him kill it this week against the Bulldogs. Reassess in two weeks if he’s come up empty three games in a row (not happening!).

Jordan Riki 2RF (Broncos) $277,500 - 40 points

Ok, ok, 40 points for Riki who is owned by some 58% of teams is not the ideal start, but let’s take the win from the full 80 minutes played, and couple of flashes in attack that could have proven fruitful in different circumstances. But, one thing that will have to improve is his defence if he wants to keep the gig. Seven missed tackles is less than ideal, on top of a penalty conceded and minimal work rate by way of hit-ups. If 40 is a worst-case scenario then we’ll still be very happy in six weeks. Fingers crossed some attacking stats come his way against the Titans and Bulldogs over the next two weeks.

VERDICT: BUY/HOLD. I’m not worried.

Daine Laurie CTW | FLB (Wests Tigers) $223,300 - 47 points

Laurie was in everything for the Tigers on the weekend against the Raiders. Yes, there were a few mistakes but it wasn’t through lack of trying, and anyone who watched the game will agree when I say he genuinely passed the eyeball test with flying colours. If the Tigers are to win any games this season, Laurie needs to play. Simple. 47 points in a pretty comprehensive loss is exciting. Unfortunately for KFC SuperCoaches the Tigers now play the Roosters! Douehi returns in the No.6 jersey, pushing Moses Mbye to the bench utility — importantly, NOT at fullback in place of Laurie. Let’s wait and see how that unfolds but the first hurdle has been passed.

VERDICT: BUY/HOLD. I stand by my call in the off-season, that “if Laurie gets an early release to join the Tigers, he could be Cheapie of the Year”. There are some big games coming — just maybe not this week.

Connor Watson HOK | 5/8 (Knights) $288,600 - 53 points

Did you back out at the last minute when you heard Watson was demoted to the bench an hour before kick-off? Watson’s ownership went from almost 50% of teams on TLT to just 43% as it currently stands. In the torrential rain, Watson was super impressive on his return from a long lay-off with an Achilles injury. 53 points in 52 minutes is about BANG on what I flagged from 2019 sample in the 14 jersey as a utility. In this instance it was an injury to Kurt Mann that lead to Watson playing in the halves. Either way, Watson is a fantastic cheapie, provided he stays healthy he will be one of 2021’s biggest earners.

VERDICT: BUY/HOLD. You just have to have him at the price point.

Jacob Liddle HOK (Wests Tigers) $247,200 - 71 points

What a story for Jacob Liddle! His KFC SuperCoach chops have never been in doubt, it has only ever been opportunity and health that has kept him from relevance. Well, 80 minutes in the kicker… 71 points (including a try) later and we’re looking at one of the best cheapie prospects. Or are we? As mentioned above in the Daine Laurie section, Moses Mbye now being in the No.14 jersey will be a must watch for Liddle owners. The likely outcome is Mbye playing in the ‘modern lock’ role for the 20 minutes Twal doesn’t play, with the rest coming at the expense of Liddle — in which case Liddle at 55-65 minutes is less appealing, but still a very good cheapie. Hopefully I’m wrong and he continues playing 80.

VERDICT: BUY/HOLD. Like Liddle a lot.

Jacob Liddle of the Tigers celebrates scoring a try with teammates (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

Tesi Niu FLB | CTW (Broncos) $232,500 - 36 points

The Broncos speedster didn’t have things fall his way in attack, but what was noticeable was a much improved read on the game defensively. Last year, and even at times in pre-season in the trials when Niu played at centre there were obvious deer in the headlights moments in defence, so that is great news for his prospects selection wise. This week Niu gets the Titans who were just towelled up by the Warriors — so I’m expecting plenty more attacking opportunities.

VERDICT: BUY/HOLD. I’m 100% playing Niu in my 17 this week against the Titans.

Ryan James FRF | 2RF (Raiders) $236,700 - 69 points

What a start! Contrary to what my wife would no doubt attest to, I love being wrong sometimes. Especially when it comes to great people who have gone through hell injury wise like Ryan James. Last week’s edition of the Cheapie Bible had James listed as an avoid, wanting to wait and see the role and return of Corey Horsburgh before jumping on. Well, scrap all of that, James was ELECTRIC. 69 points, a game-changing try and perhaps more importantly, big impact in each of his runs in 41 minutes for a monster 1.7PPM. Named again in jersey 17 I’m more confident to call James a buy, but still no Horsburgh is a worry.

VERDICT: WATCHLIST/BUY. Lodge owners can probably make this move with confidence, but those thinking of selling healthy starting players for James should wait a week to be absolutely sure there’s money to be made.

PLAY OF THE WEEK! Watch as Matt Dufty burns Cronulla's defence with some spicy footwork ðŸ”¥ðŸ”¥ðŸ”¥ pic.twitter.com/zu3x5HpDcA
— SuperCoach NRL (@SuperCoachNRL) March 15, 2021

Bailey Simonsson CTW | FLB (Raiders) $205,000 - 40 points

I thought it was all over for two of our cheapies inside the first 10 minutes when Daine Laurie connected with Simonsson’s head in a tackle — with the latter being taken from the ground with what we thought was a HIA (and likely Laurie suspension looming!). But, thankfully it was just an innocuous poke in the eye and both pushed on. Simonsson had one particular moment of genius collecting a bomb and in the same motion offloading to set up a try. The work rate was down compared to previous 80 minutes games, but hopefully that comes this week against the Sharks. I’m confident 40+ will be the norm, the tries will come in such a good side.

VERDICT: BUY/HOLD. Must have in my opinion.

Spencer Leniu FRF (Panthers) $218,500 - 46 points

As predicted in last week’s Cheapie Bible, Leniu could well be a 2021 Jamayne Taunoa-Brown style KFC SuperCoach cheapie and man he did not disappoint. The historical PPM was massive albeit in minimal game time in 2020, but the opportunity was there with Tamou and Tetevano leaving and the score of 46 points in 37 minutes was about as good as we could’ve hoped for. 16 tackles, four points in tackle busts and most notably a massive 24 points in H8s. They weren’t just empty stats, his impact on the game was huge to the naked eye.

VERDICT: BUY. I’m going to make a big call here. Leniu will end up playing starter minutes for the Panthers by the mid way point of the season. Get on.

Spencer Leniu is a buy for those who don’t already own him (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Tyrell Fuimaono 2RF (Dragons) $259,500 - 56 points

60 minutes, some on an edge, some in the middle in the rain in Wollongong through 32 tackles, two effective offloads and 15 points in hit-ups seems largely sustainable if the minutes are there. The fact Fuimaono is named for round two at lock once again is also promising, but the scepticism in me from the past four years tells me I want to see it one more time before proclaiming it an ‘all aboard’ situation.

VERDICT: HOLD. As good as we could have hoped for in round one, fingers crossed for another good performance.

Tex Hoy 5/8 | FLB (Knights) $240,300 - 43 points

Hoy was impressive deputising for Ponga in the fullback role, with 43 points including a try assist. However his work rate and lack of goal kicking duties, coupled with a seemingly diminished attacking role in set backline plays, lends me to calling bluff on the pre-Ponga cheapie relevance. There is merit here and he’s hardly a flop, but at both the five-eighth and fullback positions there are FAR better options let alone the guns we should be trying to attain ASAP.

VERDICT: AVOID.

Matt Lodge FRF (Broncos) $299,000 - 17 points

Matthew Lodge will miss a few weeks with a hamstring injury (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Ugh. Lodge had a four week window of significance for KFC SuperCoaches in Payne Haas’s absence due to suspension, but the sniper got him (hamstring, round 3-5) early on in the first half after a promising start. 17 points in 19 minutes may be his only contribution for KFC SuperCoaches this season, as many will be selling given the injury.

VERDICT: SELL. There are plenty of options at the price point. Even if you’re normally a ‘hold for short term injuries’ type of KFC SuperCoach, in this instance, Haas will be back before Lodge gets a chance to make any money at all.

Stefano Utoikamanu FRF (Wests Tigers) $186,800 - 27 points

Utoikamanu was a little underwhelming if I’m to be brutally honest. The man mountain looked timid with ball in hand compared to our glimpses in first grade or trials and certainly in reserve grade in the past. 27 points in 33 minutes is nothing to be sneezed at, but this guy is absolutely capable of a Andrew Fifita-esque 1.4-1.5PPM output with tackle busts, H8s and offloads. Hopefully it was just nerves at his new club, and his second game he finds his feet.

VERDICT: HOLD. I’m positive if 30+ minutes is the norm, Stefano will be a 40+PPG guy. Give it time.

Matt Moylan FLB | 5/8 (Sharks) $253,600 - 52 points

Now that’s a solid start. Injury free, tick. Heavily involved, tick. Attacking stats even in the torrential rain and wind, tick. About as good as Moylan’s 32% of owners could have hoped for. 52 points with a try assist, another try contribution, an impressive base of 18 tackles and 15 points in runs lends itself to some very nice money making over the coming weeks. One caveat is that the opposition was the lowly Dragons. This weekend will be a tough encounter with the Raiders, and probably a clearer indication of what we can expect more regularly points wise.

VERDICT: BUY.

KFC SuperCoach NRL: Round 2's Winners and Losers

Sam Walker HFB (Roosters) $173,700 & Joseph Suaalii CTW | FLB (Roosters) $173,700

OK these two HAVE to be talked about yet again. For anyone who didn’t catch the North Sydney Bears reserve grade game on the weekend, it was a Sam Walker masterclass with footwork, vision and seriously crisp passing game, while Suaalii with two tries in his first game had everyone talking. After Lam’s underwhelming start in the halves, along with Keighran and Friend’s injuries, there is talk Walker may even debut off the bench this weekend. Suaalii was also given an exemption by the NRL this week (massive precedent to set!) to play first grade BEFORE his 18th birthday. Which means we’re officially on watch at any moment for him to play.

VERDICT: WATCHLIST. It feels like both of these guys are close, REAL close.

James Roberts CTW (Wests Tigers) $277,700 - 34 points

Former NSW Origin star centre James Roberts looked a little jittery on debut for the Tigers, making a few handling errors — but every time he did make an error it was through hunting for the ball in the middle of the field and attempting to burst through the line. Intent being the key word here, not being passive and uninterested on ‘his’ edge. If 34 points is a low watermark, we’re going to be pretty happy in the long run given the upside. Roosters on the horizon this week may not be the start of it, however.

VERDICT: BUY/HOLD. Not a starting 17 player this week matched up against Joey Manu and Daniel Tupou.

David Fusitua CTW (Warriors) $251,800 - 20 points

‘The Fus’ didn’t have his best game against the Titans in round one, including one golden opportunity to take a high ball on the try line, which he would normally swallow. The Warriors did show some great signs, particularly the strength and dominance of their middle forwards which will in time allow the likes of RTS, Nikorima and CHT to orchestrate in attack, hopefully to Fusitua’s edge more often than not!

VERDICT: HOLD. Not a good week, but do NOT sell Fusitua to David Mead after one bad week.

Jason Saab CTW (Sea Eagles) $233,200 - 11 points

Speaking of stinkers, the Sea Eagles’ outside backs had a collective stinker having their pants pulled down the entire afternoon at the SCG by James Tedesco and co. In fact, it may well have been the worst performance at the venue since yours truly lobbed up a gazillion half volleys to Victoria a few weeks ago. I digress… Saab dropped everything, and the Sea Eagles never looked like making a dent in the Roosters defence, so I urge you to at least wait and watch one more week albeit against the high flying Rabbitohs before you jump off.

VERDICT: AVOID/HOLD.

Jack Hetherington FRF (Bulldogs) $294,500 - 35 points

I really did try my best to deter the 15% of you on board the Jack Hetherington train just because he was starting and likely to see decent minutes. Sure enough, 58 minutes were there… along with a typically poor PPM of 0.6 for a score of 35 points. It really is quite remarkable a guy that looks so damaging and at times crazy can have such little KFC SuperCoach impact. For those of you who did buy, take the positive that the minutes and opportunity are there — hopefully he can improve on the work rate.

VERDICT: AVOID.

Leeson Ah Mau FRF (Warriors) $291,000 - 69 points

Looking for a Matt Lodge replacement? Well here’s one from left field for you. The former Dragon has the pedigree to be a big middle man with BIG impact in a KFC SuperCoach sense. 69 points in 41 minutes at 1.7PPM against the Titans in round one is exactly that. There was a try and line break in there that won’t be every week, but wind back to 2019 and Ah Mau averaged 51.3PPG in just 46 minutes. I definitely want to see another week of that Warriors stacked middle forward rotation, but he is worth watching at least.

VERDICT: WATCHLIST.

FULL WATCHLIST:

Shawn Blore 2RF (Tigers) $210,500

Ofahiki Ogden FRF (Bulldogs) $243,200

John Asiata FRF | 2RF (Broncos) $252.100

Sebastian Kris CTW (Raiders) $218,600

Zach Saddler 2RF | FRF (Sea Eagles) $173,700

Jake Simpkin HOK (Wests Tigers) $173,700

Connor Tracey HOK | 5/8 (Sharks) $253,600

Christian Tuipulotu CTW (Sea Eagles) $237,400

Dean Ieremia CTW | FLB (Storm) $173,700

Teig Wilton 2RF (Sharks) $250,300