NRL SuperCoach: 10 things we learned from round five

Paul Gallen came off the bench and only played 58 minutes but crossed for a meat pie and knocked out 94, damn you Gal, damn you. 2014 winner Dave Von Kotze recaps round 5 SuperCoach action.

Shark's Paul Gallen during the round 5 NRL game between the Wests Tigers and the Cronulla Sharks at Campbelltown Stadium . Picture Gregg Porteous

1. If Apisai Koroisau can continue with the form he showed against the Rabbitohs, then Trent Barrett will have some serious decisions to make when Daly Cherry-Evans recovers from injury. Matt Parcell owners will be hoping that Api pushes Dylan Walker out to the centres rather than return to the hooker rotation.

2. 49 per cent of SuperCoaches who don’t own Sam Burgess will be able to pick him up over the next three weeks for a discounted price due to lower than average scores by his standards in his last two games. Current owners need not panic nor entertain ideas of trading Burgess as he played on the edge this round and should return to his best when he shifts back into the middle within weeks.

3. Ryan James is starting to live up to the hype that has been built up around him in the past three years. James has a five game average of 70 and sits just two points behind Jesse Bromwich as the highest scoring FRF this season.

After a slow start to the season, Ben Hunt returned to SuperCoach form against the Titans

4. Ben Hunt stepped out of Anthony Milford’s shadow against the Titans and posted his highest score of the year so far. Has been known to go on a streak of high scores and can be picked up next round for around $351,000, however with Taylor, Walker, Hastings and now Martin making decent dollars in the halves, plenty of coaches may choose to pass on Hunt.

5. Robbie Rochow (52) has been on the sell list recently for many of the SuperCoaches that started the season with him expecting big things. However, Rochow may not have to be moved on until after the first bye round. If he continues to spend time in the middle during games like he did against the Storm, as opposed to on the edge where he has played for the first four rounds, larger scores may follow.

6. Every year he puts us through this pain. In round one, 17.9 per cent of SuperCoaches invest heavily to the tune of $499,500 in the services of arguably the greatest SC player of all time, Paul Gallen. 15 per cent then have to sell him prior to round two after he injures his knee. As a result, thousands vow never again, as they have done before and as they will do again until they trade him in after the representative period, plain and simply because he just knows how to score big. He came off the bench and only played 58 minutes but crossed for a meat pie and knocked out 94, damn you Gal, damn you.

7. He was rocking, he was rolling and he was right outta controlling. Rockin’ Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has found his way and is returning to his best, averaging 87 in his last three games. The sooner SuperCoaches can get him and James Tedesco in their teams the better.

8. Shaun Johnson is regaining confidence with every game and has scored three tries in the last two rounds. SJ will be an expensive purchase next round and will be available for a hefty $420,000 after a return to form in the last three weeks.

Shaun Johnson looms as a must-have at some point in the season

9. Not even a dislocated thumb can stop the ‘Carty Party’ from raging through the season and creating noise complaints from those without an invitation. Cartwright started the game despite a hospital visit to return his thumb back into place in round four and went berserk. After having an early try disallowed, he went on to bag a double and steal victory for the Panthers. Even though Carty has had a few below par performances, he has still hit triple figures twice so far this year to average 66.

10. A very important rule to follow in SuperCoach is to not attempt to fix that of which is not broken. Even though halves like Ben Hunt and Shaun Johnson are returning to top form, Ashley Taylor, Jackson Hastings and Cody Walker are all performing well and are continuing to grow in value. All three have the ability to smash through the $300,000 barrier and are making it awfully hard for owners to even consider cashing them in at the moment.

Originally published as NRL SuperCoach: 10 things we learned from round five