SuperCoach NRL 2018: Wilfred Zee’s wrap of the good, bad and ugly from Round 10
ANDREW Fifita leads the way in stunning style for the Sharks, and Angus Crichton breaks out for the Bunnies. Former champ Wilfred Zee wraps the good, bad and ugly of Round 10.
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FORMER SuperCoach NRL — presented by hipages — champion Wilfred Zee looks at the good, bad and ugly of Round 10.
Rabbitohs v Dragons (24 — 10)
It’s becoming somewhat cliche to keep referring to teams as “The Real Deal” but in this topsy-turvy season so far, it’s a pretty good descriptor. Right now, I only have the Dragons, the Warriors, the Rabbitohs and the Storm in my “The Real Deal” column — teams that are showing signs that they will win more games than they will lose and should be playing in September football. The Rabbitohs beat the high-flying Dragons in convincing fashion, as they dominated the middle and outplayed them across the park. No need to even be concerned yet as a Dragons fan, as the Rabbitohs are in hot form at the moment.
Let’s look at the good, bad and the ugly in this game.
The Good
Angus Crichton (112)
Crichton had been solid but ultimately disappointing so far this season, averaging just a shade under 59 points per game and losing roughly $50,000 on his starting price as at the start of this week. Well, he finally had his 2018 breakout game and showed off the attacking prowess we knew he was capable of from last season. He scored a try, made two linebreak breaks, threw three effective offloads, busted five tackles and scored 58 points in pure base stats. A great sign when Crichton gets the ball and the opportunity to run and make things happen!
Tyson Frizell (105)
Friz has been in such great form all year, but from a SuperCoach perspective he has been a victim of how strong that Dragons’ pack is. He is a lock for Origin purposes and that makes him largely SuperCoach irrelevant, and his scores have represented that. He’s always had the ability to jag the odd attacking stat, but it’s hard to argue against the fact that this score is the exception and not the norm. Friz scored two tries, made a line break, busted four tackles, threw an effective offload and scored 48 points in pure base stats. Don’t get sucked in!
The Bad
Cody Walker (18)
Five errors and a penalty conceded probably highlights why his score is so low. There’s an arguable try assist (which Sutton currently has) that might go to him, but to be honest I think Sutton deserves it more because his contribution created the try. On the numbers this is just an anomaly, but owners remember last year that Walker fell away as every traded him in for bye coverage.
Gareth Widdop (39)
His score really isn’t that bad given that appears to be close to his floor, but owners have to be concerned with the upcoming representative period, and non-owners licking their lips at further potential price drops.
The Ugly
Jack De Belin (35)
Played just 30 minutes as he came into the game under a cloud due to a hip pointer injury. It’s not a good sign when the coach admits that he probably shouldn’t have played!
Ben Hunt played the full game, but he was hindered due to a cork early in the game, as well as what appeared to be a heavy hit to the chest (Ribs? Sternum?) area that left him in obvious discomfort. Kurt Mann only played limited minutes but went off due to HIA.
Raiders v Sharks (16 — 24)
The Sharks showed the Raiders how to close out a tight game, as Canberra threatened the Sharks repeatedly while sitting on an 18-16 scoreline. In the end, the Sharks hung in there and scored a late try to ice the game. Cronulla were impressive in their defence, given how low on troops they were, whereas for the Raiders, Aidan Sezer had one of his worst games in some time which didn’t help their cause.
Let’s look at the good, bad and the ugly in this game.
The Good
Valentine Holmes (100)
Holmes has bounced back after a mediocre start to the season, seemingly slipping into the fullback role more although there are still question marks over his ability to create tries for others. Holmes scored two tries, set up another, made two line breaks, busted five tackles and had 28 points in pure base stats. He was extremely effective on his runs, making 13 of them with all going for over eight metres. He’s cheap as chips at the moment but does he play Origin as the incumbent Queensland winger?
Andrew Fifita (89)
Andrew Fifita, stand up and take a bow. How good was he this week, playing the full 80 minutes as a prop and getting through a monstrous workload. Fifita scored 76 points in pure base stats (43 in tackles, 33 in runs) and also had four effective offloads and three tackle busts. Huge! The massive numbers look set to end soon though, as Paul Gallen is likely to return this week.
The Bad
Matt Moylan (9)
In the running for worst signing of the season, Moylan looked to make life harder for the Sharks rather than help them win. Three errors, a penalty conceded, one kick dead and seven missed tackles (a total of -18 in negative stats!) highlight how poorly he played.
Chad Townsend (22)
One of those games where he looked better on the field than in his stats, Townsend has still quietly gone about his business SuperCoach-wise, sitting on a season average of 51.7 before this week and making close to $80,000 on his starting price. That goalkicking really helped his average!
The Ugly
Blake Austin (48)
Austin hurt his ankle in the process of scoring his try, and left the field after 29 minutes. This saw Ata Hingano come into the halves and ensured big minutes for Siliva Havili.
No other major injuries, although James Segeyaro attempting to pass the ball into Elliott Whitehead to milk a penalty — only to watch Whitehead dodge the ball like Neo dodges bullets and the ball sail straight over the sideline — was ugly for him, but hilarious for the viewer!
Warriors v Roosters (0 — 32)
The Roosters had been largely unimpressive for most of this year, with plenty of question marks hanging over their heads despite still managing to win more games than they had lost. On the other hand, the Warriors were flying high in the top 4 (where they remain despite the loss this week) and looked like the real deal. This week though, without their stars in Issac Luke and Shaun Johnson, the Warriors struggled, and the Roosters showed signs of being an actual contender for this year’s premiership.
Let’s look at the key performers in this game.
The Good
Latrell Mitchell (101)
It’s said often how frustrating it is to watch Latrell for SuperCoach purposes, he can go missing all too often but show up for a single 30-40 point play in one hit, to salvage his scores. This year, with the goalkicking (and being much improved at it, might I add) propping up his usually concerning levels of poor base stats, he has developed into a more consistent CTW option for SuperCoach. Still, for all that, he has still only averaged 52 prior to this week. In this game he set up a try, provided the last touch assist for another, broke the line twice, assisted another linebreak, threw two effective offloads, busted three tackles and kicked six goals from seven attempts — on top of just 19 points in pure base stats. Given it was Indigenous Round, you could tell Latrell was primed for a big game this week!
James Tedesco (95)
Teddy has been frustrating for owners so far this year, but the reality is that he’s still averaged 62.2 (prior to this week) while “not performing” in SuperCoach terms. Little by little he seems to look a bit more settled each week in that Roosters line-up. You just get the feeling that he will explode once the spine clicks and they find a way to play together. Teddy scored a try, set up another, broke the line once, assisted another line break, busted five tackles, offloaded once effectively, held up two opposition players in-goal and scored 38 points in pure base stats. If only Teddy didn’t make five errors for -10 to his score!
The Bad
Blake Green (8)
Green had one of his poorest games of the season and he struggled to stand up in the absence of his other playmakers to take control of the game. Not that he was SuperCoach relevant in the first place, but this was a poor showing from him even off the field.
David Fusitu’a (14)
The competition’s joint highest tryscorer (at the start of this week, anyway) had averaged 54.3 points per game but with SJ missing, and Lino having a poor game and then leaving the field early due to injury, he struggled to get involved.
The Ugly
Agnatius Paasi (45)
Paasi was huge for the Warriors as he played just 33 minutes due to leaving the field twice for HIA — and with the second HIA the rules state that you aren’t able to return in that game.
Mason Lino (11)
He hadn’t been having a happy game until then but Lino left the field in the 68th minute with a leg injury. Ryan Matterson also left the field for HIA but he passed it and returned to notch up yet another strong score.
Storm v Titans (28 — 14)
In what turned out to be a rather scrappy affair, the Storm were clearly off their game but somehow still managed to come away with the win despite a spirited challenge from the Titans.
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly from this game.
The Good
Cam Munster (85)
Munster started off the year in mediocre form but he is peaking at the right time as Origin comes nearer each week. You’d think he has two hands on the #6 jersey for Queensland at this moment. Munster scored a try, set up another, broke the line once, assisted another line break, grabbed an intercept, busted five tackles and scored 27 points in pure base stats. That’s a strong baseline for a half, and it shows how much he tries to involve himself.
Felise Kaufusi (80)
Last year’s breakout star, Kaufusi’s early injury has meant he has flown under the radar as a SuperCoach option. Somehow over 3,000 teams still have him! He scored a try with a linebreak, threw one effective offload and busted two tackles; otherwise he still scored 45 points in pure base stats which is above average for edge backrowers. Pity he is looking likely to play Origin in Gillett’s absence
The Bad
Will Chambers (26)
Chambers’ score is well below his usual standards in terms of base stats but what is more embarrassing is that he let Dale Copley show him up and get around him for a try! Yeah, Dale Copley!
Billy Slater (33)
I’m putting him in here because he let me down big time as my call of Stud of the Week! It’s been a shocking week for my predictions! Slater didn’t have a good game, making basic errors and failing to contribute in attack.
The Ugly
Ryley Jacks (12)
Came off at halftime for a HIA which he failed. Horrible news for those who held him and hoped he would at least meet his BE while a suitable halfback replacement became available! Funnily enough, Joe Stimson was his replacement at halfback. Yep. Stimson!
Kevin Proctor (21)
Proctor left the field in the 47th minute with a groin injury after falling victim to an appropriately-named ‘wishbone’ tackle carried out by his former captain, Cam Smith. Not a good look really …
Will Matthews (14)
Matthews is in the same tier as Kaysa Pritchard / Tim Mannah when it comes to copping head knocks and going off for HIAs. He failed his after leaving the field in the 43rd minute. Bryce Cartwright replaced him but then when Proctor went off, he swapped to the more natural right edge backrow spot for him, which saw James take the left edge and second-game rookie Fotuaika play the remaining 33 minutes of the game at prop.
Jarrod Wallace also spent time off the field to pass a HIA, Jack Stockwell was knocked out cold (although he had played close to the minutes expected of him) and most impressively, Keegan Hipgrave put up his hand to return to the field despite having a broken wrist. Gun!
Sea Eagles v Broncos (38 — 24)
It pains me on three levels to write this wrap-up, as the Broncos lost, Captain Milford didn’t tear up the game as expected and a popular captain choice (that I don’t own) topped the scores for the game. The Sea Eagles built on last week’s promising loss (what an oxymoron) against the Roosters with a further improved showing against the Broncos and took advantage of the flat and inconsistent Broncos team that seems to struggle to play at a high level from week-to-week — the classic sign of a middling team that could make the finals but could just as easily miss out. The Sea Eagles are running on fumes though, as their depth remains stretch to max capacity, and another key injury or two could see their season slip away.
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly from this game.
The Good
Jake Trbojevic (109)
After a few quieter weeks, Jake has come out and really played with a clear intent to lift his team into the top eight. He scored two tries, broke the line once, busted one tackle, made one offload (pending update), and scored 67 points in pure base stats in his usual 80 minute stint. There’s not much else that needs to be said about this guy, he’s a SuperCoach points machine.
Joel Thompson (86)
Every year there’s always a few games where Joel Thompson goes on a mini-run of attacking stats, and piques the interests of both the more casual, and POD-hunting, SuperCoaches. However, you can’t trust the guy. He may be a good defender, but that’s because of his defensive reads, not his defensive workload. Scoring just 34 points in pure base stats, Thompson busted five tackles, broke the line once and scored two tries for his 86 points. Avoid …
The Bad
Corey Oates (17)
Sitting on a five-round average of 57.2 and a three-round average of 57.3, Oates had been bubbling along nicely despite a shocker in Round 7 against the Storm where he scored just 24. Well, he did worse this week, as he was almost invisible for large periods of the game. The Broncos rely a lot on his set starts to get on a roll down the field so the Sea Eagles did well to nullify his impact.
Darius Boyd (19)
Broncos fans held their breath as they saw Boyd grabbing at his hamstring quite early on. It’s very concerning that he has struggled so much with his ongoing hamstring issues so early in the season, and so early into a new contract extension which was signed over the off-season.
The Ugly
Payne Haas (8)
Played 10 minutes this time before a tackle gone wrong saw him dislocate his shoulder — but just like his name, he handled the ‘payne’ (I can hear the groans from the other side of my keyboard) by getting it popped back in and ran back to make a try-saving tackle in the corner. Great signs for the young forward and it shows his character. Some other young forwards could probably learn a thing or two from him …
Taniela Paseka (16)
Paseka was having a strong game until a minor ankle injury forced him from the field. The Sea Eagles don’t seem too concerned about him though, thinking he should be right to play soon.
Alex Glenn (41)
Played 67 minutes and was strong, despite two glaring mistakes at the worst times for the Broncos, until he succumbed to what appears to be a Grade 2 medial strain which should keep him out for at least two weeks if not much longer. This is a big blow for the Broncos while they still miss Matt Gillett and Josh McGuire — that’s their starting backrow gone!
Knights v Panthers (18 — 29)
For the second week in the row the Knights started sluggishly, which saw the Panthers absolutely dominate the opening 20 minutes and race out to a comfortable lead.
Again, to the Knights’ credit they hung in there and fought back, and the scoreline was much closer, until a critical 12 point swing in the space of two minutes — courtesy of Connor Watson — really took the wind out of the Knights’ sails.
After that the result never looked like it was in doubt, and a late consolation try brought the scoreline a little closer.
Let’s look at the key performers in this game.
The Good
Tyrone Peachey (104)
The Peach has had a fair few quite weeks playing at five eighth, but he ran the ball with great intent this week and took advantage of the inexperienced new halves pairing from the Knights.
He scored a try, set up another, broke the line twice, busted NINE tackles, made one ineffective offload, and scored 37 points in pure base stats which is a great work rate for a half.
It’s worth noting that Jarome Luai, a natural five eighth, played 25 minutes off the bench which I believe saw a bit of reshuffling and may have resulted in Peachey getting through some more work in the middle at lock.
Lachlan Fitzgibbon (84)
After last week’s great score, his ownership jumped up by around 1,200 teams or so but he’s still well and truly in POD territory at around 3% ownership.
He has made what appears to be a permanent shift over to the right edge and didn’t score a try this week, but still managed to get through a decent amount of work (46 points in pure base stats), break the line once, assist another line break, bust four tackles and offload three times effectively.
A great game from Fitzgibbon, and he looms as a great bye period POD who is probably too expensive to consider now.
The Bad
Tyrone Phillips (18)
After a great debut week, it’s unfortunate that he has dropped a bit of a stinker as it takes the shine off Phillips as a cheapie option.
His money making will be stunted now, barring a big score in Round 3, and the fact that he doesn’t play Round 13 also stinks.
Slade Griffin (19)
As happened previously, Danny Levi’s inclusion in the time reduced Griffin’s minutes but never to this extent! Only played 31 minutes despite starting and scored accordingly.
This hurts those who were hoping that he would stick around until Round 13 …
The Ugly
No major injuries, although Kikau suffered a shoulder injury early but stuck it out for the entire game, playing 80 minutes.
Bulldogs v Eels (20 — 12)
The harshly (but perhaps aptly) named ‘Spoonapalooza’ delivered on it’s “promise” with a drab and uninspiring game filled with errors and uninspiring play.
Unfortunately, over 1.7 million people (apparently) tuned in to watch this game.
That would be a lot of disappointed viewers! Despite all its failings as a quality NRL game, the ending was still exciting with (yet again) more refereeing controversy being a major talking point.
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Good
Moses Mbye (78)
Mbye has been flying under the radar to an extent, averaging 47 for the year but when you remove his injury-affected score of 3, he sits at an average of 52.5 with a season-low score of 38 (that’s a decent floor for a player available at HFB) — all with only two tries and one try assist all season.
He had one try assist with a linebreak assist in this game, forced onedropout, busted two tackles, kicked six goals from as many attempts and scored 24 points in pure base stats.
If only the Bulldogs could actually get their attack firing …
Brett Morris (69)
The old legs still have some life in them, as BMoz put on an uncharacteristically strong base stat performance with 27 points in hit-ups from 15 runs, and 9 tackles — that’s 36 points in pure base stats!
Throw in four tackle busts, a linebreak and a try and BMoz certainly did his part in helping his team to the win.
The Bad
Jeremy Marshall-King (28)
JMK played 61 minutes at hooker but he is showing that his workrate at hooker makes him irrelevant for SuperCoach purposes. Not that anybody should still own him, to be honest.
Marcelo Montoya (23)
Another game, another try scored down his edge. Bevan French showed him up a few times and Montoya is clearly a defensive liability for the Bulldogs.
It’s unfortunate that they don’t really have anybody else …
The Ugly
Beau Scott (10)
Was it HIA? I don’t even know, but surprise surprise, old Beau Scott is injured again.
What a bad signing he was by the Eels … not quite as bad as Watmough, but close!
Only played 23 minutes.
Daniel Alvaro (53)
Alvaro was having a monster game having only played 40 minutes before a sickening head clash (with the ground) saw him visibly concussed, and he was taken off for a HIA which he
failed.
Danny Fualalo (31)
He played 38 minutes but he wasn’t finished with his second stint when he suffered an ankle injury in the 68th minute of the game. He came off the field and was unable to return.
Adam Elliott also spent time off the field for a HIA which he passed.
Tigers v Cowboys (20—12)
Some of you may have seen this already but last night was effectively JT’s last chance to score a win against the Tigers in Sydney before he retires. That’s right, in JT’s career — at both the Bulldogs and the Cowboys — he has never beaten the Tigers in Sydney. Now, despite all the other amazing awards and accolades he has accumulated over the years, he will most likely retire without having ticked that box off. Mind is BLOWN! The Tigers look like they are back, the Cowboys look well and truly cooked. Paul Green NEEDS to make changes. Watch this space.
Let’s look at the key performers.
The Good
Esan Marsters (76)
He was one of the most popular trade-ins last week but Marsters delivered for owners this week, scoring his first try (with a line break) for the year. He also had a try assist with a line break assist (which I believe came off an effective offload, so maybe he’ll get that added on updates), five tackle busts and 21 points in pure base stats. Unfortunately, he had an off night with the boot, kicking only two goals from five attempts, otherwise he would have gone even better.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak (69)
MWZ rejoined the team and he didn’t skip a beat, proving a good finisher and working very well with new cult hero Mahe “The Mullet” Fonua in attack and defence. He scored a try, broke the line twice, busted three tackles, offloaded once (pending updates), and also scored 28 points in pure base stats. It will be really interesting to see what happens once Naiqama gets back next week.
The Bad
Lachlan Coote (10)
He wasn’t that bad on the field but he struggled to click on that left edge in attack, although Winterstein did bomb a try when Coote set it up for him.
Johnathan Thurston (15)
I fully expect JT to update here, as from my personal viewing I thought I saw at least two line break assists (that both Hess and Morgan have been paid), plus at least one or two effective offloads that appear to have been missed altogether (like, not even an ineffective offload recorded). Plus, his kick for the TMM try was perfectly weighted and placed (hence why it bounced) which eventually allowed Fence to work his magic … okay, I’ll stop clutching at straws now.
The Ugly
Shaun Fensom (28)
Played just 17 minutes before what appeared to be a dislocated elbow — which he just popped back in on the field — forced him off. Classic Fence move was that he tried to run back into the defensive line after the injury. I just love the guy … what a champion!
I’m not 100 per cent on this but Rochow only played 48 minutes and I’m not sure if that was HIA-related (which he must have passed if so) because the timing of his interchanges was very unconventional. He may have played the first 28 minutes on the edge and then the remainder in the middle, with Chee-Kam playing the majority of the game on the right edge after his great game last week.
Originally published as SuperCoach NRL 2018: Wilfred Zee’s wrap of the good, bad and ugly from Round 10
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