SuperCoach NRL 2018: Wilfred Zee’s wrap of the good, bad and ugly from round 3
GARETH Widdop put on an absolute masterclass to slip into No. 3 on the all-time highest SuperCoach score list. Former champion Wilfred Zee looks at the good, bad and ugly from round three.
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- SuperCoach NRL: 10 things we learned from round three
- NRL Casualty Ward: Connor Watson facing 12 weeks out
FORMER SuperCoach NRL — presented by hipages — champion Wilfred Zee looks at the good, bad and ugly of Round Three.
Roosters v Knights (38–8)
The Roosters are starting to warm up and the new halves pairing of Cronk and Keary is starting to click already. They put on a masterclass as they absolutely tore the Knights to shreds. The Knights shouldn’t feel too disappointed, as they just lost to one of the heavyweights of the competition, and they still showed enough fight and determination to indicate that they will continue to be a force to be reckoned with moving forward.
Let’s look at the key performers in this game.
The Good
Luke Keary (97)
Keary was a major beneficiary of Cronk’s game this week, as he was able to work off the back of Cronk’s structure and take opportunities as they came. He scored a try, set up two others, had a line break, assisted two other line breaks, busted five tackles and had just 15 points in pure base stats in his 97 points. More of the same Keary from 2017 it seems.
Cooper Cronk (89)
Cronk has never been overly SuperCoach relevant as he can put in a massive game while still not scoring 100 points. Exhibit One: this week. Scoring a try while setting out FOUR others, Cronk also had an effective offload and a line break assist in his score. Even had a held-up in goal stat too! It’s just that he only had 13 points in pure base stats, which sees him with such a low score.
The Bad
James Tedesco (20)
Well, Teddy let me down as my Captain this week. He had a stinker, dropping the ball four times, which not only cost him points but also the pointscoring opportunities that would have come with them. It’s also hard to watch Teddy not get involved because of how well his teammates are playing. It’s a blessing and a curse to play for a better team after all …
Tautau Moga (10)
He played the full game but it wasn’t a happy game, as he struggled to combine well in defence with those beside him. Oh, plus he got sin-binned too.
The Ugly
Connor Watson (5)
Survived 17 minutes before a shoulder dislocation (twice) ended his night. Word is he could be out for 12 weeks, which is an obvious sell.
Sione Mata’utia (25)
Another game, another HIA. He spent 13 minutes off the field but jeez, you HAVE to be worried for him after so many HIA assessments …
Titans v Dragons (8–54)
This was ugly, ugly viewing if, (1) you were a Titans fan; or (2) you didn’t have Gareth Widdop in your team. Suffice to say, he has outperformed the expectations of even the keenest Dragons fan, or Widdop SuperCoach fan, or any fan in general. Non-Widdop owners also probably then rushed off to see how they could fit the guy into their teams! Too-hard basket for plenty … so, are the Dragons the real deal? They have certainly put their best foot forward (as they did last year) so it’s a matter of seeing if they can keep it up. The Titans, however, have some tough games coming up and this week against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium is NOT a good start …
Let’s look at the good, bad and the ugly in this game.
The Good
Gareth Widdop (173)
Doing enough to slip into the No. 3 spot of all-time highest SuperCoach scores, Widdop put on an absolute masterclass as he scored a try, set up FIVE others, had two line breaks, three line break assists, two tackle busts and kicked nine goals from 12 attempts. He only had 18 points in pure base stats – which is incredible when you think that he had 13 major and minor attacking stats making up the majority of his incredible score. ‘Nuff said, really.
Matt Dufty (126)
Over 1000 SuperCoaches were probably crying themselves to sleep as they had to live with the regret of selling Dufty after two poor scores and missing out on this monster. He scored a hat-trick, had another try assist, had two line breaks, nine tackle busts, and 29 points in pure base stats. Most pleasing for owners would be the nice increase in his workrate. As well as the upcoming draw, of course …
Shoutouts to Tim Lafai (119) and Ben Hunt (106) who would make this section nine times out of 10 in any other game.
The Bad
Leilani Latu (14)
Wasn’t even the worst score but I’m highlighting him because he has just been such a massive disappointment. From preseason articles highlighting the minutes he was expected to play (never got them), the talk about how he was going to be one of the alpha forwards (hah!) and to the talk about his attacking ability and demonstrated ability in the past (no attacking stats) … well, he’s been rubbish from a SuperCoach perspective. The worst thing about this score was that he was actually on the field for 32 minutes, even off the bench. Yuck. Sell, sell, sell (if you hadn’t sold already)!
Jack De Belin (29)
JDB gets a run here this week because he played 63 minutes (10 minutes in the sin bin and was subbed off with seven minutes to go) — 29 points, even accounting for the -8 for the sin bin, is not good enough with those kinds of minutes. The thing is, he was good on the field – good enough for two Dally M votes apparently! SuperCoach is a fickle beast … even when you nail the preseason form and pick the players that are going to kill it on the field, you can still get burnt badly!
The Ugly
No major injuries to note.
Eels v Sharks (4–14)
The Eels are in real trouble, starting the season 0-3 is not ideal at the best of times but especially not when you finished in the top four last season and arguably improved your squad this year. We saw with the Panthers last year that it’s possible to recover from a poor start (2-7 to finishing sixth) and of course, who could forget the Cowboys going 0-3 in 2015 and going on to win the premiership! The Eels have to fix things across the board, though, from scoring points to stopping them too. The Sharks were their typically tough, unforgiving best as they ground their way to a win. There remain question marks over the Sharks’ ability to score points, but they certainly can stop them.
Let’s look at the key performers in this game.
The Good
Manu Ma’u (76)
Ma’u hasn’t had the happiest of starts to his SuperCoach year but he got things back on track with a nice 76 points in a tough game. Getting through 52 points in pure base stats, he also had a try assist and a line break assist, a tackle bust and one ineffective offload. I wouldn’t get too excited, though, as he’s no longer SuperCoach relevant as he sits eligible in 2RF only.
Andrew Fifita (72)
Fifita monstered his way through 65 minutes on the field, no small feat considering the size of him. He too got through 52 points in pure base stats, but also supplemented that with five tackle busts and four offloads, three of which were effective. SuperCoaches who started with Fifita would be happy with this output, and the minutes he is playing, but they would be hoping for a better PPM from the big man.
The Bad
Bevan French (11)
Time for the regular entry, which is whenever French doesn’t get an attacking stat that week. Now on the wing, he gets through even less work. Might get a reprieve now with Hayne’s injury, but still … yuck.
Mitchell Moses (11)
If you didn’t cut your losses before this week, surely you will be rage-trading Moses out of your teams as soon as lockout is over. Poor guy just isn’t having a good start to the year. It’s almost like there is something going on behind the scenes that isn’t helping the Eels play like a team …
The Ugly
Jarryd Hayne (7)
Made it through 29 minutes before suffering a hip flexor injury (suspected). Even then, he’d only made five runs and hadn’t exactly been lighting up the field despite the return to fullback. Sell, sell, sell …
Rabbitohs v Sea Eagles (34–6)
From a 54-0 drubbing of the Eels, to a drubbing at the hands of the Rabbitohs … at least no one can accuse the NRL of being a predictable competition! This highlights how even and close the competition is going to be in 2018 – which is great for the fans. Just not so great for SuperCoaches as life is going to be unpredictable.
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly from this game.
The Good
Robert Jennings (147)
Anyone pick him in Perfect 8? Hah! The hat-trick hero, “Rennings” had three line breaks to go with his three tries, a line break assist, an effective offload, eight tackle busts and three tackles — but most notably he had 20 runs for 35 points in hit-ups! Huge base for a winger, 2018-Fergo-like some might even say. Flash in the pan though? I’m sure no one is backing Rennings to become a CTW keeper after all, but that’s some score …
Alex Johnston (92)
One of his better fullback games, Johnston scored a try, assisted two others, broke the line once, assisted two other line breaks, held up a player in-goal, busted a tackle, but only had 20 points in pure base stats. Still, until he is able to show his consistency at fullback he is very hard to consider as a SuperCoach option given his low floor.
The Bad
Akuila Uate (5)
Played the whole 80 minutes but just wasn’t involved. Missed tackles, gave away penalties and errors … not a happy day out for the Fijian winger.
Lachlan Croker (22)
Hopefully last week’s strong score didn’t convince you to start him in your 17 this week. He doesn’t have the floor or the prominent role to be worthy of being started in any week outside of sheer desperation.
The Ugly
No major injuries to note.
Raiders v Warriors (19–20)
Are the Warriors the real deal? So far they’ve managed to win in Perth, and also in Canberra, as well as backing up two good performances in a row. On the other side of the ledger, well, they sure look familiar. The Raiders, or should I say, the Faiders, did what they do best. Start fast, score points, get in and somehow lose seemingly unlosable games from winning positions. It’s not quite the same as conceding two tries in 90 seconds, but two field goals in the space of 90 seconds is Capitulation with a capital C.
Let’s look at the key performers in this game.
The Good
Elliott Whitehead (82)
Who would have thought that Whitehead would finish the first three rounds with an average of over 78 points per game? He has flown out the blocks, even if he has benefited from quite a few attacking stats along the way, rather than the increased base which was mooted from his pre-season switch to lock. Injuries have actually seen him playing left centre, right edge and right centre across those games, scoring a bunch of tries and accumulating attacking stats along the way. This week had a try, a line break, an intercept, and 50 points in pure base stats to prop up his score too. Solid work from the Raider.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (81)
RTS has been absolutely killing it so far in 2018 and he currently sits as the #1 player in SuperCoach following three rounds (barring any monster performances from the likes of Widdop, Ponga and Tedesco). What a POD he has been for those brave enough to punt on him over the firm of fullbacks known as Trbojevic, Tedesco and Ponga. RTS had a try assist, a line break, a line break assist, three tackle busts, four offloads (three effective), one held up in goal stat and 30 points in pure base stats. We’re definitely seeing a return to the RTS of 2015, which bodes well for the Warriors.
The Bad
Blake Green (7)
He played the full 80 minutes but unfortunately for Green his on-field ability isn’t translating to SuperCoach scores. He has been so good for the Warriors though, so good!
Jordan Rapana (24)
With a big price tag comes great expectation, and Rapana didn’t live up to his price tag this week. A measly 25, though, is low even by his usual standards. He only busted one tackle and had no offloads. Not great. Unfortunately for owners, he was very close to scoring on two occasions, but sometimes it just doesn’t pay off.
The Ugly
No major injuries to note.
Tigers v Broncos (7—9)
Jeez, the Tigers sure are something. All three of their games so far have looked almost identical: scrappy, tough, uncompromising and a real slog. Defence is the key and forget about SuperCoach points. I mean, when Russell Packer takes out Perfect 8 honours with 67 points … yeah, these Tigers games are a SuperCoach points blackhole.
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Good
Russell Packer (67)
Packer was a monster, playing 70 minutes (including extra time) and getting through a truckload of work — 48 tackles (three missed tackles) and 24 points in hit-ups, plus one penalty conceded. Nothing fancy about that score, just lots of old-fashioned prop play.
Josh McGuire (62)
McGuire started the first round playing like rubbish, but he has picked up his act since. Playing 58 minutes, McGuire made 32 tackles (one miss) and scored 29 points in hit-ups. He also busted three tackles. That’s two scores of 60+ in a row. With dual-position status, McGuire wouldn’t look out of place in any team’s top 20 players come end of season.
The Bad
James Roberts (22)
Started the season on fire with scores of 77 and 63, but he was always going to struggle with no tries scored by the Broncos. He also did have a four-pointer disallowed due to obstruction, which would have saved his score. Still, he looks dangerous every time he touches the ball so he’s certainly a consideration for your top CTW options.
Jack Bird (22)
A late inclusion, Bird looked off the pace even if he was strong defensively. Still, Broncos fans are probably excited about how he will go for the rest of the year.
The Ugly
Corey Oates (8)
Went off after 21 minutes due to a suspected hip flexor injury. Tom Opacic was on the bench so he came on as his replacement. Unfortunately, there was a try gone begging later in the game where Opacic was easily bundled into touch by Nofoaluma. You get the feeling that Oates would have scored that try in his sleep.
Malakai Watene-Zelelzniak (10)
MWZ apparently went off in the 12th minute with the same injury as Corey Oates, but came back on in the 64th minute to play a pivotal role, helping them win a short kick-off just before Brooks kicked the game-tying field goal. Brave, very brave.
Tevita Pangai Jnr (27)
Limped off shortly into his second stint, and appears set to miss at least next week if not more. Huge shock to the 20,000+ owners who nabbed him this week, on top of those of us who already had him. This was after he already had to come off early for a HIA assessment, which he passed.
Corey Thompson and Sam Thaiday also copped head knocks which saw them both come off for HIA assessments.
Bulldogs v Panthers (20—18)
I’ve struggled with my fearless predictions so far this year, but I’ve been on fire when it comes to tipping the Upset of the Round — currently sitting at three from three! So yeah, I did tip the Bulldogs this week and, despite some controversy, they managed to score their first win of the season. Quite a few talking points to take away from the game though, so let’s look at some of the key performers and flops.
The Good
Moses Mbye (103)
He had looked very good on the field over the first two weeks, but not many of us predicted that he would break out in SuperCoach terms just yet. His running game has always been his strength, so being at fullback has allowed him more freedom to run, as well as to chime in at the right times as well. From a non-SuperCoach perspective, though, the pleasing part is that he’s been very solid under the high ball, and better in defence than plenty would have thought. Mbye scored two tries, broke the line three times, busted 11 tackles in his 10 runs, and he kicked two goals from four attempts.
Isaah Yeo (77)
The one constant in the Panthers pack, playing 80 minutes each week, Yeo is often unheralded for his ability with ball in hand. He showed his skill in setting up Maloney’s try though, palming off a defender with great strength, bursting through the gap he created and picking the perfect time to deliver a nice pass to Maloney looming up in support. He also got through work in the form of 50 points in pure base stats, and two other tackle busts.
The Bad
David Klemmer (32)
Klemmer played 53 minutes but was largely absent on the field it seems, getting through comparatively little work. He made only 12 tackles, missing two, and busted just the single tackle. He still made 15 runs but was not as effective as usual, with six of those being under eight metres. Not a good game this week …
Kieran Foran (21)
Weekly reminder again that Kieran Foran is just not SuperCoach relevant, despite all the great qualities that make him a quality footballer when he can stay fit and healthy.
The Ugly
Nathan Cleary (15)
Clearly made it to halftime but it turned out that he had hurt himself towards the back end of the first half. Tough kid, if he really did his MCL as suspected. Wait on the official prognosis but for 11 per cent of SuperCoaches (especially the 1000+ that brought him in this week), a tough decision awaits.
Trent Merrin (38)
Mez came off the field early as he appeared to be clutching his sternum. Only playing 42 minutes, he seemed unlikely to get more than 50 minutes despite the injury, so some definite concerning signs for owners. Another tough decision awaits …
Storm v Cowboys (30—14)
The Grand Final rematch, that somehow doesn’t quite feel like the first time these two teams have played this year … oh wait, who could forget that testimonial game in the pre-season that just happened to feature the Grand Finalists from last year! Also, apparently there was another game happening in Melbourne last night; something about another code …? Pretty popular sport down in Melbourne, so I hear. Anyway, silly scheduling things aside, it was a quality game that had plenty of twists and turns, but I had the feeling that the Storm were never really in danger of losing.
Let’s look at the key performers.
The Good
Coen Hess (108)
Handed his first starting spot for 2018, Hess showed off the good and the bad sides of his game — scoring two tries, breaking the line three times, busting six tackles among the highlights of his game; but also failing to get involved as much as he should defensively and making a simple misread to allow the Storm to score the opening try of the contest. Hess still made plenty of runs (16 in fact) and 13 tackles (with three misses) to prop up his score with 36 points in pure base stats. The very interesting thing here is that Hess played the full 80 minutes — great news because he is a tryscorer, but also worrying because of his usual lack of work rate (36 points in pure base stats in 80 minutes is not good!). Keep an eye on how this plays out …
Cameron Smith (91)
Was there ever any doubt that Smith would bounce back this week? He rarely has two bad games in a row, if ever, so Smith was always primed for a big one. Two try assists, two line break assists, as well as a perfect six goals from six attempts — then throw in a tackle bust and an offload (pending update — but it will be effective since this was the offload he threw for the NAS try) and 31 points in pure base stats. If there was a play that demonstrated Smith’s presence of mind, it was his offload to NAS — tackled by JT, yet he had the strength to hold himself up with one arm and stopped his ballcarrying arm from touching the ground, so he could get the offload away legally and avoid giving away a penalty for passing off the ground. He’s just too good! Also, pour one out for the 1291 SuperCoaches who traded Cam Smith out this week.
The Bad
Michael Morgan (12)
The future of the Cowboys seemed like he could have done with another week off, as he didn’t look all that comfortable and more was required of him. You have to wonder whether JT and TMM may have been a more effective halves pairing than a less than 100 per cent fit Morgan. In any case, this low score will only be in his rolling average for one week so it’ll be worth keeping an eye on his dynamic with JT in coming weeks regardless — whether you own JT or not!
Brodie Croft (20)
There were a few other names that could have gone here but I thought I’d mention preseason sensation Brodie Croft. I mean, it’s not like you weren’t warned about putting too much stock into limited sample sizes of data from 2016 and 2017, or reading too much into trial form, or perhaps not considering the impact of Croft’s games with and without the likes of Smith, Cronk and Slater in the first grade games that he has played … there’s every chance Croft becomes a very relevant halfback option for SuperCoach given how he does play, but he needs to be given a chance to show that first.
The Ugly
Javid Bowen (8)
He was taken off the field for what was feared to be a broken nose, but apparently it wasn’t as he was put back on after 15 minutes off the field. Even so, he must have been sore as he seemed allergic to any sort of work on the field. Very curious considering how busy he used to be when he first debuted for the club two years ago.
Originally published as SuperCoach NRL 2018: Wilfred Zee’s wrap of the good, bad and ugly from round 3
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