SuperCoach NRL 2018: Wilfred Zee’s wrap of the good, bad and ugly from Round 6
LUKE Brooks and the Wests Tigers finished the weekend with a bang. Former SuperCoach NRL champion Wilfred Zee looks at the good, bad and ugly of Round Six.
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FORMER SuperCoach NRL — presented by hipages — champion Wilfred Zee looks at the good, bad and ugly of Round Six.
Sea Eagles v Tigers (12—38)
This was not the game I expected to see. The Tigers were incredible in the first 40 minutes, barely allowing the Sea Eagles to touch the ball, while scoring again and again or, if not, then securing repeat sets. The Sea Eagles never quite recovered from that near-perfect first half, and once they let in more points in the second half, it was game over.
Let’s look at the key performers in this game.
The Good
Luke Brooks (121)
What a game! Brooks has thrived in 2018 already but this was probably one of the best games of his career. He scored a try, set up two others, broke the line once, set up two other line breaks, forced three dropouts, busted 10 tackles, made one offload and scored 20 points in pure base stats. He was very impressive but the challenge for him will be to back this game up with another strong performance next week. Brooks has always struggled for consistency, but if he manages to fix that aspect of his game then we could be seeing some great things moving forward.
Benji Marshall (105)
Benji had been playing great all year, but not necessarily in a way which was giving him SuperCoach points. We saw some vintage Benji this week, though, as he wound back the clock and even managed to bust out some of the old sidestep magic. Marshall scored two tries, broke the line three times, forced a dropout, busted six tackles, offloaded once (yet to be updated) and also scored 19 points in pure base stats. Benji and Brooks were the main reason the Tigers were able to be so dominant, and obviously it showed in their SuperCoach scores this week.
The Bad
Akuila Uate (33)
He had another unhappy day at the office, making several errors at critical moments in the game. His runs were also not as effective as usual.
Dylan Walker (17)
Maybe he is still settling into this season and gaining match fitness but he looks a far cry from the dynamic Walker of last year. Hopefully it will come back in a few weeks.
The Ugly
Brad Parker (31)
Only played 60 minutes due to HIA, but his score includes a try.
Panthers v Titans (35—12)
The Panthers will finish this round in the top four, with a clear divide between the fourth and fifth teams. They have shown plenty of defensive steel, and also the ability to put the pedal to the metal and switch on the attack when the opportunity presents itself. The Titans continue to be brave, but the sheer weight of injuries were a bridge too far for the Gold Coast to overcome — and the Penrith ran away with the game in the second half when the injuries really started to tell.
Let’s look at the good, bad and the ugly in this game.
The Good
Corey Harawira-Naera (104)
One of 2017’s SuperCoach boom rookies, CHN lost his starting edge backrower spot for the start of 2018 due to off-season surgery and his ongoing recovery. Well, initially he was listed to start on the right edge, with Yeo at centre, but on the field they had swapped positions, so CHN spent the whole game playing right centre. As a result he got plenty of good attacking stats — two tries, two line breaks, a line break assist, two effective offloads, four tackle busts — on top of his 28 points in pure base stats. Playing limited minutes off the bench in the first five rounds has seen CHN’s price plummet by almost $155,000; however, there has to be some hesitation about picking him up if he’s not actually going to be playing in the back row.
James Maloney (101)
Maloney has really stepped up in the absence of Nathan Cleary. Since Cleary was injured Maloney has recorded scores of 69 (majority of that in the second half after Cleary left the field), 113, 40 and now 101 — that’s an average of 80.75 in the past four weeks! Maloney set up one try, broke the line twice, contributed two line break assists, kicked five goals from seven attempts, kicked a field goal, busted six tackles and made one effective offload. He also scored 24 points in pure base stats, but also registered three errors and one penalty conceded. More importantly, he has looked good on the field in all the games since Cleary went down injured, even when he only scored 40 last week.
The Bad
Phillip Sami (18)
Sami has been strong over the opening five weeks of the season, especially getting through plenty of work to register strong base stats. The runs weren’t as effective this week, though, and the attacking stats weren’t available. With his monster Round Four score falling out of his rolling average this week, his break-even is going to be quite high and owners most probably want to cash him in for a more established keeper.
James Fisher-Harris (36)
JFH played 59 minutes but his workrate was well below what he had shown so far this year. The almost 7900 SuperCoaches who traded him in this week would be disappointed — at the score but also the fact that his money-making ability may be stunted now. However a match-up against the Sharks looms next week and there should be more action going on in the middle of the park there.
The Ugly
Josh Mansour (29)
Mansour copped an accidental knee in the face, which saw him sent to hospital to deal with a suspected broken cheekbone. This was a double blow to some SuperCoaches as we saw Kikau shift out from playing on the left edge to the left wing!
Nathan Peats (16)
Peats left the field with a rib injury, and despite returning for a while he eventually succumbed and left the field.
Dale Copley (63)
Left in the 67th minute with a hamstring issue, may end up missing some time.
Jai Arrow (44)
Arrow was clearly in pain from a cork injury to the back, and despite returning to the field, he eventually went off and only played 53 minutes all up. His ability to get stuck into the work while on the field was also compromised due to the injury.
Ash Taylor and Mitch Rein also took head knocks but passed their HIAs.
Raiders v Eels (18—2)
The Raiders have now won two in a row and are starting to build some momentum. They look switched on in defence and they have also started to see some of Sezer’s best touches in a Raiders jersey. The Eels on the other hand … well, Gutho was good! Not much else that can be said for the sole winless team on the bottom of the ladder right now.
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly from this game.
The Good
Josh Papalii (72)
From rep star to bench forward, Papalii has had to swallow his pride and fight his way back into the team. He certainly did his prospects of starting in upcoming weeks no harm as he got through 39 points in tackles and hit-ups from his 39 minutes on the field, as well as scoring a try with a line break and three tackle busts. I guess the saying of “quality, not quantity” makes sense when it comes to Josh Papalii.
Manu Ma’u (62)
Ma’u hasn’t been the best SuperCoach-wise since the start of the season, but this was an impressive defensive performance from him. He helped save two tries (by holding them up in goal), busted three tackles, assisted one line break, offloaded twice (once effectively), and got through 45 points in tackles and hit-ups. I wouldn’t count on these scores regularly from Ma’u.
The Bad
Bevan French (4)
ONE. RUN. And you had to wait until the 76th minute before he made it. At least he made it a good one, as it went for over eight metres. The way the game is played today, that is simply unacceptable.
Mitch Moses (15)
The one good thing he did was kick a penalty goal. Otherwise, he missed five tackles, conceded two penalties, made one error and kicked a ball dead. Not great at all.
The Ugly
No major injuries to note.
Cowboys v Bulldogs (10—27)
Well, this game was depressing if you were a Cowboys fan. Or perhaps a punter who put down some money on the Cowboys winning the minor premiership or finishing top four even. They went into the game as heavy home favourites against the “lowly” Bulldogs; however, they got their pants pulled down by Canterbury, who also had the pressure mounting on them.
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly from this game.
The Good
Jason Taumalolo (100)
Disappointed is probably the kindest word that the majority of Taumalolo owners would have used over the past month, as he had dished up a 47.0 average in the past four weeks despite owners paying top dollar for him. Well, he finally served up a performance that we expect of the big JT, as he played 66 minutes and smashed through 65 points in tackles and hit-ups alone. Throw in his line break, two effective offloads and NINE tackle busts and you’ve got a fantastic score from Taumalolo. Prospective owners should be able to pick him up for a nice $100,000 discount on his starting price next week.
Raymond Faitala-Mariner (89)
The mid-ranger who got away is what I think when I think of RFM. He was the playing whom I replaced when I found some cash to upgrade him to Taukeiaho (oops). Already up over $130,000 from his starting price, RFM should continue to climb in value with this nice score in the rolling average for two weeks. In fact, he could easily climb to over $500,000 in the next few weeks. He scored a try with a line break (and almost had a second), busted NINE tackles, made two offloads (one effective), and got through 41 points in pure base stats. All that in only 69 minutes, as he spent 11 minutes off the field with what I believe was a HIA. If only SuperCoach gave bonus points for great hair too, he’d be a keeper if that was the case!
The Bad
Johnathan Thurston (25)
Yep, he’s struggling. Naturally, so are the Cowboys. But are the Cowboys struggling because JT is struggling? Or is he struggling because the Cowboys are? Hah, weird question right? I can’t work this one out to be honest, and I get the feeling if I did, I’d be able to make a decision to sell him or not … for now, he gets another reprieve (like Rapana did!).
Kieran Foran (27)
I’m more highlighting the fact that his score has a try assist, a line break assist, a field goal (that’s 25 points alone there!) but then he also has two penalties conceded and FIVE errors. That’s -14 in negative points! Ouch.
The Ugly
No major injuries to note.
Warriors v Broncos (18—27)
I wrote as much in my Fearless Predictions article for this week, but I did get called delusional, one-eyed and all sorts of other names for my pick for Upset of the Round. Well, some apologies may be in order! As fearlessly predicted by yours truly, the mighty Brisbane Broncos finally started looking like the Broncos from, at the very least, last year. They put together their best game of the season to inflict the Warriors’ first loss of the year. The Warriors weren’t bad, but they were certainly out-enthused, being outplayed by the much-maligned Broncos pack. However, they still look like they are going to be the real deal, and a finals contender.
Let’s look at the key performers in this game.
The Good
Jamayne Isaako (83)
I had mentioned to some people that Isaako was going to be this year’s Tautau Moga — that is, a CTW cow who had made some cash, but hadn’t peaked yet, but would be sold by plenty. Almost 12,000 SuperCoaches decided to cash in the $110,000 that Isaako had already made; the rest of us faithful owners will enjoy the extra $32,000 from this week, and if he scores 45 over the next two weeks, he’ll go up by a total of $110,000 from this week’s price! Isaako scored two tries, one with a line break, busted two tackles and kicked five goals from seven attempts. His pure base stats were only 19 but if the Broncos give Isaako a chance at four or five kicks every week, he’ll continue having a baseline of about 35 to 40 or so — not a bad number at all! For comparison, it’s better than what Latrell Mitchell has been serving up.
Shaun Johnson (82)
SJ has been playing very well against the Broncos in recent years and he put in another strong performance as my pick for Stud of the Week. Whilst not raising the bat, owners surely can’t complain with such a solid score in a losing team. SJ scored a try with a line break, assisted a try with a line break, busted five tackles and kicked three goals in four attempts. His pure base stats were 19, a fairly standard number for him.
The Bad
Tevita Pangai Jr (25)
Relegated to the bench, TPJ still played 31 minutes but his PPM was well down on his usual standards. You have to wonder if that hammy injury is still not 100 per cent, and he was taking it easy (as was his coach) given the conditions. Owners will be wanting bigger minutes and you wonder if it’s time to sell or not.
Anthony Milford (32)
I feel a bit bad putting him here because on the field, he played quite well. His kicking game looks better each week and he organised the team well. There were a few chances that went begging but owners will be wanting more than the odd large score.
The Ugly
Matt Lodge (41)
Lodge went off the field early in the first half with what looked like a rib injury. It appeared that he was treated during halftime and came back out and eventually played 40 minutes — a solid effort from him. Keep an eye on whether he is going to play this coming week though.
Leivaha Pulu (14)
Lasted only 23 minutes before a foot injury got him off the field. This saw Mannering shift to the left edge, after he had just come on and started playing in the middle. Post-match comments from Kearney seemed to indicate a fairly serious injury.
Solomone Kata (37)
Limped off in the 72nd minute with a leg injury. He is due for scans but he could miss a few games too.
Dragons v Sharks (40 — 20)
The Dragons will be primed for a top of the table clash next week with the Warriors — it may even be an undefeated top of the table clash. The Sharks on the other hand have some massive question marks over the depth of their squad, especially if their four most experienced forwards are all missing for a period of time. Alas, from a SuperCoach perspective it means we will get some cheapies which is a silver lining to the Fifita and Gal injuries which plenty of us will need to deal with.
The Good
Matt Dufty (86)
Dufty was given the opportunity to showcase his speed, acceleration and also his strength and power in this game, scoring a screamer of a solo try as well as backing up his teammate with another. Two tries, three line breaks and four tackle busts supplement admittedly poor base stats of just 16 points. He’s great to watch but in such a congested FLB spot, it’s hard to find a place for Dufty over the other premium options available there.
Euan Aitken (75)
Aitken came into this week as the third highest averaging CTW option behind Marsters and Matterson, and he demonstrated his consistency to record his fifth score of 60 or higher this week. Aitken scored a try, broke the line once, busted five tackles, offloaded once (pending updates), and racked up an impressive 36 points in pure base stats. He gets through his work and running good lines for Ben Hunt to work with is also handy in getting some attacking stats too!
The Bad
Matt Moylan (15)
Moylan did not have a happy night out, as he was easily contained by the Dragons defence and was exposed defensively a number of times by being caught out of position. Flanno says Moylan is their best fullback option which is concerning when they bought him to play five-eighth!
Tim Lafai (19)
Despite one huge score and one decent score, Lafai has been disappointing overall as this marks his fourth score of 31 and below from six rounds. With his price tag, and the fact that he doesn’t play Round 13, owners (all 2% of you) may want to consider a more affordable alternative or a CTW keeper that plays the first bye.
The Ugly
Andrew Fifita (59)
He played 33 minutes in his first stint and was an absolute beast, scoring at a PPM of almost 2! However, he hurt himself in a rather innocuous manner and limped off the field shortly after. Initial fears are that Fifita may have suffered an ACL injury, which would end his season, but scans will reveal more shortly.
Paul Gallen (10)
He left the field in the 12th minute, after being caught in an awkward tackle. Initial diagnosis is an MCL injury, but scans will reveal more in the coming days.
Wade Graham (23)
Graham left the field just eight minutes into the second half with a suspected hamstring strain. This would see him out at least two weeks, depending on the severity of the injury.
Luke Lewis (32)
Lewis left the field with five minutes to go, with suspected hamstring and knee injuries (cork). More scans also needed before any estimate of time could be provided.
Storm v Knights (40 — 14)
There is never a really good time to play the Storm, but I can’t think of a worse time than to face them after back-to-back losses. It’s such a rare occurrence — in fact the last time they had lost two-in-a-row was actually back in the midst of a four-game losing streak from Round 14 to 18 (inclusive of Origin and byes) in 2015! You just knew the Storm were going to come out firing, especially as Coach Bellamy had started making changes to his line-up. The Knights, despite going down in similar scorelines on two occasions against the Storm last year (40-12 and 44-12), showed some encouraging signs in the first half, showcasing their ability to dig in and grind their way back into the game. Unfortunately, the Storm were unrelenting this week and put on a full 80-minute performance to put the Knights to the sword.
Let’s look at the key performers in this game.
The Good
Ken Sio (83)
Yet another reminder about sometimes how it’s near impossible to pick Perfect 8 (I mean, why Sio in a game which features SuperCoach studs like Smith, Slater and Ponga), Sio top scored with a two-try, three line break performance. He also had three tackle busts but otherwise only scored 15 points in pure base stats! Not sure if this is exactly something you can rely on as a common occurrence, these attacking stats!
Lachlan Fitzgibbon (79)
Another week, another try for ol’ Fitzy here on the left edge! He and Ponga are really striking up some sort of combination. It was a mixed night though for Fitzgibbon, after copping three penalties, an error and of course the infamous sinbin — although the infamy is not because of what he did but more so what Billy Slater did! Still, despite the -16 points he received, he scored a try, broke the line twice, busted three tackles, grabbed an intercept and scored 47 points in pure base stats. Quite an eventful day out for Fitzy!
The Bad
Brock Lamb (9)
Poor Brock, he hasn’t had a happy time of things since becoming a starter. He made more defensive errors and bad reads this week, resulting in a try. Then he was officially taken off the field with 10 minutes to go — not because of any injury I can find!
Shaun Kenny-Dowall (17)
It was a quiet game from SKD but at least he didn’t have any clangers this week. All base stats and just one missed tackle … his base is definitely lower than it used to be which is interesting.
The Ugly
No major injuries to note.
Roosters v Rabbitohs (14—26)
The Roosters are flailing, the Rabbitohs are slowly building … what a time to be alive! Both teams now sit with a 3-3 record, firmly in the middle of the NRL ladder, and it’s yet another result that plenty of experts didn’t see coming given the significant outs that the Rabbitohs had. The Roosters are still their own worst enemy with ball in hand and it’s sad to see a pack with such big names get dominated the way they have been. It’ll be interesting to see if Trent Robinson can make some big decisions to fix the issues …
Let’s look at the key performers.
The Good
John Sutton (80)
Sutton has been flying under the radar somewhat, but he has been surprisingly good on the field. While not fully translating into SuperCoach points, his on-field performances have netted him a few attacking stats and strong minutes. This week, he played the full 80 minutes and scored a nice try with a line break, busted five tackles, offloaded once (yet to be updated) and scored 41 points in pure base stats. He’s unlikely to figure in anybody’s final 17 though, and his only benefit is the fact that he plays Round 13 and has the same dual position status as the likes of Bryce Cartwright. Move along …
Latrell Mitchell (71)
He has been divisive to say the least, but 29 per cent of SuperCoaches will be happy with his output this week. The cries of laziness, disinterest, disappearing … that’s all still true. Four runs — even if they were very effective each time — in 80 minutes is hard to read. Eight tackles for a centre is hard to read. But he scored a try, broke the line once, busted three tackles, offloaded once (pending updates), assisted a line break and kicked three goals from three attempts to prop up his score. Still, that floor is scarily low, and the goalkicking is his only saving grace right now.
The Bad
Luke Keary (18)
Wow, Keary had a stinker. He just couldn’t get his act together this week. That score includes a line break. And three errors — including one which cost the Roosters an impressive team try. He may get a try assist credited to him … but still, yuck …
Issac Liu (14)
Liu wasn’t injured, he still played 51 minutes. But where was he? He had a really poor game by his own standards, and it didn’t help the Roosters’ cause at all, given they were dominated in the middle.
The Ugly
No major injuries to note, aside from the very late withdrawal of Taukeiaho during the warm-up. Scans are pending but thankfully it appears he did not reinjure his ACL.
Originally published as SuperCoach NRL 2018: Wilfred Zee’s wrap of the good, bad and ugly from Round 6
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