KFC SuperCoach NRL: Round 1 best players and trade targets

The Mastermind runs his eye over every KFC SuperCoach NRL Round 1 game and lines up the next must-have trade targets.

Can we get another fullback slot in our KFC SuperCoach teams please? Ryan Papenhuyzen had 95 points on the board within the first half of the season opener finishing on 124. Then Latrell Mitchell responded with a power-packed display notching 117. You’d have been happy with those selections until James Tedesco duly posted 162 points in his seventh career 150+ score. Tedesco is owned by 36.7% of teams and was captained by 26.5% of total teams. If you’re in that 73.5% banking against him you’re chasing already.

I can’t wait to see how Kalyn Ponga and Tom Trbojevic respond when they return from injuries.

ROUND 2 LATEST: CASUALTY WARD | EARLY MAIL ON TEAMS

Let’s take a look at the highs and lows from each game and the players to add to your watchlist.

STORM 26-18 RABBITOHS

Highs: What a shootout from the two fullbacks. Papenhuyzen’s 124 included two tries, a try assist, linebreak and 5/6 with the boot. Mitchell’s 117 had a try, try assist, 9 tackle busts, three offloads and two linebreaks. An injury to Adam Reynolds and he’d pick up the kicking duties making him essential.

Lows:Damien Cook, 36, had just two runs. He had a similar score in Round 1 last year and still scored more than any other hooker, so don’t abandon ship just yet. Josh Mansour, 15, posted his worst score in two seasons with his workrate well down. Had just seven runs.

Watchlist:Jai Arrow, 70, was the top scoring forward with 56 in base points along with five tackle busts and an offload in just 45 minutes.

KNIGHTS 32-16 BULLDOGS

Highs:Daniel Saifiti, 128, won’t score two tries and two linebreaks every week but the 52 in base stats, six tackle busts and three offloads should have him averaging in the mid 60s again. In just 2.9% of teams. Mitch Barnett, 105, kicked 6/7 goals, had a try and linebreak on top of 44 base points. A great start for the 4.5% of team who picked him.

Lows:Kurt Mann, 11, went off injured after 27 minutes. Corey Allan and Jake Averillo both scored 18.

Watchlist:Jayden Brailey scored 86 points in 80 minutes. Take another look and see what impact the Mann injury might have had on his minutes. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 89 is likely a trap but only scored two tries in all of 2020. He’s equalled that already, and the Bulldogs looked best attacking to his wing with Kyle Flanagan.

BRONCOS 16-24 EELS

Highs: Tackle machine Reed Mahoney scored a whopping 134 with a try, try assist and two linebreaks on top of his usual 50+ tackles. Junior Paulo, 100, had 52 in base points in 60 minutes with a try, linebreak, tackle busts and flurry of offloads taking him to the century. Blake Ferguson, 92, could barely muster an attacking stat in 2020 but delivered a try, try assist and two linebreaks. Tevita Pangai, 79, had a massive seven effective offloads for 28 points, more than a third of his tally.

Lows:Matthew Lodge, 17 points in 18 minutes. Started strongly before a hamstring injury. Tough choice now for his 16.7% owners to hold or sell.

Watchlist: Broncos winger David Mead, 77, has slipped under the radar of most KFCSuperCoaches and is in just 4.9% of teams. A try and two line breaks but also showed a nice work rate with 30 points from his hit-ups. If he backs it up in round 2 expect his ownership to surge. Anthony Milford, 69, had two try assists, a line break and a handful of other attacking stats. Don’t go near him yet, his two similar scores in 2020 were followed up with a 16 and 19. Isaiah Papali’i had 64 points in 56 minutes mostly in base stats but see how his he goes with Marata Niukore back from suspension this week.

WARRIORS 19-6 TITANS

Highs:Bayley Sironen scored 74 points in 49 minutes before he failed a second half HIA. He had 44 in base points and crashed over for a try and line break. Kodi Nikorima, 74, suggested he was the POD Warriors half people should have been looking at with a try, linebreak, three goals, and four forced dropouts.

Lows: Popular cheapie David Fusitu’a, 20, reiterated why he can’t be included in your 17.

Watchlist:Leeson Ah Mau, 69, had a try on top of his 38 base points in 42 minutes. One who could replace Lodge, but take another look at his minutes since Sironen and Wade Egan both left the game early. We love a dual CTW/2RF and Tyrone Peachey caught the eye with a very busy 55 mostly in base points in 51 minutes. There are a lot of mouths to feed in the Titans pack though.

ROOSTERS 46-4 SEA EAGLES

Highs:Tedesco had three tries, three try assists and eight linebreak assists in his 162 with only 13 runs for the game doing less of the grunt work than usual. The only downside was his two missed goals. He can’t do it all it seems. Brett Morris, 125, had three tries on the end of work from Tedesco and Joey Manu. Angus Crichton showed he can still post good numbers even in blowout games like this. 48 points in base stats with a try and two linebreaks for 98 in total.

Lows:Jason Saab, 11, is one of the cheapest CTW options and in 28.6% of teams but he’ll lose cash if these scores continue. Daly Cherry-Evans, 28, had -18 points from missed tackles, balls kicked dead and errors. Lachlan Lam, 26, couldn’t get a piece of the attacking stats up for grabs. Switched into hooker in attack in the second half when Jake Friend left the field but continued defending out wide. Not a great recipe for KFC SuperCoach points.

Watchlist:Lindsay Collins had 63 base points in 63 minutes. That’s a big bump up on his 39MPG of last year so worth another look.

PANTHERS 24-0 COWBOYS

Highs:Nathan Cleary, 103, two try assists and 4/5 goals along with a 40/20 and linebreak. He picks up points across so many categories these big scores come easy. Dylan Edwards, 96, continued his hot form from 2020 but it seems he’s a tier below the absolute best in the fullback position. Brian To’o scored a try, two linebreaks and had a massive 10 tackle busts.

Lows:Jason Taumalolo had 36 points in 51 minutes. Had just seven runs in his worst score in two seasons. Charlie Staines, 18, couldn’t repeat his try scoring feats of last year, but at least went close. Kyle Feldt, 15, made four errors, conceded two penalties and missed three tackles for -15 points. Valentine Holmes, 20, had just 10 hit-ups.

Watchlist:Spencer Leniu had 46 points in 38 minutes. Impressive output as he doubled his 20MPG of 2020. The best cheapie prop going if he can keep that up. Kurt Capewell scored 68 points in 66 minutes winning the battle for game time over Liam Martin 51 minutes and Viliame Kikau 43 minutes. Let’s see what happens in Round 2.

RAIDERS 30-12 TIGERS

Highs:Joseph Tapine, 100, had 54 in base stats and a stack of attacking stats including three offloads and four linebreak assists. Hudson Young, 79, filled the big KFC SuperCoach boots of John Bateman and looked the goods with a try and linebreak on top of 51 in base points.

Lows:Josh Papalii, 33, was already tracking for a low score and it got worse for the 27.4% of Big Papa owners with a sin-binning in the 79th minute. Luke Garner had just 30 points in 71 minutes. Those sort of number are inviting cheapie Shawn Blore to take his place when he returns from injury.

Watchlist: Jacob Liddle, 71, had 52 in base stats over 80 minutes. Adam Douhei returns from suspension this week so if you’re not on Liddle already you can take another look to see how that impacts his scoring. Ryan James, 69, had 36 base points in 41 minutes and a try of course. Promising numbers if you’re not on already. Jordan Rapana, 67, had two tries and two linebreaks but only 8 runs for the game. Luciano Leilua, 63, had 57 in base stats with the Tigers giving him plenty of ball. His floor was about 38 in 2020, so well worth keeping an eye on.

DRAGONS 18-32 SHARKS

Highs:Will Kennedy, 77, was at the heart of the Sharks best attacking moments and scored two tries. Ben Hunt, 74, had three try assists. Paul Vaughan, 73, had a linebreak and six tackle busts in 56 minutes.

Lows:Jack Bird, 27, had seven missed tackles. Tariq Sims, 27, had five missed tackles and three errors for -11 points.

Watchlist:Tyrell Fuimaono, 56, had a couple offloads and mostly base stats in 59 minutes. Got a little extra game time when Josh Kerr went off for a HIA but looks a solid cheapie on this performance. Matt Moylan, 52, had one try assist on top of a solid 33 base points. Looking like a great cash cow