NRL SuperCoach scores and analysis: Winners and losers from Bulldogs vs Wests Tigers, Titans vs Storm, Cowboys vs Dolphins
Despite not getting the result, SuperCoach owners were left largely happy with the efforts of the Cowboys with some big scores. See the full analysis of SuperCoach winners and losers from Saturday’s action.
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What a thrilling day of rugby league action, with two matches decided by just two points.
There were lots of SuperCoach winners after a flurry of tries, but a number of disappointments as well.
WINNERS:
Jamayne Isaako (143 points): What a haul! Three tries on the wing and four conversions contributed to the biggest haul of the day for the Dolphins flyer.
Kodi Nikorima (97 points): Three try assists and an overall terrific performance for the Dolphins five-eighth, nearly doubling his projected tally.
Tom Dearden (102 points): Cracking the century in a losing performance was Dearden who remains a solid 5/8 option.
Reuben Cotter (94 points): Cheers all round for Cotter’s 33% ownership after a 94 point haul. No doubt his ownership will be staying high.
Scott Drinkwater (90 points): He couldn’t nail a two-point field goal to save the game, but he did please his SuperCoach owners with two try assists and three line break assists.
Jake Averillo (93 points): His highest haul of the season and his second score above 88. Potentially some value at $445,400.
AJ Brimson (98 points): His highest points performance of the year, surpassing his 94 from last week. Fullback seems to be bringing out his best.
Phillip Sami (87 points): His second biggest haul of the year thanks to a try and two line breaks. Has been a bit up and down this year points wise, but that’s more like it.
Kieran Foran (78 points): Only owned by 1% of players, but a rather rare try promoted Foran to a solid round nine score.
Josh Curran (64 points): Owned by 24% of players, that’s a decent enough return for Curran, exceeding his projected score.
Jake Simpkin (68 points): Profited in the absence of Api Koroisau.
Bronson Xerri (52 points): Matched his projected score and remains a decent CTW option at $408,200 if he remains in the side.
LOSERS:
Jack Bostock (18 points): Massively outperformed by his teammate winger. Not the kind of return you want from a $601,600 player.
Isaiah Katoa (21 points): Took a backseat with the points while Nikorima shined, disappointing his 5% ownership.
Joe Chan (18 points): 40 minutes for the popular cheapie but not a lot of points. Still a 32% ownership, could it be time to say goodbye?
Harry Grant (48 points): Below average scoring performance from Storm’s No.9, falling well short of his projected 82.
Ryan Papenhuyzen (73 points): Not a bad scoring performance, but an ankle injury could enforce a trade for Papenhuyzen owners, with the star fullback destined for a spell on the sidelines.
Beau Fermor (38 points): Not a big return for his 11% ownership, falling short of his projected 56.
Jahrome Hughes (31 points): Came into the game with a five round average of 82.2 and didn’t get anywhere near that.
Lachlan Galvin (41 points): Not awful from the game’s favourite cheapie, but not meeting his projected score or average, so slightly disappointing for his 40% ownership.
FULL TIME - Dolphins 28-26 Cowboys
Wow! What a finish.
Scott Drinkwater had the chance to level the game up with a two-point field goal but fell just short, allowing the Dolphins to see out the clock and seal a derby victory.
Here are the top SuperCoach scorers from that thriller, with the full analysis of the night’s action to come:
77th minute - Dolphins 28-26
The Cowboys are in and it’s Jeremiah Nanai with a second try.
He crashes in on the right flank off a short ball from Scott Drinkwater, giving Valentine Holmes a chance to level the derby up from the tee, which he can’t do!
The kick goes out to the left and the Dolphins still lead by two.
Nanai is up to 88 points, Drinkwater up to 90.
Grandstand finish!
67th minute - Dolphins 28-22
Dolphins take the lead and it’s the speed of Jake Averillo that’s too much for the Cowboys to handle.
Kodi Nikorima picks up his fourth try assist with a delicate grubber into the danger area for Averillo to pursue and ground just short of the dead-ball line.
Nikorima moves to 93 points, his best score of the season so far, with Averillo shooting up to 79.
Isaako converts to make the margin six and set up a massive final 10.
Dolphins pull off the kick and chase to perfection.
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) May 4, 2024
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62nd minute - 22-22
Scott Drinkwater is in to score for the Cowboys. Or is he?
No, the try is denied by bunker, as the ball took a touch off of Jake Clifford and went forward to Drinkwater in the buildup.
We remain all squared up and Drinkwater is denied some good SuperCoach points for his 10% ownership, currently sitting at 68.
60th minute - 22-22
Still all locked up. The tries aren’t flowing as freely this half.
Isaako is well out in front for SuperCoach points on 124. Nikorima is his closest competitor with 79.
For the Cowboys, Tom Dearden leads on 74, followed by Reuben Cotter on 72.
48th minute - 22-22
That is brilliant from the Dolphins and Jamayne Isaako has a hat-trick.
It’s the usual suspects again. Nikorima spun away from a tackle to find Averillo on the burst, before finding his winger Isaako with a delightful little flick pass to go in and score.
It’s back-to-back hat-tricks for Isaako against the Cowboys, taking him over the century for SuperCoach points to please his 8% ownership.
Isaako doesn’t convert the try and we’re all locked up.
45th minute - Cowboys 22-18 Dolphins
Tesi Niu has left the field after appearing to pick up an ankle injury.
He’s sitting on 52 points.
HALF TIME - Cowboys 22-18 Dolphins
The Cowboys pounce on the last set of the half to take the lead into the sheds.
Katoa couldn’t handle a Dearden grubber into the in-goal, allowing Sam McIntyre to snatch up the footy and put it down brilliantly.
Holmes converts to make the margin four at the break.
Disappointing end for the Dolphins, but it sets up a massive second half with 40 points in this contest already.
Top SuperCoach scorers from the first half:
33rd minute - Dolphins 18-16
The Dolphins bounce back again in this back-and-forth contest.
It’s Isaako again in the corner through another slick passing move involving Nikorima and Averillo.
Isaako once again nails the kick from the touchline to retake the lead.
He moves to 78 first half points, with Nikorima not far behind on 69.
30th minute - Cowboys 16-12
Trai Fuller with a moment to forget, no doubt frustrating all his new SuperCoach owners.
The fullback couldn’t handle a Clifford bomb, presenting Jeremiah Nanai with one of the easiest tries he’ll score all season.
Nanai goes to 36 points, while Fuller is dwindling on just 12 after that error.
Holmes converts to put the Cowboys back ahead by four.
22nd minute - Dolphins 12-10
The Dolphins lead!
This time it’s down the left flank, with Kodi Nikorima at the heart of the attacking move again.
A lovely short ball put Tesi Niu through the line and in for a try, with Isaako nailing the kick from out wide to put the Dolphins ahead.
Niu up to 41 points, Nikorima at 47 and Isaako leading on 48.
We have a game on our hands.
14th minute - Cowboys 10-6
Not something you see every day.
Jake Clifford has just nailed an unintentional 40-20.
He sent up a towering kick which the Dolphins failed to clean up, bouncing behind the defensive line and out of the field for the Cowboys to get back.
Clifford up to 18 points with that. Meanwhile Cotter has cracked the half century, pleasing his 32% ownership.
This the first ever unintentional 40/20?
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) May 4, 2024
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11th minute - Cowboys 10-6
It’s raining tries in Townsville!
The Dolphins have bounced back with their first attacking chance of the game through Jamayne Isaako.
A spread to the right flank saw Kodi Nikorima get to the outside of his man brilliantly before firing a pass out to his winger to finish in the corner.
Isaako would add the extras to his own try from the sideline, taking the Dolphins to six points and his own SuperCoach tally to 37 points.
6th minute - Cowboys 10-0
The Cowboys are here to play tonight.
Scott Drinkwater nailed a 40-20 to put the Cowboys up in a position to strike, taking his point tally to 34.
From the next set, it would be popular 2RF Reuben Cotter who muscled his way to the line under the stick amid the attempted tackles of three defenders.
Holmes would add the extra to take the Cowboys to an early 10 point lead.
3rd minute - Cowboys 4-0
A Valentine Holmes break on the first set of the match highlighted the attitude the Cowboys have tonight.
Minutes later, they’ve gone and opened the scoring through Kyle Feldt from a simple left to right spread.
Feldt shoots out to 33 early points, while Scott Drinkwater, who provided the final pass, goes to 24.
5 minutes in and the Cowboys are already on the board.
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) May 4, 2024
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LATE MAIL - Cowboys vs Dolphins
After a thrilling match between Melbourne and the Gold Coast, we turn our attention to the Cowboys and Dolphins.
Just one change for each side. Jake Clifford replaces Chad Townsend in the Cowboys’ halves, while the Dolphins will start Connelly Lemuelu up front, benching Mark Nicholls.
FULL TIME - Melbourne Storm defeat Gold Coast Titans 22-20
Wow, what a contest.
Melbourne hold on to pick up the points despite scoring just two points in the second half.
Ryan Papenhuyzen is the big headline from the match, ruled out in the dying moments of the first half with an ankle injury.
Top SuperCoach scores:
77th minute - Storm 22-20
The titans are absolutely pounding on the door of the Storm defence and Phillip Sami nearly scores in the corner, but Melbourne have done enough to deny him in the corner.
Can the Storm hang on for these final minutes?
67th minute - Storm 22-20
Brian Kelly is penalised for a high tackle so Nick Meaney has a redemption shot at goal for two points.
This time he makes no mistake and Melbourne take the lead by two.
What drama!
Brimson is on 94 points, Sami on 83 for the Titans.
Papenhuyzen remains the highest Storm scorer with 73, followed by Blore on 60.
65th minute - 20-20
The Titans are penalised for not clearing the ruck and the Storm opt to take a two-point shot at goal.
However, Nick Meaney hits the upright with his attempted penalty shot, bouncing back into the hands of the Titans.
Someone check Craig Bellamy’s heart rate.
58th minute - 20-20
The Titans look to have taken the lead through some AJ Brimson brilliance down the right flank, but Beau Fermor is deemed to have obstructed a Storm defender in the buildup and the try is ruled out.
Brimson is cooking and up to 91 SuperCoach points.
Titans turning up the heat. Melbourne looked rocked.
53rd minute - 20-20
Brian Kelly makes no mistake from close range this time and adds two points for the Titans from a penalty shot, levelling up the scores.
Big second half ahead.
47th minute - Storm 20-18
Titans are back in this contest in a big way with AJ Brimson working some magic to score a try.
Foran found his fullback on the inside while shaping to go wide and the fullback was able to spin away from an attempted tackle and score.
AJ has shot up to 72 points while Foran also moves to to 61.
Here come the Gold Coast.
Meanwhile, Faalogo has passed his HIA and will return to the contest, giving us a glimpse of the young gun at fullback.
SECOND HALF - Storm 20-12
Ryan Papenhuyzen is officially out of this contest with a suspected high ankle sprain.
The second half has picked up right where it left off in the first with plenty of action, as Alec MacDonald nearly crashes over for a try at one end, then the Titans nearly go in at the other.
Sualauvi Faalogo is also off the field being tested for a HIA.
HALFTIME – Storm 20-12
And breathe.
Lots happening in that first half, with the headline being the apparent injury to Ryan Papenhuyzen in the dying moments.
Up until then he was raking in the SuperCoach points, leading the match on 73.
Here are the top 10 point scorers at the break.
38th minute – Storm 20-12
A sight no fan of the game wants to see, with Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen hobbling off the field with what looks to be a lower leg injury.
He reeled out of an attempted tackle of AJ Brimson in obvious pain and immediately left the field.
He was having a terrific half up until that point.
Updates to come.
35th minute – Storm 20-12
The Titans have hit back immediately through Phillip Sami in the corner, but it’s one that might cause some debate.
Melbourne initially played on with the thought that Sami had bounced the ball in an attempt to ground the footy, but the play goes up as a try and the bunker doesn’t overturn it.
That puts the Titans winger on 47 points, the most for his side.
It was mightily close, what do you think? Try or no try?
33rd minute – Storm 20-6
It’s a bit of razzle dazzle this time as the Storm punish the Titans from a scrum again.
Sualauvi Fa’alogo has scored one for the highlight reel in just his second NRL game, receiving the ball from the scrum and showcasing his blistering footwork to bamboozle the Titans edge defence. Style points for the diving finish as well.
Fa’alogo goes to 39 points. He’s in jersey no. 19 tonight, but surely there’s a spot for this kid going forward. Some talent.
26th minute – Storm 16-6
Melbourne are turning up the heat now.
Ryan Papenhuyzen has joined in on the tryscoring action after a brilliant Melbourne move, which means it’s turning into quite the night for his SuperCoach owners.
The Storm No. 1 is now up to 71 first half points and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Nick Meaney converted to put Melbourne further ahead.
The Storm look locked in tonight.
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) May 4, 2024
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24th minute – Storm 10-6
Well that was all too easy for Melbourne.
A simply spread on an attacking scrum exposed a poor defensive read from the Titans, leading to an overlap on the right and allowing Will Warbrick to finish in the corner.
Papenhuyzen provided the final pass to bring his total to 52, while Warbrick goes to 34 points.
20th minute – 6-6
Melbourne have replied instantly and it’s the milestone man who has found the line.
Put it down to some great work in the buildup by Ryan Papenhuyzen who was elusive to the Titans defence and nearly could’ve scored himself, but unselfishly played in his five-eighth to score, upsetting thousands of his SuperCoach owners in the process.
Papenhuyzen is up to 32 points and Munster is up to 28 with the scores locked at 6-6.
17th minute – Titans 6-0
With one playmaker off the field, the other has stood up.
Kieran Foran has opened the scoring with a brilliant solo effort, muscling his way to the line brilliantly with four Storm defenders trying to stop him.
Foran is up to 38 SuperCoach points, the most in this fixture so far.
Brian Kelly added the extras with a much better kick than last time.
Meanwhile, Tanah Boyd has emerged from the sheds with ice on his left forearm, out of this match with a confirmed wrist injury.
How's he missed THIS ONE!
— Fox League (@FOXNRL) May 4, 2024
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10th minute – Nil-all
Brian Kelly has just missed one of the conversion attempts he’ll ever have.
From nearly right in front, the Titans centre misses the opportunity to put the Titans ahead by two.
No doubt he won’t live that one down for a while.
Meanwhile, Tanah Boyd has left the field with an arm injury. The diagnosis has not been confirmed yet. He sits on just three SuperCoach points.
7th minute – Nil-all
Storm look to have taken the lead, but the celebrations are short lived.
Jahrome Hughes took on the line himself from 40m out, bursting through the Titans defenders before grubbering the ball for Eliesa Katoa to plant down the ball.
However, it was determined there was an obstruction in the build up from Christian Welch, so the try is ruled out by the bunker and it remains scoreless.
Shame, it was terrific work by the Storm halfback, who is up to 16 SuperCoach points.
5th minute – Nil-all
Early chances squandered by both sides.
Trent Loiero looked destined to crash under the sticks for the opening try for the Storm but coughed up the footy.
Then at the other end, AJ Brimson looked like he was going to weave his way to the line on the left flank, but also fumbled the ball at the crucial moment.
Promising signs of a good game to come though.
TITANS VS STORM: Late mail
The second match of Saturday sees the Titans, fresh off their first win of the season, hosting the Storm, currently in third on the ladder.
Young gun Josiah Pahulu has been promoted to the starting Titans side in prop forward for his fifth NRL appearance, with Joe Stimson starting on the bench.
For Melbourne, Sualauvi Faalogo has come into the side in the No. 19 jersey on the wing for the injured Xavier Coates, with Tyran Wishart now moving to the bench. Bronson Garlick remains in the squad as 18th man, while Dean Ieremia drops out.
SuperCoach eyes will be on the dynamite spine of the Melbourne Storm, as well as popular cheapie Joe Chan, who has the highest ownership (32.9%) in this fixture.
FULL TIME – Bulldogs 22-14
That was probably a result many expected and neither side really impressed during the arm wrestle.
The Tigers simply need to find more spark in attack. Scoring two or three tries a game doesn’t cut it in NRL 2024 and it won’t be enough to beat any true contender.
Meanwhile Bulldogs fans should also be concerned with that performance. They got the two points but that was hardly convincing.
At least both teams got through the game relatively unscathed.
75th minute – Bulldogs 22-14
This game is descending into a farce.
The Tigers have understandably been frustrated by a lack of calls and officials have done nothing to subdue their heightened state.
Wests will finish the game with two players in the sin bin following a fracas and Reed Mahoney somehow stayed on the field despite charging in to escalate the incident.
Just blow full time now, nothing good will come of the next five minutes.
70th minute – Bulldogs 22-14
With 10 minutes to play, it’s now or never for the Tigers to chance their hand.
Wests have been held scoreless since halftime while a much-improved Bulldogs outfit were clinical in snatching the lead.
You’d think one more Canterbury try would seal it.
58th minute – Bulldogs 22-14
Matt Burton broke the game open with a linebreak and great draw-and-pass to put Bronson Xerri across the line and extend his side’s lead.
Aidan Sezer somehow avoided the sin bin following a hip-drop tackle on Josh Curran, escaping with a penalty that was knocked over by Burton to put the Bulldogs ahead initially.
Sezer was placed on report but escaped without any further action.
The Bulldogs had earlier locked up the sores with another Burton penalty goal.
45th minute – Tigers 14-12
A monster Viliame Kikau run allowed the Bulldogs to attack from close range and Josh Curran won the race to a grubber to get Canterbury back on track.
It didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to break the line and the Tigers have to be better if they want to hold on.
HALFTIME – Tigers 14-6
It’s a wonder the Bulldogs aren’t ahead considering their opening 10 minutes of dominance.
They almost scored a full-field try with a last-gasp trick play to close the half, but the Tigers scrambled to shut it down.
Canterbury completed at 16/17 sets at 94 per cent through the first 40 minutes and made three linebreaks to the Tigers’ two but find themselves eight points behind.
The Tigers can take plenty of confidence from their first half but the game is far from won at this stage. They will surely have to weather a second-half push from the hosts.
29th minute – Tigers 14-6
The new man for the Tigers Fonua Pole doesn’t take long to make his impact felt, crashing over the line from close range to push his side’s lead back to eight points.
Canterbury just can’t get back on top after such an impressive start.
24th minute – 8-6 Tigers
The Bulldogs finally find a way through the Tigers defence via lock Kurt Mann.
Reed Mahoney drew plenty of attention from dummy half and found his forward with a crisp short ball to crash through a gaping hole in the defence.
Mann is leading SuperCoach scoring with 46 points while speedy winger Josh Addo-Carr is yet to register a point.
17th minute – 8-0 Tigers
Tigers halfback Aidan Sezer kicked his side two points ahead with a close-range penalty goal.
The next set, Wests spread the ball early and Jahream Bula, Brent Naiden and Charlie Staines combined for a beautiful length of the field try.
Suddenly, after withstanding wave after wave of attack, the Tigers have a handy eight-point lead following Sever’s magnificent sideline conversion.
10th minute – 0-0
The Bulldogs owned the opening stages of the match but haven’t found a way through the Tigers’ resolute goal line defence.
Eventually a Matt Burton grubber rolled too deep and let Wests off the hook with a 20m restart.
The Tigers will take plenty of confidence from the first 10 minutes even though they’ve barely had an opportunity to attack.
TEAM NEWS
Wests Tigers captain Api Koroisau dropped out of the matchday 17 due to a back injury he picked up in round 8. That opened the door for Jake Simpkin (HOK, $279,100) to start at dummy half.
Bulldogs fullback Connor Tracey dropped out of the home side with a quad complaint, shifting Blake Taaffe from the interchange to the field.
Sam Hughes will start the game with Josh Curran moving back to the bench and young gun Jacob Preston joins the interchange for his first appearance since injuring his jaw in round 4.
There’s plenty to watch in every game but some of the major SuperCoach storylines promise to be:
* Did we all sleep on Matt Burton?
The Bulldogs attack was running hot ahead of their round eight bye and Matt Burton was in the middle of everything. The Canterbury playmaker has the best 3RA and 5RA of any five-eighth and boasts a career average of 70PPG against the Wests Tigers. On SuperCoach form this match looks like a one-way affair and the Api Koroisau late scratching is a blow to the hosts. If Canterbury run up a score here then Burton will undoubtedly benefit.
* Can the Storm spine put on 400+ points?
The Storm’s spine of Ryan Papenhuyzen, Cam Munster, Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant feasted on Rabbit stew last week posting a combined 430 points. Plenty of SuperCoaches are buying into the quartet hoping that they go big against the Titans today.
* Will Trai Fuller continue to excel?
Is Trai Fuller 2024’s version of Jahream Bula (ie a bottom-dollar fullback capable of putting out ‘keeper’ scores) or has the 27-year-old rookie flattered to deceive in his opening two games of the season? Another score of 60+ and those that bought will be feeling Jahream Bula 2023 vibes, those that held off will probably be reassessing their lives. I don’t think we’ll know the answer to that question after tonight’s game against the Cowboys but we’ll certainly have a better idea. With a BE of -123, the Dolphin’s price is set to soar regardless of how he performs tonight.
Originally published as NRL SuperCoach scores and analysis: Winners and losers from Bulldogs vs Wests Tigers, Titans vs Storm, Cowboys vs Dolphins
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