NRL teams analysis round 18: Harry Grant, Kalyn Ponga news rocks SuperCoach

It’s back to the drawing board for SuperCoaches with popular stars Harry Grant and Kalyn Ponga among a number of shocks in the round 18 teams.

This was a doozy of a teams day even by SuperCoach standards.

Read on for our lowdown on yet another week of calamities - this time involving popular players Harry Grant, Jeremy Marshall-King, Fletcher Sharpe and Sua Faalogo.

But the big decision remains: What to do with Joey Manu?

JOEY MANU TACTICS

The Roosters star broke his hand when fending off Adam Doueihi on the weekend and now looks set for at least four weeks on the sideline.

Easily the most traded player of the week my take on Manu is - and this comes as an avowed trade-aholic - hold, for now.

If Manu’s rehab goes well then he’d return for a final five games which runs: Dolphins, Eels, Titans, Raiders and Rabbitohs.

Some pretty juicy matchups there.

If you have the CTW depth to cover Manu for four weeks then I think that draw warrants a hold.

If you don’t have the depth to hold for four weeks then I’d argue there is still merit in holding at least one more week.

Origin and the round 19 bye (which Manu and the Roosters did not cover anyway) are just around the corner. If you hold till the Origin stars return in round 20 then you have a much deeper pool of CTW options to pick from.

Manu to Marzhew (the most popular trade of the week) or Manu to Best have some appeal (discussed below) but I don’t see either as keepers so this is a two trade move. If you have been hoarding trades then I can see the play, but if you have 15 trades or fewer it’s a bit of a waste.

Joseph Manu suffers a hand injury. Picture: NRL Photos

LOSERS FROM TEAMS

* Harry Grant HOK $639,000 - Rested again by the Storm which means three weeks (at least) of SuperCoach action missed in a row given he’s out for Origin duties next week. “After discussions with the medical staff and Craig Bellamy we felt it best to give Harry another week off as he’s been carrying a lot of bumps and bruises from the season and he’s played a lot of football this year,” said head of football Frank Ponissi. “He’s had two tough Origin matches so given it’s the middle of the year we thought it was in his best interest to give him a break two games in a row which will freshen him up for the back end of the season.”

* Jeremy Marshall-King HOK $546,400 - Out for 8-10 weeks with a foot injury and therefore won’t play a role for SuperCoaches again this season, although he may return for the Dolphins if they make the finals.

* Fletcher Sharpe FLB $313,400 - The early return of Kalyn Ponga (more below) relegates last week’s most popular cheapie to the bench. But with a BE of -34, he merely needs to take the field to score another price rise. Hold for now and assess next week.

* Sua Faalogo CTW/FLB $531,800 - The return of Ryan Papenhuyzen sees Faalogo revert to the Melbourne bench. With a BE of 90 and no Round 19 coverage, he’s ideally a sell. “Paps has got to get through the training but we’re very confident that he will as he trained this morning (Tuesday) and will be training tomorrow with the team and again on Friday for a captain’s run, so he’s shaping to play on the weekend,” Ponissi said.

* Tom Trbojevic FLB $769,300 - Back from a long-term hamstring injury but at centre, where his SuperCoach output will likely be cut considerably.

* Lehi Hopoate FLB $390,600 - The popular cheapie reverts to the bench this week due to the return of Turbo at centre, with Tolu Koula moving to fullback.

WINNERS FROM TEAMS

* Kalyn Ponga FLB $877,600 - Back early from a foot injury and could become a serious top 17 option for the run home. BE of 171 so definitely wait and see.

* Origin players - All Origin players rested last week are back in action except Harry Grant. Great news for owners of Dylan Edwards, Payne Haas, Latrell Mitchell, Reuben Cotter, Haumole Olakau’atu, Zac Lomax etc.

Greg Marzhew is a popular buy this week. Picture: Scott Gardiner/Getty Images

BUY

* Greg Marzhew/Bradman Best - Manu is a popular sell so let’s make a package duo out of these two Knights. Let’s start with the positives:

- the Knights cover round 19,

- the club is fighting for a finals spot and is unlikely to rest stars as a result,

- the draw is pretty good with a final five games that runs Tigers, Sharks, Rabbitohs, Titans and Dolphins,

- Ponga is back this week and he makes everyone at the Knights better,

- the duo are in decent form. Best has a 3RA of 73PPG and a 5RA of 79.8PPG while Marzhew has a 3RA of 65.3PPG and 5RA of 57.2PPG, and

- That good form means their BEs are low. Marzhew has a BE of -12, Best has a BE of 5.

Now the negatives:

- Marzhew is in nowhere near the form he was last year with his try and linebreak numbers down over 60% compared to his 2023 numbers.

- Best is not very consistent. For reference he has scored 60+ in just 46% of games this year. For comparison these are the 60+ percentages for rival CTWs: Manu (73%), Lomax (69%), Garrick (62%), Young (58%), Kiraz (53%).

In summary:

- Marzhew is not a keeper, but he does have the capacity to make some quick cash thanks to his lowish rice and negative BE. If you wish to take a gamble then he’s an option - but it is a gamble.

- Best is the much safer option. He’s a borderline keeper but for me he falls below the border not above it. Despite his recent good form he still sits around 18th in terms of CTW averages (minimum 10 games). If I had to pick one it’s Best, but I’d prefer to wait till round 19 and pick up someone like Lomax or To’o post Origin.

* Nicho Hynes HFB $741,300 - After a moderate performance against the Bulldogs last week, Hynes is available for under $750K for the first time since round 22 of 2022. This week’s matchup (Titans) is not the cakewalk it has been in the past but while I would be surprised if he reaches his BE (118) I would not be shocked to see a score in the 70-90 range. That’s good enough to trade in my opinion. But if you wanted to you could wait one more week when Hynes (vs the Tigers) will be pretty much a must.

* Dom Young/James Tedesco - The Roosters are in good form and Young and Teddy are cashing in. Both strong buys but keep in mind that they are on the bye in round 19.

* Haumole Olakau’atu 2RF $598,500 - I’m not so sure about this one. On the positive side, the big man is coming off a last match 118 against the Dragons and is averaging 70PPG this year. On the negative, Olakau’atu has a strong chance of being retained by the Blues for Origin III and if that happens he would be unavailable for the round 19 bye. One to strongly consider post-Origin but not this week.

* Damien Cook HOK $709,200 - The injury to Marshall-King (and to a lesser extent Grant) leaves many looking for a hooker and Cook is the pick of the bunch. After a lean start to the season Cook has hit his traps and has a 5RA of 89.8PPG. Headed to the Dragons next year Cook clearly has a point to prove and he’s back to his sniping best. One other bonus is the draw. The Rabbitohs are done with their byes so Cook covers Rd 19 and 20.

* Reed Mahoney HOK $614,500 - Option B in the hooker ranks, Mahoney does not quite have Cook’s upside and attacking game, but he has been really consistent this year averaging 66.2PPG over the season and has a 3RA of 64.7PPP and 5RA of 69.8PPG.

SELL

* Kai Pearce-Paul 2RF $530,600 - His running game has dropped away significantly in the past few weeks and while that has been offset slightly by a defensive uptick SC rewards runs more than tackles. He is a valuable round 19 piece, but unless he shows more in attack very soon then he’s a strong sell after that week.

ATKINSON SHIFTED TO WING

Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon is planning the shock NRL recall of talented utility Daniel Atkinson, but this time on the wing.

Better known as a fullback, centre or five-eighth, Atkinson is poised to be named on the Sharks wing due to HIA protocols ruling Sione Katoa out for Cronulla’s important clash with the Titans in Coffs Harbour on Friday night.

Depth wingers Sam Stonestreet (illness) and Mawene Hiroti (fractured eye socket) are also unavailable.

Atkinson displayed his class for the Sharks earlier this season by steering the club to wins over the Broncos and Storm in the absence of Nicho Hynes.

Daniel Atkinson will play on the wing this week. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

SIVO OUT FOR 4-6

Parramatta’s injury crisis has deepened with powerful winger Maika Sivo ruled out for the next four to six weeks.

The Fijian force suffered a hamstring injury against the Knights last weekend with subsequent scans revealing the extent of the damage.

Interim Eels coach Trent Barrett will be forced to dig deep into his roster to find a fit replacement on the wing.

Sivo joins an increasing casualty ward that already includes Bailey Simonsson (knee), Haze Dunster (foot), J’maine Hopgood (back), Kelma TuIlagi (thumb) and Ofahiki Ogden (pectoral).

—David Riccio

Maika Sivo will miss 4-6 weeks. Picture: Scott Gardiner/Getty Images

NRL ROUND EIGHTEEN

EELS v RABBITOHS

Thursday, 7:50pm, CommBank Stadium, Sydney

Eels

1. Clinton Gutherson 2. Jake Tago 3. Viliami Penisini 4. Sean Russell 5. Blaize Talagi 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 9. Brendan Hands 10. Junior Paulo 11. Ryan Matterson12. Bryce Cartwright 13. Shaun Lane

Interchange: 14. Matthew Arthur 15. Joe Ofahengaue 16. Matt Doorey 17. Charlie Guymer

Reserves: 18. Daejarn Asi 19. Makahesi Makatoa 20. Wiremu Greig 21. Morgan Harper 22. Luca Moretti

Rabbitohs

1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Alex Johnston 3. Taane Milne 4. Richard Kennar 5. Jacob Gagai 6. Jack Wighton 7. Cody Walker 8. Davvy Moale 9. Damien Cook 10. Sean Keppie 11. Cam Murray 12. Jai Arrow 13. Keaon Koloamatangi

Bench: 14. Peter Mamouzelos 15. Tallis Duncan 16. Thomas Burgess 17. Michael Chee Kam

Reserves: 18. Jye Gray 19. Liam Le Blanc 20. Fletcher Myers, 21. Adam Christensen 22 Tom Fletcher

SHARKS v TITANS

Friday, 6pm, C.ex Coffs International Stadium, Coffs Harbour

Sharks

1. William Kennedy 2. Daniel Atkinson 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Kayal Iro 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Braydon Trindall 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Thomas Hazelton 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Oregon Kaufusi 11. Briton Nikora 12. Siosifa Talakai 13. Cameron McInnes

Interchange: 14. Jack Williams 15. Royce Hunt 16. Toby Rudolf 17. Teig Wilton

Reserves: 18. Jesse Colquhoun 19. Tom Rodwell 20. Braden Hamlin-Uele 21. Tuku Hau Tapuha 22. Jayden Berrell

Titans

1. Keano Kini 2. Alofiana Khan-Pereira 3. Brian Kelly 4. Phillip Sami 5. Jojo Fifita 6. AJ Brimson 7. Kieran Foran 8. Moeaki Fotuaika 9. Sam Verrills 10. Erin Clark 11. David Fifita 12. Beau Fermor 13. Chris Randall

Interchange: 14. Isaac Liu 15. Josiah Pahulu 16. Keenan Palasia 17. Joe Stimson

Reserves: 18. Tanah Boyd 19. Iszac Fa’asumaleaui 20. Jacob Alick-Wiencke 21. Ken Maumalo 22. Jaylan De Groot

BRONCOS v PANTHERS

Friday, 8pm, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Broncos

1. Reece Walsh 2. Corey Oates 3. Deine Mariner 4. Selwyn Cobbo 5. Jesse Arthars 6. Ezra Mam 7. Jock Madden 8. Corey Jensen 9. Billy Walters 10. Payne Haas 11. Brendan Piakura 12. Kobe Hetherington 13. Patrick Carrigan

Interchange: 14. Tyson Smoothy 15. Xavier Willison 16. Josiah Karapani 17. Martin Taupau

Reserves: 18. Tristan Sailor 19. Joshua Rogers 20. Cory Paix 21. Blake Mozer 22. Kotoni Staggs

Panthers

1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Izack Tago 4. Paul Alamoti 5. Brian To’o 6. Jack Cole 7. Jarome Luai 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Scott Sorensen 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo

Interchange: 14. Daine Laurie 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Liam Henry 17. Matt Eisenhuth

Reserves: 18. Brad Schneider 19. Luron Patea 20. Trent Toelau 21. Casey McLean 22. Luke Sommerton

BULLDOGS v WARRIORS

Saturday, 3pm, Accor Stadium, Sydney

Bulldogs

1. Connor Tracey 2. Jacob Kiraz 3. Bronson Xerri 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Blake Wilson 6. Matt Burton 7. Toby Sexton 8. Max King 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Samuel Hughes 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Jaeman Salmon 13. Bailey Hayward

Interchange: 14. Kurt Mann 15. Josh Curran 16. Kurtis Morrin 17. Lipoi Hopoi

Reserves: 19. Jeral Skelton 20. Jake Turpin 21. Blake Taaffe 22. Harry Hayes 23. Jack Todd

Warriors

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 4. Adam Pompey 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita 7. Te Maire Martin 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Mitchell Barnett 11. Marata Niukore 12. Kurt Capewell

Interchange: 13. Tohu Harris 14. Freddy Lussick 15. Dylan Walker 16. Jazz Tevaga 17. Jackson Ford

Reserves: 18. Jacob Laban 20. Taine Tuaupiki 21. Ali Leiataua 22. Bunty Afoa 23. Leka Halasima

TIGERS v STORM

Saturday, 5:30pm, Leichhardt Oval, Sydney

Tigers

1. Jahream Bula 2. Luke Laulilii 3. Solomona Faataape 4. Adam Doueihi 5. Charlie Staines 6. Lachlan Galvin 7. Aidan Sezer 8. Stefano Utoikamanu 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. Fonua Pole 11. John Bateman 12. Samuela Fainu 13. Justin Matamua

Interchange: 14. Heath Mason 15. Sione Fainu 16. Alex Seyfarth 17. David Klemmer

Reserves: 18. Reuben Porter 19. Tallyn Da Silva 20. Solomon Alaimalo 21. Kit Laulilii 22. Justin Olam

Storm

1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. William Warbrick 3. Grant Anderson 4. Jack Howarth 5. Kane Bradley 6. Tyran Wishart 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Tui Kamikamica 9. Bronson Garlick 10. Josh King 11. Shawn Blore 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Trent Loiero

Interchange: 14. Sualauvi Faalogo 15. Christian Welch 16. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 17. Joe Chan

Reserves: 18. Reimis Smith 19. Alec MacDonald 20. Dean Ieremia 21. Chris Lewis 22. Lazarus Vaalepu

COWBOYS V SEA EAGLES

Saturday, 7:35pm, QCB Stadium, Townsville

Cowboys

1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Valentine Holmes 4. Viliami Vailea 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Tom Dearden 7. Chad Townsend 8. Jordan McLean 9. Reece Robson 10. Jason Taumalolo 11. Heilum Luki 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Reuben Cotter

Interchange: 14. Sam McIntyre 15. Harrison Edwards 16. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki 17. Griffin Neame

Reserves: 18. Jake Granville 19. Braidon Burns 20. Thomas Mikaele 21. Jake Clifford 22. Jaxon Purdue

Sea Eagles

1. Tolutau Koula 2. Jason Saab 3. Tom Trbojevic 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Tommy Talau 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Toafofoa Sipley 9. Jake Simpkin 10. Josh Aloiai 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic

Interchange: 14. Lehi Hopoate 15. Karl Lawton 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Nathan Brown

Reserves: 18. Clayton Faulalo 19. Aaron Schoupp 20. Gordon Chan Kum Tong 21. Caleb Navale 22. Aitasi James

ROOSTERS v DRAGONS

Sunday, 2pm, Allianz Stadium, Sydney

Roosters

1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Michael Jennings 4. Sitili Tupouniua 5. Dominic Young 6. Luke Keary 7. Sam Walker 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Brandon Smith 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Angus Crichton 12. Victor Radley 13. Connor Watson

Interchange: 14. Naufahu Whyte 15. Terrell May 16. Nat Butcher 17. Spencer Leniu

Reserves: 18. Ethan King 19. Siua Wong 20. Sandon Smith 21. Blake Steep 22. Salesi Foketi

Dragons

1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Zac Lomax 3. Moses Suli 4. Max Feagai 5. Christian Tuipulotu 6. Kyle Flanagan 7. Ben Hunt 8. Francis Molo 9. Jacob Liddle 10. Jack de Belin 11. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 12. Jaydn Su’A 13. Tom Eisenhuth

Interchange: 14. Blake Lawrie 15. Ben Murdoch-Masila 16. Toby Couchman 17. Luciano Leilua

Reserves: 18. Michael Molo 19. Fa’amanu Brown 20. Ryan Couchman 21. Savelio Tamale 22. Jack Bird

RAIDERS v KNIGHTS

Sunday, 4:05pm, GIO Stadium, Canberra

Raiders

1. Kaeo Weekes 2. Jordan Rapana 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Albert Hopoate 5. Xavier Savage 6. Ethan Strange 7. Adam Cook 8. Josh Papali’i 9. Tom Starling 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Morgan Smithies

Interchange: 14. Danny Levi 15. Ata Mariota 16. Trey Mooney 17. Simi Sasagi

Reserves: 18. Sebastian Kris 19. Zac Woolford 20. Emre Guler 21. James Schiller 22. Hohepa Puru

Knights

1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Enari Tuala 3. Dane Gagai 4. Bradman Best 5. Greg Marzhew 6. Will Pryce 7. Jackson Hastings 8. Daniel Saifiti 9. Jayden Brailey 10. Leo Thompson 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Kai Pearce-Paul 13. Adam Elliott

Interchange: 14. Fletcher Sharpe 15. Jacob Saifiti 16. Brodie Jones 17. Dylan Lucas

Reserves: 18. Mathew Croker 19. Jack Hetherington 20. Jack Cogger 21. Krystian Mapapalangi 22. Thomas Cant

Originally published as NRL teams analysis round 18: Harry Grant, Kalyn Ponga news rocks SuperCoach