NRL SuperCoach 2017: Wilfred Zee’s wrap of the good, bad and ugly from round 25
SUPERCOACHES are without Penrith revelation Dylan Edwards for the final round of the season due to a knee injury.
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- NRL SuperCoach: Wilfred Zee’s fearless predictions for round 25
- NRL Late Mail round 25: Team changes and gossip
REIGNING SuperCoach champion Wilfred Zee looks at the good, bad and ugly of round 24.
Panthers v Dragons (14 – 16)
What a game this one ended up being! Both of these teams have a lot on the line but the Dragons needed to win to keep their season alive. As it stands, their for and against is in good shape and a win over the Bulldogs *should* get them in ahead of the loser of either Panthers v Sea Eagles, or the Cowboys if they lose to the Broncos. The ledger for the Panthers is simple – win and they’re locked in (and could finish as high as fifth if the Sharks somehow lose – unlikely though!). However, lose and they face the prospect of tumbling outside the top eight if the Cowboys beat the Broncos by a decent margin! Big games next week, it’s always a good exciting finish when there’s still finals spots on the line!
Let’s look at the good, bad and the ugly.
The Good
Paul Vaughan (97)
He’s really had a big 2017, averaging 68 for the season before this round. Take out his HIA and injury-affected games though, and that average sits at 73 – very impressive! He crossed for his eighth try of the season, with a linebreak, and also busted seven tackles this week. Throw in 56 points in tackles and hit-ups, from 55 minutes of game time, and that’s an impressive day’s work from the hulking prop. Surely Origin beckons in 2018 if he can keep this kind of form up in the opening rounds of next year!
Gareth Widdop (95)
He’s been the biggest rollercoaster in the halves this year but what can’t be denied is that Widdop has thrived as the primary playmaker playing off a dominant and physical Dragons’ pack. His season average of 74 is bettered only by a four-game Brodie Croft; otherwise he stands above all other playmakers – including the likes of SJ, Milford and Cleary! That’s impressive in my book, and he showed some serious nerves to kick his team to victory in the dying minutes this week. Widdop had a try assist, a linebreak assist, four effective offloads, four forced dropouts, a tackle bust, two goals from three attempts and 30 points in base stats.
The Bad
Corey Harawira-Naera (31)
He’s got a season average of 60, but even if you take out his fast start (first five rounds he averaged 81) he still averaged 52.3 for the rest of the year. That’s very serviceable from a bottom dollar rookie who ended up providing some bye coverage! Still, the time to sell him was a while back as he does have the ability to drop some low base stat games – like this week (and also in Round 11 against the Knights).
The Ugly
Dylan Edwards (27)
It’s come out that Edwards suffered a Grade 2 MCL strain which rules him out for three to five weeks. Potential season ender even if the Panthers manage to go deep into the finals! That will be super disappointing for the rookie gun, as he’s really made the Panthers a better team. DWZ took his spot at fullback with Blake pushing out to the wing.
Warriors v Sea Eagles (21 – 22)
The Warriors really are a different team with SJ at the helm. They put in a vastly improved performance this week compared to the past month or so. The Sea Eagles still have some very worrying signs for a team that is meant to be playing finals football (if they make it), and you’d think the Panthers are favourites in their do-or-die clash with a top eight spot on the line. It wasn’t the highest of quality but the last 10 minutes of regular time, followed by golden point, was incredible! The game was entertaining if anything.
Let’s look at the good, bad and the ugly.
The Good
David Fusitu’a (105)
He’s one of the best wingers in the NRL and this game demonstrated why. He is a great finisher, strong in the air (that catch and try assist for the Ayshford try, WOW!) and can really do some damage bringing the ball back from kick returns. Two tries, a try assist (that magical catch and pass!), two linebreaks, five tackle busts, an effective offload and 27 points in pure base stats makes for very nice reading. If only he and the rest of the team could be more consistent…
Jake Trbojevic (100)
This guy, Paul Gallen, Jason Taumalolo and Simon Mannering are currently in a tight tussle to be the highest averaging FRF or 2RF for 2017, with there being a mere 2.5 points per game between the four of them. Without a doubt, Jake is a machine and his rapid rise to elite level (just like his brother) is recognition of their undeniable talent and champion quality. Everyone has talked about Paul Vaughan’s tryscoring exploits but Jake has scored the same number of tries. He added to his tally this week, with the accompanying linebreak, as well as providing a linebreak assist, two tackle busts, 45 tackles without any misses and 22 points in runs. Great defender, strong work ethic, can offload and has great attacking instincts – is this guy the perfect SuperCoach forward!?
The Bad
Dylan Walker (39)
39 including a try isn’t pretty, and it’s indicative of how far Walker has fallen down the ranks of CTW options. It’s not just the loss of his goalkicking though, his general work rate has dropped significantly since earlier in the year.
The Ugly
Issac Luke (34)
Played 62 minutes before reeling out of a tackle gone wrong and lying unconscious briefly on the ground. Was taken off and Hingano replaced him for the remainder of the game.
Sharks v Roosters (14 – 16)
It was a finals-like atmosphere despite the quality not quite living up to expectation. I had predicted the game going into golden point, and it looked unlikely after Luke Keary was sinbinned – but the Roosters were hanging on. And then the penalty! And the conversion! Without getting into the controversy of whether it was or wasn’t a penalty, it was still a very dramatic finish and one that befitted that game. The Sharks continue to be unconvincing with everything to play for, as they will finish outside the top four if the Broncos and Eels win this week. The Roosters have all but locked up second spot on the ladder, barring a massive upset loss to the Titans next week, so we could very easily see a 1 v 2 grand final this year!
Let’s look at the best and worst performers in this game.
The Good
Luke Lewis (101)
Big game, and the evergreen veteran stepped up when his team needed with injuries to those around him. Lewis scored a try, had a linebreak, one effective offload, 13 tackle busts and 48 points in pure base stats. He was huge for the Sharks and kept them in the contest.
Blake Ferguson (66)
Fergo has had a typically inconsistent year, but is finishing on a good note. He had 27 points in pure base stats, as well as busting three tackles, breaking the line twice and scoring one try. Unfortunately his name is in the news headlines again for the wrong reasons, and it could spell the end of his representative career.
The Bad
Chad Townsend (21)
Had a rather anonymous game as Maloney cops the brunt of the backlash for the loss due to a bit of an off-night with his kicking. Also made three errors which isn’t helpful in the context of a finals-like clash.
The Ugly
Wade Graham (14)
Coming back so soon after a calf injury, Graham copped a really bad cork to his calf which ended his night early after only 20 minutes. Bukuya came on and played the rest of the game on the left edge.
Storm v Rabbitohs (64 – 6)
I predicted a big win for the Storm but this was probably outside the realms of my imagination. You don’t really expect 50+ points to be scored on any team these days – let alone two scorelines of 50+ in the same week! The Storm were clinical. Not much else you can say to describe this performance other than acknowledge what a travesty it would be for the Storm to NOT win the premiership this year. Best team by a country mile. The Rabbitohs were just outplayed in all facets of the game. No shame in that given their opposition!
Let’s look at the best and worst performers in this game.
The Good
Suliasi Vunivalu (154)
It almost feels like he was challenged by Semi Radradra’s performance, and was determined to show him up! It was an incredible week for Fijian wingers in the NRL, that’s for sure. Vuni scored three tries of his own, set up another, broke the line four times, busted 10 tackles, had one ineffective offload and also 31 points in pure base stats. He was involved in so much, and reaped the rewards!
Josh Addo-Carr (104)
I have to mention Vuni’s wing partner, who also scored a hat trick. These two speedsters are just so electrifying when they are in open space, and can sure score a try or three. He also had three linebreaks with his tries, four tackle busts and 21 points in pure base stats. The downside was his three errors, but it didn’t make too much difference!
Special mention has to go to the Storm spine – Smith (96), Cronk (96), Munster (115) and Slater (115). What a game from them! Also, how coincidental! I wonder if there’s ever been a spine that’s scored more than 422 SuperCoach points between them in a single game!
The Bad
Will Chambers (18) / Curtis Scott (23)
64 points, 11 tries! The rest of the backline scored 96 or more! It burns for those who played these two… just unlucky!
The Ugly
Adam Reynolds (3)
Suffered an eighth minute concussion, failing the HIA. It was unlucky, especially for those who looped and copped an AE of three points!
Aaron Gray (22)
Limped off with a leg injury in the 64th minute. Not that it really made much difference…
Kyle Turner also suffered yet another concussion. How many concussions before he’s forced to give it up…!
Titans v Bulldogs (14-26)
The Titans were either going to continue spiralling downwards, or they would come out and have a big bounce back game given all the negative media attention lately. Unfortunately, losing Ryan James, their captain and the most passionate Titans player, to a shoulder injury was never going to be the best pre-game news. The Bulldogs on the other hand look like an absolutely different team to what we’ve seen for most of this year. Michael Lichaa, now that he knows he’s on the way out, has Des-carded the shackles (sorry) and is just playing like how he wants to play – and isn’t it refreshing to see him running the ball! It’s making the team look a lot more dangerous too.
Let’s check out the good, the bad and the ugly in this game.
The Good
David Klemmer (99)
Klemmer played 76 minutes (inflated due to injuries) in a massive performance where he scored a try with a linebreak, assisted another linebreak, busted three tackles and racked up 60 points in tackles and hit-ups. It’s been a disappointing year for Klemmer, with a season average of just 53.3 despite averaging 60 minutes per game all year. Prior to Round 21, Klemmer had just the single score above 60 all year. Since then, he’s gone 60+ in four out of the last five games despite no noticeable increase in minutes. Great news for the 3.2% of SuperCoaches who got on board!
Michael Lichaa (95)
What a disappointing year he’s had, as his game as gone downhill over the past few years since shifting across from the Sharks. It’s been said on many an occasion though that Des Hasler has been the one who provided Lichaa the task of just making his tackles and passing the ball as required – and not running the ball. How foolish that looks now as Lichaa tore the Titans up with his running game, making 95 metres from his 16 runs. He also had a try assist, a last touch assist, a linebreak assist, three effective offloads, two tackle busts and 53 points in pure base stats. If only he got to run more…
The Bad
Jarryd Hayne (36)
Do I need to say anymore? Hah… I fear for the Titans…
Aiden Tolman (36)
He played 57 minutes, but the workrate was well down. He even had an effective offload in his score!
The Ugly
Moses Mbye (43)
What a start he had! He scored those points in just 17 minutes of game time, as he was then knocked out and failed his HIA. I believe Josh Jackson played five-eighth and Faitala-Mariner played the rest of the game on the right edge. Elliott also took over the goalkicking (you’ve got to love goalkicking backrowers!).
Brett Morris (26)
Played 49 minutes before coming off the field with a rib injury. Forced another reshuffle which meant Elliott pushed out to the centres with Josh Morris to the wing.
Dale Copley (32)
Suffered a groin injury in the 51st minute, forcing him off the field. Season ender (hah!) which saw Boyle shift to the edge and Proctor play centre.
Nathan Peats (33)
Came off in the 59th minute due to a shoulder injury. Tyrone Roberts went to hooker with Elgey coming onto the field to play five-eighth. That’s Peats’ season done too, but hopefully he’ll make a full recovery for next year.
Wests Tigers v Cowboys (14-22)
The game wasn’t that good in the first half but the Tigers deserved their lead at half time. It’s been very refreshing watching the Tigers playing under Ivan Cleary, and I’m excited to see how next year will go with a refreshed squad and a full preseason under Cleary. But the second half, it was some good viewing. Really enjoying watching the Cowboys go about their business and I’m glad they finally got a W given how much effort they have been putting in each week in their close losses.
Let’s highlight some of the key performers and flops in this game.
The Good
Aaron Woods (95)
Woodsy had a big game, playing 73 minutes and getting through a mountain of work. 62 points in pure base stats alone, plus throw in a try, a linebreak and four tackle busts. He made 191 metres from his runs as well, so it’s not like he was just stat-padding! That’s only eight metres less than Taumalolo in this game! Big finish to the year for Woodsy, after averaging a mediocre 51.2 from the 10 pre-Origin games that he played (includes one injury-affected game as well as missing one game). Since Round 13, he has averaged 69.1 from the past 10 games, with this week’s 95 coming on top of that. Suggestions that he would give up for the Tigers were misguided, it seems.
Josh Aloiai (81)
It’s always weird when the top two scores from a game are from the losing team, but Josh Aloiai has had two great games after getting bigger minutes playing on the edge. He played 63 minutes and got through 46 points in pure base stats, as well as scoring a try (with a linebreak) and busting four tackles. It’s going to be interesting next year with all the new signings to see whether the young forward will get a spot in the top 17. Plenty of competition to fight off to keep a spot!
The Bad
David Nofoaluma (30)
Nofo was typically hardworking, taking plenty of runs, but his offload was well contained and he didn’t rack up as many tackle busts as he has in earlier games this year. He also missed out on scoring a try with a linebreak due to a wayward last pass from Lolohea.
James Tedesco (42)
His final game at Campbelltown Stadium in Tigers’ colours (for now, at least) and he didn’t have a great game. He wasn’t as involved as he was last week, and but for a final minute tackle bust and linebreak, he would’ve ended up on 30 as well.
The Ugly
No major injuries to note, although Michael Chee Kam was put on report for a shoulder charge and has been suspended for a week.
Raiders v Knights (46-28)
The Raiders have really struggled against the Knights lately, summed up by the fact they lost earlier this year to them! The writing was on the wall this game though, with the Knights losing their best player of 2017, Brock Lamb, to injury. The Raiders also needed a big win to give their slim finals hopes another nudge in the right direction. Injuries didn’t help their cause but they still had more than enough firepower to get over the line. The Knights… well, there’s plenty of optimism looking forward, despite the big losses to the Storm and now to the Raiders. They could really come back into the pack as far as contending for finals spots in 2018!
Let’s highlight some of the key performers and flops in this game.
The Good
Jordan Rapana (120)
He’s had a fairly lean trot of late, with three and five round averages of 56 and 45.8 respectively, but bounced back into form this week. In a game where his fellow outside backs were struggling for base stats, Rapana still beasted it with 13 runs for 20 points, and a few tackles. Of course, add in his hat trick of tries, all with accompanying linebreaks, and NINE tackle busts and you’ve got Rapana’s fifth 100+ score of the year – but his first 100+ score since Round 13! Been a long time coming for those who picked him up in Round 14 onwards!
Junior Paulo (92)
Paulo got to play big minutes but it’s the fact that he managed to get off the end of season nudie run for 2017 that sees him slot in as the second highest scorer in this game. He played 60 minutes but only scored 37 in pure base stats. However, throw in his try, two linebreaks, six tackle busts and an effective offload and that bumps his score up very nicely. Big game from the prop but it just doesn’t happen very often.
The Bad
Jack Cogger (9)
His first game in first grade for 2017 wasn’t a happy one. His score actually includes a forced dropout (six points)! Otherwise he didn’t get many opportunities, but perhaps a damning statistic is that he didn’t make a single run.
Elliott Whitehead (17)
Well, this was a surprise. After averaging 71.3 from his last three rounds (since shifting to lock and still playing 80), all of a sudden Whitehead drops this stinker. He only played 56 minutes, although he was sinbinned so that explains 10 of those minutes. Still, there’s another 14 minutes where he should have been on the field – but he wasn’t!
The Ugly
Aidan Sezer (34)
Only played 57 minutes as he spent time off the field for HIA, which he passed. Raiders look a lot better with him on the field lately.
Nathan Ross also went off for a HIA but most of it took place over halftime so he only missed a few minutes of game time.
Broncos v Eels (34—52)
So, I’m feeling a bit numb since last night. The sun’s out, the weather in Brisbane is perfect but life just isn’t the same any more … funny how footy results can change the context of the rest of the week/weekend.
My weekend is obviously ruined, but there are plenty of happy Eels fans out there who will be loving life right now.
Plenty of chat going around about how Wayne Bennett used the Eels as an example of not reading their own press, getting complacent and buying into the media hype.
Well, I’m pretty sure he told the Broncos but they obviously weren’t listening. Let’s just say they’re probably paying attention now.
The Eels were great again, but it’s hard to differentiate how much of this game was the Eels and how much of it was the Broncos being horrible.
Let’s highlight some of the key performers and flops.
The good
Semi Radradra (159)
There has been a lot of frustration aimed in Semi’s general vicinity this year. I mean, he’s only averaged 53 all year, and that’s been propped up by one 150+ score already. Six scores under 30 isn’t a pretty picture, and a far cry from the glory days of 2015. Still, every now and then he reminds us of how dangerous he can be, and this was one of those games. FOUR tries, a try assist, four line breaks, an offload, 11 tackle busts … those are massive numbers. BUT, just 11 points in pure base stats, including just eight runs for 14 points and three missed tackles. I guess you can’t really complain though — given the rest of his score!
Michael Jennings (78)
Since switching to right centre, Jennings has been great for the Eels. Defensively he has helped shore up that side of the field, especially helping out Mitch Moses. Offensively he hasn’t had much success though — that is, until this week. Jennings had a strong game for the Eels last night scoring two tries, one with a line break, busting two tackles and racking up 29 points in pure base stats. Only he was well and truly overshadowed by his former wing partner.
The bad
Adam Blair (13)
I had to put him here, even though he’s not exactly SuperCoach relevant. His offload in the first hit-up off the kickoff? Insanity, especially from someone as experienced as him. It set the tone for the night and you just knew the Broncos weren’t going to win. Throw in his constant errors after that … not good.
Darius Boyd (38)
His score isn’t the worst but when you consider he has a try assist with the associated line break assist in there … yuck. Also, he made one
of the most uncharacteristic errors I’ve seen from him in a long time and then he threw a few awful passes which lead to errors from teammates. Not great, especially when he was trying so hard to spark his team into action as the captain.
The ugly
Tepai Moeroa (9)
Concussion again ended his night early, as he left the field after 31 minutes and failed to return.
Frank Pritchard (19)
Only played 26 minutes as he was taken off with a suspected shoulder injury. Kenny Edwards also had a head gash which saw him receive treatment, and probably ended his night earlier with the game won.
Originally published as NRL SuperCoach 2017: Wilfred Zee’s wrap of the good, bad and ugly from round 25
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