NRL SuperCoach fearless predictions Round 25

Brisbane beast Payne Haas continues to dominate for his masses of owners in 2019, and he looks the safest captain pick to end the season. Wilfred Zee previews the final round of NRL SuperCoach.

• ROUND 25: NRL SuperCoach teams analysis

• LATE MAIL: Final round team news

Another passable three out of five with Round 24’s predictions, with the Sharks (only just!) letting me down and also Ponga disappointing me again. We have just the one round left and I predict that it’s going to be a close finish for the overall race this year with just 78 points between first and second place at the moment! Let’s get stuck into it!

Stream the 2019 NRL Telstra Premiership on KAYO SPORTS. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand on your TV, computer, mobile or tablet. Get your 14 day free trial >

Payne Haas can again deliver as captain. Picture: Darren England

Captain Pick – Payne Haas

He came through in a big way for me last week but I’m doubling down in a near must-win game for the Broncos. A loss doesn’t mean they miss finals but it becomes a mathematical possibility; a win locks in seventh spot and an easy night’s sleep as they don’t need to stress about subsequent results to guarantee a finals appearance this year. If the game is tight, Haas will be on the field, and that’s what I’m expecting from this match-up given the Bulldogs’ recent form and the Broncos being away from Suncorp Stadium, a situation where they have struggled to score points all year. Haas is a very safe captain option and he’s a legitimate tryscoring threat near the line as well.

Teams are in for Round 25 and there’s big news on Shaun Johnson, Cameron Munster and John Bateman. Get the lowdown with Tim Williams and Huw Bonello.

Stud of the Week – Ryan Papenhuyzen

There should be no surprises here but Papenhuyzen has killed it in every single game that he has started at fullback and played 80 minutes this year. His scores read as follows: 87, 71, 108, 123, 98 – an average of 97.4 points per game!!! You could argue that those scores are inflated by games against weaker opposition (such as the Titans twice, the Broncos, the Tigers and an injury-depleted Sea Eagles) but with the utmost respect, the 2019 Cowboys belong in the category of ‘weaker opposition’. Papenhuyzen has skills and speed, and I can see him tearing up the Cowboys this week. The only thing that could (literally) put a dampener on the Papenhuyzen Party this week is the dreaded Melbourne weather; fingers crossed the rain stays away!

Kalyn Ponga could finish the season on a low. Picture: Tony Feder

Flop of the Week – Kalyn Ponga

He’s in my bad books this week after letting me down last week in a match-up that should have seen him tearing up the opposition. I mean, it’s not like his team didn’t score enough points – he just wasn’t putting in the effort to be involved the full 80 minutes. This is one of the areas which Ponga will definitely need to work on in the future, as the likes of Tedesco show exactly the difference between relying on talent alone and mixing in effort and hard work as well. Ponga, like it or not, has nothing to play for this year with the Knights’ season over, the coach he (apparently) didn’t get along with now gone, and one more round to go before ‘Mad Monday’ can kick off. Maybe he takes it easy, to make sure he’s not injured and can enjoy a nice strawberry thickshake with his teammates the next day…? He’s a young guy, so you have to admit he wouldn’t be the first youngster guilty of having their mind on next week, and if his mind isn’t in the game, I fear his low involvement will mean low SuperCoach scores. Personally, I’m really hoping he proves me wrong!

SuperCoach Gold Mine

I’m going to keep it simple this week – the game with the most SuperCoach-relevant players in it. That is the Rabbitohs and the Roosters in the first game of the round – with genuine studs in Damien Cook, Cameron Murray, James Tedesco and Latrell Mitchell likely to put on plenty of points with supporting roles from Angus Crichton, Victor Radley, Daniel Tupou, Joseph Manu, Sam Burgess, Cody Walker, John Sutton, Dane Gagai and so on. Plenty of these guys can put up a decent SuperCoach score and with hopefully a freeflowing game with plenty of attacking footy and quality defence, we’ll see some nice scores put up on Thursday night.

Paul Gallen could play his final NRL game on Sunday. Picture: Craig Golding

Upset of the Round – the Tigers

It’s like the script of a Hollywood movie – the dramatic “must-win” game to ensure they qualify for finals. The likely farewell at their home ground for one of their beloved sons, who was one of their last to lift a premiership trophy on behalf of the club. A clash with an old friend, a mate that he’s gone into battle beside in the representative arena on many occasions, often with a disappointing and devastating outcome the result. One of these warriors will go home bitterly disappointed, and the other will live to fight another day. I’m just leaning towards the Tigers lifting a gear for Robbie Farah, while the battered Sharks will try their guts out for Paul Gallen, only to fall short in the final minutes. Regardless, I’m looking forward to this game!

Round 25 kicks off on Thursday night

A classic grudge match right out of the ‘Book of Feuds’; two teams that hate each other, and one of them struggling for form and desperate to try shore up a top four position which is more than likely to remain theirs, but not guaranteed to if results this week don’t pan out the right way for them. It’s going to be a cracker like most of their clashes so I can’t wait to get stuck in and watch SuperCoach superstars like Cook and Tedesco tear it up for one more (SuperCoach-relevant) week. Let’s go!

Originally published as NRL SuperCoach fearless predictions Round 25