NRL Supercoach: The Mastermind analyses the players who miss the most games
It’s one thing to have talent, it’s another thing to consistently get on the park. Don’t make a mistake this season by picking guys who keep missing games and follow The Mastermind’s guide to the men made of glass.
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There’s a surefire way to shatter your SuperCoach season before it even begins. Picking players made of glass instead of the ironmen of the NRL.
We’ve crunched the numbers in The Mastermind labs to see who played the most and least games of the past three seasons.
Let’s give a special mention to the only player to have not missed a game – Sharks half Chad Townsend. Sadly for Chad, his 50PPG average means he’s not on our radar even though his incredible record goes back four seasons without a game missed.
The Mastermind was one of many who traded Tom Trbojevic in and out multiple times in 2019 as his injuries came and went.
Those who stuck with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck for the season saved trades, stress and made a lot more points in the long run.
Those injury prone players are tantalisingly cheap for a reason, ignore them and lock in some of these ironmen to save you trades and stress.
HOOKER
Ironman: Cameron McInnes: 71/72. Just one missed game in three seasons for the St George-Illawarra Dragons hooker and now captain. He ended his 2019 season and his run of consecutive games with a broken leg. The Dragons have recruited Issac Luke, but I’d expect McInnes to slot into lock when the Kiwi hooker takes the field. He’s coming off his best ever season in SuperCoach with an average of 68.1, has dual second row position status and covers the first bye.
Team glass: Remember when Nathan Peats was the NSW hooker? Damien Cook has risen to the best in this position and claimed that Blues jersey while Peats has played only 48/72 at the Titans.
How the best compares: Damien Cook 68/72. Has only missed a few games around the Origin period. With a scoring rate of 75.9PPG in 2019 and 77.6PPG in 2018 he’s worth the money even if his game eases off in the middle of the season.
FRONT ROW
Ironmen: James Tamou 71/72 and Martin Taupau 69/72. Tamou has only missed one game in three years for the Panthers and is coming off his best ever SuperCoach season scoring 1423 points at 59.3PPG, making him the fifth highest scoring prop. He hit new heights for minutes 51.1 and a PPM of 1.2 in 2019. His average has always been below the top front row options but a few more extra minutes he’s a chance of cracking the 60PPG barrier.
Taupau’s stats really catch the eye. It’s amazing for a player with such an aggressive game to only miss one match per year. His average took a dip last year to 61.5PPG from 64.7 and 65 the seasons prior, largely due to his offload points being slashed almost in half.
In 2019 he had 138 from offloads and ineffective offloads compared to 234 and 246 in the years before.
He’s lost his dual position second row status, which might turn off some SuperCoaches, but with Manly playing the first bye and his proven durability he’s firming for a place in my team.
Team glass: Tevita Pangai 56/72 and Sio Siua Taukeiaho 54/72 seem to have moments every season where they look set for SuperCoach stardom then the injuries – or in Pangai’s case – suspensions hit.
How the best compares: Payne Haas only has one full season under his belt playing 20/24. He played big minutes in every game after missing the first four of the season for failing to co-operate with the NRL Integrity Unit investigation.
SECOND ROW
Ironmen: Elliott Whitehead 71/72, Josh Jackson 70/72 and Jake Trbojevic 69/72. Raiders backrower Whitehead has only missed one game since joining the NRL in 2016. He averaged 61PPG in 2016 but has hovered around 50PPG in the past three seasons. He’s lost his CTW dual-position status for 2020 and with that goes his hope of being included in SuperCoach teams however durable he is.
Bulldogs backrower Josh Jackson had the ninth best total in the position last year. His average has hovered in the mid 50s his entire career but he had a career best average of 57.9 last season including a great run of form after Origin where he averaged 65.7PPG.
Jake Trbojevic gets our final spot in the second row and has only missed games when he’s on Origin duty for NSW. His average took a big dip last year to 62.8PPG from previous seasons of 71.3PPG in 2018 and 73.3PPG in 2017.
Trbojevic’s attacking stats have taken a dramatic slide in all categories with just two tries last year compared to seven and nine. Just one line break compared to six and eight. He took 26 fewer hit-ups last year and fewer hit-ups over 8m. His running game wasn’t effective and all the other stats that feed off that suffered including offloads and tackle busts.
Team glass: Tohu Harris 40/72, Wade Graham 47/72, Nathan Brown 49/72. Harris was a 67PPG player at his best for the Storm. He’s had three injury riddled seasons since then and scored a solid 58.5PPG in 13 games with the Warriors last season.
Brown was a beast in 2017 for the Eels with 64.6PPG over 23 games but then only managed 15 games in 2018 and 11 last year. He was injured in the first game of 2019 and didn’t return until Round 13. I picked him up as a POD for the run home and he was soon suspended for the last two rounds.
Graham played just nine games last year at 57.1PPG including back to back 90s then two weeks later scoring 20 points in 80 minutes.
How the best compares: Jason Taumalolo 63/72. He missed five games at the start of 2019 to give him his lowest tally for years. He played 22 or more games a season from 2014 to 2018.
HALFBACK
Ironman: Mitchell Moses 70/72. He’s only missed three games since debuting in 2014. Had a breakout 2019 finishing as top point scorer in the position with a career best 62.3PPG. He’s lost his dual five-eighth status for 2020 so that will dent his popularity.
Team glass: Shaun Johnson 53/72 has missed a quarter of the past three seasons. The injury cloud that seems to hang over him permanently is a genuine worry for SuperCoaches. Last year he missed round 4, played two weeks, then was injured again, missed five weeks, then missed round 24 vital for head-to-head players. In 2018 he missed round 4, played two weeks, missed two weeks, played one week then missed the next three weeks.
How the best compares: Nathan Cleary 60/72. Only played 15 games in 2018 thanks to a knee injury. His other missed games are around the Origin period.
FIVE-EIGHTH
Ironman: Cody Walker 70/72 missed a game for his Origin call-up last year and the one after it. The Rabbitohs five-eighth was top scorer in the position for 2017, 2018 and finished just behind Cameron Munster last season. His start to 2019 was incredible and the Mastermind enjoyed the ride including his 150 against the Warriors. Might just get on board again.
Team glass: Kieran Foran: 43/72 is fresh off his best SuperCoach season since 2009. He averaged 50.6PPG in 2019 and no surprises he’s probably going to miss most of 2020 with a shoulder problem.
How the best compares: Cameron Munster: 60/72 niggling injuries restricted him to 18 games in 2017. The past two seasons the Storm have rested him after Origin and again in the final round. It’s cost more than a few SuperCoaches a grand final win.
CENTRE/WING
Ironman: Brian Kelly 69/72, Tim Lafai 69/72, Ken Maumalo 68/72, Will Hopoate 66/72.
Kelly is the most durable CTW of the past three seasons. He was the 8th best scoring centre and had the 12th best average in 2019 with a career best 54.7PPG.
As mentioned last week, he topped the charts for missed tackles so if he sorts that out he’s got some upside.
Tim Lafai was the top scoring CTW in 2017 at 64.8PPG. That one-off season is his only above 45PPG in the past five years. He’s not missed many games but he’s not got near those heights since and shouldn’t be near your team.
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Ken Maumalo was the second highest scoring in this position and the fifth highest average at 60PPG. His average leaped up 20 points thanks to his 17 tries compared to just five in 2018.
Will Hopoate was third for total points and eighth for average with 57.2PPG. He was also third best scoring CTW in 2018 and fourth for average. That’s with only five tries for each season.
Dane Gagai, Nick Cotric and Josh Addo-Carr post similar numbers for durability but aren’t quite making our squad.
Team glass: Jack Bird 33/72, Tautau Moga 34/72, Josh Mansour 45/72, Josh Dugan 52/72
There’s no surprises here. All four of these guys have showed at one point or another they have serious SuperCoach potential only to find themselves injured again and again.
How the best compares: Latrell Mitchell 65/72. Aside from missing three weeks in 2017 Mitchell has had a pretty solid run. Missing a few games around the Origin period. He has a tough job working his way back into the winning NSW team and now has dual-position status as a fullback.
FULLBACK
Ironman: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 68/72. RTS was out most of 2016 with a knee injury but has only missed four games in the past three seasons. He’s the focal point of attack for the Warriors and scored the second most points in his position with an average of 71PPG.
Team glass: Matt Moylan 50/72. Had just 11 games for the Sharks in 2019. He’s played more than 20 games in a season just twice in six years of NRL.
How the best compares: James Tedesco 64/72. He played two games less than RTS and scored 133 more total points. Teddy is so much better than the rest he can cruise through the Origin period and still finish in top spot.
TEAMS
Iron XIII
1. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 68/72
2. Ken Maumalo 68/72
3. Brian Kelly 69/72
4. Will Hopoate 66/72
5. Tim Lafai 69/72
6. Cody Walker 70/72
7. Mitchell Moses 70/72
8. James Tamou 71/72
9. Cameron McInnes 71/72
10. Martin Taupau 69/72
11. Elliott Whitehead 71/72
12. Josh Jackson 70/72
13. Jake Trbojevic 69/72
Glass XIII
1. Matt Moylan 50/72
2. Josh Dugan 52/72
3. Jack Bird 33/72
4. Tautau Moga 34/72
5. Josh Mansour 45/72
6. Kieran Foran 43/72
7. Shaun Johnson 53/72
8. Tevita Pangai 56/72
9. Nathan Peats 48/72
10. Sio Siua Taukeiaho 54/72
11. Tohu Harris 40/72
12. Wade Graham 47/72
13. Nathan Brown 49/72
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