KFC NRL SuperCoach 2022 Round 13 wrap: Highs, lows and trade targets

The KFC SuperCoach Mastermind crunches the stats to help you answer the biggest trade issues of the round. ANALYSIS FOR EVERY GAME

When you see a player score 130 KFC SuperCoach points you expect a stat sheet loaded with tries, linebreaks and other attacking points. Joey Manu’s ball-hungry display against the Raiders had just one try assist and linebreak assist with the other 110 coming from 31 damaging hit-ups which delivered 50 points, 34 points from 17 tackle busts and 26 points from offloads.

The Roosters may not have won, but the 12% of all KFC SuperCoaches who captained Manu this week knew full well how busy Manu can be filling James Tedesco’s boots and were the biggest winners for the first bye round of the season.

Manu wasn’t the only fill-in fullback to produce the goods though.

Scott Drinkwater, 119, didn’t feature in the Cowboys’ opening four games but an injury to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow gave him an opportunity at the back which he’s not letting go of. Drinkwater had three try assists putting the Titans to the sword and pumping his season average up to 73.3PPG.

Reuben Garrick, 99, fell just short of a century with two tries, one assisted by a Rocco Berry falcon, (no points for that, sorry Rocco) and slotted 8/9 goals in his second week filling in for Tom Trbojevic.

Xavier Savage, 96, had been eased into the Raiders team on the wing and off the bench to start the season but an injury to Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad means Savage can now shine in his favoured position. The cheapie showed incredible hands to catch a ball off his bootlaces at full speed and dive over for a try, he set up another and was incredibly busy, though not Manu levels.

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If you had one or more of those fullbacks you’ve probably had a cracking bye week and think things are all too easy but word of warning... the round after the bye and Origin often proves trickier.

Scraping together a full 17 this round will be tough with plenty of Origin players sure to get a rest, reduced minutes and plenty of team changes an hour before kick-off.

Save your trades until the last minute and have a plan A, B and C.

It’s also worth thinking about which players make your final 17 for the rest of the season, how many trades have you got left and how are you going to get to those players.

You’ll want Ryan Papenhuyzen as soon as he’s fit but can you raise the funds to get him? There are plenty of other SuperCoach stars nearing return from injury soon to factor in as well with Latrell Mitchell, Adam Douehi, Maika Sivo and David Fifita among them.

Titans 6-32 Cowboys

Highs: Scott Drinkwater, 119, posted his third century of the season bouncing back from 12 points last week against the Panthers. Drinkwater had three try assists, three linebreak assists, four tackle busts, 33 in base stats and in a nice surprise for owners picked up the goalkicking, slotting 4/6, with Valentine Holmes on Origin duty. Since scoring the Cowboys fullback jersey in Round 5 he’s averaged 73.3PPG which puts him in the mix as a keeper at fullback or five-eigth. Murray Taulagi, 98, scored his fifth try in his past games and has a five-round average of 71.2PPG. He also got through 36 in base stats, four tackle busts and three offloads. Jason Taumalolo, 80, was back to his best after missing a week injured and playing reduced minutes the week before. Taumaolo had 62 in base stats, five tackle busts and three offloads in 66 minutes. Has averaged 64.6PPG when playing 50 minutes or more which makes him a valid FRF keeper. Reece Robson, 79, scored a try and had 47 in base stats. His five-round average of 73.6PPG puts him behind only Harry Grant at hooker.

Lows: Jayden Campbell, 43, had eight tackle busts and a linebreak before picking up a hamstring injury.

Watchlist: Heilum Luki, 76, scored a try, busted six tackles and had 40 in base stats in 69 minutes. The last time he played big minutes he scored 90 in round 6. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, 67, scored two tries playing in the centres and is still in the cheapie range. Sam McIntyre, 60, was all base stats in 80 minutes on the edge for the Titans and sits in cheapie range but he’ll only have the minutes while David Fifita is out injured.

Panthers 30-18 Bulldogs

Highs: Matt Burton, 98, had a huge game against his former club with a try, two try assists, 3/3 goals, three tackle busts, a linebreak and two forced dropouts. Burton has a five-round average of 75PPG after struggling through the first eight rounds at 41PPG. Viliame Kikau, 86, showed the Bulldogs what they’ll get when he joins them with a try, three tackle busts, two offloads, a linebreak and linebreak assist. James Fisher-Harris, 74, played 65 minutes and pumped out a score pretty much all in base stats.

Lows: Jacob Kiraz, 30, plenty of touches but 17 of his 20 runs were under 8m.

Watchlist: Max King, 55, played 54 minutes and would have been on the chopping block for most teams this week. If those minutes and points continue he can stay a little longer. Fill-in Panthers halves Sean O’Sullivan, 70, and Kurt Falls, 65, put up good scores.

Sea Eagles 44-12 Warriors

Highs: Reuben Garrick, 99, scored two tries, kicked 8/9 goals and busted five tackles. Lachlan Croker, 94, had two try assists on top of the usual stack of tackles to give him a five-round average of 71PPG. Haumole Olakau’atu, 86, was in devastating form with seven tackle busts, a try, linebreak and 46 in base stats. Has to be considered a 2RF keeper considering that he did all that in just 59 minutes. Toafofoa Sipley, 85, scored a try and had 40 in base stats.

Lows: Karl Lawton, 15, injured his knee on return from suspension. Christian Tuipulotu, 17, has peaked in value and can be sold for a healthy profit. Shaun Johnson, 25,

Watchlist: Josh Schuster, 41, had an underwhelming score considering he had a try and linebreak. Tohu Harris, 47, did an awful lot of passing, only had seven hit-ups and conceded three penalties. Both these players can be great scorers but they’ve not shown it just yet on their return from injury.

Raiders 22-16 Roosters

Highs: Joey Manu, 130, didn’t put on an attacking masterclass like you’d expect with a score this high. He had just the one try assist and linebreak assist with the rest coming from 50 points in hit-ups, 26 in offloads and 34 in tackle busts. We know Manu scores well at fullback but these numbers are incredible. Adam Elliott, 99, scored the opening try and had 60 in base stats. Xavier Savage, 96, scored a try, set up another, had four tackle busts and got through plenty of work with 39 in base stats. The cheapie fullback is set for some huge price rises. Sitili Tupouniua, 86, scored a try and went close to scoring a couple more. He had two linebreaks, seven tackle busts and 42 in base stats as he returned to playing 80 minutes on the edge. Angus Crichton, 83, was the most popular trade of the week and produced a linebreak, try assist with 57 in base stats. Joseph Tapine, 78, was immense in the middle for the raiders with 62 in base stats, four tackle busts and a few offloads.

Lows: Tom Starling, 23, looked a great bye coverage option earlier in the season but his minutes have been slashed the last couple weeks with Zac Woolford, 50, getting more game time at hooker. The Raiders’ wingers hardly saw the ball with both Jordan Rapana, 16, and Nick Cotric, 24, scoring low.

Watchlist: Joseph Suaalii, 45, has peaked in price for now but faces a tough run of fixtures. You could sell, but given he’s locked on the Roosters right wing he’s sure to score plenty of tries in the second half of the season.