KFC NRL SuperCoach 2022 Round 1 wrap: High, lows and trade targets

Think you had it bad in the first round of the NRL season? Spare a thought for these poor KFC NRL SuperCoaches.

A simply brutal opening Round 1 of KFC NRL SuperCoach for 2022.

Guns misfired, scores were low and the injury toll high.

There were just three centuries in the opening round Mikaele Ravalawa, 119, owned by just over 1000 coaches. Dane Gagai, 106, owned by 2000, and Jahrome Hughes, 103, owned by 16,000 teams.

A stark contrast to the flowing points in 2021 when we had 10 centuries to start the season.

The round’s most popular captain, James Tedesco at 25% scored just 32 points, a relief to those on team Tom Trbojevic 16% who’s 62 against the miserly Panthers looks fair enough now. Jahrome Hughes was captained by 3% of players, I expect they are well near the top but spare a thought for the 0.9% of players who captained Brandon Smith for 1 point. They may well have deleted the SuperCoach app.

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I’ve got Smith in my squad and it sure kept my score well below the leaders for now. We’ve just got to make the trade and move on with plenty more rounds ahead of us and opportunities galore popping up already.

If you don’t need to trade this week for injury (Brandon Smith, Shaun Johnson, Christian Welch) or an obvious detrimental change in role then avoid it. Let your pre-season planning have another week to deliver the goods.

The CTW position injury crisis might just force your hand though with popular cheapies Sean Russell and Viliami Vailea out injured, then there’s Billy Smith having to pass HIA protocols. If Tolutau Koula drops out of the Manly squad some teams will only have three CTWs.

Here are the players of the week and scroll on down for my breakdown of each game’s highs, lows and players to watch.

Panthers 28-6 Sea Eagles

Highs: Apisai Koroisau had a try, linebreak and try assist in 66 minutes. He averaged 62PPG when he played 65 minutes or more in 2021 but is priced cheaper than that thanks to a few injuries and sharing minutes. You could do worse than replacing Brandon Smith with the Panthers hooker if you can’t reach Harry Grant. Viliame Kikau was menacing in his 57 minutes on the left edge with a try assist, two linebreak assists and four offloads on top of 46 in base stats. Sean O’Sullivan, 84, showed the Panthers there’s no need to rush Cleary back from injury with two try assists and four linebreak assists. Liam Martin, 80, played the full 80 minutes on the right edge and scored a try. He had six tackle busts but also missed five tackles and gave away two penalties. He’s looking like one of the better mid-range value picks.

Lows: Jason Saab, 17, and Charlie Staines 27, back to their tricks from last season. Tolutau Koula, 4, came on with 8 minutes to go. Karl Lawton, 1, failed a HIA after 1 minute. Moses Leota picked up a shoulder injury creating an opportunity for the likes of Scott Sorensen, Spencer Leniu or Matt Eisnhuth.

Watchlist: Stephen Crichton, 75, has the goalkicking duties while Nathan Cleary is out injured. That helped Crichton add 12 points to his tally this week. He only scored 8 tries in 2021 compared to 15 in his rookie season. He scored a try in this game and got through a stack of work too. Tom Trbojevic, 62, a try assist and two linebreaks against the best defence in the competition. He doesn’t have to play them again this season so his scores should be on the up and up from here out. Ethan Bullemor 62 in 47% of teams. scored Manly’s only try and pumped out 49 in base points in 80 minutes. Isaah Yeo, 74 points in 80 minutes with 56 in base stats. He only played the full 80 minutes four times last season. Averaging 57PPG in 64MPG compared to 69PPG in 70MPG in 2020. If he’s back to near 80 minutes he’s well undervalued and a nice POD with 7% ownership. Izack Tago is in 56% of teams and should be in even more. He’s shaping up as a season long keeper after producing a try, linebreak, five tackle busts and 37 in base stats. Brian To’o, 38, went close to scoring on a number of occasions and against a lesser team probably bags a double.

Raiders 24-19 Sharks

Highs: Teig Wilton, 85, had 48 in base stats, two offloads, four tackle busts a try and a linebreak. An impressive performance but he’s only on the left edge while Wade Graham is out. Wilton averaged 58PPG when playing 80 minutes last season. Hudson Young, 80, when he played 80 minutes in 2021 he averaged 65PPG. He scored the winning try and had 44 base stats. Jack Wighton, 73, scored a try and notched stats across a number of scoring categories in his 200th NRL game. His price hasn’t been this low in a while thanks to an ordinary 2021 where he averaged below 50 for the first time since 2014. Nicho Hynes, 72, had 38 in base stats and kicked three goals. That’s a pretty solid base of 50 to work from most games. He added a try assist and two linebreak assists. 

Lows: Josh Hodgson, 3, went off with a knee injury after 6 minutes. The Sharks CTWs struggled to impact the scoring with Ronaldo Mulitalo, 13, Sione Katoa, 15, and Jesse Ramien, 23 disappointing.

Watchlist: Tom Starling, 46, played the rest of the game with Hodgson injured and had a try assist. When Starling gets minutes he’s a SuperCoach weapon so keep a close eye on Hodgson’s injury status. Matt Timoko, 64, set up the winning try and had seven tackle busts. In his seven 80 minute games last season he averaged 50PPG and that was without a single try. Brad Schneider, 45, kicked 4/4 goals and had 38 in base stats in a very promising debut. Should be a great moneymaker. 

Broncos 11-4 Rabbitohs

Highs: Payne Haas, 91, had 76 points in base stats and four offloads and did it with ease in 70 minutes. Kurt Capewell, 70, kicked the winning field goal, had his hand in a try in a nice Broncos debut. Looks a solid mid-price option. Josh Mansour, 67, scored a try and had two linebreaks filling in on the left wing with Alex Johnston switching to fullback when Blake Taaffe was a late withdrawal. There should be plenty of SuperCoach points there again for the Bunnies this season.

Lows: Cody Walker, 27, took a knock to the knee in the first half and hobbled his way through the rest of the game struggling to make an impact. Kotoni Staggs, 23, had just five runs for the game. A disappointing first showing after 40% of teams picked him up but he’s got a great shot at redemption with the Bulldogs up next so don’t go trading him out yet.

Watchlist: Selwyn Cobbo, 43, had 28 in base stats and four errors. Two of those errors were forward passes in try scoring situations and he went close to scoring in the corner. With a little bit more polish on those key plays he produces a 100 point game. Great signs for 21% of teams with him. Billy Walters, 64, had 45 in base stats, six tackle busts and two offloads. He had 14 runs. If he can hold onto the No. 6 jersey it’s a very SuperCoach friendly game and dual hooker as well. Jai Arrow, 62, had 53 in base stats in 71 minutes, more game time than he had in any game last year. He started on the left edge then moved into the middle where he banked the bulk of those points. 

Roosters 6-20 Knights

Highs: Dane Gagai, 106, had a try, try assist, linebreak, two linebreak assists, seven tackle busts and 47 in base stats. Most SuperCoaches have avoided last year’s fifth best averaging CTW (1.6% owned) expecting less attacking output after leaving the Rabbitohs. Dominic Young, 81, on the wing outside Gagai had a try, two linebreaks and five tackle busts. Tyson Frizell, 77, also on the right side for the Knights had 61 in base stats and five tackle busts. 

Lows: The Roosters’ main attacking trio are all well owned and all disappointed: James Tedesco, 32, Luke Keary, 37, and Sam Walker, 24. Billy Smith, 15, and Victor Radley, 21, failed HIAs. Jirah Momoisea, 5, played just five minutes. Phoenix Crossland, 7, was sin binned.

Watchlist: Jake Clifford, 68, was a player I pointed out in pre-season set for much better output and he showed it here. A try, try assist, kicking goals, running the ball much more than previous seasons which helped him deliver five tackle busts. Angus Crichton, 66, was probably the only Rooster to hold his head up high with 56 in base stats and a linebreak. Chris Randall, 47, played 63 minutes and had 45 tackles, No surprises there from the tackle machine he looks a nice safe reserve option for the opening weeks.

Warriors 16-28 Dragons

Highs: Mikaele Ravalawa, 119, had three tries, three linebreaks and four tackle busts. Josh Curran, 81, had 51 in base stats and was in the thick of the action with a try assist, linebreak and two offloads. Tyrell Sloan, 78, had 18 points in base the rest attacking points: two try assists, four tackle busts, a linebreak and four linebreak assists. He’s got the Panthers up next though so don’t be surprised if he follows this one up with something in the 20s. Zac Lomax, 70, had 32 in base stats and kicked 4/5 goals. A great platform to start with especially compared to the output of the more popular Kotoni Staggs. 

Lows: The cheapies failed to fire in this one with less than seven runs for Viliami Vailea, 16, who picked up a knee injury in the first half, Talatau Amone, 23, and Cody Ramsey, 22. Shaun Johnson, 66, has torn a pec and will be out for a month. You were warned all pre-season. That’s a trade wasted unless you’re comfortable playing some of the cheapie halves while you wait for a return.

Watchlist: Eliesa Katoa, 76, running off Shaun Johnson is a good place to be and he had 45 in base stats and scored from a Johnson pass on the right edge. If he holds the spot he will be a great value pick-up. Jack Bird, 69, played 80 minutes on the left edge scoring a try with 39 in base stats. Bird also took a shot for goal when Lomax was off the field. Something to keep in mind if Lomax goes down at any point, Bird could easily add another 10 points per game in that scenario. Addin Fonua Blake, 51, played 63 minutes, which is nice, but his score also included a linebreak. Owners probably hoped for more from his time on the field.

Tigers 16-26 Storm

Highs: Jahrome Hughes, 103, is the best running halfback in the competition and took it on his back to get the Storm to victory in this one. He scored a try, had two linebreaks, had nine tackle busts a couple linebreak assists, offloads and 34 in base stats. Ken Maumalo, 73, scored two tries to bring his Tigers tally to nine tries from 11 games since he left the Warriors last season. Ryan Papenhuyzen, 71, had two try assists and notched stats across a stack of categories in a busy return. Owners will hope he gets the goalkicking duties back to pump his scores up an extra 15 or so points a game. 

Lows: A horrible night with injuries for the Storm with Brandon Smith, 1, breaking his hand early then George Jennings, 37, and Christian Welch, 49, out long term. The Tigers also had an injury to hooker Jake Simpkin leaving them looking for a third choice hooker with Jacob Liddle already out. Luciano Leilua, 24, made just 9 tackles in 80 minutes.

Watchlist: The injuries for the Storm might create opportunities for others but it should be Harry Grant slotting straight into hooker, Cameron Munster’s return puts Nick Meaney on the wing in place of Jennings and Jesse Bromwich returns from Covid protocols to take Welch’s place. There should still be some good minutes up for grabs off the bench. Josh King, 41, played 64 minutes and looks a decent money earner. Kelma Tuilagi, 46, played 70 minutes on the left edge and was one of the Tigers’ best. He had 39 in base stats and produced a nice offload to create a try. Oliver Gildart, 36, looked sharp showing some nice footwork.

Eels 32-28 Titans

Highs: Mitchell Moses, 89, had three try assists, 6/8 goals and four linebreak assists. Sean Russell, 87, scored three tries in the first half and was on track for a monster score. The Titans left edge proved potent too with big scores for Phil Sami, 89, Brian Kelly, 88. Sami had two tries, 8 tackle busts and a linebreak while Kelly had two tries and two linebreaks. The spread to the left edge after defenders swarm to deal with David Fifita on the right should continue to be a winning formula for the Titans. Shaun Lane, 83, had a try and scored 50 in base stats. The Eels left edge is a good place to be if he can nail down the position. Will Smith, 83, came in for the injured AJ Brimson and had three try assists against his old team. 

Lows: Junior Paulo, 35, played 54 minutes. Needs to run more and pass less to be relevant for SuperCoach. Clint Gutherson, 40, Reed Mahoney, 37, and Dylan Brown, 40 all missed out on the bulk of the scoring. Brown was switched to the centres in a shuffle to cover Russell. 

Watchlist: Russell’s rib injury opens up the left wing spot again at the Eels with Maika Sivo and Hayze Dunster out of action too. Tom Opacic could be next in line. Erin Clark, 60, scored a try from his one and only run but other wise had 31 points in base stats in 57 minutes. Beau Fermor, 36, played 80 minutes on the edge but had just five runs for the game. David Fifita, 60, played 80 minutes on the other edge and in a relatively quiet game still came up with one big tackle busting linebreak to top up his base of 36. Toby Sexton, 61, kicked 4/5 goals, had a try assist and four linebreak assists. Looking like a very steady option. Ryan Matterson, 42, was one of the premium 2RF options in previous years, but the Eels have started the season using him in the middle for 53 minutes. He could become a value pick later in the season.

Cowboys 4-6 Bulldogs

Highs: Tom Gilbert, 76, is the forgotten man in the Cowboys pack by SuperCoaches in just 0.3% of teams. He played 75 minutes starting on the left edge where he picked up the Cowboys’ only try and played in the middle too for 65 in base stats. Tom Dearden, 67, created the Cowboys only try with a linebreak and try assist down a short side. He also had five tackle busts and two linebreak assists. Luke Thompson, 64, was all base stats for 63 minutes continuing on his form as thee third best averaging prop of last season. Peta Hiku, 62, had 10 tackle busts, a line break and 39 in base stats. A debut that no doubt caught the eye of SuperCoaches. His fellow centre on the other hand... 

Lows: Valentine Holmes, 16, had the least hitups (only 10) of the Cowboys backs and they were mostly ineffective hitups (6 of them under 8m). Jamayne Taunoa-Brown, 27, was injured and played just 25 minutes. Jack Hetherington, 26, was sin binned again, but that improves on the send off he had against the Cowboys last season. There were HIAs for four Bulldogs: Braidon Burns, 60, Brent Naden, 24, Jeremy Marshall-King, 48, and Chris Patolo, 21. 

Watchlist: A late switch before kick-off saw Jeremiah Nanai come into the Cowboys team to play 80 minutes on the right edge. He impressed with 41 in base stats, four tackle busts and a linebreak. Heilum Luki, 39, who made way for Nanai, played 52 minutes. Jason Taumalolo, 53, played just 51 minutes which is a concern for owners who were promised big minutes from assistant coach Dean Young. But it might be a few weeks until Taumalolo works back to 60+ minutes. His PPM is encouraging at least. Max King, 55, played 38 minutes at 1.4PPM. Looks like a great FRF cash cow for the 33% of teams with him on board.