KFC SuperCoach: 10 things we learned in isolation
It’s been a lonely, miserable time without footy and most importantly, without KFC SuperCoach. But it’s also given us time to take stock on the season so far.
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It’s been a lonely, miserable time without footy and most importantly, without KFC SuperCoach.
However, there’s light on the horizon and hopefully in three weeks we’ll be under way for the rest of the year.
With plenty of trades to play with in the upcoming round (KFC SuperCoaches have five trades, full rule changes here), it’s more essential than ever to look at what we’ve learned from the opening rounds to make our last trades before price rises kick in. Let’s look at the season thus far.
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• Kalyn Ponga has reached the next level
He has always been electric with ball in hand and incredibly comfortable playing on the left side of the field. However, he’s been guilty of fading out of games and not putting the work in.
Well, we’ve seen from Rounds 1 and 2 is that it’s clear he is working on improving his game. He also made 19 and 18 runs in the first two weeks – both higher than his season high run total last year; this is a massive positive indicator that his floor is going to be higher than previous years. In fact, in his scores of 81 and 82, a massive 54 points and 50 points came from his pure base, base attack and his goalkicking – numbers you don’t usually associate with Kalyn Ponga.
If he keeps that work rate up, he could end up averaging higher than Teddy and Turbo (albeit only due to his added goalkicking duties). Owners have a decision to make though with his one game suspension hanging over their heads!
• David Nofoaluma and Esan Marsters look like a legitimate CTW keepers
The former centre/wing pairing from the Tigers both kicked on for their respective clubs in 2020 so far. Sure, he isn’t kicking goals but Marsters has come out on fire. His scores of 77 and 47 in the first two weeks have come entirely in pure base and base attack stats – tackles (less missed tackles), hit-ups (over and under eight metres) for pure base, and then tackle busts and offloads (effective and ineffective) for base attack stats. Not a single attacking stat in those two scores, which is just ridiculous for a CTW option. And with that much ball, he’s going to get some attacking stats soon.
In fact, his scores would look a lot like Nofo’s scores of 109 and 59, given Nofo notched up 67 and 37 points in base and base attack across the two rounds so far, but added three tries and one line break as well. I’m all about that base though!
• Api Koroisau is firing on all cylinders
Api followed up his mammoth Round 1 effort of 97 points with 76 in Round 2, but more importantly his scores resembled something more in line with his usual scoring. After 83 of his points came from base and base attack scores in Round 1 (largely due to 56 tackles), that dropped down to 49 in Round 2 which is much more in line with his past history when playing 80 minutes.
The jury is still out on the injury history but if there’s one player that has benefited from getting a bit of a break with the season being paused, Api certainly fits that bill given the extra rest his body has been able to enjoy.
• Dylan Brown and Benji Marshall could be the top options at five eighth this year
Currently they sit first and third for total points scored at five eighth, albeit off big scores of 123 in Round 2 and 93 in Round 1 respectively. Still, both players have looked great on the field and they are getting it done on the stats sheet too. Brown is currently averaging 51 points per game in base and base attack points alone (comfortably ahead of the likes of Milford, Munster and Watson at five eighth) and has only two tries, two line breaks and a try contribution as his attacking stats so far. If he continues to get through so much work he’ll be a genuine force to be reckoned with.
Benji’s resurrection as a goalkicker has helped his scores become more consistent, adding an average of 15 points per game to his score totals which has basically doubled his low floor. His involvement in steering around the Tigers’ attack cannot be ignored as well, with one try, three try assists, one line break, one line break assist and three forced drop outs contributing to his scores so far this season. With ownership levels of 5% and 3% respectively, both these guys could be serious PODs to chase down the leaders!
• Tommy Flegler and Corey Horsburgh are heating up…?
Well, for those of us old enough to remember the old NBA Jam classic, both these guys need one more big game to be “on fire” but massive question marks hang over both players due to the potential return of key teammates in Matt Lodge and John Bateman respectively. Both players have been immense in the opening rounds, with eye-catching performances on the field and again, on the stat sheet too.
Minutes will be the key indicator for both players and both have put compelling arguments for ongoing game time, but non-owners of both will probably be smarter to look elsewhere while current owners will be hoping to milk the solid scores and incoming price rises for as long as possible before upgrading soon after.
• Eliesa Katoa might be the most promising bottom-dollar rookie we have this year
Scores of 51 and 50 while playing on the edge, from 51 minutes off the bench and 65 minutes as the starter (less 15 minutes due to leaving the field to pass his HIA), show that the kid doesn’t just look great on the field (and he does, having been one of the standouts with the Warriors in both games this year), he is also easy on the stats sheet.
A great work rate and most importantly for forwards, the ability to find an offload, it bodes well for his KFC SuperCoach prospects. There may be some job security issues moving forward but as long as he keeps up this form, he’s a legitimate option that we should all have in our 2RF position.
• James Tedesco and Tommy Turbo are just ridiculous
Look, this is hardly a new lesson but every now and then, both these guys have games that just absolutely blow the mind. It’s not the 150+ scores really – it’s their ability to still score 70, 80 or more KFC SuperCoach points when their teams only score one try. Teddy doesn’t even need to have big attacking stats, notching 85 points just through his ridiculous involvement. 39 points in just hitups (21 runs in total, with 18 of them being over eight metres), six tackle busts, three effective offloads, a line break and a line break assist… but perhaps most impressive of all, he managed to register the elusive ‘kick and regather break’ stat for his chip and chase late in the game. What a player!
Tommy Turbo, well, you’d back him to be involved any time the Sea Eagles score one try – and he was indeed the try scorer (with the accompanying line break) in his most recent game. With no Origin, and no byes to navigate this season, how soon until one or both of these KFC SuperCoach studs line up for your team at fullback?
• Kotoni Staggs is on another level right now
The current top points scorer of all players is in fact, a CTW only player – and that’s from only 132 minutes of game time so far after leaving Round 1’s game with cramps! The right centre for the Broncos showed that he might be the most dangerous player, ball in hand, when 10 metres away from the opposition try line.
Staggs has been unstoppable when in tryscoring range, with four tries, three line breaks, one line break assist and a try contribution as well. He has got it done himself or reliably finished off the hard work of his teammates. With the Broncos looking imposing with ball in hand so far, there’s no reason Staggs won’t continue to have plenty of tryscoring opportunity all year, and in this form, he could set a tryscoring record for a centre in the NRL this season.
• “Haas and Taumalolo” could be the “Parker and Gallen” for years to come
Corey Parker and Paul Gallen dominated KFC SuperCoach for years on end, constantly churning out ridiculous averages year in year out. No other players have come close to matching their status as “KFC SuperCoach Immortals”. Payne Haas and Jason Taumalolo are both young forwards that are still maturing physically and approaching their prime as footballers.
They’re already dominant on the field and for the most part, it is translating to KFC SuperCoach as well. It feels like the best is yet to come for both these players, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that all starts happening in 2020 onwards – get these guys into your teams ASAP if you don’t have them!
• It might be the ‘Yeary of Cleary’ for KFC SuperCoach
Currently just one point behind Kotoni Staggs for most points scored in 2020 (tied with Koroisau), Cleary has shown exactly why he is such a KFC SuperCoach force already this year in his scores of 73 and 100. It’s not the one try, two try assists, one line break, two line break assists and two try contributions (although that obviously helps!) – it’s his floor of 44 and 43 points across the opening two rounds, boosted as always by his 100% goalkicking success rate from 12 attempts.
No other playmaker is likely to be able to match his workrate and goalkicking floor across the season and that’s what makes him such a great KFC SuperCoach option at halfback. If he can improve his attacking stats across the year, then Cleary is primed for a massive 2020 on the field and on the KFC SuperCoach score sheet. Now, if only he could stay focused off the field…
Bring on the rest of the 2020 season
I’m sure we’re all counting down the days to 28 May while crossing our fingers, toes and everything else we can to ensure that the players stay sensible, and most importantly that Australia as a whole continues to effectively handle COVID-19. We’re almost there!
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