KFC SuperCoach Round 10 NRL cheapie bible: Trent Copeland verdict on top cheapie buys

As thousands of KFC SuperCoaches jump on Tyson Gamble, Trent Copeland asks whether they’re missing an even better Round 10 bargain.

Uh oh, the carnage is coming!

Those of you that went early, against all well established (made up on the fly) KFC SuperCoach protocols, on Zac Cini have been punished with the mullet-laden flyer dropped along with hugely popular cheapies, Jake Simpkin and Stefano Utoikamanu. Cheers Madge.

Couple that with Spencer Leniu still named outside the Panthers’ 17, Sam Walker carrying an injury, Ben Condon benched last week and numerous others bleeding cash.

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Making the right decision on cheapies is always crucial, but with the all important round 13 bye coming up we can’t afford to have dead weight.

By definition a ‘Cheapie’ will be referenced when under $300,000 and actually relevant for KFC SuperCoach purposes. Key word being relevant. Once players eclipse the $300k mark they will be given a final verdict in the ‘Bon Voyage’ section.

Buckle up, here we go!

TEAMS ANALYSIS: WHAT EVERY ROUND 10 CHANGE MEANS

Josh Curran is finding a way to rack up KFC SuperCoach points.

Josh Curran 2RF (Warriors) $345,900 – 57 points

One thing is for sure among all the other chaos, and that is that Josh Curran is playing 80 minutes and scoring like a genius, this time with a nice try from a last play kick. He just has that knack for being right place, right time for attacking stats. He was put on report, but that has since been negated and named to start on his edge as per the program. Having made close to $150,000 already and possessing a BE of 2, Curran has match-ups against the Eels, Tigers and Cowboys prior to the round 13 bye where a decision can be made to hold or sell to a gun. Will be a best-17 player until that point for most teams.

VERDICT: BUY/HOLD. Personally, I think Curran is a hold through round 17 coverage, then move to a gun for the run home.

Thomas Flegler is Trent Copeland’s best cheapie this round.

Tom Flegler FRF (Broncos) $284,600 – 57 points

Lots of people are jumping in on a Broncos cheapie as the buy of the week – we’ll get to him in a moment – but I’m calling Flegler the safest cheapie buy on the horizon that NO ONE is talking about. The extremely unfortunate season-ending ACL injury to Pat Carrigan means there are big minutes in the Broncos’ middle rotation up for grabs. Last week it was Flegler who stepped up, scoring 57 points in 45 minutes (massive 1.3 PPM) with no attacking stats. Named to start this weekend against the Sea Eagles, given his career record and historical PPM, I see no reason why Flegler can’t average 40-50 minutes and score in the 40-60PPG range for the foreseeable future, including the all important round 13 bye coverage. The only concern would be if TPJ moved back to the middle rotation in a late change, so watch late mail closely.

VERDICT: BUY. My cheapie of the week.

TEAMS PODCAST: ROB, SANGSTER’S FULL ROUND 10 PLANS

Tyson Gamble looms as the best cheapie buy of Round 10.

Tyson Gamble HFB | 5/8 (Broncos) $186,800 – 55 points

Man, a week is a LONG time in KFC SuperCoach. Rewind to round nine and all the talk was Reece Walsh, Zac Cini, Feagai twins and even Brayden Musgrove. Now, though, it seems as though the Gamble might actually be worth it. Sorry, I’ll stop. Gamble has put up two good games in a row (albeit against the Titans and Cowboys), with his latest effort delivering 55 points with a try assist, try contribution and line break assist to go with a very impressive 30 points in tackles. With a -48 BE coming into Magic Round against the Sea Eagles, Gamble is projected to make over $50,000 this round and also covers (in theory) round 13 with handy dual position eligibility.

VERDICT: BUY. The best of a pretty ordinary bunch this week, just be aware Gamble is carrying a niggle, so make sure you watch late mail before hitting the confirm trade button.

Max (left) and Mat Feagai.

Max Feagai CTW (Dragons) $203,100 – 30 points

After a very impressive 51 points (with no attacking stats) on debut, Feagai came back to earth against the Bulldogs in what was one of the best games of NRL in years. Jokes aside, Feagai had very little impact and didn’t come looking for the ball anywhere near as much as game one – by way of example, game one: 24 points in H8’s, game two: just TWO points in H8’s. There is money to be made here, along with prospective round 13 coverage, but there are a few negatives to consider. The Storm this week is a less than ideal matchup, then throw in the return of Jordan Pereira from suspension next week – does that mean Feagai drops out? Or does he shift to Zac Lomax’s vacant centre slot? Risky.

VERDICT: RISKY BUY. An injury to his brother, and Zac Lomax may have paved the way for Round 13 coverage and some nice price rises. Or, it could be over next week.

Zac Cini has been axed.

Zac Cini CTW (Tigers) $173,700 – 7 points

Oh man, I speak to over 10,000 KFC SuperCoaches who went early when I say, OUCH. The line was “ … those of you who have Cini in the most purchased players this week need to take a chilllll pill” and this was why. The Tigers were woeful, Tommy Talau returns from suspension, and most relevantly you can never trust Madge. It seems dropping three rookies is the easy way out rather than some more experience players making far worse ‘effort’ errors and reads on defence. Let me be clear, this was a stinker compared to his stellar debut, so hopefully Cini gets another chance at some point – ideally round 13!

VERDICT: AVOID. OUCH.

Don’t be surprised if Jake Simpkin is back soon.

Jake Simpkin HOK (Wests Tigers) $267,200 – 54 points

Ugh. The avoid warning on Simpkin handed down the last two weeks in the Cheapie Bible was due to minute concerns, certainly not expecting Madge to drop the kid who has been tackling like a beast, and even scored his first NRL try in the first half on the weekend to keep the Tigers in the contest. Given the BE is sitting at 5 and we all know how flimsy Madge’s team selections are, I wouldn’t rule out Simpkin being a valuable number for round 13 just yet.

VERDICT: AVOID/HOLD. It’s unfortunate that Simpkin was dropped, but hold a week or two (if you can) and he may just be back for round 13.

Phoenix Crossland offloads.

Phoenix Crossland 5/8 (Knights) $203,100 – 63 points

Crossland was very, very good against the Raiders on the weekend in the halves alongside Kurt Mann – scoring a try and 63 points in the process to now sit with a -19 BE with match-ups against the Tigers, Cowboys and Sea Eagles before round 13 coverage. Mitchell Pearce is out until round 14-16 but the precarious situation lies in the Blake Green expected return in round 12.

VERDICT: AVOID. I really like Crossland as a prospect, but given the scenario, and Tyson Gamble available for cheaper at the same position it’s a pass.

Reece Walsh FLB (Warriors) $230,700 – 42 points

My fears of a late benching with Chanel Harris-Tavita named on the extended bench last week came to fruition, but Walsh still found a way to excel once he stepped on to the field late on, scoring a try and yet another try assist in just 26 minutes of game time. Quite remarkable really. Despite the freakish talent and scoring upside, unless there’s a long term injury to RTS or CHT then Walsh has to be left alone.

VERDICT: AVOID.

Jesse Arthars’ stocks are on the rise.

Jesse Arthars CTW (Broncos) $267,100 – 52 points

Arthars was looming as an avoid with the impending return of Kotoni Staggs from his long term injury lay-off, but not only has Arthars excelled (scoring a try in both games en route to 78 and 52 points respectively), Staggs has also picked up a hamstring injury during his return to play training regimen. All of that put together means that we’re looking at Arthars in this team on merit ahead of the likes of Tesi Niu for the foreseeable future, possessing a -34 BE and likely coverage of the round 13 bye.

VERDICT: POD-BUY. Not for me, but there’s a chance this is a real four-week success story.

Brayden Musgrove CTW (Knights) $217,000 – 9 points

That was not what we had hoped for as prospective Musgrove buyers last week, scoring a paltry 9 points in a game the Knights actually won! That has put the money making prospects on the back burner despite being able to hold off Edrick Lee for yet another week. Fingers crossed for a try this weekend against the leaky Tigers.

VERDICT: HOLD. Hold an hope for round 13 coverage if you’re one of the 5% of KFC SuperCoaches that are on board, but Musgrove is a definite avoid if you don’t already own him.

Nicho Hynes has been an inspired pick.

BON VOYAGE

Nicho Hynes CTW | FLB (Storm) $449,700 – 96 points

The dream ride continues for those ballsy enough to jump on Nicho Hynes! Another 96 points in the most crucial position on the team sheet each week at CTW, a MASSIVE $100,000 of cash this week alone, a -3 BE and a freak injury to Cam Munster meaning that even with Ryan Papenhuyzen’s likely return Hynes will likely start in the halves (despite him being named on the bench). With Munster out two weeks, and then missing to Origin in round 13, Hynes looks a hold until round 14 where he could be priced at $550k.

VERDICT: HOLD. Bravo to those that took the plunge! Great KFC SuperCoaching.

WATCHLIST:

Joseph Suaalii CTW | FLB (Roosters)

Shawn Blore 2RF (Tigers)

Ofahiki Ogden FRF (Bulldogs)

John Asiata FRF | 2RF (Broncos)

Sebastian Kris CTW (Raiders)

Zach Saddler 2RF | FRF (Sea Eagles)

Christian Tuipulotu CTW (Sea Eagles)

Dean Ieremia CTW | FLB (Storm)

Ben Trbojevic CTW | 2RF (Sea Eagles)

Greg Marzhew (formerly Leleisiuao) CTW (Titans)

Joe Stimson 2RF (Bulldogs)

Jock Madden HFB (Wests Tigers)

Jayden Sullivan HFB (Dragons)

Haze Dunster CTW (Eels)

Mat Feagai CTW (Dragons)

Brayden Wiliame CTW (Dragons)

Matt Timoko CTW (Raiders)

Semi Valemei CTW (Raiders)

Paul Turner HFB (Warriors)

Tom Ale FRF (Warriors)

Isaac Lumelume CTW (Storm)

Franklin Pele FRF (Sharks)