Mastermind’s NRL SuperCoach team 2025: All aboard these cut-priced keepers

Choosing where to spend the big money in NRL SuperCoach is as important as cheapies and THE MASTERMIND just can’t go past this quartet of keepers.

Welcome back to NRL SuperCoach 2025 and a new era of playstyle with the addition of the Flex position, which is already sparking debate on how to attack.

However, I find myself being rather inflexible on my starting guns with Kalyn Ponga, Tom Trbojevic, Nathan Cleary and Nicho Hynes my starting premiums for the second year running.

A Cleary-Hynes halfback combination set us back $1,864,600 in 2024, but a season later after injury-hit seasons it’s just $1,547,000.

That’s an absolute steal for two of the greatest SuperCoach scorers ever.

Ponga and Trbojevic have red hot fixtures to start the season and loom as the best captaincy shouts early to get your team rolling in points.

The rest of the squad is loaded with value options and avoids teams with early byes unless I regard them a top option in their position.

From round 1 to 7 that’s; no Titans, no Storm, no Dragons, 1 Knight (Ponga), 1 Warrior (Luke Metcalf), no Bulldogs and 1 Cowboy (Jaxon Purdue).

I don’t want any big budget players on byes while funds are tight early in the season. At the same time each round my mid-price and cheapie options are playing rather than missing with byes is an opportunity for cash to rise faster and new upgrades to be made sooner. A stronger starting 17 as quick as possible.

Here’s how the first draft of the squad is shaping up before we see trials to shake things up.

Kalyn Ponga is one of the first players picked for Ian Maybankas, AKA the Mastermind.

HOOKER

Sandon Smith, $237,600

Smith will take a place in the Roosters’ halves with Luke Keary retired and Sam Walker out injured long-term. In 2024 he had two 80-minute games for the Roosters both against the Rabbitohs for scores of 88 and 51. Across his short career his 80-min game average is 53.9PPG. He has dual hooker/half positioning too which could prove useful.

Peter Mamouzelos, $302,900

Mamouzelos had Damien Cook ahead of him the past few years at the Rabbitohs. On the occasions he’s played 60 minutes or more since 2021 he’s averaged 54.3PPG. He’s only played one 80 minute game and registered 73 points in round 6 against the Sharks last year.

FRONT ROW FORWARD

Terrell May, $597,500

May comes in priced off a 61PPG average in 2024 at the Roosters. He averaged 78.4PPG when playing 45+ minutes for the Roosters in 14 games in 2024. In the 10 other games he played under 40 minutes he averaged 36.7PPG. He looks to be seriously great value after switching to the Tigers where he should get consistent big minutes as the top middle forward.

Lindsay Collins, $422,900

May’s exit and the retirement of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves leaves Collins as the top dog in the Roosters pack. Spencer Leniu is more of an impact guy so the bulk of middle minutes should go to Collins and I’d expect a return to something closer to his 53.3PPG in 57 minutes per game from 2023. Should prove nice value before a switch to one of the premium Kiwi props Addin Fonua-Blake or Joe Tapine before Origin.

Naufahu Whyte, $367,100

Following on from above. There are middle minutes up for grabs at the Roosters and Whyte averaged 50.7PPG when he played 40 minutes+ in 2024. Handy dual 2RF/FRF positioning.

Royce Hunt, $249,000

At his best averaged 39.7PPG in 2022 at the Sharks. Has moved to the Tigers where he’ll be a chance at more minutes than the 23.8PG he had last season at Cronulla. He had three tries in 2022 and 2023 so can find the line when given the opportunity.

SECOND ROW FORWARDS

Connor Watson, $583,000

Watson should be playing 80 minutes as the Roosters hooker with Brandon Smith out long term. When he’s done that in the past for the Roosters and Knights he’s averaged 71.5PPG.

You’re getting Watson priced at a 59.6PPG average so there should be good value. He also has dual 2RF/HKR positioning so he can always slide up there if the double cheapie setup isn’t working.

Liam Martin, $436,400

There’s definite value in the Clive Churchill medallist. He averaged 44.6 in 2024, his lowest scoring season of his career so far. When Martin is playing big minutes running off Nathan Cleary’s shoulder on the right edge he put up 62.8PPG in five games in 2024 and 67PPG in four games in 2023.

Corey Horsburgh, $355,500

Horsburgh only played five games in 2024 at 45.4 PPG but in 2023 he averaged 62 PPG and was a SuperCoach weapon. There is huge value here if Horsburgh returns to the form that earned him an Origin jersey in 2023.

Jack Bird, $379,700

Bird started the 2024 season in the centres and later played in the halves for the Dragons averaging 38.8 PPG. He’s switched to the Tigers where the plan is to play him at lock.

He had nine games in that position with the Dragons across 2022 and 2023 and averaged 66.6 PPG. Potentially huge value with him moving back into the middle.

Jack Bird has joined the Tigers for the 2025 NRL season. Picture: Richard Dobson

Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, $368,200

Finefeuiaki averaged 37.6 PPG at the Cowboys last season but featured off the bench for under 30 minutes seven times. He’s moved to the Dolphins to nail down a starting spot with Felise Kaufusi expected to play more through the middle than the right edge. In his seven 80 minute games at the Cowboys last season he averaged 54 PPG.

Kobe Hetherington, $338,800

Hetherington averaged 34.6 in 40 MPG in 2024. Michael Maguire has talked about switching Pat Carrigan to prop which would open up more minutes at lock. Hetherington has averaged 48.1PPG in his dozen games over 50 minutes at the Broncos and that would be enough to make some decent cash.

HALFBACK

Nathan Cleary, $811,500

Cleary played just 10 games in 2024, the fewest of his career. As a result, you can pick him up at his cheapest starting price since 2021. Three of those 10 games produced hundreds including a monstrous 175 against the Dragons in Round 21. I used five trades taking him in and out last year with the injuries so I didn’t miss out on those massive hauls.

The Mastermind says Nicho Hynes is set for a bounce back season. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Nicho Hynes, $735,500

Hynes was the top overall point scorer of 2022 and 2023 and was on track to do it again in 2024 averaging 93.7 PPG through the first 11 rounds. Then he was injured in round 12 and only featured in five games after that with limited output. I’m backing Nicho to bounce back to his best and can’t resist the bargain price having paid almost $970k for him last season.

FIVE-EIGHTH

Kaeo Weekes, $530,900

Weekes had a breakthrough season in 2024 at the Raiders playing 17 games and playing a mix of halves and fullback to average 54.2PPG. He should be locked in as the Raiders No. 1 and we know how well fullbacks score in SuperCoach. He had a high score of 89 but also a low of 13. Shapes as a risky selection but there’s not a lot to like at five-eighth.

Luke Metcalf, $443,000

Metcalf only played six 80 minute games in 2024 and averaged 58.3PPG, kicking goals in half of them. He’s already good value but if he’s got the kicking tee expect his scores to tick up a little higher.

Most points in SuperCoach last season.

CENTRE/WING

Jamayne Isaako, $616,700

Isaako has not missed a game in his two seasons at the Dolphins. He was the second top point scorer overall in 2023 behind Hynes at 76.7PPG. His average dipped to 63 PPG in 2024 with not much changing in his stat line other than his try tally falling from 24 to 12 for the season. Plays eight of the first 12 games in south east Queensland so I expect a great start and hopefully an uptick in the try tally. A great work rate and goal kicking give him a great platform to go through the roof with - he’s put up 10 hundreds in the past two seasons.

Izack Tago, $501,400

Tago’s average dropped to 50.1 PPG in 2024 down from 68.4 PPG in 2023 and 59.7 PPG in 2022. Nathan Cleary’s absence last season probably hurt Tago’s output more than any other player. The Panthers centre averaged 68.2 PPG in his nine full games with Cleary and 40 PPG without him. Tago’s work rate hasn’t changed dramatically but the tries dried up impacting his average. He scored just nine in his 23 games last year compared to 10 in 14 and 12 in 23 in seasons past.

Izack Tago of the Panthers is a sneaky point of difference buy. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

Casey McLean, $443,000

Sunia Turuva moves to the Tigers so a regular spot on the Panthers wing is up for grabs. Turuva averaged 59PPG in that position and McLean should get a good run at it after performing well last season in his seven games in first grade.

Tyrone Munro, $397,500

Munro was injured in his first game of 2024 then returned with three tries in the final three games of 2024. He also had three tries in three games in 2023. It’s a small sample size but it’s a try a game and 58.8PPG in 80 minute games. It’s hard to go past the Rabbitohs winger.

Billy Smith, $317,200

When Smith plays 80 minutes he averages 51.7PPG. If he can avoid injuries he’s sure to make cash filling one of the vacant Roosters’ centre spots.

Jaxon Purdue, $257,000

Purdue had three starts in the centres for the Cowboys in 2024 at 56.3PPG and came off the bench for minimal minutes four times. Valentine Holmes has moved to the Dragons so there is a centre spot up for grabs and Purdue is well in the mix.

Robert Toia, $198,800

Toia scored four tries in six games in NSW Cup last season putting himself in the frame to fill one of the centre positions at the Roosters.

FULLBACK

Kalyn Ponga, $790,300

The Knights fullback has scored 100+ in his last two games against the first three opponents – Tigers, Dolphins and Titans. He is the man to captain over the first three rounds but then hits a bye in round 4. Then it’s a tough choice of copping the bye or pivoting to another gun fullback.

Isaiah Iongi, $232,600

Iongi is set to take Clint Gutherson’s fullback spot at the Eels and should be one of the cheapies of the season. The lowest score of any regular fullback in 2024 was Will Kennedy at 48PPG. Iongi only has to match that to make $250k which is very doable with quality halves Dylan Brown and Mitchell Moses inside him.

FLEX

Tom Trbojevic, $875,600

Trbojevic got through 18 games in 2024, his most in a season since 2018 and his second best season average ever at 89.4PPG. He plays five of the first seven games at home where he averages 84.5PPG.

Originally published as Mastermind’s NRL SuperCoach team 2025: All aboard these cut-priced keepers