NRL SuperCoach: 10 things we learned round 15
THE Denver Test, Super Trade Week and upcoming round 17 bye are giving SuperCoaches plenty to think about.
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ROUND 15 has been and gone. Here’s what we learned.
1. TMM makes owners proud, now he’s off to Denver
Te Marie Martin had an excellent all-around game against the Warriors on Friday night with 40 points in base, a forced drop out, a last touch and a linebreak assist all adding up to 63 points. Martin is heading towards a price around or above $330K when most will cash him in ahead of the round 17 bye (assuming he backs up from the Denver Test, which is likely given the Cowboys play the last match in round 16).
2. SJ knocks you down but then helps you up again
Shaun Johnson gives with one hand and takes away with the other all in the space of a couple of days. I was a little filthy on SJ for his pedestrian (for him) 44 point performance on Friday against the Cowboys. Just four runs, a solitary tackle bust and the same for offloads along with zero — that’s 0 — attacking stats saw SJ7 post his second worst score of the season. But then ... oh boy, then came the news that Johnson would not play for the Kiwis in the Denver Test (and thus will play round 16). I’m a magnanimous kind of guy so I’ll forgive the one below average game in return for putting SuperCoach ahead of country.
3. Denver drama
Outside of the withdrawals of Johnson and Warriors teammate Tohu Harris, Denver Test selections have generally been unkind to SuperCoaches. Fantasy-relevant players Te Marie Martin, Sam Burgess, Gareth Widdop, Martin Taupau, Esan Marsters, Raymond Faitala-Mariner, Peta Hiku, Jamayne Isaako and Joseph Tapine have all been named. Fingers crossed they back up. Widdop appears the least likely as the Dragons play on the Thursday following the Test. Taupau suffered a hyperextend elbow against the Dragons but returned to the field and has been named for the Kiwis.
4. Fonua’s season broken
SuperCoaches are on the hunt for a new keeper at centre/wing with Mahe Fonua ruled out for 6-10 weeks due to a broken arm. The blow is a huge one given Fonua had produced the fourth highest average of any CTW since forcing his way into first grade in round eight, despite only scoring one try. #MaheTheMullett busted 28 tackles, offloaded 21 times and averaged 19 runs and 162 metres per game.
5. Mann eats Olive
It was the big SuperCoach discussion point heading into the round – John Olive or Kurt Mann? Olive ended the week as the most purchased player, attracting 8373 trades. Mann was fifth on the list with 5471 trades. However, Mann got the last laugh with 60 points against the Sea Eagles, which included a try. Although Olive hardly disgraced himself with 46, which also included a try.
6. Aitken flops as second most purchased player
Jordan Rapana and Ryan Matterson owners flocked, understandably, to Aitken last week. But right on cue, Aitken produced his worst SuperCoach game of the year, scoring just 30 points despite the Dragons putting a cricket score on the Sea Eagles. The livewire centre received an early shower and played only 67 minutes. Aitken was outperformed by all rival buys including Tim Lafai (71), Jarrod Croker (77) and Will Hopoate (39).
7. Round 17 plans in disarray
The looming round 17 bye was already the toughest week of the year ... now it’s a fair dinkum disaster. SuperCoaches are set to be without Rhyse Martin (who played reserve grade yet again following his previous trip to the naughty corner), Ryan James (who was rewarded for strong form with a NSW call-up) and Tevita Pangai Jnr (rib cartilage) for the all-important round.
8. Welcome to the inaugural Super Trade Week
It’s here. Changes to the NRL draw, including the introduction of a standalone Origin week, have forced us to make huge changes to the SuperCoach trade rules. As such, we introduced the first ever “Super Trade Week”. Use FIVE trades before round 16 as SuperCoaches prepare for the season-defining round 17 bye. Obviously the attrition rate from the representative round will be crucial to selections, but get studying now.
9. Cody Walker is ‘back’
In the first nine rounds Walker had just one score under 59 points (a 20 point stinker against the Bulldogs in round four) and it was only the red-hot starts of Gareth Widdop and Shaun Johnson that had the Rabbitoh flying under the SuperCoach radar. What followed was one bad (18 points in round 10) then three mediocre (31, 44 and 38) scores and plenty were suggesting Walker had crashed and burned. Such criticism was well off the mark. Walker was, and no doubt still is, processing the sad death of his mother between round eight and nine, and that he played at all over that period is a credit to his commitment to the club. Last week we saw a return to the CWalker of early in the season when he put a try and 84 points on the Titans. And the South Sydney star made the most of another juicy matchup this round with a dominant performance that saw him parlay two try assists, two linebreak assists, a linebreak of his own and three successful offloads into 90 points.
10. Fergo, you mad genius
There is no player that fills Roosters fans with both hope and heartbreak like Blake Ferguson — often in the very same play. A footballing savant capable of turning the sublime into the ridiculous just as often as he does the impossible impeccably, Ferguson is riding high with scores of 87 points (round 13 against the Tigers), 93 points (round 14 against the Knights) and now 99, with two tries and 40 points in base. He’s no help in the round 17 bye but he has scored under 40 points just once and gone over 70 points six times.