NRL SuperCoach 2019: Dave Von Kotze reveals team

It is SuperCoach time again and even though it won’t be long until my wife officially hates me again, the excitement of another season is building.

It is SuperCoach time again and even though it won’t be long until my wife officially hates me again, the excitement of another season is building and I can’t wait to rip in.

I would usually look at my current team in years gone by and think it may be a bit ambitious, but there are a host of cheapies who look as if they may live up to the pre-season excitement and make debuts.

If this is the case, SuperCoaches need to employ a ‘Guns and Cows’ strategy to make much needed early-season cash to get to our strongest team as quickly as possible.

My current team still leaves $82,200 in the bank so there is a bit of wiggle room to make a few adjustments. Who am I kidding? There will be about one hundred final adjustments before the season kicks off on the 14th March, but regardless, here is the first draft.

Forner NRL SuperCoach champion Dave Von Kotze.

HOOKER

Cameron Smith ($594,400)

Smith will take the reins again in the HOK role for 2019. I can totally see the reasoning behind going withDamien Cook, who was in a league of his own last year. However, the extra $131,000 I’ll have to use elsewhere is too hard to pass up. Smith scored over 60 points in 13 of the 22 (59 per cent) games he played last year where he was on the park for over 70 minutes and cracked the ton on three occasions, so that is more than enough to warrant his selection.

Kurt Mann ($258,900)

Not entirely convinced on Mann but pre-season minutes will shed more light on the situation. The primary aim is to turn this slot in Damien Cook as soon as possible so Victor Radley ($400,700) might also be someone I find the cash for if it looks as if he’ll lock down 55 minutes a game.

PROP

Andrew Fifita ($634,300)

There is no denying that Fifita is as loose as they come. One minute he gives away three penalties in a row and the next he makes four effective offloads in quick succession and wins you right back. It is for this reason, coupled with the facts that in the last three years he has averaged 67, 64 and 72 and scored his points at over a point per minute (PPM 1.2, 1.2 and 1.3), that the big unit is once again a set and forget for the Velociraptors in 2019.

Tevita Pangai ($495,000)

Pangai is another PPM monster who scored his points at over a point per minute in 2018. SuperCoaches joining us for the first time this year should look no further than this bloke to get maximum enjoyment out of the year because he is one of those players that is so exciting to watch and you feel like something could happen at any moment. Fingers crossed he can lock down the No.13 jumper and that Anthony Seibold lets him unleash his offload.

LISTEN! Resident SuperCoach experts Tom Sangster and Tim Williams have the lowdown on the players to target and avoid in 2019.

Payne Hass ($181,100)

Not much needs to be said here. We got a taste of this monster last season and we want more. If he’s in the Broncos’ 17 come the first ‘Teams List Tuesday’, get him in.

Blake Lawrie ($216,600)

Lawrie got game-time in only seven games last season, averaging 22 minutes per game, but his work rate was impressive (PPM 1) so keep an eye out in future if he finds extra minutes.

Blake Lawrie has SuperCoach potential.

BACKROW

Jai Arrow ($598,000)

Arrow is my first picked this year as SuperCoaches have been offered a considerable discount due to an injury-affected end to 2018. He had an 11-game average of 80 in games in which he played above 55 minutes and churned his points out with a PPM of 1.2, so his selection is an absolute no-brainer for me.

Jake Trbojevic ($667,600)

Big Brother Jake’s engine coupled with his ability to find attacking stats sees him currently sitting in 41 per cent of teams. He is worth every cent of his high asking price and worst case scenario, if Des Hasler for some reason messes with his minutes, he can be a straight swap to any other 2RF in the game.

Jason Taumalolo ($657,400)

Lolo, by the closest of margins, gets a start over Angus Crichton due to the fact he won’t be involved in an Origin series. It has been noted that he started 2018 slowly with an opening five-game average of 50, but he followed it up by averaging 80 in his next five. Regardless of the warm weather starts he has in 2019, hopefully he can open like a steam train as he did in 2017 with an initial five-game average of 85.

Bryce Cartwright ($231,300)

In the past few seasons the so called ‘Carty Party’ has more resembled the historical ‘Fyre Festival’. But he is 2019’s top candidate for the ‘training the house down’ award and with dual position flexibility, at just over $230,000, I figure why not?

Joe Stimson ($352,900)

There is plenty of merit in selecting Stimson in the 2RF spot but he is still not set in stone as I also like the look of whichever of the Sharks’ Scott Sorensen ($347,800) or Kurt Capewell ($340,200) locks down the edge-forward role on Shaun Johnson’s attacking side.

Sitili Tupouniua ($181,100)

Through no fault of their own, FRF/2RF cheapies are so often a huge punish due to lack of minutes and serve as nothing more than auto emergency nightmares. But without them we are unable to sneak that extra gun in to start the season. Sitili is here at the moment as he is dirt cheap and also because he is one of the names thrown around as a game time winner from Dylan Napa’s departure.

Sitili Tupouniua for Wyong Roos last season.

HALFBACK

Shaun Johnson ($603,000)

SJ appears to have spiders on him this year, currently sitting in only 13 per cent of teams, but I have him locked and loaded. Surely he will be goal kicking now Valentine Holmes has departed and those worried about him gelling with predicted halves partner Chad Townsend need know that they played together at the Warriors in 2014 and 2015 where Johnson averaged 69 and 70 respectively. I also feel he will have a much better platform to work off this year behind a forward pack who thrive on a grinding dog fight, so strap me in to the well-known ‘SuperCoach Rollercoaster’.

Chanel Harris-Tavita ($168,100)

I seriously hope I’m wrong but I’m seeing CHT as potentially a massive trap. He has plenty of talent and if he starts Round 1 it will be hard to leave him out. However, if he tanks in the first few games and the Warriors get pumped, they may go with Hiku in the halves, which will leave Chanel gathering dust instead of making cash in the reserve HFB spot until another cheapie comes along.

FIVE-EIGHTH

Kalyn Ponga ($614,300)

From what I saw last year I am not worried about the positional switch at all. Ponga is a freak of nature who also comes in slightly under valued due to an injury affected five in Round 16 and two scores in the 40s to finish the year when he was playing busted. There is also the added bonus of goalkicking, while he plays four of his first five at home.

Dylan Brown ($168,100)

Another case of ‘if he starts Round 1, he’s in’. Handy HFB/5/8 dual positioning to sweeten the deal too.

Dylan Brown is a star in the junior grades.

CENTRE/WING

John Bateman ($400,000) or Clint Gutherson ($439,300)

I am currently drinking the ‘John Bateman Cool Aid’ and hoping he plays a role as my set and forget forward with dual CTW flexibility. If Bateman ends up being a no-go, I like the look of Clint Gutherson. He was relatively quiet last year coming back from a horrific ACL injury in late 2017 but with eight per cent ownership, he has POD written all over him. In 2017 he averaged 73 in his seven games at fullback

Zac Lomax ($196,900)

After what we saw during the finals series last year, Lomax will be a SuperCoach gift if he takes and holds one of the recently vacated wing spots at the Dragons.

Cheapie, Cheapie, Cheapie, Cheapie and Cheapie for the final five spots. It is in this position that SuperCoaches are often gifted fast, easy money and there are plenty of young guns eager to secure their NRL debuts which may well provide that early cash. As mentioned earlier, my team is a stock standard ‘Guns and Cows’ team so any player named in the CTW under or around $200,000 ball park will come straight into my team.

FULLBACK

Tom Trbojevic ($691,200)

I am not afraid to throw some honest home truths your way and tell you that when I had to sit through Tommy Turbo’s 194 during Round 23 last season, apart from kicking numerous cushions around the house, I actually said the words “that’s it, I’m never playing SuperCoach again”. About an hour later I had very quickly reneged on my statement but I made a promise he would always be in my team. Turbo cracked the ton four times last year scoring over 150 twice. On numerous occasions he appeared to do nothing but still managed to post 70s with the greatest of ease. The Ponga/Turbo/Teddy FLB fiasco is behind us so he is in.

James Tedesco ($689,000)

As a Roosters supporter, I would be angry and disappointed in myself if I didn’t fork out the dosh to have Teddy in my team. I sang his praises in the Roosters pre-season yarn so refer to that if you need any further convincing.

MORE SUPERCOACH:

Full SuperCoach News section / Cheapie Bible / Predicted round one teams / Sangster’s team / Champ’s team / Wilfred’s team / Tallis’s team / Copes’ team / Huge rule change / Top 10 rookies in NRL