NRL SuperCoach 2024: Four fresh cheapies in Tom Sangster’s final, final SuperCoach side

Round one has thrown up a bunch of curveballs and I’ve therefore made five changes – four of them cheapies, writes TOM SANGSTER.

Team List Tuesday threw up the usual curveballs and I’ve therefore made five changes.

Beau Fermor (mid-range), Danny Levi, Keenan Palasia, Joe Chan and Xavier Savage (cheapies) are the new faces after all scored starting spots for round one.

See full team below.

HOOKER

Brandon Smith HOK $471,300

Smith notched 48 points in Vegas which is neither a win or a loss – basically smack bang on his average from last year of 46.

Joey Lussick HOK $313,700 OUT, Danny Levi HOK $238,900

The promises of an 80 minute hooker at the Eels have not come true with Lussick set to lose game time to Brendan Hands, who was named on the bench on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Levi has jumped ahead of the hooking pack to score a starting role at the Raiders and starts $75,000 cheaper.

FRONT ROW

Rueben Cotter FRF/2RF $542,700

Cotter is dual position and doesn’t have a bye until Origin. You’ve got to save cash somewhere in SuperCoach 2024 and prop is a wise position to do it.

Jai Arrow 2RF/FRF $466,000

Picked up an ankle injury early in Vegas and seemed hampered, only scoring 39 points. Hopefully we can blame the injury and 53 minutes is not his regular game time going forward.

Samuel Hughes $238,900

One of the standout players of the Pre-Season Challenge, notching 14 runs for 129 metres in 33 minutes in the opening trial. Best cheapie at prop.

Liam Henry FRF $238,900

I’m a tad worried about the return of Scott Sorensen, which could push Henry out of the side via a few dominoes. But Henry still has better job security than the next best option in Viliami Fifita and his NSW Cup stats are impressive.

SECOND ROW

Heilum Luki 2RF $471,200

After averaging just 47 minutes last year, Luki has suddenly become a big game time back rower at the Cowboys following the exit of Luciano Leilua.

Morgan Smithies 2RF $345,000

Named at lock for the Raiders in round one. Smithies’ Super League stats are insane and if he can get even close to that in the NRL he will make mass cash.

Shaun Lane 2RF $446,200 OUT, Beau Fermor 2RF $467,300 IN

Lane was a lock for me all pre-season but the emergence of Kelma Tuilagi has me worried. Tuilagi has nudged his way into the 17 on pre-season performances and appears to be in a time share with Lane. Meanwhile, Fermor has impressed in pre-season and is being backed to go straight back to 80 minutes despite being on the comeback trail from an ACL injury.

Brendan Piakura 2RF $426,800

The early concussion in Vegas was a massive blow, with Piakura scoring just four points. Still has plenty of promise as Kurt Capewell’s replacement on the Brisbane edge.

Josh Curran 2RF $421,700 OUT, Keenan Palasia 2RF/FRF $365,200 IN

Curran has been named on the bech for round one while Palasia starts and is almost $60,000 cheaper.

Kane Bradley 2RF/CTW $238,900 OUT, Joe Chan 2RF $238,900 IN

Chan has won the vacant Storm edge back row spot ahead of Bradley so it’s an easy switch, even with job security issues hanging over Chan.

Josh Curran during Indigenous All Stars camp. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

HALFBACK

Nicholas Hynes HFB $970,000

It was a strange season for Hynes in actual NRL with the highs of a massive contract extension, Origin debut and sexy photo shoots offset by his NSW axing and Cronulla’s abrupt exit in week one of the finals. The soap opera aside, Hynes was the best player in SuperCoach by over five points per game, which is a serious feat. He also has a solid draw to start the season.

Nathan Cleary HFB $912,500

Halfback is a position I’m keen to go hard in given Hynes and Cleary finished first and second for average last season and no-one in the cheapie range really excites me. Note: Contrary to some of my other utterings, Cleary doesn’t have the bye until round 6 (not round 3 as I’ve previously stated). It’s a tough run of games, but better than not playing at all.

FIVE-EIGHTH

Dylan Brown 5/8 $780,800

Brown is by far the best and safest guy in the position – he rarely misses games due to injury, has great base stats and doesn’t have a bye until round nine.

Kyle Flanagan 5/8 $310,500

I’m not outrageously keen on Flanagan, particularly given he appears to have lost the goalkicking battle to Zac Lomax. But while scoring potential isn’t great, he does have great job security for a cheapie.

CENTRE/WING

Taylan May CTW $458,800

Returned from an ACL injury with a bang in the World Club Challenge, scoring 63 SuperCoach points without a try (although he came very close to the matchwinner). With 14 runs, eight tackle busts and two offloads, he certainly hasn’t lost any of his base-power stats. May produced a stunning debut season in 2022, scoring 16 tries in 21 games and averaging 64 for SuperCoach. But he has been priced on a $200,000 discount after missing the entirety of last season. Put simply, backline players at the all-conquering Panthers are always good SuperCoach options, especially those who come at a discount.

Ben Trbojevic CTW/2RF $277,400

What a success story for SuperCoaches! Scored 72 points in Vegas including a try and should keep Josh Schuster at bay for a while.

Jack Bostock CTW $314,500

Scores a wing spot at the Dolphins at a decent price. I’m not expecting miracles given lack of base stats but he’s hard to ignore in a tough year for cheapies.

Ethan Strange 5-8/CTW $238,900

Wins the five-eighth spot for the Raiders and is basically base price. First player picked.

Ethan Strange is a junior star. Picture: NRL Photos

Drew Hutchison HFB/CTW $354,900

The NRL journeyman wins the halfback spot at the Bulldogs and starts cheap after being used as a utility at the Roosters.

Bronson Xerri CTW $345,100 OUT, Xavier Savage FLB/CTW $350,200 IN

Xerri missed the squad for round one and Savage starts at a very similar price, so it’s a pretty easy switch. I’m hopeful Savage retains his spot when Sebastian Kris is back from suspension next week, and if he doesn’t he’s relatively expensive for a cheapie and can be downgraded easily.

Jaeman Salmon 2RF/CTW $317,100

Named at lock for the Bulldogs and dual position. I’m expecting more ball-play than work but still impossible to pass up.

FULLBACK

Kalyn Ponga FLB $892,800

The Newcastle superstar finished with the Dally M and while his 2023 season will be hard to match, there is still an argument he’s underpriced. Ponga’s worth is based on a season average of 87.44 but he averaged 105 once moving to fullback, his season average dragged down by an average of just 52 over the opening rounds at five-eighth and on the bench.

Tom Trbojevic FLB $833,500

In everything in Vegas and finished with a very respectable 81 points. But it could have been a whole lot better if not for a few near-misses including a disallowed try.