NRL SuperCoach Cheapie Bible round 15

HOPEFULLY you didn’t go early last week on John Olive because a BETTER cheapie has emerged this week, writes Trent Copeland.

BYE planning carnage has hit in advance of round 17 with injuries to the likes of Jordan Rapana, Viliame Kikau and the absence of superstar cheapie Rhyse Martin.

Never has it been more important to land the right cheapies who cover round 17, especially given the distinct lack of ‘keeper’ level talent.

Each week the Cheapie Bible will take a long look at the money-makers, the players we all grow man crushes on — and even the ones who let us down like being stood up on a blind date.

Ultimately, I will sift through who we should be buying, selling and holding of the sub $250k price bracket. As players hike in price past the $300k mark (or start losing cash) I will give a final verdict before they exit this list.

Here we go…

John Olive CTW (BUL | $177,300) - 23 points

Uh oh. Having flagged the fact that Olive had averaged a paltry 12PPG in five matches last season and warned against ‘going early’ on him last week, I can hardly say I’m surprised. The allure of 52 points in his season debut almost entirely from base stats went away on the most part, but, its not all doom and gloom.

Let me make this clear, Olive is most certainly a BUY this week (particularly with a matchup against the Titans) at just $177k, possessing a -15 BE with coverage of the round 17 big bye week. Josh Morris is still listed as a round 20 return so Olive’s spot in the side is seemingly secure.

VERDICT: BUY. Matches against the Titans, Knights and then Raiders in the next three rounds bode well for Olive.

John Olive is the most purchased player this week.

Kurt Mann HFB | CTW (STG | $188,600) - 36 points

This is why you wait on cheapies like Olive until they play their second game. Why, you ask? Because a better option (yeah, this guy!) can easily come from the clouds. Mann has displaced Jason Nightingale on the wing — huge call in itself — scoring 36 points in base stats. Pedigree wise has averaged 48.1PPG and 44.5PPG over the past two seasons across various positions when playing 80 minutes.

By way of upside, the comparison between he and Olive is not even close… Firstly, Mann plays in the ladder-leading Dragons outfit scoring truckloads of points. Secondly, in rounds 22 and 23 last season Mann scored 112 and 137 points respectively… Huge! The downside is the possible switch back to the bench, in the future becoming one of the worst AE nightmares in SuperCoach.

VERDICT: BUY. Wait for late mail to make sure Nightingale doesn’t take his spot back before clicking ‘confirm trade’.

Kurt Mann has a strong tryscoring record.

Enari Tuala CTW (NQC | $282,100) - 65 points

What an absolute gem Tuala has proven to be. Another try (a junk-time treat), another 60+ points to back up last week’s effort and another $61,300 in the kitty. Let’s hope you listened and went for Tuala over the one-gamer in Olive last week, as Tuala now sits with a -37 BE and projected price rise of $60,000 this week. All going to plan, SuperCoach Stats projects Tuala to be priced in advance of $360k by the time the Cowboys’ round 17 bye rolls around.

VERDICT: BUY/HOLD. Yes, you could feasibly still jump on this week for a two-week cash grab (only if you have 17+ trades!), the rest of us just sit tight for a few weeks before cashing in.

PODCAST! Tom Sangster and Tim Williams discuss the two cheapies to emerge in the round 15 teams.

Sione Katoa CTW (CRO | $192,500) - 28 points

Katoa earned the wing spot on merit over Feki in a huge bonus for SuperCoaches, scoring just 28 points in a lackluster performance but earning a $27,900 price rise in the process. With Josh Dugan out at least until the Sharks’ round 17 bye, Katoa owners will be hoping for a try this weekend against the Broncos at home to kick on the price rises. The tackle busts and H8s are a very nice ‘base’ for his scores, but we just need that attacking stat… Pretty please.

VERDICT: HOLD. Don’t be buying this week, but the some 38 per cent of teams who own the second best mullet in the NRL can sit tight on the -18 BE and watch the cash roll in until the round 17 bye.

Alexander (AJ) Brimson HFB | 5/8 (GCT | $241,600) - 23 points

Brimson last week came up against arguably the form team in the entire NRL, the Rabbitohs, who have given nothing away to playmakers, and went on to score just 23 points. The problem with young halves without the goal kicking duties is the ‘floor’ is so low… Scores of 30, 53, 35 and 23 in his four matches so far mean the money making process can be halted so quickly. In saying that, hopefully he can find the try line this weekend against the Bulldogs to kick him over the line of round 17 before starting to leak cash.

VERDICT: HOLD. BE has crept up to 23, which Brimson scored last week, but he can hang around at least until round 17.

Te Maire Martin HFB | 5/8 (NQC | $269,500) - 45 points

Te Maire Martin has more money to make.

Seriously, the Cowboys are reeeeeally struggling. A 20-14 loss against the last-placed, injury-plagued Eels on the weekend is an indication of where they are at and unfortunately for SuperCoaches, Thurston, TMM and Tuala are all key to our hopes at present. Martin has actually looked very good since taking a full time spot in the halves. Had it not been for a refereeing blunder calling his cutout ball to Kyle Feldt a forward pass, his score would have been in advance of 60. Averaging around 20 tackles per week with a significant playmaking role is a nice base, and if he can find some attacking stats this weekend at home against the Warriors he should peak at around $320k in time for a round 17 sell.

VERDICT: HOLD. Still a few more price rises to come for the youngster alongside JT with a BE of just 3.

Reed Mahoney HOK (PAR | $164,600) - 34 points

Mahoney was very impressive on debut, looking every bit a first grade NRL player in his 51 minutes for the 34 points (0.7PPM), comprised of 36 tackles and six runs with a couple of penalties/errors in there. Named once again to play from the bench — a good sign for Nathan Brown owners — Mahoney has some potential. But in all seriousness, if you aren’t running Cam Smith and #THECHEF, aka Damian Cook, you’re just plain doing it wrong…

VERDICT: AVOID. No one should be playing around with the HOK slot.

Kotoni Staggs 2RF (BRO | $188,800) - 10 points

The warning signs, actually STOP signs, were there well in advance of this week’s 10 points in 20 minutes. Yes, Staggs made $20k this week but the BE is up to 40 already and now we’re smack bang in the middle of AE nightmare territory. I mean, if Tevita Pangai Junior is only getting 50 minutes off the bench with Alex Glenn returning to his customary edge role, then Staggs isn’t seeing more than this. Probably best case scenario for owners is Matt Gillett returning to the right edge, Su’A back to the bench and Staggs out of the team altogether.

VERDICT: AVOID/HOLD. Those unlucky owners just need to hold out hope he drops out of the team sometime soon.

Sam Hoare FRF (NQC | $197,500) - 23 points

23 points in just 25 minutes off the bench as a result of the return of Matt Scott and the Origin stars on their respective edges is not what we wanted to see. Whilst Hoare has looked solid in his minutes so far, you simply can’t go there especially with the bye coming up in just two weeks.

VERDICT: AVOID.

FINAL VERDICT

Players who surpass $300k (or heaven forbid, start to lose cash!) will feature in this section with a summation of where they are at and what you should be doing in the future.

Campbell Graham CTW (STH | $303,200) - 52 points

Graham delivered another 50+ score and being on the end of the form team in the NRL’s backline is a nice position to be! He has surpassed the $300k mark this week, maintaining a BE of just seven. If he scores another try this week against the lowly Eels, Graham will hit round 17 priced at around $350k. What an absolute treat for those who jumped on back in round 10 for $200k.

VERDICT: HOLD. Plan for a round 17 sell to a Croker/Aitken type.

Adam Douehi CTW (STH | $273,300) - 65 points

Douehi has been outstanding for a first year player when given the opportunity this season. Last week it was at centre after being at fullback the week before. He also had a stint in the halves in Adam Reynolds’ absence earlier this season. 65 points against the Titans with a try capped off his job being ‘done’ in SuperCoach terms, covering the round 13 bye week and escalating in price to the point where you can hold this week (-26 BE!) against the Eels even though he is now back on the bench, then look to move him on in the Super Trade week next week.

VERDICT: HOLD. He’s done his job beautifully. scoring 50+ points over the last two weeks. Even with a score in the teens this week he will make some valuable cash.

* If players aren’t anywhere on the above lists it is because we deem them irrelevant at least for the time being.