SuperCoach NRL 2020 position breakdown: Front Row breakdown
The best front rowers are PPM machines and help give your SuperCoach team reliable points week in, week out. Our experts rate all the best contenders.
SuperCoach
Don't miss out on the headlines from SuperCoach. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Despite being base point machines with a good mix of premium and mid-range options, Front-row forwards is one of the hardest positions to pick in KFC NRL SuperCoach.
With a tight salary cap and limited FRF cheapie options do you go all-out with two guns? Or do you need to balance one premium option with some mid-rangers and bargain picks?
LIVE stream Rabbitohs v Dragons in the 2020 Charity Shield on KAYO. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
If you have a sneaky POD, think we got our analysis wrong - or much more rarely - right, then let us know in the comments below and let the SuperCoach banter begin!
* Please note that I have not considered the merits of any cheapies in this article as those are covered in our Cheapie Bible hereAND I have inserted a glossary of abbreviations used throughout the article at the bottom.
PREMIUM $550K+
Payne Haas FRF ($728,200) Avg: 78.4
To put Payne Haas’ season in some perspective the Brisbane giant’s 2019 PPG average of 78.4 was the second-best in the history of any true FRF* (beaten only by Andrew Fifita’s 80PPG in 2013) and the 21st best average of any player at any position ever (minimum 10 games). And it was his rookie season! Haas averaged more minutes per game (64 MPG) than any other FRF and despite his huge workload he maintained the seventh best points per minute (1.23PPM) of any FRF (again minimum of 10 games). His asking price puts a big dent in your salary cap to start the season but with a per-game average 12 points better than the next best at his position he’s pretty close to a must-have for mine.
* Excluding the likes of Corey Parker and who were backrowers eligible in FRF at the time of their big seasons
David Klemmer FRF ($617,400) Avg: 66.4
David Klemmer was a picture of consistency in 2019 scoring over 60 points in a sensational 81% of games thanks largely to the second-best base points per game average, 59, in the league (behind Haas). The big unit punched out big minutes averaging 61MPG (at 1.09 PPM)
and missed just three games all year - despite playing with ligament damage in his hand for the entire season and then fracturing a bone in his hand in Origin I. Klemmer does not have much attacking flair to his game but if you’re after a guy who will roll his sleeves up and give you a great safe base then he’s your guy.
James Fisher-Harris FRF/2RF ($615,700) Avg: 66.3
Fisher-Harris was asked to play big minutes last year (averaging 77 MPG which was an increase of almost 20MPG on 2018) and he did so moving between lock, prop and second row. Wherever he was asked to play he dug in making more tackles in 2019 than any other front rower and the fifth most of any player. JFH also has a sneakily effective offload game and doesn’t shy away from a hit-up. Lock is his preferred position and barring injuries he should play 80 minutes there each week for the Panthers. Last year JFH averaged 68.9PPG at lock. He’s no bargain but you’ve got to pay for quality.
Addin Fonua-Blake FRF ($612,900) Avg: 66
Last year Fonua-Blake (AFB) moved into the elite category of front rowers with a 15% increase in minutes per game and a 20% increase in points per minute resulting in a huge jump in average points per game (48PPG in 2018 and 66PPG in 2019). The base was good (49PPG), but it was his attacking stats that really lifted the big manly prop into rarefied air with Fonua-Blake equal third for tries, and equal fourth for tackle busts and linebreak assists for his position.
Josh Papalii FRF ($605,300) Avg: 65.1
The Raiders shifted Papalii into the front row in 2019 which saw his minutes fall dramatically from 67MPG to 53MPG. But rather than decline his average score per game increased a point to 65PPG thanks to a big spike in workrate (1.22PPM in 2019 compared to 0.95PPM in 2018). Just like AFB above, Papalii pumped out 49PPG in base and around that he posted solid attacking stats with offloads, tackle busts and tries. Incredibly durable (he has not played fewer than 20 games in the past five seasons) and reliable (he has not scored fewer than 1300 points across that span), Papalii is often overlooked by SuperCoaches and regularly starts the season as a POD pick.
Matthew Lodge FRF ($582,000) Avg: 62.6
Speaking of often overlooked types, Matthew Lodge finished 2019 in just 3.1% of teams despite boasting the third best average of any FRF from rounds 11-18 and fourth best average of any FRF in rounds 19-26. Lodge really stepped up his offload game through the middle and end of 2019 and this combined with his stellar base workrate and big minutes (he averaged 52PPG in base from 57MPG) saw him finish with the sixth best average at his position. I can’t see him playing more minutes per game in 20120, but if he can start offloading like he finished then there’s still growth here.
Martin Taupau FRF ($571,200) Avg: 61.46
One of the best Front Row options of the past few seasons had a down year in 2019 by his own standards, with his average of 65 from 2017 and 2018, dropping back to 61 due to a slight drop in minutes, fewer offloads. That being said Des has shown now a real willingness to keep his two best props on the field for extended periods of time and with a discount on his 2019 price, Taupau is good value among the premium options.
Aiden Tolman FRF ($557,200) Avg: 59.96
Aiden Tolman is as consistent as they come, averaging 60 points in 2019 (averaging 60 minutes a game with a PPM of 1.01). Like David Klemmer, he doesn't necessarily have the highest attacking upside as someone like Marty Taupau, but is extremely reliable and also consistently a SuperCoach POD.
Andrew Fifita FRF ($553,900) Avg: 59.6
The best SuperCoach FRF of the decade, Andrew Fifita’s output plummeted in 2019. The main cause of the decline was opportunity with Fifita averaging just 49MPG last season, and as a result his base work output fell almost 10PPG compared to 2018. The offload (equal best for FRF) and tackle bust (third best for FRF) numbers were still outstanding, but Fifita’s consistency has declined every year since 2016 and father time catches up with us all. His price is cheap but not sure I can recommend.
MID-PRICERS $550K-$400K
Junior Paulo FRF ($542,000) Avg: 58.3
Paulo had a big bounce back year in 2019, something I’m eager to point out because I called it in the pre-season. his improved fitness saw him able to average 53MPG (a 13MPG increase on 2018) and with that came a 14PPG increase on his 2018 average. There is the capacity for Parramatta to squeeze maybe a couple more MPG out of the big rig, but I think his 2019 numbers give us a fair guide to what he will score in 2020. On that basis, I’m expecting Paulo to fall just short of elite status and cannot recommend at this price.
Tevita Pangai FRF/2RF ($540,600) Avg: 58.2
A Mr-fix-it for the Broncos in 2019, Pangai Jr (TPJ) played, prop, edge second-row, lock and off the bench last season and as a result it is tricky to draw a form line through his statistics. What is easy, however, is to recognise that TPJ has many scoring strings to his SuperCoach bow. There’s offloads (equal most for any FRF eligible player last year), linebreak assists (third at position) and he was top-ten at tackle busts as well. Flirting with elite status last year, Pangai could attain it this year if he can consistently play solid minutes.
Sio Siua Taukeiaho FRF ($537,500) Avg: 57.8
Taukeiaho (TKO) began the season with a bang and finished with an injury induced whimper. From round 1-15 the Roosters prop averaged 62.8 (66.8 if you remove his 21-minute injury affected game in round 10 from calculations). In the five regular season games he played from round 17 onwards he averaged just 45PPG. TKO stepped his game up last year in real life, and if he can stay healthy and stay on the field then I expect him to lift his average into the low sixties - but beware durability has been an issue across the last few seasons.
Josh McGuire FRF/2RF ($497,000) Avg: 53.53
Another one of the few props to retain their dual position status, Josh McGuire is another very reliable option, and also has some upside with the departures of Matt Scott and Scott Bolton potentially freeing up some more minutes. He doesn’t offer much in attack but still averaged 50 points in base stats in 2019 and is a decent mid-range pick.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona FRF ($489,500) Avg: 52.7
Big Nelson is one of the most efficient Supercoach players in the game, and is the only player in the top-30 FRF point scorers in 2019 to have averaged less than 40 minutes per game. He also did more with less in 2019, with his points per game average going up five points as compared to 2018 while his minutes per game went down. NAS is so effective for the Storm in the role he does play that he may never get the minutes he needs to be truly SuperCoach relevant, but if early indications are that coach Craig Bellamy is going to entrust him with greater minutes in 2020 then he could be a decent POD.
Moeaki Fotuaika FRF ($443,000) Avg: 47.7
The young Gold Coast enforcer is going to be an elite front row forward at some point in his career and 2020 could be the year he joins that club. In 2019 Fotuaika ran for an average of 133 metres per game and ranked fifth among props for average post-contact metres per game (50.5 metres per game). Capable of handling big minutes, ‘Moe’ played 50+ minutes in 10 of his 21 games in 2019 averaging 56.9PPG over that span. Fotuaika will come into 2020 off a limited preparation after off-season surgery on his wrist and knee so we may not see him at his best from round one. He won the Titans player of the year in 2019, and the devastating injury to Ryan James could potentially open the door to more minutes. Definitely keep an eye on him though and if it looks like big minutes are on offer then he could be a savvy pick up.
Liam Knight FRF ($437,300) Avg: 47.1
The Alice Springs product shifted from the Raiders to the Rabbitohs in 2019 and made the most of a fresh opportunity neatly doubling the number of games (20), average minutes per game (41) and average score per game (47) when compared to his 2018 output. Knight started seven games for the Bunnies in 2019 and averaged 54.4PPG a 10PPG lift on his output from the bench. A solid but not spectacular worker in the middle, Knight’s greatest asset for SuperCoach is his contribution in other areas. In 2019 he finished inside the top-10 at his position for tackle busts and top-20 for offloads despite playing significantly less time than many below him on those tables. A starting role looks assured at the Rabbitohs in 2020 and there is plenty of appeal in him as a FRF3 who has scope to become a FRF2 over the coming season.
Trent Merrin 2RF/FRF ($408,000) Avg: NA
The hardest player in this list to rate is Trent Merrin who is returning to the NRL and the Dragons, from a one-year stint in the UK Super League. Merrin put up impressive stats in the UK playing 27 games, averaging 108 metres and 33 tackles per games, scoring four tries, 86 tackle busts and 60 offloads. If he could bring those numbers to Australia he would average 65+PPG. However, I think it highly unlikely Merrin plays similar minutes in Australia. I cannot see Merrin ousting either of the St George starting props James Graham or Paul Vaughan which leaves him battling Blake Lawrie for the No. 13 jersey or filling a spot on the bench and playing minutes through the middle. Pre-season trials are crucial here; Merrin has a very good offload game and can play big minutes, if the minutes come he will exceed the price at which he has been set. That’s a big ‘if’ though.
BARGAIN BIN $400K-$300K
Zane Tetevano FRF/2RF ($310,700) Avg: 33.43
Did you have Ryan James as a locked and loaded pick before his devastating ACL injury? Zane Tetevano could be the perfect pivot for you, coming in at a low-price, dual position eligibility and a lot of upside after moving from the Roosters to the Panthers. His 2019 numbers aren’t anything too special, averaging 33 points and 37 minutes a game, but his shift to the foot of the mountains could open up a starting role at Prop or Lock, which would mean an increase in minutes. Not a pretty pick, but it is very affordable and could even make SuperCoaches a bit of cash.
Thomas Mikaele FRF ($309,100) Avg: 33.26
Young Wests Tigers prop Thomas Mikaele made his debut in 2019 playing 23 games and starting five of them. The hulking former Keebra High product averaged a solid (but to be fair not stellar) BPPM of 0.98 last season, but his overall PPM was 1.1 solid thanks to some impressive attacking stats. Mikaele finished inside the top-25 FRF for offload percentage (9.9% of all runs) and busted a tackle on 8.4% of his runs. In the six games where he played at least 35 minutes Mikaele averaged 46.7PPG. I’m tipping Mikaele to earn a regular role as a starter in 2020 and while 47PPG may be close to his ceiling of expectation he’s tempting at the price even if he averages 5PPG less than that.
PPG: Points Per Game
MPG: Minutes Per Game
PPM: Points Per Minute – a useful indication of workrate particularly relevant to forwards (as most backs play the full 80 minutes) as a player with a good PPM who is set to see an increase in MPG could see a big increase in PPG.
Base Points: Base points are those earned in hit-ups plus tackles (some statisticians subtract points lost for missed tackles when calculating this). They are valued by SuperCoaches as it is considered a reliable guide to future output unlike attacking stats which except for the truly exceptional are far less reliable.
BPPM: Base Points Per Minute
POD: Point Of Difference
CHECK OUT MORE EXPERT KFC SUPERCOACH NRL ANALYSIS