SuperCoach NRL: The cheapies you should buy, and those you should avoid
Cheapies are the keys to SuperCoach success, and Trent Copeland gives his verdict on the most popular and relevant money makers heading into round two.
Cheapies are the keys to SuperCoach success, and each week Trent Copeland will give his verdict on the most popular and relevant names under the $280k bracket. Once a player eclipses that price we shall say bon voyage with a final verdict.
Some cheapies starred in round one, some flopped, but we need to delve deeper than just the SuperCoach scores — looking at minutes played, relevant injuries, torrential rain and an outlook of the prospects moving forward.
One thing to remember is not to panic with a low score to a cheapie in round one. The price change model (3-game rolling average) means that this is the least relevant of the first three games and round one scores will disappear out of the cycle after just one price change. Have faith, do not go trading out wingers who scored poorly in the rain after one game!
Honourable mention must go to Braidon Burns who sits just above ‘cheapie’ price at $286k, but he was incredible after switching to the profitable left centre position for the Rabbitohs — scoring 70 points without a try, in the pouring rain! One to watch for sure.
Settle in for a HUGE edition of the Cheapie Bible. Here we go …
ADAM KEIGHRAN HFB | 5/8 (NZL | $168,100) — 87 POINTS
If you weren’t watching the game but were following Twitter, the amount of “Shaun WHO?” tweets will have told the story. What a debut from the kid, a try, 24 points in conversions (a couple nailed from the sideline!), 10 points in tackle busts and a forced drop out. The only downside being that Keighran ran the ball just twice, and only made 7 tackles, so when the attacking stats don’t come, the scores may well be low. But, this was basically the dream start for us, here comes the cash!
VERDICT: BUY/HOLD — If you somehow don’t own Keighran, fix that immediately.
BRITON NIKORA CTW | 2RF (CRO | $168,100) — 65 POINTS
What a dream, not just named to start on an edge for the Sharks, but the edge on Shaun Johnson’s side — just think Bodene Thompson and Tohu Harris! Next on the list of positives is the fact both he and Kurt Capewell played the FULL 80 minutes. Hallelujah. 65 points almost exclusively in base stats is a nice sign of his ‘floor’, and he most definitely passed the eyeball test.
VERDICT: BUY/HOLD — Nikora should be starting in your CTW every week, with 50 points as the low mark, and upside of 65+ with attacking stats. Absolute gold, people.
DYLAN BROWN HFB | 5/8 (PAR | $168,100) — 39 POINTS
What a start from Brown, and the Eels to boot. The highly touted young half was wanted by several other clubs this off-season and you can see why. Two of the new With two Try Contribution stats, to go along with 25 tackles and a forced drop out it was an overall accomplished debut in the pouring rain. Caaaaaash money.
VERDICT: BUY/HOLD — Great start, and he should only become more comfortable as we go further into the season. Wouldn’t be playing him in your 17 though.
MIKAELE RAVALAWA CTW (STG | $168,100) — 33 POINTS
Ravalawa looked impressive on debut, with the Dragons playing uphill for most of the fixture, he ran well off his own line (22 points in hit-ups over 8m) and had 12 points in tackle busts. Without an attacking stat in sight, this is a pretty encouraging start. If he can find a try in the next few weeks the cash will come!
VERDICT: BUY/HOLD — Stick fat, there’s nice upside here and let’s hope Mary does the same.
JACOB HOST FRF | 2RF (STG | $196,100) — 45 POINTS
Jacob Host started on an edge for the Dragons, effectively in place of Jack DeBelin, with Tyson Frizell playing at Lock. The main question marks were the impending return of Korbin Sims and the minutes he would play in the meantime. While Host didn’t have a huge role to play in attack, he played an impressive 67 minutes (great result!) and got through a much better body of work than previous years — 36 tackles and 14 points in hit-ups. With news that Tyson Frizell had surgery on a lacerated testicle (could be up to a month out), Host is looking at least this amount of minutes until round 6-7.
VERDICT: BUY/HOLD — Host impressed, and at this rate he will make upwards of $150k by the time the Dragons pack is at full strength. Watch one more week to be sure, but he’s certainly looking like the best forward cheapie we have.
LUKE GARNER 2RF (WST | $265,100) — 80 POINTS
What a start for Garner! 80 points with a try, line break, 21 tackles, 10 points in tackle busts, two offloads and 21 points in hit ups across 65 minutes on the edge vacated by Chris Lawrence’s broken jaw. The fantastic first up win for the Tigers can only help Garner in keeping his place, so the prospects are looking up.
VERDICT: WATCH/HOLD — I know it’s tempting to break your team apart to jump on buying Garner, but let’s watch one more week to make sure the minutes and PPM are legit. Congrats to those who started with him!
REUBEN GARRICK CTW (MNL | $168,100) — 28 POINTS
Garrick and the Sea Eagles played at Leichhardt Oval in some of the most torrential rain Sydney has seen this year, so he gets a pass with the low score to start. Garrick didn’t look to be heavily involved off his own line in attack for base stats, so it may require a couple of tries in one game to kick start a price rise. DCE and Curtis Sironen were talking up Brendan Elliot’s preseason also, so don’t be surprised to see Elliot move to the wing upon Turbo’s return in a couple of weeks.
VERDICT: HOLD — If you don’t own Garrick already, I wouldn’t be jumping on just yet. Wait to see his second game before making a decision.
CHARNZE NICHOLL-KLOKSTAD CTW | FLB (CBR | $265,500) — 35 POINTS
‘CNK’ got first crack at the fullback position after Jack Wighton’s move to the halves, and despite not scoring any big attacking stats he will settle into the role and this should be his ‘floor’ for SuperCoach scores each week. Maybe just don’t hold your breath against the Storm this week though …
VERDICT: HOLD — CNK looked at his tackle busting best in the wet, and was solid under the high ball — the bigger scores will come.
JORDAN KAHU CTW | FLB (NQC | $278,700) — 21 POINTS
Well, that was a little underwhelming to say the least! We must give him a pass given there was a HIA and only 65 minutes on the field, but among the attacking raids the Cowboys had, Kahu was very rarely involved. The obvious detractors here were two missed goals and two errors that took away 8 points, but at the advanced price compared to all other cheapies we need to see more to make it worthwhile.
VERDICT: HOLD — If you own Kahu (as I do), you simply have to hold and back in the playing at fullback and owning the goalkicking duties to pay off in the long run.
MAIKA SIVO CTW (PAR | $168,100) — 21 POINTS
The new Semi Radradra as he’s called by his teammates, came within a bunker review of a try and ran the ball with serious impetus — translating to 20 points in hit-ups. Unfortunately for owners, without any attacking stats, that was all we got!
VERDICT: HOLD — The big bustling Fijian was SO close to a try, and looks as though he will keep his place for another week.
COREY ALLAN FLB | CTW (STH | $168,100) — 2 POINTS
Uh oh! This game was played in horrific conditions, and clearly Bennett wasn’t going to call upon a rookie outside back in the heat of the battle against the reigning premiers when they were winning a tight one. So, 9 minutes total with one run over 8m, one tackle and a missed tackle. Allan did play in the Cantebury Cup over the weekend for added game time and is only one injury away from playing in one of the best backlines in the comp.
VERDICT: AVOID/HOLD — Allan is going to be SuperCoach poison as a bench utility, but if you started with him the best method will be to stick it out until round 12 when he likely plays the full game.
NATHANIEL ROACHE CTW | HOK (NZL | $246,000) — 56 POINTS
Roache was only owned by 9% of teams heading in to round one, with the expected return of Isaac Luke and uncertain role with Jazz Tevaga on the bench after his breakout season in 2018. But, Roache looked assured, scoring a try and playing 56 minutes to hit the 50-point mark is a huge win. Issac Luke even tweeted about his impressive performance …
The other underrated downside here could be the impending return of Isaiah Papali’i, who will play big minutes on an edge, moving Adam Blair back to the middle which could see Tevaga play more at hooker. Watch this space.
VERDICT: HOLD — Well done to those who took the punt, at the price, he’s a wait and see for everyone else due to the uncertain role.
BAILEY SIMONSSON CTW | FLB (CBR | $168,100) — 44 POINTS
The Kiwi Rugby 7’s star made his debut on the right wing for the Raiders outside BJ Leilua, and scored a great try from a kick in the wet, and simply looked like he belonged at the level. However, Simonsson only managed to play the 68 minutes succumbing to injury late in the game. Watch this space.
VERDICT: WAIT — The injury concerns, and return of Michael Oldfield/Jordan Rapana in the coming weeks could spell danger.
LACHLAN BURR 2RF (NZL | $196,900) — 53 POINTS
Burr was seen by many as a risky play given the one week standing down for Isaiah Papali’i was possibly the only reason Burr was in the Warriors’ 17 for round one — aka John Palavi and Papali’I himself in previous years. But, starting at lock against the Bulldogs, Burr did everything asked of him and then some — scoring 53 points in 52 minutes with 28 tackles and 22 points in H8’s and an offload. Issac Luke and Isaiah Papali’i coming back as soon as this round could spell danger, fingers crossed for owners Burr keeps that spot on the bench.
VERDICT: HOLD/AVOID* — Fantastic start, but you certainly cant jump on to buy if you didn’t start with him among the *line-up chaos, so let’s wait for a week and assess after that.
BRANDON SMITH HOK | 2RF (MEL | $248,900) — 42 POINTS
Brandon Smith is playing out of position for the Storm, but boy it did not affect him as many dubbed his 39 minutes on the park the difference between the two sides. Every hitup had serious impact, and he defended smack bang in the middle of the park. Look out if senór Cameron ever missed time with injury.
VERDICT: WATCH/HOLD — Smith could very well be the best ‘cheapie’ hooker in 2019. Very impressive.
JUNIOR TATAOLA FRF (STH | $224,200) — 30 POINTS
One of the ‘buzz’ buys this preseason in SuperCoach circles, many figured after a strong Charity Shield performance and the absence of George Burgess for the opening rounds of the season would lead to Tatola starting with big minutes and some bigger scoring power. Well, that didn’t come to fruition! Despite looking a quality talent, 36 minutes and just the 30 points mean it’s a big no-no for the Rabbitohs young big man.
VERDICT: HOLD/AVOID — If you own Tatola, I would hold for one more week then potentially a dual position switch to Garner or even Braidon Burns would make some sense.
PAUL MOMIROVSKI CTW (WST | $238,600) — 24 POINTS
‘Momi’ as he’s affectionately known in SuperCoach circles unfortunately failed to deliver in the wet against the Sea Eagles. With Moses Mbye and David Nofoaluma to return to this line-up in the coming weeks, Momi may well be skating on thin ice!
VERDICT: WATCH/AVOID — It’s a no-go until we get some clarity on his role.
BLAKE LAWRIE FRF (STG | $216,600) — 42 POINTS
With Jack DeBelin out indefinitely, and now Tyson Frizell looking at a month on the sidelines, Blake Lawrie has flown under the radar (just 1% ownership!) but could prove to be one of the unsung heroes in the early stages of the season. Lawrie’s 42 points in 42 minutes came entirely through base stats, and you would imagine the minutes will only be on the rise. If Lawrie was to see 50 minutes at his fantastic 1.1 PPM across his career he could make some serious cash!
VERDICT: WATCH/BUY — I like it as a left-field move this week if you’re dealing with injuries.
TUI KAMICAMIKA FRF | 2RF (MEL | $196,600) — 30 POINTS
The mooted ‘increased’ role and minutes simply didn’t come to fruition for Kamicamika — with only 30 points in 26 minutes. It just cant possibly work out for owners in those minutes.
VERDICT: AVOID.
THOMAS FLEGLER FRF | 2RF (BRO | $168,100) — 13 POINTS
Seibold is giving Flegler the Tevita Tatola treatment from last season (under 20 minutes off the bench) it seems, which means that despite him looking promising with 13 points in minimal game time he just simply wont be making much money. Matt Lodge is now suspended for two weeks, so the best we can hope for is SOME sort of increased minutes in those games before Payne Haas returns.
VERDICT: AVOID.
THOMAS MIKAELE FRF (WST | $168,100) — 38 POINTS
38 points in 30 minutes on debut is very, very promising. With 21 tackles and 17 points in hit-ups (largely H8’s), everything I hear and now see about this kid is that he’s a future star of the club. Alex Twal is a fellow young star, but the concern for me is Matt Eisenhuth who was so impressive last season in the middle of the park being 18th man.
VERDICT: WATCH/HOLD — Mikaele could be one of the very few genuine front row cheapies this year. Watch very closely next week.
KOTONI STAGGS CTW | 2RF (BRO | $258,500) — 40 POINTS
Staggs played round one in the unfashionable bench utility role, much like Corey Allan, but the major difference between the two was the injury to James Roberts early in this game giving Staggs the opportunity to play almost a full game in the centres. Roberts is looking at a bit of time on the sidelines, opening up a potential few price rises for Staggs, but I would be steering clear.
VERDICT: AVOID — The injury (back) to Roberts isn’t serious (could even play this weekend!), so I would be staying away.
WAYDE EGAN HOK (PTH | $232,200) — 67 POINTS
With Sione Katoa out with a concussion, Egan got his chance to start and didn’t disappoint, with a try and 67 points in the 61 minutes for the Panthers. 37 tackles were the basis of the points, but only one run is alarming — along with the return of Katoa potentially as soon as this round.
VERDICT: AVOID — Should go back to being a bench hooker looking at 25-30 minutes as the ‘norm’.
CHRISTIAN CRICHTON CTW (BUL | $257,800) — 53 POINTS
Crichton was a cheapie last season playing on the wing for the Panthers, and despite the 53-point debut with a try for the Bulldogs, he is priced still in cheapie range because he simply didn’t do ANYTHING — averaging a paltry 27.6PPG in 18 matches.
VERDICT: AVOID.
If a player is not on this list, they are deemed not relevant either because of role or price. Let us know if you think we’ve missed anyone @SuperCoachNRL or @Copes9.
Let the cash roll in!
$50K richer: SuperCoach champ’s first expense is shouting Kyle Flanagan
SuperCoach winner Blake Gentle is a groomsman at the wedding of Dragons five-eighth Kyle Flanagan and he knows exactly how he’ll have to spend the first part of his $50,000 winnings.
‘We’ve got to deliver’: No excuses as Sharks ready for finals charge
Craig Fitzgibbon knows few are giving his Sharks much hope in a week one NRL finals match-up with Melbourne, but the Cronulla coach is relishing the opportunity.