KFC SuperCoach Plus Article: Best POD replacements for Angus Crichton

The KFC SuperCoach finals are here and these are the players to give you the edge, via former champion Wilfred Zee.

Last round was quite up and down, with some big scores to lesser-owned players, which shapes for some interesting decisions for the final four rounds! Let’s see what we learned this week.

1 Tesi Niu, the late season ‘cheapie’

The majority of KFC SuperCoaches started with this young, up-and-coming talent but a difficult year (again) for the Broncos meant his opportunities were limited, and he was sent back to reserve grade to work on his defence and some other issues. He eventually fought his way back into the top side, and has since held down the starting fullback position for the past month and a half. Niu now sits with a five round average of 70.4 points per game, which is approximately the sixth highest five round average once you exclude the injured players such as Alex Johnston, Brian To’o, Matt Ikuvalu, and also the likes of Josh Mansour (who will lose his spot once Alex Johnston is fit). Even then, Nicho Hynes and Jordan Rapana may find their scores trending downwards for different reasons – which makes Niu’s recent performances all the more interesting. He’s not a cheapie anymore, but he could be a real point of difference for the final four rounds.

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2 Zac Lomax is… back?

Lomax has been gone from KFC SuperCoach relevance for far too long, due to injury and then COVID-related suspension. Well, he’s finally back, and his first hitout only yielded 50 points. Honestly though, that isn’t really bad for his first game back in such a long time, and also playing behind an incomplete team. Lomax has pedigree, as we saw last year when he was the second best CTW option behind David Nofoaluma (in both average and overall points), but there are two major issues that Lomax will have to overcome – the likely absence of Ben Hunt for the final four rounds, and also possibly the toughest final four game stretch of all teams as they face the Panthers, Roosters, Cowboys and then the Rabbitohs. Lomax showed last year that he was almost match-up proof at times, but it may be a different story in 2021.

Cameron Murray is a popular buy this week.

3 Josh Mansour had himself a day

It’s amazing how much can change across a season, when before Round 1, we expected Mansour to be that high workrate winger who helps take the burden off the likes of Latrell and AJ. But it didn’t take long for him to lose his spot to other options, and now he is almost exclusively the back-up wing option behind Johnston and Paulo. Still, it doesn’t mean he can’t do his job when called upon and boy, he definitely did his job last week! Two tries, SIX line breaks and one line break assist is an impressive haul of attacking stats (102 points in fact) but then throw in nine tackle busts, three effective offloads and 41 points in pure base stats and you’ve got one heck of a day out for the fill-in winger. That sweet run comes to an end soon though with Alex Johnston’s return imminent, so don’t get sucked into using one of your last precious trades on him!

4 Josh Curran rewards his patient owners

It’s been a long hold but those who persisted with Curran through not one but two separate injuries are being rewarded big-time, with Curran now locked into a big minute role on an edge (and sometimes in the middle), and looking better the more he plays. He has come along in leaps and bounds and now is sitting on a three round average of 75.3 points per game. The season-ending injury to Tohu Harris, plus the ongoing suspension for Matt Lodge means that minutes are almost assured and while he keeps playing the way he is, Curran represents a cheaper option with a higher floor perhaps than the likes of Cam Murray, but ultimately less upside… although the Warriors have a tasty final four weeks…

5 Nat Butcher to the rescue

The elder Butcher was actually quite handy in 2020 over the middle period when there were a number of injuries to the Roosters pack. And here he is again, ready to step up and solve the woes of KFC SuperCoaches who need an affordable 2RF option. Angus Crichton’s suspension (will return Round 25) means that Butcher has a prime opportunity to see bulk game time on an edge, and his 59 points in 80 minutes was a solid first hitout. He does need to ease up a little on the missed tackles but the Roosters don’t exactly have the depth right now to be choosy about who plays where. At just $371,500, and with a role locked in essentially for the next three weeks, he is a definite option for those needing to a downgrade and an active player in the second row.

6 Cam Munster is the epitome of consistency

There is no safer player in the five-eighth position right now than Cam Munster, who continues to just pump out solid scores on an almost weekly basis. In fact, across the past two seasons (total of 30 games combined) he has had only two scores under 40 points, only six scores under 50 points and only a total of eight scores under 60 points (excluding his injury-affected game). The problem for Munster more recently has been the lack of ‘ceiling’ games, with only three games over 100 (and the highest being 115) in the past two seasons as well. Still, he has averages of 72.1 and 70 across the two seasons, making him one of the safest bets in the game.

7 Luciano Leilua is a great 2RF POD

Lucy sits with a three round average of 78.3 points per game, and a five round average of 73.6 points per game – numbers that rank him fourth for three round average and fifth for five round average amongst all 2RF options. With plenty of KFC SuperCoaches scrambling for 2RF options this week (to replace Angus Crichton or Corey Harawira-Naera in their backrow), plenty are looking towards Cam Murray (and understandably so, with Murray first in both categories). Lucy however is almost $150,000 cheaper, has much lower ownership and also has the much easier draw in the final four games (Cowboys, Sharks, Panthers and Bulldogs – who he just scored 105 against). It wouldn’t be a total shock of Lucy matches or even outscores Cam Murray over the final four games.

8 Adam Doueihi is on a hot streak

You’ve almost missed the boat but Doueihi has a four game average of 104.3 points per game since he reclaimed the No. 6 jersey at the Wests Tigers. This is impressive but it’s worth noting that for the same four games, Cody Walker has an average of 101.0 points per game, showing clearly that these are the two premium five-eighth options right now. Of course, Cody has hit his scores with a ridiculous amount of attacking stats (two tries, eight try assists, five try contributions, two line breaks and nine line break assists), whereas Doueihi is certainly helped by his goalkicking and his higher workrate (two tries, six try assists, two try contributions, three line breaks and five line break assists – but also 60 net points in goalkicking). Again, with the friendlier draw to end the season, for those who don’t own either of Cody Walker or Adam Doueihi, he’s definitely the more affordable option.

Adam Doueihi has been on fire this year (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

9 Val Holmes should only improve from here

He hasn’t been sighted in clubland since Round 16 partially due to Origin but mostly due to a serious shoulder injury, but Holmes showed that while he’s going to be a little bit tentative, his involvement in attack for the Cowboys almost guarantees he will in the mix for most of the attacking stats on offer for them. In his score of 87, it could be said that he scored almost 65 per cent of them in the final 20 minutes of game time, showing that he doesn’t need much opportunity to rack up the KFC SuperCoach points. The Cowboys have a mixed final four rounds but it would not be surprising to see Holmes hit three figures against the Wests Tigers this week and the Dragons in Round 24.

10 Beau Fermor lurks in the shadows

It’s a surprising name here but hidden in the shadows of David Fifita’s benching the last few weeks is the fact that Beau Fermor, the actual starting edge backrower on the left side, has been playing 80 minutes each week. He’s also available in the CTW position due to his dual position status, and while his workrate isn’t quite there, he showed this week that he has attacking upside. At just $333,900, he could be a viable downgrade option for those that need to free up some cash to afford a premium option. The important thing to note however is that he has two tough games against the Rabbitohs and the Storm, before finishing the season with relatively easier match-ups against the Knights and the Warriors. Not an option for everyone, but in the right circumstances he could be the perfect fit!

Bring on Round 22!

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach Plus Article: Best POD replacements for Angus Crichton