KFC SuperCoach NRL Cheapie Bible: Round 17 bargain buys

Teams have been decimated ahead of the last bye week. Trent Copeland runs through all the cheapies for Round 17.

The talk of the world this past 18 months has been about this little old disease called Covid-19, heard of it?

Well there’s another contagious ‘thing’ going around this week …

Blue-dot-itis.

Yep, KFC SuperCoaches opened their team pages on Monday only to see a team full of blue dots (players on bye), as well as the inevitable Origin absentees. Tough times.

Tohu Harris being out with a shoulder for a month has further complicated matters (of course it happened now!). Simonsson out. Curran and Schuster still out. Suaalii dropped after a sub-par performance against the Storm. Brutal.

If you’re fielding anywhere above 9 or 10 players this week you’re doing extremely well. Thankfully there are a few shimmering lights as far as the Cheapie Bible is concerned, coming to the aid of all KFC SuperCoaches at a time of need.

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Taane Milne (left) could be the cheapie of the week, while Blake Taaffe (right) has some potential but is a risky buy! Picture: Getty Images.

By definition a ‘Cheapie’ will be referenced when under $300,000 and actually relevant for KFC SuperCoach purposes. Key word being relevant. Once players eclipse the $300k mark they will be given a final verdict in the ‘Bon Voyage’ section.

Note: Players on bye will not be listed this week.

Buckle up, here we go!

Taane Milne 2RF | CTW (Rabbitohs) $267,500 - 66 points

After many years of being the ‘almost’ man for KFC SuperCoach as the perfect bottom dollar, dual position cheapie - Milne has taken his chances with the Rabbitohs, scoring tries in consecutive weeks. With a -24 BE, projected price hike of a tick under $50,000 along with four juicy match-ups on the horizon against the Cowboys, Bulldogs, Warriors and Dragons, Milne could peak around the $400k mark if he can hold off Josh Mansour and Jaxson Paulo who is nearing a return from a wrist injury. Normally losing his spot in a few weeks would be a disaster, but at this time of year that can actually be a benefit for VC-loophole purposes.

VERDICT: BUY. Playing in a red hot team with a good chunk of stars still available against the Cowboys, Milne presents as the best genuine cheapie of the week.

Xavier Savage is set to make his ‘NRL debut’ in Round 17, despite illegally coming on as 18th man in Round 15. Picture: NRL Imagery.

Xavier Savage CTW (Raiders) $173,700 - 0 points

In a strange turn of events, when you look at Xavier Savage’s KFC SuperCoach profile he has one game played - and he did play 12 minutes back in round 15 against the Dragons as 18th man, only to be taken back out of the game due to an error and the NRL deeming him to NOT have played. So, this will be Savage’s NRL debut! The most experienced debutant in history. Thankfully for KFC SuperCoach terms, he’s base price, available at CTW and looking at 4-6 weeks minimum at the fullback gig if he can take his chance with CNK out for the season, and Simonsson (ouch!) out for 4-6 weeks.

VERDICT: BUY. The kid can seriously play, and Ricky Stuart has sent the message that the ‘kids’ are how the Raiders are going to turn this around. We’d normally wait until his third game, but given the dearth of options this week - it’s game on.

Victor Radley 2RF | HOK (Roosters) $335,600 - 0 points

Right, down to serious business here with my POD-cheapie of the week, albeit just above cheapie price at $330k. The much maligned Rooster is back from suspension, named to start at lock against the leaky Bulldogs in a team bereft of playmakers, and in recent weeks any sort of impetus on both sides of the ball. Averaging 40PPG this year with scores of 8 and 21 mixed in, you could say that is significantly unders given previous season averages of 50.3PPG and 51.8PPG the past two seasons. This move comes with serious suspension and injury risk given ‘Victor the inflictor’ plays on the edge, but the dual 2RF/HOK eligibility could be crucial in trading later in the season - let alone the extra points on offer in a crucial bye round.

VERDICT: POD-BUY. My plans (subject to change), you ask? Well, you can make $90,000 going from Brailey to Radley, then when Harry Grant returns you can trade a Mitch Barnett or similar to Grant, keeping Radley as a swinging 19th-20th man. Hmmm.

Victor the Inflictor is back for the Roosters, just in time for the Round 17 bye. Picture: NRL Photos.

Joseph Suaalii CTW | FLB (Roosters) $246,000 - 24 points

Typically for KFC SuperCoach this year, it may actually have been better had Suaalii NOT won the starting right wing spot last weekend and remained as 18th man, as he would then have come into the starting side this weekend in Teddy’s absence. But, he played, had a stinker - as did the entire team - and now finds himself dropped upon Billy Smith’s return from injury in the ONE week we all needed him. We just have to hold out hope that in late mail we see Suaalii slot in somewhere.

VERDICT: HOLD. I can see the merit in Suaalii to Savage, but given that has to happen before the first game of the round - it would be ideal to wait just to be sure Suaalii doesn’t play as an extra number.

Sam Verrils HOK (Roosters) $249,800 - 42 points

Verills made his return to the Roosters starting side in round 15, and has built up from 36 minutes to 66 minutes last weekend in the thrashing at the hands of the Storm. 42 points in pure base in that game bodes well as a worst-case scenario for prospective (and current) owners. In a position where no real guns are presenting themselves. Could you cash out Brailey or Watson for nearly $200,000 as your bench hooker, and spend the cash elsewhere while still getting a crucial number on field in a big bye round? Food for thought

VERDICT: AVOID. You could absolutely do it if hooker is your biggest area of concern, just make sure your expectations are in check. Expect 35-45 points most weeks.

Joe Stimson 2RF (Bulldogs) $173,700 - 21 points

Under the radar, many are overlooking the fact that Joe Stimson has FINALLY been named to start for the Bulldogs. I mean, let me flag first off that the AE nightmare risk is real. Very real, given he’s played five matches this season for scores of 14, 17, 6, 17 and 21 for an average of 15PPG - having not played more than 26 minutes. But, it would be rude of me not to flag what he’s got in the kit bag. In games of more than 60 minutes back in 2019 for the Storm, Stimson put up scores of 46, 74, 48, 45, 56, 50, 64, 44, 43, 60, 53, 65 and 37 for an average of 52.6PPG. Of course, Adam Elliot will return in due course, and potentially Matt Doorey (head knock, round 18) could take his place. For this week though, 80 minutes are a real prospect.

VERDICT: AVOID. But, worth a look on pedigree alone.

Jackson Topine 2RF (Bulldogs) $243,400 - 27 points

Ugh. Not only did Topine not play 80 minutes in his preferred position (27 points in just 54 minutes), but as part of a historically bad loss he has been dropped altogether meaning barring any late changes, Topine won’t contribute any points for the all-important round 17 coverage. I guess the positive here is that as long as Topine stays OUT of the 17 altogether there is no AE concern. Really didn’t work out as we had hoped, so hopefully those of you who were keen held off to make sure for a week.

VERDICT: AVOID/SELL.

PLAYING NUFFS

Moses Suli CTW (Sea Eagles) $196,600 - 0 points

Feeling frisky? Well Moses Suli could be your man. This is very much a ‘nuff’ situation in principle, but we all know Suli is much better than your average ‘non player’ or rookie at this point. The risk presents in the fact Suli has been the 18th man on numerous occasions for the Sea Eagles, and played three games off the bench for scores of 10, 11, and 10 points this year. At full health, Suli is not playing over Brad Parker or Morgan Harper at this point, so the likelihood is that he plays this week and then disappears. Most will go with the traditional cheapies in Xavier Savage and Taane Milne, or even Daejarn Asi, but I’m calling Suli the highest scorer of the nuff options this week in a matchup against the Raiders.

VERDICT: RISKY BUY. Could pay off for overall players!

Daejarn Asi CTW | 5/8 (Cowboys) $203,100 - 0 points

The poster-boy for the Nuffs this week, named to start at fullback for the Cowboys as a placeholder for Valentine Holmes who is on Origin duties while possessing dual CTW | 5/8 eligibility. Having not played a single game this season, we can anticipate a score put on the board this week, then Asi will disappear for the remainder of the season (ie. not an AE-nightmare). Let me be clear about this though, given the Cowboys are understrength against a red-hot Rabbitohs side is it really worth a prospective 15-30 points if things don’t go well? Food for thought.

VERDICT: LOW END BUY. Only do it if you’re flush for players for the run home, and it gets you to a GUN keeper with your other trade.

Blake Taafe 5/8 (Rabbitohs) $173,700 - 0 points

On talent alone, I’d have Taafe streets ahead of Asi and he showed a flash of that brilliance we have all heard he is capable of in his only appearance so far this year back in round 15 - scoring 29 points with a try assist against the broncos in just 19 minutes of game time. The problem here, and the reason I have Asi above Taafe is the 5/8 only eligibility. I strongly advise against ‘nuffing’ in a position with only two players ie one starter and one bench. In the event of an injury down the stretch to your gun on field and trades have run out then you’re stuck with a zero.

VERDICT: AVOID. I’m anticipating a very good score, but the negatives far outweigh the positives unfortunately. One for next year, potentially.

BON VOYAGE

Kieran Foran 5/8 | HOK (Sea Eagles) $372,800 - 35 points

In a quite amazing weekend, somehow Jahrome Hughes avoided a single attacking stat in a 46-0 drubbing of the Roosters, and Kieran Foran managed to do exactly the same in a 66-0 thumping of the Bulldogs. Still, 35 points and a $52,900 price rise was a good result, as is the prospect of a BE of just 6 and matchup with the hapless Raiders in round 17. Given the Sea Eagles are without Turbo and Cherry-Evans, Foran you would expect will have full reign on offence this week. Hopefully for those of you that jumped on - that works in his favour. Plan for a sell to a gun at either position in two weeks time.

VERDICT: HOLD/AVOID. No way I’d be jumping on now.

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach NRL Cheapie Bible: Round 17 bargain buys