NRL SuperCoach 2016: The Gun Show - 10 must-have keepers

THESE are the 10 NRL players that you simply MUST have in your SuperCoach team. They are difference between you livin’ large in the big house rather than the outhouse. The salary cap is your only problem!

TRENT COPELAND

7 min read

January 21, 2016 - 9:52AM

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DID you see the $1.5 billion lotto draw in the US last week with three winning tickets?

Lucky buggers. No doubt you did, and no doubt everyone has dreamt up ways they would spend all that cash…

Well think of this as the wish list for the rich in NRL SuperCoach land.

Trent Copeland has backed Jarrod Croker as a top keeper.

These 10 players are proven guns and no one will realistically be able to start the season with any more than about four to six of them, depending on how the bottom dollar beauties (think Jack Bird, Lachlan Coote and Euan Aitken last year) fall into place for us come round one team lists.

I will give a rundown on each player and some stats on last year’s performances where relevant.

Yes, there are a gazillion others who could have made this list but these were the ones that made the cut, in no particular order.

Semi Radradra is the most expensive player in NRL SuperCoach. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Semi Radradra (Parramatta) CTW - $512,900

The MOST EXPENSIVE player in the game. Yes that’s right, will you pay more for big Semi than JT or Gallen?? Well, the case for is this. The Eels have the best bye schedule of any team in the competition, playing all three big bye rounds. He averaged a ridiculous 81.1 points per game at 1.04 points per minute (PPM), and I was most definitely one of the “he can’t possibly keep it up” crowd. However he has proven that despite a lack of talent around him on the left edge he can produce scores like Gallen and Corey Parker from the CTW position, which is priceless. Add to that left edge the attacking prospects of Michael Jennings and Kieran Foran and you have yourself a ton of point scoring potential.

The case against you ask? That hefty price tag! You could just about buy Konrad Hurrell AND Will Hopoate for that amount of cash. The other thing that could happen with Jennings and Foran on the left side is that Semi is no longer the focal point. Who knows? What I do know for sure is if you’re backing him in to start, you’re going to have to make serious sacrifices elsewhere.

Paul Gallen is the best player in SuperCoach history. Picture: Brett Costello

Paul Gallen (Cronulla) FRF | 2RF - $499,500

The best player in SuperCoach, bar none. The reason? In NBA fantasy talk it’s all about usage rate. Usage rate - basically how often is a player touching the ball, finishing plays either with an assist, a turnover or a scoring play. Gallen would be the DeMarcus Cousins or James Harden of the NRL - he is a ball/tackle hog! Which is great for us.

Last year Gallen averaged 79 points per game at 1.05PPM but only played in 16 matches. Will he avoid injury? Will he avoid suspension? Who knows, but what I do know is when you buy Paul Gallen you buy a locked in captain choice every week and that is very hard to find elsewhere. If he’s fit he’s locked into the Crusaders’ front row!

Corey Parker is known as GOD in SuperCoach circles. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Corey Parker (Brisbane) FRF | 2RF - $481,800

GOD as he is affectionately known in SuperCoach circles will no doubt deliver the goods. Why? He always does. Everyone was worried (including me) that Wayne Bennett may be the death of Parker, he even played him at hooker for 10 mins in one game.

But the class of the silver fox shone through seeing an average of 76.19 and an amazing PPM of 1.22. Yeah, Parker averaged over 76 from 62 minutes per game and finished in the top five scoring players overall. I can’t imagine a starting team without him in it. I might need a salary cap loan for all these guns please Mr Sangster!

Cameron Smith is the best SuperCoach hooker of all time. Picture: Alison Wynd

Cameron Smith (Melbourne) HOK - $433,500

Last season we were all scared off by a lingering ankle injury and a not so good bye schedule for the Storm. Come round 11 and injuries/form issues to Isaac Luke, Robbie Farah, James Segeyaro etc. and we were all scratching around the piggy bank to get the best hooker in the game into our teams. An average of 68.57 across 23 matches locked him into the top 10 overall and numero uno for hookers in season 2015, so keep that in mind when tinkering with other options this time around.

Smith oozes “safety” when it omes to the hooker position, very rarely missing games even when backing up from Origin and the goal kicking adds a nice “floor” to his scoring. Safety is particularly useful when most will look for a cheap second option on the bench. The Australian and Queensland skipper will be a popular choice this year.

Sam Burgess (L) is back in the NRL following a year out. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Sam Burgess (South Sydney) FRF | 2RF - $423,700

He’s BACK! When I read the news of big Rusty luring Burgess back to Redfern, I couldn’t help but thank the SuperCoach Gods that we have another locked-in gun to rely on week in week out. Burgess is the best VC loophole guy in the business and we’ve been given another nice little late Christmas present - he’s priced at a 67 average due to the year out playing rugby union, whilst being capable of much, much more.

Eighty minutes is all but guaranteed for Burgess upon his return with the new interchange rules and the exodus of Glenn Stewart, Tim Grant and Chris McQueen from the Rabbitohs pack. Hallelujah, I say.

Johnathan Thurston scored the most SuperCoach tons of any player last year.

Jonathan Thurston (North Queensland) HFB | 5/8 - $486,900

The best player in the world. The best playmaker in SuperCoach. The man who consistently banged out 100-plus SuperCoach scores for ecstatic owners all last season. What more could you want? Many a time will you see him languishing at 10 points at half time with Sangster’s Twitter feed running hot with tears (including his own normally) only to turn it on for 15 minutes and finish with 120.

All of the doubters last year who laughed off the $500,000 price tag with the “wait until he has two bad games and buy him for $100,000 less” tactic were left 100s of points behind and scrambling to pay top dollar early on in the season. His average of 77 featured 10, yes 10, scores above 90! PPM of 0.96 is ridiculously good for any half, comfortably in front of any other at the position. My suggestion is to start with him, and throw away the key. What’s the worst that can happen? He has four stinkers in a row or gets injured, and you can still sell sideways to literally ANY other half in the comp.

Can Roger Tuivasa-Sheck keep up his 2015 form at new club the Warriors?

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (New Zealand) FLB - $489,500

You may look at the price tag and think it’s a ridiculous amount of money to pay, but last year the fastest feet in the east finished at $545,300! Highest priced, first in overall points, a final average of 77.42 and a five round average to finish the year of 103.20. Wow! Amazing to think the two most expensive players to finish the year (and the two highest point scorers) would be RTS and James Tedesco.

RTS had easily the best base stats for any CTW/FLB, and along with the likes of Semi Radradra and Josh Mansour, can be relied upon for a 40-plus score on any bad week with no attacking stats. The major question mark here is how quickly will he adapt to the new structure at the Warriors? How heavily involved will he be from the outset? He may well benefit from Shaun Johnson potentially easing back in after his ankle injury and it would be silly of the Warriors not to utilise one of the rising stars of the NRL from the get go. Can he go back-to-back as highest point scorer?

Tohu Harris is available at centre/wing in 2016. Picture: Colleen Petch

Tohu Harris (Melbourne) 2RF | CTW - $383,600

An 80 minute backrower in a good side with base stats through the roof and dual position status now having him listed in the centres. Yes please! Last year Tofu, sorry I’m hungry… Tohu Harris averaged 60.67 points per game and for a large portion of the season most would have had him locked into their starting back row, so the fact he’s now available in the CTW is a real luxury.

Harris doesn’t have the ceiling of a Radradra but there’s a lot to be said for pairing two “safe” centres (think Josh Jackson, Aiden Guerra and Bodene Thompson last year) with two higher upside centres (like Semi Radradra, James Roberts and Josh Dugan) in creating a formidable four CTW combo for both head-to-head wins and overall prowess. Goalkicking over the Origin rounds is a bonus also.

James Tedesco scored the second most points of any SuperCoach player last year. Picture: Brett Costello

James Tedesco (Wests Tigers) FLB - $469,500

If you told me James Tedesco would be the second highest point scorer overall last year and play 24 games (considering the injury concerns everyone had for the superstar kid) I would’ve laughed in your face and told Sangster there was a glitch in the system. But he did and there’s no doubt this kid is now entrenched in the best 10 players in SuperCoach. Can you start with both Teddy and RTS? No I don’t think you can. Will he play Origin this year? Yes I think he might, but we can’t be sure of that.

Averaging 74.25 with a PPM of 0.92 he is a worthy selection in ANY team, and should he miss Origin selection he will be a must have over that period. The major question marks lie in the quality around him. No doubt Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses are good young talents, Robbie Farah is an inspirational leader and Aaron Woods is phenomenal. But the loss of Pat Richards from that left edge and Marty Taupau in particular could be telling.

Jarrod Croker has averaged 60 for two years straight.

Jarrod Croker (Canberra) CTW - $384,900

This is an out of the box selection for my top 10 and here’s why: 24 matches played, average of 60.88 with a PPM of 0.76, leaving him 12th overall in points scored and behind only RTS in terms of CTW. In front of Radradra, Roberts, Dugan etc. I bet you wouldn’t have picked that. The year before? Croker averaged 59.71. Consistency personified.

Goal kickers in the centres are so handy and when it comes to schedule Canberra are right up there for coverage over the big bye rounds with the Eels, Dragons, Bulldogs, Tigers and Cowboys. Croker may therefore be one of the best “set and forget” players. Will you take the punt?

Well there you have it, we can dream, and hopefully we can own all of these superstars by season’s end. The great thing with all these guys is that if they stink it up or get injured, at their price you can sideways trade to basically anyone. Good luck picking the right ones to start with.

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