NRL SuperCoach 2017: Wilfred Zee’s good, bad and ugly round 17
REIGNING NRL SuperCoach champion Wilfred Zee wraps another crazy weekend of fantasy footy.
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REIGNING SuperCoach champion Wilfred Zee’s good, bad and ugly of round 17.
Rabbitohs v Panthers (42 – 14)
I would call this an upset, but only because the Panthers had been killers of bottom eight teams. The Rabbitohs were shocking in the first 15 minutes, lethargic and slow, but the momentum well and truly shifted after a messy stink involving Sam Burgess and numerous players resulted in Surgess being sinbinned, and DWZ also following suit (even though he was probably the wrong player to be sent!). After this incident, the Rabbitohs started get on top and once Surgess came back, it was one way traffic. The scale of the Rabbitohs’ dominance was surprising though, and I would be surprised if anybody but the most ardent of Rabbitohs supporters saw this result coming.
Let’s look at the good, bad and the ugly.
The Good
Adam Reynolds (123)
He’s always been good but his downfall has always been his constant knack of picking up an injury. Well, he was incredible in this game, and returned to his peak kicking ability with four perfect kicks for tries, seven goals from seven attempts, and also forcing a dropout. He also had a linebreak, a linebreak assist, three tackle busts, an effective offload and 15 points in pure base stats. Pity so many owners probably had him sitting on their bench with their full complement of players to choose from this week!
Alex Johnston (117)
It would be unfair if he wasn’t mentioned in the ‘good’ section, but five-try hero Johnston had a linebreak, four tackle busts and 14 points in pure base stats. Oh, and 85 points from the five tries he scored! The jury is still out on his ability as a fullback but there’s no question that he is one of the best finishers in the competition.
The Bad
Sione Katoa (23)
A surprise starter after Mitch Rein was ruled out due to illness, he played the role of distributor which meant his points mostly came in the way of tackles, generally. Won’t be relevant but could be an AE nightmare, so beware of nuffing to Katoa!
John Sutton (26)
Sutton played 80 minutes in the halves, and you’d think a half playing in a team that scored 42 points would have gotten some love. Well… nope. He was just shovelling the ball on and really not getting involved, which is disappointing for owners hoping for some price increases!
The Ugly
Dean Whare (9)
Whare played 60 minutes before coming off with a suspected jaw injury, but some reports said it might be related to his temple. Either way, keep an eye on this as I know some people were keen on him as a downgrade/cash cow (bit late for that though!).
Knights v Tigers (12 – 33)
The Tigers dominated this game from the start in what was a shock to almost everyone but especially the vocal home crowd. There were a few shaky moments when the Knights looked like starting to make a comeback, but solid game management by Luke Brooks put that to rest and the Tigers ran away with the win in the end. Some encouraging signs for the Tigers, but the Knights must be shattered after all their hard work seemingly came crashing down to earth again.
Let’s look at the good, bad and the ugly.
The Good
Luke Brooks (92)
Brooks put in his best performance of the year, and demonstrated the game management and attacking threat that he is capable of – now, he just needs to do it consistently, which has always been his biggest issue. His efforts were display with a try, a field goal, two linebreaks, a linebreak assist, four tackle busts, one effective offload and 36 points in pure base stats. Promising signs… but there’s always been promising signs!
Dane Gagai (89)
Gagai was probably the Knights’ best on ground, putting in a big performance to no avail. He had a try assist, two linebreaks, 10 tackle busts, an ineffective offload and 37 points in tackles and hit-ups (35 of those in hit-ups). He was constantly dangerous and always looked the most likely of the Knights to cause dramas for the Tigers’ defence.
The Bad
Trent Hodkinson (26)
Recalled from reserve grade, Hodkinson was just not good enough. How he has fallen from being a halfback leading his side around in a Grand Final in 2014, to being unable to steer the lowly Knights team around. He just hasn’t offered enough for a player of his experience and ability. Disappointing.
Joel Edwards (22)
He played 80 minutes on the edge, yet only scored 22 points. That is a horrible workrate. Like, worse than Lewis Brown!
The Ugly
Ken Sio (5)
He actually played the whole first half but he suffered a shoulder injury. Sione and Pete Mata’utia shuffled to left centre and left wing respectively in cover.
Raiders v Cowboys (18 – 31)
Plenty of NRL fans wrote off the Cowboys as soon as Johnathan Thurston was ruled out for the remainder of the 2017 season with his shoulder injury, but the way the team, and in particular Michael Morgan, have stepped up in his absence has shown there is a big chance the Cowboys are still playing finals this year. Being a legitimate premiership threat, maybe not, but any team being lead from the front by Jason Taumalolo and Coen Hess off the bench is not one you can take lightly. On the other end of the scale, the Raiders’ season is almost on life support now, as they sit 12th on the ladder on 14 points. They will get two points for beating the bye next week, but they then need six wins from the final eight rounds of the season if they are to hit the magical 28 point mark which has been the cutoff for eight position on the ladder (usually on points differential) for the majority of the recent seasons. Make or break time for the Raiders in your SuperCoach teams too!
Let’s look at the best and worst performers in this game.
The Good
Michael Morgan (149)
Morgan had been well and truly flying under the radar due to the byes and the fact that he plays Origin. Currently owned by just 2% of SuperCoaches, expect this number to increase if he comes back fit and firing from the final Origin decider. I mentioned in my Fearless Predictions article for Round 16 that he was riding a three-round average of 84 prior to JT’s return in the game against the Eels in Darwin. That game, he took a backseat as JT ran the show, but after JT’s injury Morgan assumed the reins again and scored 73 in Round 16 (as predicted!) as he took the Cowboys to an upset win over the Panthers.
Well, let’s just say my sneaky Round 19 potential POD has just kicked down the door with this round’s performance – two tries, three try assists, two linebreaks, a linebreak assist, two forced dropouts, six tackle busts, two effective offloads on top of 23 points in tackles and hit-ups. BOOM!
Te Maire Martin (74)
Club debutant and first week running around with a new halves partner, but they look surprisingly natural and comfortable already. TMM had a great first game for the Cowboys, scoring two tries, a linebreak, a forced dropout, three tackle busts and 18 points in tackles and hit-ups. It’ll be interesting to see if this is a glimpse of the Cowboys’ future halves pairing in 2019.
The Bad
Jordan Rapana (30)
The cash bleed is real – 110 breakeven means he’ll be dropping around $40,000 and will have another high breakeven for Round 19. Things are not exactly happy at the Raiders at the moment and it’ll be an interesting few weeks for owners and non-owners alike. Owners because they may need to decide if Rapana should be cashed in; non-owners because they get to see if the Raiders are about to implode and all Raiders players are to be avoided.
Lachlan Coote (22)
He has also stepped up since JT’s injury but Morgan is running the show. Coote is providing support in terms of increasing his involvement in kicking – but this doesn’t net SuperCoach points. Just one of those irrelevant SuperCoach players at the moment.
The Ugly
Jarrod Croker (15)
Poor Jarrod, first he had a head knock and was potentially going to go off for a HIA – but then he got his knee caught in a bad position on the next play. Only played 24 minutes. He was officially ruled out due to failing the HIA but keep an eye on his knee injury.
Josh Hodgson was also ruled out pre-game with a calf injury, which may keep him out for up to three weeks (round 20) at worst.
Sea Eagles v Warriors (26 – 22)
It was the only wet game of the round but somehow these two exciting attacking teams put on some slick and fancy tries. The poor Warriors just don’t like going to Perth, which is understandable given how far away it is from them. Having said that, there were plenty of high SuperCoach scores in this game – hopefully you didn’t sit some of these options just because of the wet weather!
Let’s look at the best and worst performers in this game.
The Good
Shaun Johnson (111)
Hopefully you didn’t bench him. He’s just one of those guys you can’t risk benching 99 times out of 100 – he’s too dangerous, even against the best defensive sides, when he works his magic. SJ was very busy – two try assists, two linebreaks, a linebreak assist, three forced dropouts, seven tackle busts, kicking three goals from four attempts and 19 points in pure base stats. He did everything he could to get the Warriors over the line.
Daly Cherry-Evans (97)
I had been keeping my eye on DCE as a POD halfback that covered every round from Round 16 onwards, but one thing holding me back from picking him up straight after Round 15 was how good he was playing (and scoring). I was genuinely worried he’d play his way into an Origin jersey once it was confirmed that JT was out for the season. Well, in that time he’s gone up more than $60,000 but he’s missed Origin selection once again! He had two try assists, a linebreak, two linebreak assists, two forced dropouts, two tackle busts and 30 points in pure base stats. Very tempting…
The Bad
Kieran Foran (27)
There were shades of potential for Foran earlier in the season but he’s quickly reverted to the norm. He just isn’t SuperCoach-relevant in the way he plays footy – a real asset on the field but not on your SuperCoach team. His score includes a try assist!
Lewis Brown (31)
Brown played the full 80 minutes and despite higher than usual negative stats, it just reinforced his poor workrate and the fact he would be real potential AE nightmare if you grab him.
The Ugly
Albert Vete
Played only 12 minutes before suffering what is believed to be a broken arm. No update as yet as to how long he will be out.
Nathaniel Roache (52)
Thrust into the spotlight with Issac Luke’s dislocated shoulder, Roache has performed admirably, but his place in the sun was shortlived, going down in the 57th minute with a suspected hamstring injury.
Ryan Hoffman was ruled out pre-game with a suspected fractured foot sustained after training.
Roosters v Sharks (12 – 44)
Who would’ve thought that the biggest winning margins this week would be between four out of the top five teams?! The Storm and the Sharks showed exactly why they were the grand finalists last year, putting the Broncos and the Roosters to the sword respectively. Granted, both had some key outs but it doesn’t explain 30 and 32 point floggings. I expected a big Sharks bounceback but even then, not quite this big! If the Sharks can keep playing at this standard – where they completed 19 from their first 19 sets – it’s hard to see many teams beating them.
Let’s check out the good, the bad and the ugly in this game.
The Good
Ricky Leutele (100)
The left edge of the of the Sharks had a field day against the right edge of the Roosters – to the extent that Joey Manu ended up getting hooked 10 minutes early for Connor Watson. Leutele, who just happens to be a natural left centre that is eligible for Queensland Origin selection, put in an impressive performance with two tries, a last touch assist, two linebreaks, three tackle busts and 36 points in pure base stats. He sure kept busy!
Wade Graham (99)
Wade has been a man on a mission since Origin 2, especially with him being devastated he missed a critical tackle which lead to the Queensland fightback. Two try assists, three linebreak assists, three tackle busts, an effective offload and 41 points in tackles and hit-ups make up his score this week. Devastating on the left there.
The Bad
Chad Townsend (16)
With all the action going on down the left side, Townsend and the right edge of the Sharks were relatively quiet. Just didn’t have to do anything…
Mitchell Pearce (28)
The Roosters needed him to step up and take control of the game but unfortunately, Pearce wasn’t able to do it. The Sharks ran away with the game as a result, and it’s not a good time for him to fade like this given the massive decider coming up shortly. These are the moments when your halfback needs to spark up and change the flow of the game…
The Ugly
No major injuries to note.
Broncos v Storm (12-42)
This should have been a blockbuster (yet again, scheduled during the Origin period!) which was soured by ongoing injuries to two key members of the Broncos side, Milford and Boyd. That was never a good start but when Josh McGuire was visibly concussed in the seventh minute, leaving the field to not return, the Broncos were really up against it considering how dominant the Storm had been in many previous performances where they were relatively full-strength. On that, the Storm showed they are the benchmark at the moment, and it’s almost a question of “who will the Storm beat in the grand final” right now. A lot can change in the next few months of course, but they look like the ones to beat!
Let’s highlight some of the key performers and flops in this game.
The Good
Curtis Scott (138)
Another example of how it is impossible to win Perfect Eight, Curtis Scott wasn’t even in the gameday 17 named on Tuesday or in the starting 17 in the culled 19-man squad. Also, how do you go past any of the Storm’s other stars like their future Immortals or prospective Origin players of the future! However, it was this young gun that absolutely tore apart the Broncos’ left edge which was greatly missing Corey Oates and his defence. Two tries, a try assist, three linebreaks, a linebreak assist, an effective offload, eight tackle busts top up his 38 points in tackles and hit-ups. What’s even more impressive is that he came into the game with a breakeven of -84, which means he has exceeded his breakeven by an unprecedented 222 points! This sees him in line for potentially the biggest one-week cash increase of all time, anywhere from $100,000 to $110,000! Ridiculous!
Cameron Smith (96)
Smith came into this game under a massive injury cloud, but shrugged all that off to notch another great score. Not only that, he holds a career SuperCoach average of 82.8 from nine games at Suncorp Stadium (obviously excludes his Origin games) and an average of 78.8 from 16 games against the Broncos. Ludicrous numbers when you think of the number of games there. He scored a try, had two linebreaks, an effective offload, three tackle busts, kicked five goals from eight attempts and 35 points from pure base stats. Just an absolute SuperCoach machine, and should pass $500,000 again this week.
The Bad
Jordan Kahu (22)
The makeshift fullback had an unhappy night, making two errors and missing a bunch of last-ditch attempted tackles on tryscorers. He’s no Darius Boyd unfortunately, and it showed how much they missed having Boyd at the back organising the defensive line and being the safe-as-a-house custodian that he is.
The Ugly
Josh McGuire (8)
An unfortunate clash with Jesse Bromwich’s hip brought an extremely early end to his night due to concussion. Left in the seventh minute and obviously failed the HIA.
Jesse Bromwich (22)
Only made it through 24 minutes before heading up the tunnel, it appeared to be a hip or back complaint but there’s limited information on this one. If it’s a back issue he may not be right for next week!
Tohu Harris (27)
He was rushed back for this game but he really shouldn’t have, being nursed by those beside him and his workrate was down too. He ended up being sinbinned for holding back James Roberts when chasing through a grubber kick for a potential try, and then came off with 15 minutes to go (after the game was well and truly in the bag). Hopefully should be right for next week!
Titans v Dragons (20-10)
Friday night – Titans v Dragons (20 – 10)
Watching this game, I couldn’t decide whether it was the Titans looking better or the Dragons looking worse. Most probably a combination of both! Another good win for the Titans and they go into the bye with back-to-back wins #threeinarow. The Dragons though, surely there is some concern given they’ve put together two disappointing performances against bottom four teams (at the time).
Let’s highlight some of the key performers and flops in this game.
The Good
Anthony Don (97)
Plenty of people have said that it’s impossible to win Perfect Eight. Well, when Anthony Don takes out the honours in this game, you can understand why. Still, he had to score a hat trick to do it! Add on two linebreaks, three tackle busts, an effective offload and 18 points in base stats and that’s a good day out for the Don.
Jarryd Hayne (94)
A far more popular Perfect Eight selection, Hayne now has a three round average of 89.3 since assuming the fullback role again in Round 14. That’s not exactly unheard of for Hayne, but as he may say, “it’s been a loooonngggg time”. Well, he had two try assists, a linebreak, two linebreak assists, a forced dropout, four tackle busts and 34 points in pure base stats. Busy performance from Hayne… is it too soon to ask if he’s back?
The Bad
Jason Nightingale (20)
Nightingale owners had been enjoying a great last two weeks with scores of 83 and 114 – but came crashing down to earth with this stinker. The Dragons did drop a lot of ball so there was a limit to how involved the outside backs could get.
Josh McCrone (15)
Another appearance in this category for McCrone, but the reality is that his stats indicate limited involvement, even if he didn’t miss any tackles or make any errors or concede any penalties. Stats aside, his on-field performance left much to be desired too, as he was hardly sighted.
The Ugly
Josh Dugan (36)
Dugan had played 52 minutes and was building towards yet another solid base stat performance when he limped off and was unable to return. It’s since emerged that he suffered a cork on top of an existing cork, which sounds painful but shouldn’t keep him out of next week’s Origin game.
Tyson Frizell (34)
Friz came off after playing 45 minutes with a suspected rib injury – not much else is known about it (i.e. whether it’s a new injury, or related to his previous rib cartilage issues, etc.) so we’ll need to monitor this. If serious, the Blues will need to call up someone else – might just be De Belin but it could even be Trent Merrin, etc.
Eels v Bulldogs (13—12)
Kicking off the week with another golden-point game. I won’t say thriller, because it wasn’t thrilling at all. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say I was bored watching this game. The exciting moments were few and far between, despite the efforts of Bevan French and Kenny Edwards to keep us entertained in different ways.
Anyway, the less said about the game the better. Let’s highlight some of the key performers and flops.
The Good
Aiden Tolman (88)
Tolman always stands up whenever his partner-in-crime, James Graham, is missing. Still, playing the full 80 minutes plus another five minutes of extra time is a herculean effort for a prop. It’s not like he was bludging on the field either, racking up a massive 54 tackles (with one missed tackle) and 29 points from 19 runs. Throw in two offloads (yet to be updated) and a tackle bust, and it’s just an incredible performance from Tolman.
Nathan Brown (82)
On the other side, we have Brown who also played the full game in the middle at lock for 42 tackles (zero misses) and 41 points from 25 runs. He also had a tackle bust and an offload (pending update) but two penalties conceded. All in all, just another base state BEAST.
The Bad
Kenny Edwards (64)
Played the full game as well and his SuperCoach score is actually quite good given he has -8 in errors and penalties conceded, but WOW he had a shocker. Placed his team in danger of losing with some real brain snaps. Suspension risk … ew.
Marcelo Montoya (21)
Early sin bin set the tone for his night but to his credit, he and Chase Stanley defended very well for the majority of the game, only conceding the one try to that dangerous left edge of Semi and Taka. As noted previously, any time you cop 10 minutes off the field and also -8 for the sin-binning, you’re going to have a bad time.
The Ugly
Manu Ma’u (8)
In a cruel blow for owners, Ma’u limped off early with a suspected medial strain to his knee — similar to what Tohu Harris has. This places his bye coverage of Round 18 in jeopardy … especially with the Eels having the bye in Round 19.
Originally published as NRL SuperCoach 2017: Wilfred Zee’s good, bad and ugly round 17
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