NRL SuperCoach 2019: Sam Rohlf’s side revealed

After a disastrous 2018 season, former SuperCoach champion Sam Rohlf is changing the ordinary and unsuccessful strategy he employed last year.

After a disastrous 2018 NRL SuperCoach season, I’m changing from the ordinary and unsuccessful strategy I employed last year. This year I’m going with the KISS strategy (Keep It Simple Stupid).

What I found out in a hurry last year was how out of balance my team was structured and how limited I was to dig myself out of the hole that I was in. With Mitchell Moses floundering as one of my starting halves, I was left behind and out of the race when Shaun Johnson and Gareth Widdop were posting nice scores in the early going. I couldn’t rejig my team because I had allocated my salary cap poorly.

This year I will try to spend the cap more evenly over the squad with a gun or close to it in each position. Another thing that limited me early on last year was a lack of dual position players and I won’t be making that mistake again. Twenty-five scoring players from the first round will be the aim, but if I end up with 24, I won’t be to upset as long as I can use my vice-captain wisely.

These are the players I have selected with the information we have available before trials.

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Sam Rohlf won SuperCoach in 2017.

HOOKER

Josh Hodgson ($592,100)

I just can’t bring myself to start with Damien Cook. The trifecta of him having the massive $726,000 starting price, new coach and coming off a career year is to many risks for me. Cam Smith is a legend of SuperCoach but won’t be part of my side this season. I’ve gone with Canberra’s Josh Hodgson. Hodgson hit the ground running on his return from injury in Round 15 last season and for mine, was the second best hooker behind Damien Cook for the second half of the year. My only concern is his pattern of final season averages for the last four years of 54, 62, 54, 63.

Wayde Egan ($232,200)

Egan featured in 12 games for the Panthers last year but had only one game as a starter in Round 24. In that game he scored 56 points in 80 minutes. Egan had a SuperCoach stat line of 273 points at a PPG average of just 23, which he achieved with 25 minutes of game time. Some Penrith fans I have been chatting to over the off season seem to think he’s in with a chance of the starting gig over Sione Katoa. If that happens Egan will make his way into a lot of SuperCoach teams.

FRONT ROW

Martin Taupau ($605,100 FRF,2RF)

Martin Taupau is dual position. Picture: Brett Costello

Starting this season as the second highest priced FRF, Taupau has the added advantage of dual position FRF/2RF. He played in all 24 games for Manly last season and finished with 1552 SuperCoach points at a fantastic average of 64PPG. He’s an off-loading weapon when he’s in the right mood. His PPM hasn’t dipped under 1.20 for the last two seasons and this has me starting with him for the first time ever. Manly have little front row depth, so game time shouldn’t change too much.

Tevita Pangai ($495,000 FRF/2RF)

Can you believe a premiership winning coach allegedly told this wrecking ball he wouldn’t make it as an NRL player. What a breakthrough season Tevita had last year. Splitting time at front row and the back row, Pangai was devastating wherever he was deployed. The hope for most SuperCoaches is that new Broncos coach Anthony Seibold plays him at lock and any improvement on his 50MPG will be greatly appreciated. Like Taupau, Pangai has the valuable dual position of FRF/2RF and was in the core group of players I couldn’t start without.

LISTEN! Resident SuperCoach experts Tom Sangster and Tim Williams have the lowdown on the players to target and avoid in 2019.

Payne Haas ($181,100)

Haas made his debut for the Broncos last year in Round 8 and by Round 11 he was out for the season. There is no SuperCoach stat line to boom him up, just watch a game and you will see why there have been raps on this fella since he was a junior. One who definitely passes the eye test.

Taniela Paseka ($196,900)

Paseka played 14 games for Manly last year with only one coming as a starter. He had a SuperCoach stat line of 263 points for an average of 19PPG. As mentioned earlier with Taupau, Manly don’t have a lot of depth in the front row so I’m happy to go with him as a place holder of sorts until Team List Tuesday.

BACK ROW

Jake Trbojevic ($667,600)

Trbojevic is one of the core players my squad is built around. Last year he finished with the second most points scored in SuperCoach for the second year in a row. Nothing has changed my opinion that Trbojevic is the best back rower in the NRL. Jake had the fourth best PPG average (71.3) in all of SuperCoach behind only Cook, brother Tom and James Tedesco. As I said last year, the combination with his brother is a thing of beauty. Great captain option every week.

Jake Trbojevic is one of the most consistent players in SuperCoach.

Viliame Kikau ($570,400)

Kikau was a revelation on the left edge for Penrith in 2018, Starting the season at almost bottom dollar and finishing with a value just over $500,000, Viliame was one of the best cows of the year. Playing 23 games, he had a PPG average of 61. In 17 of his 23 appearances, he played 74 minutes or more. Kikau will finally get the chance to play under coach Ivan Cleary, who signed him during his first stint of coaching at Penrith. Kikau is only an option for the 2RF this year after having dual status last year.

Cameron Murray ($458,900)

Murray is another I have a man crush on. We are hoping new Souths coach Wayne Bennett will play Sam Burgess on the edge and open up more game time for Murray in the middle of the field. He had a 48MPG average last year, so with an increase in playing minutes this year, expect a nice jump in his average, up from the 49PPG of last season. Murray is known for his high work rate and finished last year with a PPM of 1.02. One of the top picks in the $400,000 range for mine.

Joe Stimson ($352,900)

Stimson looks the goods to improve in minutes from his average of 53MPG from last year. With Ryan Hoffman retiring, he hopefully takes a back row spot with Felise Kaufusi. Stimson played eight games of 80 minutes last year for a 50 point average, a jump of 12 points on his season average of 38PPG. I have Stimson just ahead of Cronulla’s Scott Sorensen as the pick of the litter in the $300,000 price range for forwards.

Jacob Host ($196,600 2RF,FRF)

Jacob Host of the Dragons.

Host’s SuperCoach stat line has shown a steady decline over the last three years. His average yearly score, minutes per game and points per minute have all trended south, but for the purpose of my team, he gives me flexibility with his dual position. Happy to hold and see if a better option pops up on Team List Tuesday.

Briton Nikora ($168,100 2RF/CTW)

Straight up place holder here. Wanted a dual position 2RF/CTW cheapie to swap between Whitehead and Capewell, who I’ll leave in my wing/centres. If I end up with 24 starters in Round 1, I could keep this dual position player and run the gauntlet with the vice captain loop.

HALFBACK

Michael Morgan ($409,200 HFB, 5/8)

“Apprehensive” is the first word I think of when starting another season with a mid-price half. My gamble with Mitchell Moses last year was a fail, but the retirement of Johnathan Thurston has changed the prospects for Morgan. Morgan has shown that without JT, he is capable of putting up a more than a respectable SuperCoach stat line. In 2017, with JT only playing one game after Round 6, Morgan put together a 67PPG average. He had eight games with scores over 70 points including two over the 100 point mark.

Dylan Brown ($168,100)

Brown is in a battle with Jaeman Salmon to partner Mitchell Moses at the Eels. Whoever wins the battle will be one of the most owned players to start the year. If Brown misses out, Chanel Harris-Tavita or Adam Keighran (HFB, 5/8), both from the Warriors, are options as well.

FIVE-EIGHTH

Cameron Munster ($548,500 5/8, FLB)

Fullback or five-eighth, five-eighth or fullback, I don’t really mind what position Munster starts this year, either way he’s in my team to start. Munster has proven he can punch out a high 60PPG average in either position. A notorious tackle buster, Munster once held the highest individual score of 183 points.

Kurt Mann ($258,900 5/8, CTW)

Probably the most expensive place-holder I’ve ever had. I’ll wait to see what happens with Mann during the trials. Head-hunted by Knights coach Nathan Brown over the off-season, Mann has been brought in to learn the dummy half position. If he looks like he could get 45-50 minutes going by the trials, I will hold. If not, a downgrade to Salmon or Keighran is on the cards.

CENTRE/WING

Waqa Blake ($550,100)

Waqa Blake had a brilliant end to the season.

I’ll tempt the SuperCoach Gods and pick Blake after a career year. Waqa’s first five games before injury last year netted him a 40PPG average. Coming back in Round 17, Blake lit up the competition for the last nine games with a 68PPG average. A huge starting price, but one I’m happy to pay for the centre that plays outside Viliame Kikau.

Elliot Whitehead ($457,700 CTW, 2RF)

Expect Whitehead to have a few more owners this year with his dual position. I wouldn’t necessarily place him in the top echelon of back rowers that have been available in centre before, but I’ll jump on and hope for close to consistent 50+ scores. Whitehead has averaged 61, 54 and 49 over the last three seasons so there has been a steady decline.

Kurt Capewell ($340,200 CTW, 2RF)

Capewell is another player expected to exceed his average minutes from last season with what looks like a spot in the Sharks back row. Averaging 55MPG last season for his 36 point average, Capewell showed just the season before that money will be made if he gets the minutes he had in 2017 (MPG 69, PPG 46). A hard one to leave out at that price.

Zac Lomax ( $196,900)

Touted as a must own cheapie last year, it didn’t quite work out for Lomax or the coaches who started with him as he made his debut in Round 10 and wasn’t seen again until Round 25. This year Lomax has a chance to secure a wing spot at the Dragons with both Nene MacDonald and Jason Nightingale no longer at the club.

Aaron Gray ($216,900)

Gray has played 10 NRL games in two seasons and there are fans who think he has a shot at one of the Sharks’ wing spots. Will be interesting to see what new coach John Morris does with Gray. One to watch in the trials but if enough bottom dollar cheapies hit on Team List Tuesday, he will miss the cut.

Morgan Harper ($168,100) from the Bulldogs and Albert Hopoate ($168,100) from Manly fill my last two centre/wing spots. Both have good raps on them from their clubs and both have a chance of making Round 1 teams. Will keep both as place-holders on the little information we have right now.

FULLBACK

Tom Trbojevic ($691,200)

For two straight years the man known as Turbo has finished third for overall points scored with huge totals of 1679 and 1625. Trbojevic had four scores over 100 points last year including the almost unbelievable 194 point monster against the Gold Coast in Round 23. As mentioned above, he has a fantastic on field chemistry with older brother Jake and was one of my first three players picked. Superstar.

James Tedesco ($689,000)

A change of clubs did nothing to slow down Tedesco last year. Teddy finished with the fourth most points scored in 2018 (1620), an outstanding total but a little down from his 2015 effort of 1782. Tedesco averaged 73.6 PPG last year in his first season with the Roosters and had four scores over 100 points, including a final round master class of 180. I expect him to be in the top five players again at the end of this season.

Originally published as NRL SuperCoach 2019: Sam Rohlf’s side revealed