NRL SuperCoach: Wilfred Zee wraps round 22 action
FORMER winner Wilfred Zee wraps round 22 of SuperCoach — presented by hipages.
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FORMER winner Wilfred Zee wraps round 22 of SuperCoach — presented by hipages.
Storm v Sharks (14 – 17)
The Storm weren’t their usual machine-like self, and the Sharks were good enough to take advantage of it in Melbourne. The Sharks aren’t the complete package (as you’d expect with a Townsend/Moylan halves pairing) but they have enough skill to get things done. The Storm, well, they’re still going to be around at the business end of the season but they don’t look like they will be able to back up their premiership from last year. Three consecutive grand finals and two consecutive premierships would be something though…
Let’s look at the good, bad and the ugly in this game.
The Good
Valentine Holmes (89)
Holmes is on fire! Now he is not only fullback, but also goalkicking, his involvement has skyrocketed. He scored a try, with a line break, assisted another line break, forced one dropout, offloaded three times (twice effectively), busted three tackles, kicked two goals from three attempts, held up one player in-goal and also scored 25 points in pure base stats. With a kind draw on the way home now, he is a scary, scary POD for those who don’t own him.
Suliasi Vunivalu (83)
Vuni has been somewhat disappointing for most of this year but after six tries in the past five games, he sits with a 58.2 five round average! Vuni scored two tries, both with line breaks, as well as busting five tackles and offloading twice effectively. His base stats are still very low, with only 15 for this game. High risk, high reward!
The Bad
Curtis Scott (29)
This score isn’t horrible considering he didn’t have any attacking stats but in such a tight game, his accidental touch of a Munster pass ruined a potential Addo-Carr try which could have given them the win!
Aaron Woods (42)
This score is quite disappointing considering he played 61 minutes – despite coming off the bench. This is quite unlike Woods given his usual workrate, but interestingly enough he actually had a better game in NRL terms. Go figure, huh!?
The Ugly
Wade Graham (22)
Just 38 minutes this week before yet another injury, one to his right knee this time. Sorensen went on and replaced him for the remainder of the game.
Ryan Hoffman (14)
He ripped in as soon as he came on off the bench but he injured his hamstring after just eight minutes on the field – a shocking outcome for him given the number of weeks left… hopefully the injury isn’t too serious and he gets to end his career on his own terms.
Raiders v Tigers (20 – 22)
The ‘hoodoo’ has been broken! The Raiders have easily had the wood over the Tigers in recent years, often resulting in extremely lopsided scorelines in the Raiders’ favour, but the 2018 Tigers have been – on the whole – a different story. Despite a two little hiccups earlier this year (coincidentally, against the Raiders and then the Titans), the Tigers have not conceded more than 24 points against any other team – despite coming up against all four of the top attacking teams. Impressive. The Raiders… well, it’s a season of “what if”? They’ll miss the finals and most likely finish in 10th, and look back on the fact they could have been sixth if they just won the games they should have won.
Let’s look at the good, bad and the ugly in this game.
The Good
Joseph Tapine (138)
What a monster game Tapine had! Hopefully you played him if you own him, as he rampaged for 80 minutes while scoring two tries, broke the line three times, busted 12 tackles, offloaded three times (only once effectively) and churned through 46 points in pure base stats. He is a rung down from the top tier second row forwards because of inconsistency in base stats, as he has had some poorer games too.
Josh Papalii (100)
Perhaps I was a bit hasty in dismissing Papalii as an option last week, after his minutes had taken a nose dive. Not this week, as he played the full 80 minutes and beasted through 61 points in pure base stats, busted five tackles, offloaded once effectively and scored a try with an accompanying line break. Just a massive unit getting through massive work.
The Bad
Brad Abbey (13)
He really doesn’t have much of a workrate! Of course, when your centre partner is a backrower, and the fullback doesn’t pass much either, it’s hard to get the ball – but that doesn’t seem to stop Rapana on the other flank. Just needs to get in there and demand some ball out of dummy half.
Elliott Whitehead (24)
Named at five-eighth but a late switch into left centre (with Austin reverting to five eighth) didn’t help his SuperCoach cause, and he didn’t cash in on any attacking stats (for once).
The Ugly
No major injuries to note.
Joey Leilua was sinbinned, but a try still allowed him to post a very respectable score.
Eels v Dragons (40 – 4)
The Dragons… wow. Choking again… although it would be some feat to drop out of the eight from where they are. However, with three games left and only two points ahead of the Broncos in eighth (and four points i.e. two wins ahead of the Tigers in ninth) place, it is possible. The Eels were good yet again and they well and truly smashed the Dragons, giving their for and against a great boost which could be critical in avoiding the wooden spoon. It’s arguably more exciting down the bottom end with the sudden rise in form from the likes of the Eels, Cowboys and Bulldogs!
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly from this game.
The Good
Mitch Moses (134)
Remember when Mitch Moses was a thing? I ‘member. He was all the talk around Round 7 to 10 following his huge 137 score and a few other ‘okay’ scores after. He has since gone on to average just 40 in seven games since then – even after having accounted for one injury-affected score of 11. Well, he scored a try, set up three others, provided the last pass for a fourth try, broke the line once, assisted two line breaks, forced a dropout, busted four tackles and kicked six goals from seven attempts. As always he only scored 15 points in pure base stats but that’s Moses for you.
Jarryd Hayne (103)
An average of 68.6 since returning in Round 14, and that’s without counting this week’s score. Hayne has been on fire since his return, playing centre and now wing. He scored a first half hat trick, with one line break, five tackle busts, one held up in-goal tackle, and 31 points in pure base stats. He is still capable of some freakish plays and it’s just such a pity he hasn’t been able to apply himself throughout his whole career as he could have been a great of the game.
The Bad
Ben Hunt (19)
The Dragons really needed him to step up once Widdop went down injured, but it’s safe to say he didn’t. The sad part is that his score includes a try assist, but he didn’t take on the line even once, and he was ineffective to say the least.
Tim Lafai (17)
Things were not looking good after Widdop’s injury for Lafai as the left side didn’t see as much ball. He just failed to get involved.
Cam McInnes was also sinbinned, and Kane Evans went off for HIA in the first half but passed to return later in the game.
The Ugly
Gareth Widdop (3)
No surprises here but people were pretty upset with Widdop’s injury. I mean, I’m sure he’s pretty upset about that dislocated shoulder too. Hard to have a go at the guy when his shoulder joint popped out! Leave Gareth alone! Except his hair. Go to town on his hair… *shudders*
SuperCoach-wise, I bet a few people lost their head-to-head finals because of Widdop’s injury and the flow-on effects. Unlucky. Kurt Mann owners may breathe a sigh of relief though as – depending on injury – he may be playing five-eighth for the immediate future.
Sea Eagles v Bulldogs (18 – 6)
The Bulldogs have strung together a few good games but as has been the issue for most of the bottom eight, they weren’t able to keep that consistency up. The Sea Eagles are one of the most potent attacking teams with the likes of Jake and Tom Trbojevic, Daly Cherry-Evans, Dylan Walker and Shaun Lane, and when their attack clicks they are hard to contain. It clicked enough this game, and the Bulldogs also showed that they missed the impact of Lachlan Lewis already as their attack was again mediocre at best.
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly from this game.
The Good
Tom Trbojevic (111)
Tommy Turbo is just so dynamic in attack, even if he is prone to the odd defensive lapse or error. With ball in hand, running at the line, you just feel like something is going to happen each time. He scored two tries, broke the line twice, busted six tackles, offloaded three times (twice effectively) and scored 38 points in pure base stats. Another huge performance from the gun fullback, and he remains in the mix to be one of the top two fullbacks come end of season.
Addin Fonua-Blake (83)
He stepped up with Taupau struggling with injury, and played 56 minutes as a result. He scored the last try to seal the win, with a line break, but also busted six tackles and churned through 46 points in pure base stats. He’s had a few nice SuperCoach performances but unless there’s a sharp increase in minutes, he’s never really going to be overly relevant while Taupau is around.
The Bad
Trent Hodkinson (-12)
Yeah that’s not a typo, that was his final score. It’s officially a SuperCoach record, albeit one he probably didn’t want! Hodko’s -12 is now the lowest ever SuperCoach score, although it came in just 28 minutes of game time. There have been some bad performances but this takes the cake. Two missed goals, two missed tackles, three penalties conceded and a sinbin to boot – that’s -20 points right there, and his only positive contributions were eight tackles in total. Yuck.
Jeremy Marshall-King (25)
Found the going tougher without Lewis by his side, and struggled defensively as he missed seven tackles out of the 29 he attempted.
The Ugly
Marty Taupau (53)
This is a cracking score considering he played just 12 minutes of his second stint for 38 minutes in total, when he most likely was going to play out the game (finishing on roughly 50 minutes of game time), but he limped off with an injury and it’ll be a nervous wait for owners as to whether he plays this week.
Brian Kelly (52)
He had a strong game but limped off with eight minutes to go and he was replaced by Shaun Lane. Another watch to see if he plays this week.
Titans v Panthers (16 – 17)
Seriously, it’s getting a bit ridiculous isn’t it? The Panthers are somehow winning when for several weeks now, they haven’t been the better team. They play badly for about 65-70 minutes and then somehow throw the ball around for 10-15 minutes and escape with the win. I guess you can’t take the competition points off them, but it’s certainly not how the Panthers’ faithful would want them to go about things. The Titans, well, you certainly can’t criticise their effort, but they lacked the polish to control the game to the end as their game management wasn’t much better than the Panthers’ ball control.
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly from this game.
The Good
Ryan James (92)
Sell James, they said. He’s carrying an injury, they said. He’s cooked, they said. He’s a flop, they said (I’m well aware I said these things too hah!). Well, 84 minutes (i.e. the full game), 60 points in pure base stats, one try, one linebreak, two tackle busts and one effective offload later, James showed that he’s not a spent force. The problem is, who knows if he plays the full game, or if Arrow gets the minutes, or if it’s Wallace next week? It seems to be an absolute lottery with Brennan…
Reagan Campbell-Gillard (93)
The Panthers certainly missed having RCG in the middle and he showed why in this game. He set up a try, broke the line once, offloaded four times (three effectively), busted three tackles and scored 51 points in pure base stats – all in 55 minutes of game time. His on-field impact is ultimately always better than his SuperCoach stats but there’s no doubting that he is an important player for the Panthers.
The Bad
Brendan Elliott (15)
He was a late replacement for the injured Brenko Lee and didn’t have a great time as he was exposed defensively and also failed to make an impact with ball in hand. The Titans really have issues with depth, although to be fair, Elliott is the fourth in line after Copley, Lee and Hurrell.
Ash Taylor (27)
He was better in this game than his last few outings but he still wasn’t able to step up to lead his team to the win, which he really needs to do given the size of his contract.
The Ugly
No major injuries to note mid-game, although James Maloney may have strained his MCL and may miss a week or two pending further scans.
Rabbitohs v Roosters (14 – 18)
A second potential grand final preview in two weeks and it certainly delivered on quality. This was two teams building in intensity for the upcoming finals series, and they threw a lot at each other this week. You felt the Rabbitohs were a bit flat compared to last week though, and they didn’t play as well as they did against the Storm. Throw in some injuries – including a very early injury to Alex Johnston – and that made the difference. The Roosters did well all things considered, and got the crucial win to go top of the table.
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly of this game.
The Good
Tom Burgess (72)
It’s an ugly game for SuperCoach purposes when 72 is your top score, but it showcased the tough, physical nature of the game. He played 54 minutes, big minutes for Tom, and scored at a point a minute in terms of pure base stats – 37 of those in runs. He also busted four tackles and broke the line once on his way to over 220 metres gained for the game.
Angus Crichton (65)
Crichton and Cordner had a massive battle all game. Crichton looked dangerous every time he ran the ball, but it was matched defensively by Cordner. In doing this, Crichton racked up 55 points in pure base stats, four tackle busts and also two offloads (pending updates). This is why he is one of the premium second row forward options in SuperCoach given his ability to churn through the work as well as grab attacking stats when on offer. Gun!
The Bad
Cody Walker (28)
Arguably he was a bit unlucky given he played quite well, forcing two dropouts and getting involved when he could, but ultimately owners who played him will still be disappointed with this score. I would say, it wasn’t unexpected.
Cooper Cronk (21)
Another strong game from Cronk that just didn’t translate to SuperCoach points. But unfortunately, this is about SuperCoach! He just isn’t an option… especially not at the Roosters.
The Ugly
Alex Johnston (0)
He had barely touched the ball and limped off after passing to a teammate in his one touch, just two minutes into the game. It was said to be a minor hamstring injury but he didn’t return and may miss some upcoming games. Gagai played fullback with Fuimaono playing right centre off the bench.
James Tedesco left the field for a HIA with 12 minutes to go, and Sean O’Sullivan didn’t make it onto the field.
Warriors v Knights (20 – 4)
The Knights started off better with the Warriors looking somewhat tentative, and the bounce of the ball just wasn’t favouring them in the opening 20 minutes. However, in a real positive sign for the Warriors their heads didn’t drop, they kept grinding away and soon enough the points started flowing. In the end, they had too much for the Knights to contend with and finished comfortable winners. The Knights… well, they have come a long way from the consecutive wooden spoons and they are heading in the right direction. Look forward to 2019, Knights fans!
Let’s look at the key performers in this game.
The Good
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (89)
He was poor two weeks ago against the Titans but RTS has come out the last two weeks with a point to prove. He made a massive 22 runs for 41 points, plus two tackles – a total of 43 points in pure base stats. Throw in 11 tackle busts and one effective offload, and that’s 69 points without any major attacking stats. Two more line breaks from RTS and that’s a massive score without a try, try assist or line break assist. With matchups against the Bulldogs (in Sydney) and then two games in New Zealand against the Panthers and the Raiders, RTS looms as a massive POD for the head to head finals.
Adam Blair (70)
Blair has been one of the better buys of 2018. Sure, his stats aren’t particularly eye-catching but his impact on and off the field for the Warriors cannot be overlooked. It’s no surprise the better performances from the Warriors’ pack have coincided with Blair’s presence in the starting side. He scored a try with a line break, 43 points in pure base stats and one tackle bust for a solid score, but he’s definitely not SuperCoach relevant.
The Bad
Mitchell Pearce (35)
Maybe he wasn’t 100 per cent fit, and he still put in a lot of effort to try spark the Knights to a win, but he need to do more in this game to lift his team. Only two runs isn’t good enough for such a good runner of the ball.
Cory Denniss (24)
You aren’t having much impact if you make nine runs, but eight of them are under eight metres. Is he out of his depth in first grade? Maybe he needs more time to develop in reserves first…
The Ugly
No major injuries to note.
Cowboys v Broncos (34 – 30)
Another Cowboys v Broncos derby, another exciting conclusion and some crazy stuff happened again. It’s sad this will be the last time JT gives nightmares to the Broncos and Broncos fans. We can only hope the derby continues to serve up exciting footy like the past few years, even without JT. The Broncos continue to be frustrating and the Cowboys must be thinking “what could have been” as their form has been far stronger in recent weeks than the majority of their season.
Let’s look at the key performers.
The Good
Matt Lodge (94)
He played big minutes off the bench (61 minutes this week) and made an immediate impact as soon as he came on. Lodge ended up being the highest metre eater for the Broncos, as well as scoring a critical try. Lodge’s try came with a line break, and he also busted five tackles and scored 59 points in pure base stats. Lodge has been on fire lately, and has been one of the Broncos’ best forwards lately.
Jason Taumalolo (91)
Another big week for Taumalolo as he played 71 minutes. Most importantly though, his work rate was back to his usual standards, as he made a massive 24 runs for 44 points (almost all of them going for eight metres or more). Throw in 22 tackles for 66 points in total for pure base stats, four tackle busts, one offload (yet to be updated) and one very opportunistic try and you’ve got another cracking score from Lolo this week.
The Bad
Corey Oates (11)
Just seven runs for Oates, which isn’t good enough. At some level this is understandable though, as a lot of his runs usually come from his end, and he doesn’t do much (if any) dummy half running in the middle of the field. Still, if you played him you would be devastated by this score!
Te Maire Martin (18)
His score includes a try assist! It really highlights how little work the outside backs for both teams generally had to do as a lot of the game was played out in the middle of the field or in the opposition’s 20m zone.
The Ugly
No major injuries to note.
Originally published as NRL SuperCoach: Wilfred Zee wraps round 22 action
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