NRL SuperCoach: Wilfred Zee wraps round 23 action
NELSON Asiofa-Solomona’s possible absence looms large as Melbourne battle an injury crisis. Former winner Wilfred Zee wraps round 23 of SuperCoach — presented by hipages.
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FORMER winner Wilfred Zee wraps round 23 of SuperCoach — presented by hipages.
Storm v Eels (20-4)
This could prove a very costly win for the Storm with so many injuries to key players — especially Cameron Smith. How the injuries play out over the next few weeks could have massive ramifications for the minor premiership race as well as top four, and especially for SuperCoach! The Eels … let’s not talk about them. To be unable to score against 12 men — not for the first time this year — is not good!
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly of this game.
The Good
Nelson Asofa-Solomona (68)
He only played 31 minutes before an ankle injury cut short his game. He was a beast as he scored a try, with a line break, busted nine tackles, offloaded once (pending update) and also scored 21 points in pure base stats (not fantastic, but okay for 31 minutes of game time). His absence will be telling for the next few weeks if he’s out for any length of time, as he has been devastating when given the chance.
Nathan Brown (67)
He played the full 80 minutes and just churned through the work. What an absolute workhorse! This is a legitimate workhorse performance as he scored 70 points in pure base stats, with one missed tackle and one penalty conceded being the only reason he scored 67! I just love the way he plays!
The Bad
Cam Munster (34)
Getting sin-binned hurt his score badly as it was during a critical stage of the game, and his score was “saved” by a try assist and line break assist combination after his return from the sin bin.
Mitch Moses (12)
From 130+ to just 12, that’s fairly typical Mitch Moses SuperCoach behaviour. This exemplifies why he is a high-risk, high-reward option. Yuck.
The Ugly
Cameron Smith (37)
He played 34 minutes, with about 10 minutes in obvious pain, before leaving the field with a back issue after being caught in a bad position during a legal tackle. Bad news for the Storm with back-up hooker Brandon Smith also going down injured. Big watch on whether he can play next week!
Brandon Smith (31)
Came on to take over for Cam Smith but his own knee injury forced him off the field in the second half. He is looking at least one week out, if not more.
Suliasi Vunivalu (15)
Only played 40 minutes and didn’t return in the second half due to a hamstring concern, which kept him out earlier this year.
Sea Eagles v Titans (34-42)
If you watched the first 30 minutes, saw how the Sea Eagles started off this game, you certainly would not have expected the final scoreline. This was rather embarrassing to be honest, how easily the Sea Eagles rolled over and conceded points to the Titans in the end. The Titans are definitely one of the worst defensive teams in the competition but they have some exciting attack talent of their own, like rookie AJ Brimson who could be a real star in coming years. While this game wasn’t the greatest to watch, it was a heck of a game for SuperCoach purposes.
Let’s look at the key performers in this game.
The Good
Tom Trbojevic (185)
Who else, right? Pending any further updates, Tommy Turbo now holds the official SuperCoach scoring record with this absolute monster. I mean, I saw it coming given he was my Captain Pick in this week’s Fearless Predictions, but I admit I didn’t expect him to go THIS large. A hat-trick, two try assists, four line breaks, one line break assist, 12 tackle busts, two effective offloads and 30 points in pure base stats. He’s simply incredible with ball in hand, which is just perfect for SuperCoach purposes. Tell me again why I thought I could survive the season without him?!
Jake Trbojevic (115)
Another big game from Big Brother, Jake played the full 80 minutes and did his usual work. Sixty points in pure base stats, plus one held up in-goal tackle, he also scored a double, broke the line once, assisted one line break and busted one tackle. Of course, Tom set up his brother for both tries, while Jake assisted Tom with one of his line breaks so it was almost just the Trbojevic brothers against the Titans this week!
The Bad
Dylan Walker (30)
Getting sin-binned didn’t help the Sea Eagles’ cause, nor did his three penalties conceded nor his one kick dead for a seven-tackle set for the Titans. Sure, he also broke the line once and provided the last touch for another try, but he hurt the Sea Eagles in the second half.
Addin Fonua-Blake (35)
Another one who was sent to the bin, it came at a bad time and certainly didn’t help the Sea Eagles’ cause in the second half with the game in the balance.
The Ugly
No major injuries to note, although Shaun Lane spent some time off the field for a HIA which he passed.
Broncos v Rabbitohs (38-18)
The Broncos have been in the headlines all week for various reasons, but the good thing is that it is now past them with their on-field performance hopefully the focus of the next week. They were good, overall, as they showed they weren’t a spent force after disappointing losses to the Bulldogs and the Cowboys in the past two weeks.
The Rabbitohs, well, it might just be the back-to-back games against the Storm and the Roosters which has taken it out of them. They will need to find the spark and consistency from earlier this year, as well as hopefully having some troops back shortly.
Let’s look at the key performers.
The Good
Corey Oates (118)
He’s had a few lean weeks in conjunction with the bad Broncos’ performances but a big Oates performance against the Rabbitohs is right up there in the certainty stakes alongside death and taxes. Twelve tries now in his past seven games against the Rabbitohs! That’s an incredible record. Oates scored three tries, broke the line three times, busted seven tackles and scored 27 points in pure base stats as well. A much better performance across the board from the big winger.
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Dane Gagai (88)
Gagai played fullback for the first time (as a starter) this season and, despite some defensive wobbles, he gave a decent performance with some real nice touches in attack. He set up two tries with some slick passing, both with line break assists, as well as busting seven tackles and scoring 36 points in pure base stats. You’d expect Inglis to slot back at fullback in his expected return next week though.
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The Bad
James Roberts (23)
Unfortunately missed out on the points on offer with such a dominant win. He looked dangerous when he got the ball, but the ball wasn’t passed his way that often with both TPJ and Fifita keen to take yet another strong run.
Matt Lodge (30)
Lodge had been on fire, but with a four-forward bench and plenty of points being scored, he wasn’t needed for as many minutes (only played 36) and even then, there were breaks in play. He still carted the ball up strongly when on the field though.
The Ugly
No major injuries to note.
Originally published as NRL SuperCoach: Wilfred Zee wraps round 23 action
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