SuperCoach NRL Carnage strikes with superstars injured and bye plans in disarray

SUPERSTARS injured, bye coverage plans out the window and the round is not even over yet. Rob Sutherland reviews one of the worst weeks in SuperCoach NRL history.

Kalyn Ponga of the Knights leaves the field with a hamstring injury during the Round 16 NRL match between the Newcastle Knights and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, Saturday, June 30, 2018. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

SUPERSTARS injured, bye coverage plans out the window and the round is not even over yet. Rob Sutherland reviews one of the worst weeks in SuperCoach NRL — presented by hipages — history.

KALYN PONGA INJURED

The second most popular captain pick (13.4%) for the round, and the top scoring player heading in to this weekend’s games, Kalyn Ponga’s hamstring injury in the 14th minute of Saturday’s match against the Bulldogs was a hammer blow for the 45.4% of SuperCoaches who own the Newcastle superstar.

Kalyn Ponga off and will not return with a hamstring injury. Reported as a partial tear at this stage. General recovery guide (sounding like grade 1-2):
Gr 1: 2-4 weeks
Gr 2: 4-6 weeks
Gr 3: 6+ weeks#NRLKnightsBulldogs

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 30, 2018

Ponga is due to have scans on the injury today (Sunday) and we will keep you updated on his prognosis. On a non-SuperCoach note I’d just like to extend my thoughts to Newcastle hooker Slade Griffin who was taken to hospital in severe pain and it was feared he had suffered the fourth torn ACL of his luckless career.

TOHU HARRIS INJURED

Strange one for Tohu Harris, no clear mechanism of injury & seemed to be moving well right up til the final try was scored (Harris not involved). Did have his left knee strapped at half time. Left the field in plenty of discomfort, didn’t look good #NRLWarriorsSharks pic.twitter.com/X2yM1ECcUp

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 29, 2018

Tohu Harris was the fifth most purchased player (8,078 trade ins) heading in to the round thanks to his bye round coverage and ‘keeper’ scores at position. Well so much for that idea eh? Harris limped from the field in the final minutes of the match against the Sharks with a knee injury. Harris was on crutches after full-time but told AAP he was unsure about the severity of his knee injury. He went down in innocuous circumstances in the closing minutes, feeling the left knee give way when walking back into position.

JOSEPH TAPINE CONCUSSED

For the second time in a week, great to see Alfie Langer showing care for a possibly concussed player from the opposition team. Hope Joseph Tapine is ok #NRLBroncosRaiders

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 30, 2018

One rung below Harris on the Trade In ladder was Canberra edge player Joseph Tapine (7,633 trade ins) and after a solid if not inspiring 37 points in 54 minutes the Raider left the field for an HIA. He did not return and there has been no word from the club as yet regarding the severity of his concussion. As popular CTW Ryan Matterson’s extended recovery has shown, concussions can linger and I for one am hoping this one doesn’t because …

VILIAME KIKAU COPS A VERY LOW HEADBUTT

Viliame Kikau of the Panthers receives attention from trainers after sustaining an injury during the Round 16 NRL match between the Penrith Panthers and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. Picture: AAP Image

… Because Viliame Kikau had the misfortune of trying to stop Manase Fainu’s head with his knee in the 74th minute of the Panthers surprise loss to the Sea Eagles on Saturday afternoon.

The injury did happen late in the game, and the early word is that Kikau will be good to go for next week’s bye round which is a relief but gee it was a tough way to start ‘Super Saturday’ eh?

At this stage it appears to be positive news on Viliame Kikau. Bad cork only. Not anticipating any other damage. #PantherPride

— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) June 30, 2018

CAMERON MUNSTER GOES MISSING

Cameron Munster makes a rare run for the Storm in the match against the Roosters. Picture: AP Image

Cameron Munster’s previous two scores against the Roosters were 183 and 117 and he boasted a 3RA of 80.7 so it was understandable that he was the most traded in Melbourne Storm player ahead of Friday night’s game against the Roosters. That despite Munster not covering the Round 17 bye thanks to Origin selection. And so the few thousand of you who forked out $610,900 for him would be justifiably filthy with his score of just 13 points. Just three hit-ups and nine tackles? That was a career worst score for Munster and for a double burn he was the 13th most captained player in the game.

NATHAN CLEARY IN THE BIN

Just six days after Cleary helped guide NSW to a tide-turning State of Origin series victory, Cleary was the villain against the lowly ranked Sea Eagles on Saturday in the home side’s 18-10 defeat at Panthers Stadium. With scores locked at 10-10 with 15 minutes to play, Cleary was ruled by the NRL’s bunker to have held Daly Cherry-Evans off the ball as he chased his own grubber kick close to the line. The 10 point deduction for the sin bin plus penalty, combined with a generally ineffectual game, saw Cleary score just 12 points. Great news for those of us hoping to pick Cleary up cheap post-Origin but a shocker for the thousands who traded him in this week.

KURT MANN FLOPS

The Eels contained Kurt Mann of the Dragons in round 16. Picture: AAP Image

The most traded in player for the week, 15,310 SuperCoaches had the ‘pleasure’ of watching the young Dragons CTW look largely ineffectual for his score of 21 points. Add to that the whispers that Ben Hunt would be dropped for Origin III thus meaning no run in the halves for Mann and it was not a start to the round for many.

CONNOR WATSON GOES LARGE

Connor Watson of the Knights scores one of his two tries during the Round 16 NRL match between the Newcastle Knights and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Picture: AAP Image

This one just goes to show that it’s not only players who miss out that can hurt, in fact I reckon this one would hurt plenty of SuperCoaches more. Connor Watson was shifted to fullback after Ponga’s unfortunate injury and proceeded to shred the Bulldogs scoring two tries, busting nine tackles and making three linebreaks for a whopping score of 108 points.

Watson was the fifth most traded out player for the week with 5,304 coaches pulling the pin prior to the match. Over 900 of those coaches traded Watson to St George playmaker Gareth Widdop who didn’t exactly ‘flop’ but certainly disappointed many, including myself, when he scored just 45 points against cellar dwellers the Parramatta Eels.

Originally published as SuperCoach NRL Carnage strikes with superstars injured and bye plans in disarray