KFC SuperCoach NRL 2021: Cheapie Bible Round 7

He’s one of the most purchased players ahead of Round 7, but it may be too early for KFC SuperCoaches to be jumping on Jake Simpkin, writes Trent Copeland.

Jake Simpkin and Josh Curran have arrived, the most purchased cheapie last week, Ben Condon, scored a try and made huge amounts of cash and would you believe it… Even Jason Saab scored two tries!

Along with a gazillion injuries and suspensions to guns, It’s all happening!

By definition a ‘Cheapie’ will be referenced when under $300,000 and actually relevant for KFC SuperCoach purposes. Key word being relevant. Once players eclipse the $300k mark they will be given a final verdict in the ‘Bon Voyage’ section.

Buckle up, here we go!

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Jake Simpkin was impressive on debut, but is it too early to be jumping on the Tigers hooker? Picture: Getty Images.

Sam Walker HFB (Roosters) $267,000 - 21 points

I flagged last week that despite the freakish talent level, playing the Storm away at AAMI Park was always going to be tough to produce the 80+ point scores of Walker’s first two games… 21 points the result, excitingly with 10 points in tackle busts - hopefully they stick around for good no matter the matchup. So, an initial $93,000 followed by match-ups between now and Origin against the Dragons, Knights, Eels, Cowboys, Broncos and probably the one ‘tough’ matchup against the Raiders. Back at the SCG this weekend, I’m expecting Walker to deliver a big score in assisting the Roosters to get back on track.

VERDICT: BUY/HOLD. Still a good purchase at the price if you somehow were under a rock last week.

Ben Condon 2RF (Cowboys) $259,900 - 71 points

‘Trap’ was the term used last week in a KFC SuperCoach sense despite being a nice prospect in actual NRL terms, and Condon must’ve read that description and played with a bee in his bonnet scoring a try, looking FAR better in defence and lifting his work rate to a solid 40 points in base stats in his 71 minutes of game time. We can absolutely live with that! Making an initial $73,000 and possessing a -39 BE heading into the matchup against the Raiders this week, Condon has a few more things going for him. Josh McGuire’s exit to the Dragons, Taumalolo’s setback (round 8-10) firstly, and the fact that Tom Gilbert and Mitch Dunn made their returns and Condon remains in the starting line-up. All of those potential hurdles that were lingering are now seemingly gone… KFC SuperCoach PLUS predicts Condon will reach a tick under $400k even with scores in the 40s, that would be an unreal result.

VERDICT: HOLD. My hand is up, I was wrong (not for the first time!). You could even still buy now in the hope Condon’s role grows even more.

Jake Simpkin HOK (Wests Tigers) $173,700 - 56 points

While watching this game around the half time mark, those of you who are KFC SuperCoach NUTS like me will have jumped off the lounge in excitement - not for a try, not for an unbelievable play, in fact nothing that Simpkin did at all… It was Moses Mbye coming on to the field, and Simpkin STAYING ON. You beauty, the full 80 minutes. That’s a huge first box ticked, the next was the work rate in defence with 51 tackles as a nice baseline. To the naked eye, Simpkin looked lively in attack and hit his halves with early ball, given the Tigers put it to a team the quality of the Rabbitohs you’d imagine lesser opposition will prove to be more fruitful for his attacking game we all know he possesses.I’m predicting a try this weekend against the Sea Eagles! Along with the dream coverage of the round 13 big bye round, this is exciting.

VERDICT: BUY. In a week’s time. I urge you to not go early, obviously. Question is, who do you sell to get him? Not Josh Schuster, that is for sure.

Josh Curran has been on the Cheapie Bible watchlist for years and now he’s finally getting a chance. Picture: Getty Images.

Josh Curran 2RF (Warriors) $203,100 - 77 points

YES! I’ve been banging on about Curran’s great KFC SuperCoach chops for what feels like two years now, and the patient have been rewarded in the way of 77 points in the full 80 minutes… ALL in base. 46 tackles, 26 points in hit-ups and an ineffective offload, can you feel my excitement through your device? All jokes aside, Curran has the ability to be a starter for your 17 every week and make a truckload of cash much like my man crush Josh Schuster if things go to plan and he keeps playing 80 minutes. One to watch not buy immediately if you can avoid it, though, as Sironen has been named to return this week - hopefully he spells Ben Murdoch-Masila and not our boy Curran.

VERDICT: WATCHLIST. Pleaaaaase keep this spot!

Matt Lodge FRF (Broncos) $336,000 - 62 points

OK, so here’s my POD-BUY of the week. Lodge was in plenty of teams to begin the season only to score a paltry 17 points, succumb to an injury and miss two rounds. Since returning, the Broncos have copped a tough run of fixtures in the Storm, Rabbitohs and Panthers. The first two of which were absolute thumpings, leading coach Kev to ruffle a few feathers, dropping Milford and roasting a few publicly. Well, the game against the Panthers was a huge team effort and one noticeable cog that impacted the game on every touch and on defence was Matt Lodge, scoring 62 points in a tick under 40 minutes including 15 tackles, FOURTEEN POINTS in tackle busts, 12 points in offloads and 24 points in hit-ups. With a BE of just 5, coverage of round 13 bye week and a big change to the Broncos’ makeup on the bench this round - Danny Levi on the bench instead of a middle forward - those selling Tino Fa’asuamaleaui could do a lot worse than pocketing $160k and getting Lodge’s points over the next 6 rounds.

VERDICT: POD BUY. I actually quite like it!

Jackson Topine 2RF (Bulldogs) $206,700 - 32 points

Topine has succumbed to a knee injury and is expected to miss a couple of weeks, but the signs weren’t great to begin with. Bench utility screams KFC SuperCoach poison and the scores of 23 and 32 points over the past two weeks respectively shows exactly that. If my maths are correct, Topine is eligible to be a starter in the NRL as of round 11, so until then we may be best served sitting this one out. Has the ability to be a gun for us if the minutes and role was there.

VERDICT: WATCHLIST.

Ryan James FRF | 2RF (Raiders) $286,000 - 0 points

After a week off to rest off the concussion scares (fingers crossed everything is OK), James comes back and is straight into the starting line-up after a shocking Raiders performance where Ricky Stuart has whipped some big name casualties, namely Joe Tapine and Josh Papalii’i. People may have forgotten, but his injury affected 5-point game drops out of the rolling average this week so with a BE of just 10 we could be in for some nice cash rises. In the starting role, I’m expecting between 40-50 minutes and at his fantastic career PPM we should be looking at a 45-55 point outing at a minimum.

VERDICT: HOLD. A timely return, and a nice TKO or Tino replacement for a few weeks, hopefully along with plenty of cash!

Brayden Musgrove CTW (Knights) $173,700 - 35 points

Great under the high ball, went actively looking for the tough runs out of the Knights’ own defensive end and looked lively in attack (albeit coming up empty), the signs were great for Musgrove. I mean, if 35 points in base stats is our worst case scenario, things are looking good! The big challenge here, though, is in the two most important weeks for any cheapie (games two and three of their season) come with match-ups against the Panthers and Roosters. Ugh. Why can’t we have nice things! Nevertheless, Musgrove and the Knights cover round 13 so we must watch closely, and while he looks to have won the spot on merit over Shibasaki, my concern is Edrick Lee (Foot, round 8) and Hymel Hunt (Hammy, round 8-9) are close to a return from injury. Thus it is imperative to wait and watch.

VERDICT: WATCHLIST.

Tui Katoa CTW (Bulldogs) $235,100 - 60 points

A winger, who just scored a 60 and has a -15 BE… Sounds tempting, right? Let me pour a little cold water by mentioning Katoa is in fact a BULLDOGS winger, one that has put up scores of 25 and 14 points in his first two games this season. Don’t let me dissuade you if you think otherwise, but I can smell an early season Jason Saab-like issue with Katoa, plus the lack of round 13 coverage is a real downer.

VERDICT: AVOID. Will likely make $30-$50k this week, but after that is a concern!

Haumole Olakau’atu 2RF (Sea Eagles) $245,600 - 32 points

It was a watch list on talent alone last week for Olakau’atu after being named to start on the edge for the Sea Eagles, but, a game day switch saw our hopes disappear with just the 31 minutes. As per the program, Olakau’atu was phenomenal in those limited minutes, notably with 12 points in tackle busts and 14 points in hit-ups. Given how well Josh Schuster is playing, and the impending return of Curtis Sironen to the line-up, unfortunately it seems as though big Haumole has to be left alone.

VERDICT: AVOID. Barring a setback to Sironen, or injury to Schuster (god forbid!).

Sean O’Sullivan HFB (Warriors) $325,700 - 23 points

I reaaalllllyyyyy hope you heeded my warning last week and sold to Sam Walker, despite what appeared to be an ‘early’ sell. Well, O’Sullivan did indeed have his first stinker in the game against the Dragons. Things just really didn’t fall his way early in the game and he looked extremely sheepish after that - a good indicator of which was the paltry TWO runs for the entire 80 minutes, well down on his average over the previous three matches. Now comes a matchup against the Storm at AAMI Park. Yuck. Time to go, Sean.

VERDICT: SELL.

Brodie Jones 2RF (Knights) $267,900 - 78 points

This guy is a footballer! Asked to play out of position at centre for the Knights on the weekend, Jones was in everything. Try saving tackles (multiple!), key reads on defence, two try contributions, some seriously fleet footwork and a read on the game on offence to be in the right place at the right time for one hell of a try thanks to a Kalyn Ponga offload late in the game… All of which totalled 78 points in 74 minutes. But, I hate to play party pooper, with a healthy roster this weekend, Jones moves back to the bench where he will play between 15-30 minutes as per his previous two games. The BE of -19 looks great, but trust me you will want to sit this one out.

VERDICT: AVOID. Barring further injuries, the scores will be in the 30s at best despite how good an actual NRL prospect Jones looks.

BON VOYAGE

Teig Wilton 2RF (Sharks) $373,000 - 59 points

It really has been the dream scenario for the 10% of KFC SuperCoaches that jumped on Teig Wilton despite the job security concerns. Despite being shifted to centre for the game against the Knights, Wilton STILL put up 59 points without a single attacking stat… 42 points in pure base stats and 14 points in tackle busts is exceptional. Now, Wade Graham has missed again with concussion, leaving Wilton to start on the edge in a dream matchup against the Bulldogs. With a BE of 17 it would seem as though Wilton’s pushing towards a sell, but a good week this week will kick his price well in advance of $450k just in time for the byes. Happy days.

VERDICT: HOLD. It honestly could not have worked out any better, perfect cover for those without Big Tino or Papenhuyzen this weekend.

Stefano Utoikamanu FRF (Wests Tigers) $367,300 - 40 points

Utoikamanu had a nice game to the naked eye against the Rabbitohs, and certainly in his first stint made an impact on the game with their early go-forward. The unfortunate thing is that did not translate to big KFC SuperCoach numbers. 40 points in 38 minutes is of course still solid, but not what we were hoping for in either category there. Fingers crossed this weekend proves more fruitful, as I’m calling big Stefano a hold until round 14 after coverage of the first bye round.

VERDICT: HOLD. The BE is manageable, and in a perfect world he gets an attacking stat or two in the match-ups coming against the Sea Eagles, Dragons, Titans, Knights, Warriors and Dragons before the bye round.

WATCHLIST:

Joseph Suaalii CTW | FLB (Roosters)

Shawn Blore 2RF (Tigers)

Ofahiki Ogden FRF (Bulldogs)

John Asiata FRF | 2RF (Broncos)

Sebastian Kris CTW (Raiders)

Zach Saddler 2RF | FRF (Sea Eagles)

Christian Tuipulotu CTW (Sea Eagles)

Dean Ieremia CTW | FLB (Storm)

Ben Trbojevic CTW | 2RF (Sea Eagles)

Greg Marzhew (formerly Leleisiuao) CTW (Titans)

Joe Stimson 2RF (Bulldogs)

Jock Madden HFB (Wests Tigers)

Jayden Sullivan HFB (Dragons)

Haze Dunster CTW (Eels)

Max Feagai CTW (Dragons)

Mat Feagai CTW (Dragons)

Brayden Wiliame CTW (Dragons)

Matt Timoko CTW (Raiders)

Semi Valemei CTW (Raiders)

Paul Turner HFB (Warriors)

Tom Ale FRF (Warriors)

Isaac Lumelume CTW (Storm)

Franklin Pele FRF (Sharks)

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach NRL 2021: Cheapie Bible Round 7