NRL SuperCoach 2016: Auckland Nines produces bumper batch of cheapies
CHEAPIES, cheapies and more cheapies emerged in a bumper Auckland Nines tournament. Here’s the best of the bunch.
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CHEAPIES, cheapies and more cheapies emerged in a bumper Auckland Nines tournament.
Brisbane winger Tom Opacic, Melbourne outside back Curtis Scott and Manly hooker Matt Parcell came from the blue to emerge as genuine bargain options for round one, while Ashley Taylor justified his spot as the third most purchased player in SuperCoach 2016 with a controlled display.
And while they may not be options from round one, the following players showed they will be serious cheapie options throughout the year: Tyrone Phillips, Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr, Lachlan Croker, Gideon Gela-Mosby and Kalyn Ponga.
Brisbane Broncos
Tom Opacic advanced his case for the vacant round one wing spot with a strong two-try showing, including a spectacular put-down against the Sea Eagles. He subsequently earned a spot on the plane for the World Club Series and is in a two-horse race with Greg Eden for a round one slot. While Opacic was starring in Auckland, ‘British Billy Slater’ Eden scored a double against the Townsville Tomahawks in a trial in Bundaberg and also booked a spot in the 19-man squad for the match against Wigan.
Carlin Anderson all but bowed out of backline cheapie contention after suffering a mystery stomach illness and being rushed to hospital in Auckland. Former Bulldog Herman Ese’ese has had a huge pre-season at Red Hill, capped by an enormous performance in the back row in Saturday’s trial. He is highly-rated by Bennett and has also been named in the WCS squad.
Canberra Raiders
Young gun Lachlan Croker was simply awesome in the opening games, scoring two tries and looking dangerous with every touch. Coach Ricky Stuart is on the record saying Croker will debut in 2016, and the Holden Cup gun has played just about every position in the backline during training as Stuart prepares him for a bench utility position. Potential cheapie Zac Santo scored two tries and was strong in the Nines format once again - as he was for the title-winning Cowboys two years ago, although he’s yet to play an NRL game since then.
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Former PNG volleyball champ Kato Ottio had some incredible touches. He’s unlikely to play NRL this year given backline depth and the fact he only played his first game of rugby league two years ago, but jot down his name as a future cheapie.
Paul Vaughan scored a try and generally looked dangerous as he bids to score a starting prop spot in the absence of Dave Shillington and Dane Tilse.
Canterbury Bulldogs
Tyrone Phillips was easily Canterbury’s most dangerous player, scoring three tries. If fit, he will almost certainly be a cheapie this year, possibly from round one if Brett Morris (knee) fails to recover from off-season surgery in time.
Word out of Canterbury camp is that Morris may struggle to make the opening round. Fellow backline cheapie prospect Brad Abbey also had some strong touches, but Phillips is ahead in the pecking order.
Cronulla Sharks
Ben Barba showed some flashes of brilliance with two tries. He’ll be a must-have at $184,000 if he can score the fullback spot for round one. However, rival Jack Bird was in everything and justified his favouritism for the No. 1 jersey. Josh Cleeland was the find of the tournament for Cronulla, scoring a try and pulling off a string of crucial tackles.
Gold Coast Titans
Agnatius Paasi was the best forward in the tournament, producing three tries, a host of try assists and even a few conversions and forced drop outs. Paasi was no doubt brilliant, but SuperCoaches who followed his form at the end of last year wouldn’t have been too shocked. The man is a freak. He finished 2015 with a three game average of 68, playing 80 minutes on an edge when the Titans had a massive injury list. However, with fellow Team of the Tournament member Chris McQueen joining the club, and the 2015 injured brigade back on board, Paasi is unlikely to play wide in 2016. In fact, the man himself says he aims to be the middle leader following the exit of Nate Myles. Even taking into account his brilliant Nines, Paasi is highly unlikely to improve on his 2016 average of 49 minutes as a middle forward, so it’s time to end the hysteria.
Likewise, McQueen is unlikely to improve on his tally of 68 minutes from his time at the Rabbitohs. Rather, the find of the tournament for the Titans was Solomone Kata-clone Greg Lelesiuao, who scored a try and busted tackles for fun. He is still only 18 but has now surged into cheapie calculations given Gold Coast’s lack of depth in the backs and the fact highly-fancied Brian Kelly barely touched a ball at the Nines. Ashley Taylor was a key part of the Titans’ surge to the semis. He’s already the third most popular player in SuperCoach and surely he’s locked up a spot for round one.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Matt Parcell is now one of the hottest players in SuperCoach, with both his main rivals for a round one hooker spot injured. Jayden Hodges suffered an ACL injury and is out for the season, while Apisai Koroisau is racing the clock for the season start due to a shoulder injury. The Sea Eagles did very well to make the semi finals with what appeared to be a weak team, which only got weaker when five players went down - Hodges, Jamie Buhrer (broken jaw, round four), Nathan Green (concussion), Jake Trbojevic (concussion, TBA) and Jorge Taufua (hamstring, TBA).
SuperCoaches should put a line through Buhrer. He was set to be one of the big beneficiaries from the reduced interchange, but has now been ruled out for the first month. Highly-fancied prop Brenton Lawrence, the 21st most popular player in the game, didn’t have a big impact. Cheapie prospect Brayden Wiliame had some great touches and scored two tries. Tom Trbojevic was undoubtedly the star, but starts expensive and is not a SuperCoach option this year.
Melbourne Storm
He was playing Jersey Flegg for the Sharks last year, but now Storm young gun Curtis Scott is one of the hottest prospects in NRL SuperCoach - and here’s why. A wing spot was already open for round one following the exits of Matt Duffie, Mahe Fonua, Hymel Hunt and Kurt Mann. Now another backline spot could be free following the injury to Cameron Munster (knee), who is fighting to be fit for round one. The Storm have a number of options to fill the possible two slots - Cheyse Blair, Jeremy Hawkins, Young Tonumaipea and Richie Kennar.
However, the best case scenario for SuperCoach would be for 18-year-old whiz kid Scott to get a gig. Scott was simply brilliant in the Nines, scoring two tries and showing silking touch, despite his tender age and lack of size. The giant leap from Flegg to first grade in a matter of months would no doubt be a challenge, but coach Craig Bellamy was very impressed: “If Munster doesn’t make round one Curtis is right in there with two or three other blokes”. Dual position fancy Tohu Harris made the Team of the Tournament and is now the 30th most popular player in SuperCoach.
Newcastle Knights
Jake Mamo was the undoubted star for the Knights scoring four tries. He won’t be a SuperCoach factor this year at almost $300,000, but he formed a great partnership with Jaelene Feeney, who could easily become a SuperCoach cheapie this year with a few injuries (despite his referee brain snap). Fellow cheapie prospect Chanel Mata’utia crossed for a try.
North Queensland Cowboys
The Cowboys have a settled line-up for round one, but with an injury or two they may blood two of the best backline prospects in rugby league - Gideon Gela-Mosby and Kalyn Ponga. Holden Cup tryscoring record-breaker Gela-Mosby was simply scintillating at the Nines, scoring four tries and showing incredible speed. And while Gela-Mosby was carving up in Auckland, 17-year-old Ponga, who was chased by 11 NRL clubs last year, scored a try for Townsville in a trial against Brisbane and drew huge praise from Wayne Bennett. Both are set to emerge as cheapie options during the season, but would need injuries.
Parramatta Eels
The champions unearthed an excitement machine in Bevan French, who smashed the tournament tryscoring record with eight touchdowns. However, French is still very small and coach Brad Arthur said after the tournament that French is not in the running for first grade this year.
Penrith Panthers
Young half Te Marie Martin was brilliant and showed he will place plenty of pressure on veteran halves Jamie Soward and Peter Wallace in 2016. Bryce Cartwright was dangerous every time he touched the ball. Clearly SuperCoaches were impressed - he surged from the 11th most popular player to the seventh over the course of the weekend. Popular sleepers Josh Mansour and James Segeyaro didn’t produce the dominant tournaments SuperCoaches were hoping for.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Plenty of SuperCoach talent was on show for the Bunnies, but no player stood out in a poor tournament for the defending champs. Cody Walker, who is set to play round one in the absence of Luke Keary (suspension, round two), didn’t have much impact. Likewise, the battle for backline cheapie spots was a fizzer. Kirisome Auva’a, John Olive and Hymel Hunt all scored tries, but no player stood out in an outside backline race in which Greg Inglis and Alex Johnston are the only certainties (pending Johnston’s scans on a shoulder injury). Sleeper prospect Chris Grevsmuhl had a massive opportunity to push for a starting round one spot in the absence of Glenn Stewart and Chris McQueen, but went down injured and will miss the weekend All Stars match.
St George Illawarra Dragons
The Dragons failed to win a match - and SuperCoach talent was few and far between. The best of the cheapie bunch was Yaw Kiti Glymin, who set up a brilliant try with a leaping take and an offload. However, he went down soon after with a hamstring issue - the same injury that ruined his NRL debut and cheapie prospects last year. Sleeper option Tim Lafai was barely sighted. Last year’s revelation Euan Aitken was easily the Dragons’ best, but he is out of SuperCoach range this year at $317,000.
Sydney Roosters
On paper, popular cheapie Latrell Mitchell had a good tournament with four tries. While he showed plenty of raw talent, he also had some horror moments - dropping a ball over the line and making a fumble that led directly to a try. Despite his huge try haul, Mitchell was overshadowed by backline rivals Joe Burgess and Joseph Manu. Fellow cheapie Omar Slaimankhel, highly rated by Anthony Minichiello, succumbed to a thumb injury.
New Zealand Warriors
Shaun Johnson shook off concerns over a broken ankle to produce a brilliant tournament. However, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was quiet in a format many thought would suit, leading to doubts over his massive $489,000 SuperCoach price tag. Popular sleeper Konrad Hurrell was also quiet and well-overshadowed by Solomone Kata.
Wests Tigers
All the hype following the Nines was about Gideon Gela-Mosby, but Josh Addo-Carr was nearly as impressive on the end of a far inferior backline. The former Shark rivals anyone in the NRL for speed, scoring two tries and chasing down Matt Bowen and Antonio Wintersein with 10m head starts. With the Tigers short in the outside backs following the exit of Pat Richards, surely Addo-Carr gets a run in first grade at some stage.
Originally published as NRL SuperCoach 2016: Auckland Nines produces bumper batch of cheapies
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