KFC SuperCoach NRL Plus Article: 10 stats to decide Round 6

Records are being broken left, right and centre in KFC SuperCoach – all revealed exclusively for KFC SuperCoach Plus subscribers.

Round 5 didn’t quite see us hit the lofty heights of the previous week, but there were still plenty of big scores. Let’s check out the things we learned.

1 Latrell Mitchell has the Midas Touch

Latrell is turning everything he touches into rolled gold at the moment. It’s been mentioned many a time previously about his lower workrate, but gosh, Latrell makes those touches count! He’s currently averaging 92.8 points per game, with a monster 56.6 points per game coming from attacking stats only!

That’s his tries, try assists, try contributions, line breaks and line break assists alone. It’s an incredible number, and arguably an unsustainable number, based on historical data – although this is our first year under the current set of rules, hence why we can’t do a perfect comparison. In any case, while he’s in this type of form it’s great to watch, and even better as an owner! Well done to the 22% of KFC SuperCoaches who are on board the Latrell Express!

David Fifita is one of the buys of the week.

2 Jazz Tevaga is a KFC SuperCoach points machine

Okay this is definitely not a new lesson, but we were given a timely reminder last week as he smashed out 82 points in base and base attack stats in just 57 minutes of game time. Tevaga is a KFC SuperCoach dream, as he’s always busy and loves an offload. Of course, some of his decisions are coach killers – momentum-changers and game-changers that can win or lose his team the game. KFC SuperCoach doesn’t differentiate a first minute error from a 78th minute one when down by two points, but it’s the little things that have held Tevaga back from more game time. However, the middle forwards at the Warriors, headlined by Addin Fonua-Blake, are decimated at the moment and if Tevaga looks set to receive 55+ minutes each week he is a juicy trade-in target!

3 Taniela Paseka feels like he could be on the verge of a breakout season

Paseka seemed like he was going to be handed a starting jersey but then the Sea Eagles signed Josh Aloiai. Well, Paseka has already done enough to get the nod ahead of Aloiai for the past three weeks, although he continues to play less minutes. Paseka is playing well, and at a high workrate, averaging 52.4 points per game in base and base attack stats, and that’s from just 42.8 minutes per game so far. If Paseka is able to see an uptick in his minutes to at least 45 per game, or ideally 50 or more, he could elevate himself into the FRF conversation. One to watch, for sure!

4 Nathan Cleary is breaking the halfback position

Yes, he’s averaging 92.5 points per game, yes, he’s undisputedly the No.1 halfback option for KFC SuperCoach. But would you believe that of all the halfbacks who have played four or more games (i.e. the same number as Cleary), even if you took away his try, try assists, line breaks, line break assist and even his kick break stats, he would be averaging 65.5 points per game? That is, higher than George Williams and Luke Brooks (averages of 63.6 and 63.4 points per game respectively). Of course, Ben Hunt and Luke Keary both played for 77 and 75.3 point per game averages respectively, and Sam Walker is on 85 from his first two games, but that is still an incredible statistic and it shows just how you can’t win KFC SuperCoach without Nathan Cleary this year.

5 Corey Thompson is having a heck of a season

Sure, the season is only five games old but Corey T is the third highest averaging CTW so far with 74.2 points per game. It’s not just the six tries and eight line breaks in five games either, as he’s averaging 30 points per game in pure base, plus another 10.4 points per game in tackle busts. Besides, being the winger on the edge that David Fifita and Brian Kelly get to run rampant on is almost guaranteed to see ongoing tries all season long. Upcoming match-ups against the Sea Eagles, Rabbitohs, Broncos and Tigers await, and you’d almost guarantee a few more tries in the coming rounds.

6 Luke Thompson looks set for a strong second season in the NRL

Fresh off his suspension which carried over from last year, Thompson played his first game of the season and immediately managed to play 50 minutes at a decent workrate, scoring 56 points in base and base attack stats, and his first NRL try (which came with a line break) was a nice cherry on top. Thompson appears crucial already to the Bulldogs’ pack, which has now lost its rock in Josh Jackson as well as rising star Raymond Faitala-Mariner to injury. Thompson could see an increase in game time to the 55-60 minute mark at least, which in turn could see him average 65+ points per game – a big watch on his minutes this week!

7 Brett Morris is timeless

I mean, everything about Brett Morris doesn’t make sense – he’s 34 going on 35, has dealt with some injuries that see lesser players become less effective, yet he’s just fresh off his best KFC SuperCoach season ever, and is on track to better that with four 100+ scores in the first five rounds. And it’s not just the tries, as BMoz is averaging 46.8 points per game purely in base and base attack stats – an elite floor for an elite CTW option in KFC SuperCoach. Fears that he may score less tries without Luke Keary appear unfounded, as Keary’s replacement arguably throws an even better long cutout pass direct to the winger than Keary did in the first place. BMoz is on track to finish as the undisputed No.1 CTW option for 2021.

"Like watching under 6s". David Fifita makes it look easy for the KFC SuperCoach Play of the Week. pic.twitter.com/vLmXXlGkm4

— SuperCoach NRL (@SuperCoachNRL) April 13, 2021

8 Luciano Leilua is legitimate

Don’t let the 2020 and 2021 version of BJ Leilua taint your thoughts on his little brother Luciano — ‘Lucy’ is legit and he is only getting better. His fitness has improved again from last year, and he appears to be handling 80 minutes each week on that left edge with relative ease. His workrate is solid and he continues to get the tackle busts and offloads that you expect from a Leilua Brother – averaging 57.8 points per game in his base and base attack stats combined. With a slow uptick in attacking stats the past two weeks, and also with the draw becoming slightly easier than the first four rounds, Lucy could hit a 75+ average over the coming weeks with ease.

9 Jack Bird is slowly warming up

He’s had a horrid two years due to injury, but some of us KFC SuperCoaches remember that he was building very nicely prior to his first ACL injury back in 2019. He’s been back for four games and currently has a three round average of 65.3 points per game, almost 40 points per game coming from his base and base attack stats. Bird is slowly warming into the season and with some rumours that Jack may also spend some time transitioning into the backrow, it’s worth keeping an eye on his price before he takes off.

10 The Carty Party’s back… kind of?

Okay this is more of a tongue-in-cheek point rather than something we learned, but we did see him play 53 minutes off the bench, scoring 47 points in pure base stats which is a decent workrate. No offloads which we all know is rare for Carty.

Thing is, we don’t need the real Party – at $372,100, if he’s getting consistent minutes and scoring around 50 without any attacking stats, he should be at least looked at and considered for your KFC SuperCoach teams, as weird as that may seem given the past few years!

Bring on Round 6!

Originally published as KFC SuperCoach NRL Plus Article: 10 stats to decide Round 6