KFC SuperCoach NRL: To those who held this Chook, we salute you

In his weekly deep dive into cut-priced SuperCoach players Trent Copeland rates those you want to buy, hold and avoid ahead of round six.

Trent Copeland

9 min read

April 13, 2022 - 1:44PM

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BANG. $150,000 big ones, thanks Taylan.

It seemed we were in for Cheapie carnage when the news filtered through of Taylan May’s potential integrity unit issues, Talatau Amone being benched, and Tolutau Koula (without warning!) being left out of the Sea Eagles’ 19-man squad. But, as the weekend unfolded Taylan May played, delivered a hefty payday and it was largely great news for KFC SuperCoaches from there on.

That news only got better with the severity of Latrell Mitchell’s injury creating a serious opening for a dream scenario for the cheapie of the week, Blake Taaffe. More on that below!

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A cheapie by definition is any player under $300,000, as the season goes along we will give a running verdict on when to sell, sit, buy or hold every cheapie that hits our radar - if a player is not on the list, we’ve determined they are not a viable selection. Once a player eclipses the $350k mark they will be given a final verdict in the ‘Bon Voyage’ section.

Let’s get into it!

Taylan May is heading towards the $500K+ mark. Picture: NRL photos

Taylan May | CTW ($407,400 | PTH) - 86 points

May stays front and centre despite being well and truly past Cheapie price range, after just ONE price rise! Yep, 86 points including yet another try (taking the ridiculous average to 96.3PPG!!) locked in a record breaking $155,000 single-week cash injection. The best part? There’s plenty more where that came from with matchups against a Haas-less Broncos, followed by the Raiders and Titans. With a -53 BE still sitting there, May could be a $600k player in literally two weeks time. Quite incredible.

VERDICT: BUY. Yep, still good value if you are one of the 45% of teams who don’t own already.

Blake Taaffe | HFB|FLB ($210,400 | STH) - 39 points

Taaffe made his return on the weekend from the horrifically timed injury just prior to round one, and in a MUCH bigger role than originally anticipated. With Latrell Mitchell going down injured, Taaffe came on and played 66 minutes in the fullback role we saw him play so well in the finals sans Latrell last season - and importantly, kicking goals yet again. 39 points coming largely from 19 points in runs and 16 points in conversions. Given Latrell Mitchell is now out until after the first bye round, we are going to get at least seven matches of Taaffe in this juicy KFC SuperCoach role. Of course we never wish injury upon anyone, but this really is a dream come true - starting with a matchup against the Bulldogs if you don’t mind.

The million dollar question is, who do you sell to get him? Lots are selling Tedesco (HUGE CALL), many aren’t ready to sell Schneider (rightly so) and some of the highest scoring players in the game like Hynes, Moses, Hughes, Cleary, Papenhuyzen et al reside in his positions. Hmm…

VERDICT: BUY/WATCHLIST. Normally, you’d wait a week to be sure but factoring in the matchup you could easily go now.

Blake Taaffe has his chance for an extended run at fullback. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Tolutau Koula | CTW ($175,400 | MNL) - 0 points

After selling Koula as one of the cheapies of the week last week alongside Taylan May, KFC SuperCoaches were shocked at final team cuts 24 hours out from the Sea Eagles clash with the Raiders as the youngster was left out of the squad altogether. Later we found out it was a precaution with a niggling injury, and the great news is Koula immediately returns to the starting side at centre this week - with one caveat that Morgan Harper (who he replaced) is out with Covid. Surely next week at worst he’s on the wing ahead of Tuipulotu. Koula has IMMENSE upside with electric pace, and should carve up a weak defensive opposition edge for the Titans this weekend! While the 4-point dud off the bench means the first price rise may be a little muted, I think he could be on for a monster second rise. Fingers crossed, this is exciting.

VERDICT: BUY. The kid is a superstar in the making, in real NRL terms and KFC SuperCoach!

Brad Schneider | HFB ($337,100 | CBR) - 65 points

Who says KFC SuperCoach players against the Storm can’t put up scores? A rookie half, in a well beaten side, scored 65 points with a mere 4 points in try assists/tries. I simply cannot understate the baseline for scoring here, it is so good! 16 points in conversions, a massive 28 tackles for a half, a forced drop out, and 10 points in runs. Add to that yet another $72,500 price rise, you little ripper. A much more friendly matchup awaits this weekend against the Cowboys at GIO stadium, with a BE of just 5 there is plenty more cash to come.

VERDICT: HOLD. Turning into one of the most reliable Cheapies to play each week in season 2022. Covers round 13 too if he can kick on with one or two more big games!

Brodie Jones of the Knights. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Brodie Jones | 2RF ($275,900 | NEW) - 47 points

Well, well, well. After calling Jones an ‘avoid’ given the short time frame Mitch Barnett and Lachlan Fitzgibbon are on the sidelines and his building slowly back up to game speed in his own return from injury (32 points in 52 minutes in round four), Jones played the full 80 minutes for 47 points. So, I’m backflipping on the avoid call and saying five weeks of 80-minutes and approximately 50 points at $275,900 is absolutely worth it. Particularly given the lack of other good cheapies in the forwards.

VERDICT: BUY.

Max King | FRF ($317,500 | BUL) - 52 points

There’s that juicy 1.6 PPM we all know and love with King. 52 points in 33 minutes. Impressive stuff, on the back of an incredible work rate - 28 tackles, another two effective offloads and 18 points in runs. Those within the four walls at Bulldogs HQ have been raving about King thus far, and if he ever saw 40+ mins regularly, he would be a KFC SuperCoach weapon. With Payne Haas out this week due to suspension, many will be relying on King to come in to start and I’m here to tell you, feel confident doing it. 40 points at a minimum, and I think best case against a Rabbitohs team who are conceding the fourth most points to FRF’s in the entire NRL.

VERDICT: HOLD. ‘MING’ as he’s affectionately known, has been brilliant thus far, and there’s still meat on the bone.

Will Penisini has been doing everything bar scoring tries. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

Will Penisini | CTW ($345,100 | PAR) - 40 points

Somehow, among all the point scoring the Eels are dishing up each and every week Will Penisini has avoided EVERYTHING. Literally one try assist in five games, and zero tries. That can be looked at in two ways, though. Positive is scores of 47, 49, 21, 73 and 40 is incredible consistency of scoring for a CTW, and he’s still made a good chunk of cash. Plus, suuuuurely there’s a try coming in matchups against the Tigers, Knights and Cowboys the next three weeks… “he’s due!” The negative is that Penisini has missed all that possible Taylan May-style acute cash injection, and is now playing on a wing with the long term absence of Waqa Blake. Less tackles, but hopefully more line breaks and tries! With a -3 BE still in tow, there’s still a few weeks left here easily.

VERDICT: HOLD. Plan for a sell around the first bye. Upside is great, just need ONE try…

Selwyn Combo | FLB/CTW ($284,600 | BRO) - 49 points

Here’s my smoky of the week… It feels like everyone has ‘moved on’ from Cobbo (after he started in 22% of KFC SuperCoach teams), following a disappointing start to the season with scores of 43, 20, 22, and 22 points respectively over the first four rounds. But, last weekend against the Roosters I saw what we all saw glimpses of last year. 49 points without a try or try assist, and notably a lot less errors! The same goes for Kotoni Staggs, and when they’re on, watch out. Cobbo had totalled a combined -30 points in four games through errors alone, but what that has done for non-owners in KFC SuperCoach has brought his price right down into cheapie territory again. The BE of 20 and matchup against the Panthers this weekend means we can likely watch another week from the sidelines, but if things click to the name eye again Cobbo is worth jumping on at sub-$300k.

VERDICT: WATCHLIST.

Don’t fall for the Andrew Davey trap. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Andrew Davey | 2RF ($298,700 | WST) - 65 points

A shiny green tick designating a starting edge back rower in a good team that just scored a try and 65 points in 59 minutes against the Knights, while possessing a -8 BE… What’s not to like, right? Well, much like Jock Madden last week, Davey is a placeholder at best for the impending return of Josh Schuster.

VERDICT: AVOID. Remember Ethan Bullemor? Yeah, nah.

Lachlan Ilias | 5/8|HFB ($275,600 | STH) - 39 points

Scores of 55 and 39 the past two weeks is encouraging for Ilias owners, and to the naked eye he is definitely starting to take the lead a little more with general play kicking and popping up in attack on both sides. Now, don’t hear what I’m not saying here as there’s still big stretches of gameplay where Ilias goes missing, the offence definitely hasn’t clicked yet, and now we have a prolonged lay-off for Latrell Mitchell. Match-ups against the Bulldogs and Tigers the next two weeks can only help the situation. but with a -6 BE there’s still time and money left here.

VERDICT: HOLD. A biggie this week would be VERY handy, particularly with a tricky decision on who to sell to Blake Taaffe looming.

Chris Randall | HOK ($328,400 | NEW) - 45 points

A further $30,000 in the kitty, and notably another full 80-minute fixture for Randall. The exciting element of last week’s game against the Sharks was the 12 points all in H8’s, and the Cheapie Bible referencing the need for that to stick around if Randall was ever going to eclipse the $400k barrier. Well, this week it was still 40+ tackles, but a mere three runs for the entire game. The positive is the BE is still in the negatives at -2 with a matchup against the leaky Dragons - is it too much to ask for ONE attacking stat, Chris?

VERDICT: HOLD. Looking like a sell in two weeks, so plan accordingly.

Kelma Tuilagi | 2RF ($281,000 | WST) - 38 points

Seriously, KFC SuperCoaches (and Tuilagi himself) can’t catch a break in 2022. Every time he looks like finding his feet, he either gets injured or taken off for a HIA. The incident on the weekend was a massive hit from Hamlin-Uele, that seemingly didn’t even make direct contact with the head but was enough to take Tuilagi from the field. The 38 points in 66 minutes came entirely in base stats, and the tough thing is the next two weeks he gets the high flying Eels and the Rabbitohs. The upside is there, just completely untapped to this point.

VERDICT: HOLD. Given what’s happened to this point, I’m confident we haven’t even scraped the surface. Give him until the bye round.

Billy Walters | HOK|5/8 ($282,200 | BRO) - 31 points

Walters was the under the radar cheapie to watch last week, albeit in a tough matchup against the Roosters. While he only scored 31 points, the actual eyeball test in NRL terms was solid, and he’s definitely earned the spot for now. The problem for now is the matchup this weekend against the stingy Panthers with a BE still at 43. But, that may present an opportunity for a trade like Randall to Walters to make $100k next week ahead of the matchup with the Bulldogs.

VERDICT: WATCHLIST. Not for me, particularly not in the halves with Blake Taaffe on the horizon, but worth watching.

It’s time to farewell Billy Smith of the Roosters. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

BON VOYAGE

Billy Smith | CTW ($294.600 | SYD) - 0 points

To the faithful 14,888 KFC SuperCoaches out there that have held Billy Smith to this point, firstly, I salute you and your belief in the kid. But, as things stand we’re looking at another week without being named, an unknown timetable and Joseph Suaalii potentially ahead of him in the pecking order. Who knows, in two weeks we may see Suaalii and Smith both playing ahead of Naiqama and Momirovski, but with Koula sitting there ripe for the picking you have to decide now.

VERDICT: SELL. A real shame.

Kobe Hetherington | HOK|2RF ($330,000 | BRO) - 35 points

Love watching Hetherington in actual NRL terms, hits proper hard in tackles! In KFC SuperCoach terms, however, we were hoping for BIG minutes at lock in the absence of Pat Carrigan and more recently Tom Flegler from the middle rotation, but 35 points in 42 minutes isn’t anywhere near enough when priced at $330k. If it were $175k and more season long prospect of big minutes then it may have been a different story.

VERDICT: AVOID.

WATCHLIST

Sean Russell | CTW|FLB (PAR)

Viliame Vailea | CTW (NZL)

Jamayne Taunua-Brown | FRF (NQC)

Jack Howarth | 2RF (MEL)

Corey Paix | HOK|HFB (BRO)

Will Smith | 5/8|HOK (GCT)

Tyran Wishart | HOK|5/8 (MEL)

Joseph Suaalii | CTW|FLB (SYD)

Cody Ramsey | CTW|FLB (STG)

Ben Trbojevic | CTW|2RF (MNL)