NRL SuperCoach: 10 things we learned in round 19

THE ‘problem’ with having a stacked team, God 2.0 proves he is fallible and there’s a star half on the rise and another in decline — Rob Sutherland runs through the SuperCoach NRL week that was.

Nathan Cleary of the Panthers during the Round 19 NRL match between the Brisbane Broncos and the Penrith Panthers at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Friday, July 20, 2018. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

THE ‘problem’ with having a stacked team, God 2.0 proves he is fallible and there’s a star half on the rise and another in decline; Rob Sutherland runs through the SuperCoach NRL — presented by hipages — week that was.

1. THE ‘PROBLEM’ WITH HAVING A STACKED TEAM

If there’s anything worse than not having a player who goes large in your team then it has to be having that playing sitting on your bench as a non-scoring reserve. My personal tale of woe saw Esan Martsers and Tom Trbojevic both ton up without helping my score. Along with those two I’ve also seen teams with combinations of Andrew Fifita (89), BJ Leilua (117), Tevita Pangai Jr (85) and Lachlan Fitzgibbon (105) riding the pine. SuperCoach can be a cruel, cruel game some times.

2. ‘GOD 2.0’ IS FALLIBLE

It turns out Rhyse ‘God 2.0’ Martin is fallible after all. His score of 53 is certainly no disaster, but it’s a long way short of what many were expecting from a man who was averaging 96.3 over the three games preceding round 19. Martin’s workrate in defence, 33 tackles, was more than adequate though the five missed tackles was a season high — or low if you will. More concerning for owners was the complete absence of offloads, tackle busts, line breaks — in fact any attacking stats whatsoever. Martin was not alone when it came to ‘elite’ 2RF flops with Jai Arrow scoring just 39 points, though that was in 45 injury affected minutes.

Nathan Brown made 22 runs for the Eels during the Round 19 NRL match between the Parramatta Eels and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Picture: AAP Image

3. BROWN GOES BASE STAT BEASTMODE

The logjam at the top of the 2RF rankings just got a little busier with Nathan Brown returning to 80 minutes in round 18 and pumping out a lazy 22 runs, 36 tackles and 72 points in base stats. Brown only has one other 80 minute game so far this season (his 71 points against the Cowboys in round 14) and if the big minutes continue then coaches will have a new name to add to the consensus top picks Jason Taumalolo, Jai Arrow, Angus Crichton, Rhyse Martin and Jake Trbojevic. Now all we need is more spots to pick them all …

4. IMAGINE IF PANGAI PLAYED THE WHOLE GAME

With a worrisome hamstring and potential for reduced minutes in the future as the Broncos got back injured stars it was with a heavy heart that I sold Tevita Pangai Jr ahead of round 19. Misery loves company and I had a fair bit of that with the Brisbane wrecking ball the eighth most sold player for the week. So, I’m sure I was not alone in watching with a heavy heart as ‘TPJ’ tore apart the Panthers scoring 85 points in just 32 minutes with two tries, two linebreaks and seven tackle busts. Admittedly the Panthers were pretty abject in the first half, and TPJ’s hamstring injury management is still a worry so maybe he’s not a buy but he’s certainly someone you will regret benching (or selling) at some point in the next few weeks.

5. MARSTER-FUL PERFORMANCE THAT

Esan Marsters feasted on a Rabbitohs left-edge defence that looks to be sorely missing Greg Inglis with a try, try assist, four tackle busts, a linebreak, linebreak assist and three goals all totalling up to 103 points. With a 5RA just shy of 70PPG and matches against the Bulldogs and Knights up next Marsters looks to be one of the safer CTW options over the short term.

The Tigers' Esan Marsters scores a try during the Round 19 NRL match between the Wests Tigers and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Picture: AAP Image

6. DO WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT SJ?

The Shaun Johnson rollercoaster is in full effect, with his last four games producing scores of 52, 17, 54 and then last weekend’s 29 points — and that 29 included a try assist! Johnson’s running game has all but disappeared over the last few weeks and as a result the Warriors’ half has failed to record a linebreak in his past five games. But fear not owners as there is no greater antidote to Johnson’s woes than his round 20 opponent the Gold Coast Titans. SJ loves playing against the Gold Coast, boasting a career average of 88.8PPG against the Titans and his last three scores against the club are 97, 147 and 110 points.

7. CLEARY TURNS IN A ‘BOOT-IFUL’ GAME

Speaking of halves, Penrith’s Nathan Cleary, recorded his first ‘keeper’ score in weeks with a 80 point effort against the Broncos last Friday night. The most important part of that score breakdown was the 12 points that Cleary scored from the kicking tee after the sharpshooter resumed goalkicking due to James Maloney’s injured foot. Cleary should be available for under $450K once lockout ends and anyone looking to upgrade a Te Maire Martin/AJ Brimson type should pounce.

Nathan Cleary of the Panthers may be back to ‘keeper’ status if he continues in the goalkicking role.Picture: AAP Image

8. THE ROOSTERS ‘CLICKED’

Look, you may know that I’m a bit of a Roosters fan so this point may come across as gloating, but that’s not my goal. Honest. When the team puts 56 points on the opposition you expect a couple of big scores and Latrell Mitchell (129), James Tedesco (115) and Jake Friend (104) certainly fall into that category. But below that top tier there were three scores of 85+ and fully 13 players scored 50+. Kudos to Tommy Turbo who scored 115 for a losing team, as I mentioned above he did that from my bench — it was that kind of week.

9. MATTERSON PLAYS 80 MINUTES

One of those Roosters who breached the 50 point barrier was Ryan Matterson. The edge forward who is available at CTW in SuperCoach played his first 80 minute game since round nine and his willingness to work in defence was on display with a herculean 42 tackles and 57 points — even more impressive when you consider that the Roosters spent so much time either hitting the ball up or watching Latrell Mitchell take shots on goal. With the CTW such a lottery I for one am tempted to burn my final trade, grab Matterson now and play him week in week out. If I do, you watch Mitch Aubusson come back from injury and eat into Matto’s minutes it’s been that kind of season for the Belalie Beasts I tell ya…

10. HUW HOLDS THE LEAD ON THE HOT WING CHALLENGE

Those who caught our post-lockout podcast last week would have heard that there is a bet on in The Daily Telegraph office. In short you have three ‘experts’ in Tim Williams, Huw Bonello and myself each chose a CTW and the loser is going to have the dubious pleasure of eating a chicken wing coated in sauce made from a ridiculously hot chili pepper called the Carolina Reaper. Tim picked Will Hopoate, I selected Jarryd Hayne and Huw ‘lucky duck ’ Bonello — a man who puts a face to the phrase ‘it’s better to be lucky than good’ — got Val Holmes by default. Hopoate (33 points) was subdued, Hayne (41 points) points had flashes of potential but ultimately disappointed. Holmes, well Holmes scored 95 points with 19 runs, three linebreaks, five tackle busts and a try. Early lead and early crow goes to Bonello but there’s plenty of time to go...

Originally published as NRL SuperCoach: 10 things we learned in round 19