NRL SuperCoach bye planner 2024: Top purchases to survive and thrive over Origin

The bye rounds are here and it’s time to get planning. We reveal the NRL SuperCoach players set to not only survive but thrive in the byes.

The bye rounds start this week (Round 13) and it’s time to get planning.

Below we reveal our guide to the top purchases to get through the early part of the byes.

But first of all some nuts and bolts:

THE BIG BYE ROUNDS

* There are three major bye rounds – 13, 16 and 19.

* These weeks are extremely hard for SuperCoach as 7/17 teams are on the bye and Origin players out.

* Thankfully, SuperCoach HQ has made these weeks a touch easier with only your top 13 players counting instead of the usual 17.

* SuperCoaches also have extra trades on these rounds – you can use three trades without a Trade Boost, or four with a Trade Boost.

Dylan Brown is one of the top bye buys. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

SMALLER BYE ROUNDS

* Rounds 14, 17 and 20 are also tough rounds as three teams are on the bye.

* While not as hard as the big bye rounds, they also demand serious planning given its best 17 (not 13 like the big bye rounds) and Origin players are backing up, some less than 48 hours after Origin.

* While falling during the Origin period, rounds 15 and 18 have one team on the bye and are essentially normal NRL rounds.

KEY ORIGIN LOSSES

State of Origin teams have thrown up a number of curve balls with a host of borderline players making it into NSW or Queensland sides.

The borderline players named include Dylan Edwards, Matt Burton, J’Maine Hopgood, Reece Robson and Haumole Olakau’atu.

Then there were the expected selection like Nicholas Hynes, Payne Haas, Angus Crichton, Isaah Yeo, Reece Walsh, Valentine Holmes, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Harry Grant, Reuben Cotter.

See our full analysis of Origin teams and their impact on SuperCoach here.

Dylan Edwards has been named for Origin. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

11 BEST BYE BUYS

1 James Tedesco - Teddy’s Origin snub is a massive gain for SuperCoaches given he is now available for 2/3 big bye rounds (although next week’s bye is tougher than people think so plan ahead). A SuperCoach great with the fifth most points of any player this year, it’s hard to see this trade going wrong.

2 Dylan Brown - Popular purchase over the last few weeks as SuperCoaches look to trade out the likes of Nicho Hynes, Cameron Munster and Nathan Cleary. Brown is a New Zealander and therefore won’t play Origin. Available for two big byes in rounds 13 and 19, his schedule is darn tasty. After a slow start, he’s hit form recently with three and five game averages of 77 and 71, but is still quite affordable for a proven gun. While he doesn’t kick goals, Brown has the best pure base of any half in the game, only scoring below 50 once this year but also never scoring above 96.

3 Joseph Manu - Rinse and repeat plenty from Brown above. A New Zealander available for 2/3 big byes and crucially the first two. Teddy’s Origin snub means Manu won’t fill-in at fullback, where he averages close to 100 over his career. But with the third most points of any player in SuperCoach this year, he’s hard to pass up even at a big price.

4 Jacob Kiraz - Coming off a 135 against the Dragons and rocking a five-game average of 95, which puts him in elite class in a red-hot CTW position. Covers the first two big byes and averages 37 in pure base, which is basically unheard of in the position.

5 Sam Walker - Most popular purchase this week. Covers the first two big byes but also has a crucial break in round 14, which is a harder round than many think. The ultimate risk and reward player – his scores have ranged from 12 to 172 this season (injury-affected game excluded) and he is also a concussion risk.

6 Jack De Belin - Plenty of top SuperCoach forwards are out this week and De Belin is a great low-risk alternative. Covers 2/3 big byes and averages 43 in pure base. De Belin’s lowest score is 42 and highest score is 82, so you know what you’re getting.

7 David Fifita - Produced a blinder against the Broncos on Sunday but still failed to lock in an Origin spot, which is a huge win for owners. Has the bye this week but great for rounds 16 and 19. Do you go early? It’s genuine option for those already stacked this week.

8 Scott Drinkwater - Won’t play for the Blues and therefore covers the round 13 bye (but not the other two big byes). Drinky has been elite in attack this year in notching the fourth most points of any player.

Jamayne Isaako of the Dolphins should be on your radar. Picture: Getty

9 Jeremy Marshall-King - SuperCoaches looking to replace Harry Grant over Origin should look no further. While Grant’s bye schedule is actually as good as it gets for an Origin player (he misses a minimum of 3/7), JMK is the obvious replacement especially following Reece Robson’s call-up for NSW. The Dolphins cover all three byes and his schedule works perfectly with Grant if you have the money to own both and never be without a hooker (unless Grant fails to back up).

10 Jamayne Isaako - As mentioned, the Dolphins have the best bye schedule of any team. And Isaako is the best SuperCoach player at the Dolphins and is not in contention for Origin, so the trade makes a lot of sense. Dropped $41,000 over the weekend and now available at a juicy - for him - price of $742,100. He sits in genuine keeper territory given the season average of 74, backing up an amazing 2023 where he scored the second most points of any SuperCoach player.

11 Naufahu Whyte - Best money-making option. Not a genuine cheapie at $379,300 but notched an impressive 73 in 67 minutes last week as a starting lock. The round 14 bye is awkward but the minutes should be there again this week given the unavailability of Egan Butcher (ACL), Angus Crichton, Spencer Leniu and Lindsay Collins (Origin).

Originally published as NRL SuperCoach bye planner 2024: Top purchases to survive and thrive over Origin