NRL SuperCoach hipages Trade Comparison: Two best trades of round 12

LOOKING for some SuperCoach NRL — presented by hipages — trade advice? Our stable of experts nominate their two best acquisitions of the round.

LOOKING for some SuperCoach NRL — presented by hipages — trade advice? Our stable of experts nominate their two best acquisitions of the round.

TOM SANGSTER

Te Maire Martin

We are blessed with two star cheapies this week, but SuperCoaches are picking the wrong one. At the time of writing almost 17,000 have purchased AJ Brimson, who is the most popular player this week. Meanwhile, only 6000 have jumped on Te Maire Martin. SuperCoaches have been seduced by Brimson’s BE (-28 compared to 4) and slightly cheaper price (by about $18,000). However, SuperCoaches are forgetting that Martin is a proven performer when given game time, averaging approximately 50 in games of 80 minutes. However, the absolute clincher is that Martin plays next week’s bye and Brimson doesn’t.

Te Maire Martin is a cheapie option in the halves. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Martin Taupau

The Manly prop is the third most purchased player this week as SuperCoaches move to sell Viliame Kikau. Taupau’s output has gone to another level in recent weeks. He has averaged 60 minutes over the last month, up from 51 for the year, but his crazy-good PPM of 1.25 has remained steady. Taupau will be called on to play massive minutes in round 13 when Jake Trbojevic is out, not to mention their currently overflowing casualty ward.

ROB SUTHERLAND

Rhyse Martin

Don’t let pride get in the way of picking up this Bulldogs workhorse. Yes you have missed out on his first price rise, but there are plenty more to come. With a big negative BE this week, and every chance of the same in round 14, Martin stands to make another $150K in two rounds. Averaging almost 50PPG in base and capable of picking up attacking stats in bunches, Martin is currently playing at a level which has me trusting him in my starting 17. No help in this bye but will be very handy in round 17. Don’t snooze on Rookie Martin.

PODCAST!!! The bye season is just around the corner and two great cheapies are on offer. Get the teams lowdown with Tom Sangster and Nick Campton.

Angus Crichton

The mighty Angus! Crichton has a 3RA of 70.7 with just under 50 PPG of that coming in base stats. His next three matchups - Warriors (equal 5th to position), Sharks (equal 1st to position) and Titans (equal 4th to position) - are against teams that are particularly porous when it comes to allowing points to his position. With 11 per cent ownership he’s not a super POD but he does loom as valuable bye round cover and this week is likely the last you’ll see his price below $600K.

* I was keen on Matt Eisenhuth of the Tigers as a bloke who has been pumping out solid scores with a great base but he’s been named on the bench. I would give a nod to Jo Ofahengaue who has been pumping out good scores since being entrusted with more minutes by the Broncos.

TIM WILLIAMS

Tevita Pangai Jnr

The uncertainty surrounding Origin selections, compounded by a rash of injuries, has made bye planning almost impossible. Outside of the obvious in TMM and AJ Brimson there are very few round 13 relevant trades that spark interest this week. So on that note, let’s throw Tevita Pangai Jr in the mix. While injuries forced his hand, Wayne Bennett is finally giving TPJ the minutes he deserves. The Broncos enforcer has played minutes of 79, 59 and 60 in his past three weeks, while he has three and five-game averages of 67PPG and 63PPG. TPJ is a genuine lock-in skipper every week if 70+ minutes are guaranteed, which looks likely in the immediate future. TPJ is finding his feet in the top grade and gaining confidence with every game. He is belting out attacking stats for fun, yet we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately he misses the upcoming bye, and with a break-even of 22 the trade can wait, but on the other hand you can secure a gun at a bargain price.

Mahe Fonua

There isn’t too much to be said about Fonua that hasn’t been said already. The reason he gets a start on trade comparison – other than the above-mentioned lack of decent options this week – is that coming into round 12 he is still owned by just 28 per cent of teams. If you’re among the 72 per cent who don’t own the Tigers brute, it isn’t too late to jump on the bandwagon. Forget the initial $78k price rise and secure the services of a player I believe will be a top five CTW by season’s end.

MARK GATELY

Clint Gutherson is a POD purchase. Picture: Brett Costello

Clint Gutherson

The Eels utility doesn’t have stats that scream pick me (Ave 40.8/3RA 49.7/5RA 41.2) but he is rounding nicely into form after coming back from an ACL tear. A proven SuperCoach performer (he averaged 67.4 in 2017) at a bargain basement price ($422.9k), he offers serious POD potential (four per cent ownership), the opportunity to make money (BE 22) and round 13 coverage. He has also been moved closer to the action at five-eighth, so he should get his hands on the ball more, and even though he’s not kicking goals it’s not a deal-breaker.

Ryan Matterson

The gloss has come off this particular Rooster in recent weeks, reflected in a 3RA (57.7) and 5RA (60.8) below his season average of 65.5 PPG. But he is one of the few solid keeper-level options playing round 13 and his dual-position status guarantees flexibility moving forward. While his BE is almost bang on his season average, suggesting there’s not much money to be made, he is up against the Titans this week. You could do a lot worse.

Originally published as NRL SuperCoach hipages Trade Comparison: Two best trades of round 12