NRL SuperCoach POD Watch round 16

SET yourself up for the final bye round with a Super Trade Week splurge on these POD-tastic gems from 2014 SuperCoach champion Dave Von Kotze.

• NRL SuperCoach round 16: Trent Copeland’s captaincy analysis
• NRL SuperCoach Cheapie Bible round 16

SET yourself up for the final bye round with a Super Trade Week splurge on these POD-tastic gems from 2014 SuperCoach champion Dave von Kotze — presented by hipages.

1. Tariq Sims ($520,400/7.2 per cent ownership)

Sims takes the field this weekend with a break-even of 12 and could be a low-percentage, dual-position 2RF/FRF option to keep scores ticking over while a couple of the Dragons’ big men finish their Origin duties for the year. While he appears to have been putting up consistent performances recently — with three, five and eight-game averages of 67, 62 and 64 — if we look a little deeper we see that his scores have actually been a bit of a mixed bag. In his past eight games he has knocked out four scores over 70 but his three lowest scores have been 36, 43 and 47 so there is definitely a bit of risk associated with this trade.

2. Joseph Tapine ($574,300/2.8 per cent ownership)

A five-game average of 77 and a fresh 112 in his rolling average leaves Tapine as potentially a very juicy POD for the next few rounds. Two scores over 50 in his next two games will see him soar through the $600,000 barrier and be a great stepping stone to an Origin keeper in two or three weeks. With no disrespect intended, he is a massive hog making him a dream for SuperCoaches and he definitely has the goods to do some damage in round 17. He has a break-even of 29.

Joseph Tapine is a dual threat who could turbocharge your side. Picture: AAP

3. Tim Lafai ($428,800/1.5 per cent ownership)

An investment in Lafai involves a lot of blind faith that his pedigree and a somewhat favourable run home during the business end of the season will warrant the trade. Unfortunately for owners, during the first half of the season he appears to have put the offload away, only averaging just over one offload a game in comparison to the 2.5 average he maintained when racking up the valuable offload points last season. On a positive note he will face the Eels twice during his run home, starting this weekend with a break-even of 39, and then he could be the X-factor during SuperCoach finals when he finishes the year off against the Bulldogs and Knights.

Tim Lafai is a high-risk, high-reward play for SuperCoaches. Picture: Phil Hillyard

4. Ryan James ($624,800/6.6 per cent ownership)

Ryan James rewarded the four per cent who jumped on his bandwagon last week with his third try in two weeks and another beautiful score of 104 which saw him increase in value by over $70,000. An incredible past two weeks has left him with a break-even of -29 but with trades heading into the red zone, those who bring him in this week do so with the intention to hold on to him for the remainder of the year. James has been unstoppable in his past two games, playing big minutes in the middle and scoring 63 and 69 in base. It is also highly likely that he will continue these big minutes against the Broncos in round 17 with Arrow and Wallace on Origin duty.

Ryan James is in red-hot form for the Titans. Picture: Getty Images

5. Joseph Leilua ($407,300/4.3 per cent ownership)

Leilua comes at a significantly discounted price with his injury affected score of zero from round 14 doing considerable damage in his rolling average. He has dropped in value by nearly $60,000 in the past two weeks and, even though consistency hasn’t been his strong point this season, he has a track record which could see him not only go big during round 17 but also feature in favourable match-ups for the run home — namely the first three weeks of SuperCoach finals where he will play at GIO Stadium.

Joseph Leilua comes cheap with a huge amount of upside. Picture: AAP

6. Tohu Harris ($523,300/16.9 per cent ownership)

Harris is just outside POD range but surely he will surge to over 20 per cent ownership this round. By absolutely thieving Trent Copeland’s statistical analysis from earlier in the week we see that if we took out his injury affected scores in rounds seven and 12, Harris would be averaging a very respectable 67 and have a season-low score of 55. He also has an eight-game average of 69 with SJ in the team, has a break-even of 30 and will play a depleted Panthers outfit in round 17.

Popular buy Tohu Harris should bid farewell to POD Watch this round. Picture: Getty Images

7. Josh Hodgson ($481,600/ 0.7 per cent ownership)

Even though he has missed half of the season, Josh Hodgson may be an ace up the sleeve of coaches not running with a Smith/Cook combination at hooker. Hodgson transformed the Raiders’ attack, totally making up for lost time as he set up three tries in 46 minutes against the Tigers last round. Even though he has a break-even of -3 this weekend his price will not change until he plays his third game during round 17 so those looking to invest in POD-son can hold off this week to see if his minutes increase enough to make him an option going forward.

Josh Hodgson’s return provided attacking spark for the Raiders. Picture: Getty Images

8. Simon Mannering ($460,300/ 1 per cent ownership)

It is very important for Simon Mannering fans of the past not to jump the gun on the great man of SuperCoach this week. His average minutes so far this season are down to 64 from 75 last season and his scores have been underwhelming, only averaging 47 points a game so far this year. It also needs to be pointed out that he starts this week due to Blair being in the naughty corner. However, it may be beneficial to keep an eye on his minutes this week and keep track of him over the next week or two as it was from this very round last season that the SuperCoach stalwart started a dream run home where he pumped out a final 10-game average of 82.

PODCAST! The teams are in and there are a host of shocks to deal with. Join Tom Sangster and Rob Sutherland.

9. Nick Cotric ($578,000/ 5.4 per cent ownership)

Cotric’s price may be excessive but the try-scoring machine can’t stop racking up 17-pointers and has been churning out his points with a six-game average of 67. Seven tries in his past six matches confirm that Cotric has all the makings of a POD special when the Raiders take on the battling Bulldogs in round 17. He will take on the Broncos this weekend with a break-even of 86 so potential owners could hold off this week if need be.

Tryscoring machine Nick Cotric has a juicy match-up with the Bulldogs in 17. Picture: AAP

10. Josh Jackson ($503,100/3.9 per cent ownership)

Josh Jackson does not offer flare and is unlikely to rip out a triple-figured monster. However, he has a strong reputation for being a solid and genuine worker who will not let down those looking for that type of player to sure up their forward packs over the next few weeks. He has only scored below 50 once in his past seven games, has a three-game average of 62 and has averaged 54 points a game in pure base in his past four appearances for the Dogs. A break-even of 38 suggests that he shouldn’t drop in value over the next few rounds.

Originally published as NRL SuperCoach POD Watch round 16