NRL SuperCoach wrap of weekend trials: Jordan Rankin emerges as cheapie
WESTS Tigers recruit Jordan Rankin has emerged as a serious SuperCoach cheapie — but not in the position you may expect.
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WESTS Tigers recruit Jordan Rankin has emerged as a serious SuperCoach cheapie — but not in the position you may expect.
Rankin, who became the NRL’s youngest debutant at 16 when at the Titans, is in the running for the wing spot vacated by Pat Richards.
Now 24 and returning from two years in the Super League, Rankin has carved a career mostly as a half or fullback.
But he has a massive advantage over fellow wing candidates — goalkicking — with the Tigers in need of a sharpshooter following Richards’ exit.
Other contenders for the wing spot include cheapie Josh Addo-Carr, who scored two tries on the weekend, and former Dragon Justin Hunt.
Rankin may also come into contention for a round one halves spot given Luke Brooks will miss the opening round through suspension.
Rankin and Addo-Carr were among a host of SuperCoach cheapies to advance their round one claims over the weekend.
Others to impress included South Sydney’s Cody Walker and Paul Carter, Penrith’s Te Marie Martin, Manly’s Brenton Lawrence and Melbourne’s Curtis Scott.
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WORLD ALL STARS 12 INDIGENOUS ALL STARS 8
• Ben Barba had some great touches and showed his speed has returned. He will be a popular buy at just $184,000 if he beats Jack Bird to the round one fullback spot at the Sharks, although Bird is still the frontrunner following his strong trial performance (more below).
• Andrew Fifita made the most of the unlimited interchange and had some great offloads. Both Fifita (6.22 per cent ownership) and Paul Gallen (12.5 per cent) are SuperCoach greats, yet massive PODS – a very rare situation.
• Adam Reynolds (ankle) finished the game, but limped badly as he left the ground. Details on the injury are not yet known, but it can only benefit cheapie Cody Walker (more on him below), especially with Luke Keary (hip) a late scratching from the Charity Shield.
• Konrad Hurrell didn’t get a huge amount of game time off the bench, but barged over for an impossible try from dummy half and justified his position inside the 20 most popular players in SuperCoach.
• Semi Radradra was brilliant in both attack and defence, scoring a try pulling off some great hits on James Roberts (whose ribs must still be hurting). Semi is basically impossible to pick for round one due to a massive price tag, but if he keeps up his form from Saturday night, how much will his price actually drop?
• Jarrod Croker was just about the best player on the ground, setting up Radradra’s try and teaming up with the big Fijian to keep Roberts quiet. Croker’s performance was so strong that coach Wayne Bennett said he should be first centre picked for NSW. The Raiders star has snuck under the radar to average 60 in the last two years. If you have money to spend on a keeper or two at centre, Croker and Tohu Harris are top of the pile.
• Greg Inglis looked extremely fit and had some great touches, including a ridiculous fend on James Graham. However, he revealed after the game that he will carry a knee injury for the rest of his career. With the fullback position stacked this year (think Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, James Tedesco, Michael Gordon, Billy Slater, Jordan Rankin, Latrell Mitchell and Jaelene Feeney), Inglis is not a genuine option for round one. SuperCoaches agree — the South Sydney superstar is the just the 16th most popular fullback, owned by just 6.15 per cent.
World All Stars 12 (Konrad Hurrell, Semi Radradra tries; Adam Reynolds 2 goals) Indigenous All Stars 8 (Leilani Latu, Dane Gagai tries) at Suncorp Stadium
Read the World All Stars v Indigenous All Stars match report
RABBITOHS 18 DRAGONS 14
• Cheapie option Cody Walker was the most dangerous player on the field and wrapped up a halves spot for round one, when Luke Keary is out due to suspension.
• Kirisome Auva’a scored a powerful try and justified his position as the 12th most popular player in SuperCoach.
• Paul Carter surged into SuperCoach reckoning with a powerful performance in the back row. He faces huge competition for game time, but with a scoring rate around the one point per minute mark, he could easily surge in price from $164,400, especially if the Rabbitohs have injuries.
• Recruit Tim Lafai had a shocker in defence, with two poor reads leading to tries. He was well outplayed by Euan Aitken, who was also the Dragons’ best player at the Nines.
• Popular mid-ranger Chris Grevsmuhl (knee) missed the game and is also set to sit out the final trial, but is on track for round one.
Rabbitohs 18 (John Sutton, Kirisome Auva’a, Ed Murphy tries; Bryson Goodwin, Damian Cook, Cody Walker goals) Dragons 14 (Kurt Mann, Siliva Havili, Euan Aitken tries; Benji Marshall goal)
Read the Rabbitohs v Dragons match report
PANTHERS 24 BULLDOGS 20
• Five-eighth cheapie Te Maire Martin is set to surge from just 5.5 per cent ownership following a brilliant display, scoring a try and setting up two. He is placing serious pressure on veteran halves Jamie Soward and Peter Wallace, with Penrith supremo Phil Gould revealing “he won’t be held back any longer than necessary.”
• Further aiding Martin’s claims was a mixed performance by Matt Moylan in the halves. Moylan’s five-eighth experiment appears over for now, with coach Anthony Griffin admitting: “We’ll probably leave him (Moylan) at fullback”. That is not only great news for Moylan’s SuperCoach claims, but it also propels Martin one more rung up the halves pecking order.
• The Bulldogs appeared on the verge of a fullback crisis when Will Hopoate (cork) went off injured. With Brett Morris (knee) racing the clock for round one, SuperCoaches could see the dollar signs flashing for popular cheapies Tyrone Phillips and Brad Abbey (who scored a try). However, it was later revealed that Hopoate only came off as a precaution, while coach Des Hasler claimed he was confident of Morris playing round one, despite talk he could miss the first month. “We’re pretty sure (Morris will) start the season. It’s just a matter of maintenance,” Hasler said.
Panthers 24 (Elijah Taylor, Te Maire Martin, Chris Smith, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Josh Hall tries, Matt Moylan 2 goals) Bulldogs 20 (Will Hopoate, Kerrod Holland, Michael Lichaa, Brad Abbey tries, Moses Mbye, Brad Keighran goals)
Read the Panthers v Bulldogs match report
TIGERS 18 STORM 16
• Cheapie option Josh Addo-Carr followed up his brilliant Nines with a two-try performance. He is a serious contender for the wing spot vacated by Pat Richards. Jordan Rankin has also emerged as an unlikely bolter for the position.
• Michael Chee Kam, the 22nd most popular player in SuperCoach, played centre and scored a try.
• The race for Melbourne backline spots took a few more twists and turns. As many as two positions are open for round one, depending on whether Cameron Munster (medial ligament) recovers in time. 18-year-old prodigy Curtis Scott was the standout, backing up a breakout Nines by scoring a try. Fellow contender Jeremy Hawkins also crossed, while Cheyse Blair and Richie Kennar drew praise from assistant coach Adam O’Brien. “Curtis Scott was good for us again and so was Cheyse Blair and Richie Kennar as well, so there is certainly some stuff to work with,” O’Brien said.
Tigers 18 (Joshua Addo-Carr 2, Michael Chee Kam, David Nofoaluma tries; Jordan Rankin 1 goal) Storm 16 (Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Curtis Scott, Jeremy Hawkins tries; Joe Stimson 2 goals)
Read the Tigers v Storm match report
SHARKS 24 SEA EAGLES 24
• Ben Barba’s SuperCoach claims took a blow, with Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan saying Jack Bird has his “nose in front” in the race for the Cronulla fullback spot. “He did really well tonight, he saved one there as well, he had some nice touches,” Flanagan said. “It’ll be a bit of a challenge next week to see where they all fit but I’d say Jack Bird has his nose in front after today.”
• Manly medical staff have cleared cheapie option Brenton Lawrence (back) for a round one start. The 24th most popular player in SuperCoach put in a massive 60-minute stint as he ramped up his comeback from a serious back injury that limited him to just one game last year.
• The Sea Eagles picked a weak side, leaving out SuperCoach-relevant stars Matt Parcell (24 per cent ownership), Tom Trbojevic (11 per cent) and Daly Cherry-Evans (nine per cent).
Sharks 24 (Sam Tagatese, Jack Bird, Kurt Capewell, Valentine Holmes tries; James Maloney 3, holmes goals) Sea Eagles 24 (Halauafa Lavaka 2, Brayden Williame, Daniel Vasek, Fabian Goodall tries; Hugh Pratt 2 goals)
Read the Sharks v Sea Eagles match report
EELS 20 TITANS 20
• Agnatius Paasi backed up his brilliant Nines with another great showing. “I thought Agnatius Paasi was our best forward again, so he’s continued his form on from the Nines,’’ coach Neil Henry said. “He certainly is pushing for a starting spot.” However, he played in the middle, where he is highly unlikely to improve on last year’s average of 50 minutes.
• Ashley Taylor, the third most popular player in SuperCoach, combined well with Daniel Mortimer in the halves without being outstanding.
Eels 20 (Ryan Morgan, Junior Paulo, Bureto Faraimo, Alex Twal tries, Kelly 2 goals) Titans 20 (Nathan Friend, Nathan Davis, Leivaha Pulu, Eddy Pettybourne tries, Ash Taylor 1 goal, Nathan Davis 1 goal)
Read the Eels v Titans match report
WARRIORS 40 TITANS 18
• In a game featuring mostly second string players, Raymond Faitala-Mariner scored a hat-trick. That is bad news for Ben Henry, the 10th most popular player in SuperCoach, given he and Faitala-Mariner essentially play the same positions (wide back row and centre).
• Issac Luke and Manu Vatuvei played for the Warriors, but SuperCoach stars Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Shaun (23 per cent ownership), Shaun Johnson (19 per cent) and Simon Manneriong (15 per cent) were rested.
Warriors 40 (Raymond Faitala-Mariner 3, Semisi Tyrell 2, Bunty Afoa 2 tries; Issac Luke 2, Ata Hingano 4 goals) Titans 18 (Blake Anderson, Matt Robinson, Tyronne Roberts-Davies, Morgan Boyle tries; Jamal Fogarty goal)
Read the Warriors v Titans match report
Originally published as NRL SuperCoach wrap of weekend trials: Jordan Rankin emerges as cheapie
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