NRL SuperCoach wrap round 5: Winners, losers, predicted top purchases and sells
Round 5 is in the books and there was plenty to be learned for SuperCoaches. Check out all of our winners and losers — plus predicted top purchases and sells.
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It was the week of the century with some big name SuperCoach favourites raising the bat and rewarding the faith shown in them.
We saw some bumper scores and veteran halves pushing their case for positions in squads with strong showings.
Warriors star Shaun Johnson put his hand up as a genuine HFB1 option after dismantling the Rabbitohs and Daly Cherry-Evans showed he is far from done with a 124-point effort in his milestone game.
We take a look back at the weekend that was in SuperCoach land from round five of the NRL.
PREDICTED TOP PURCHASES ROUND 5
Te Maire Martin (5/8/FLB) 98 points: A dual-position player who looks to have the six jersey locked up for the Warriors and is coming off a near century score while paying under $365,000. If that’s not an obvious buy, I’m not sure what is.
Stefano Utoikamanu (FRF) 84 points: With scores of 67, 55 and now 85 in his last three games, the Wests Tigers enforcer is getting big minutes in the front row. He looks a safe option to bring in at a tick over $500,000.
Tom Trbojevic (FLB) 111 points: A great display from Turbo against the Panthers and with a few favourable games coming up he looks like he’ll be a popular purchase in the weeks to come. The scary thing is he can reach another gear.
Kalyn Ponga (FLB) 117 points: If you can afford to bring in another gun fullback, Ponga is your man. He was great in the big wet against St George to continue his good run of form, and with upcoming games against a depleted Roosters, Bulldogs and Dolphins, he will be producing similar big results.
James Schiller (CTW) 108 points: The Canberra flyer looked great with every touch of the ball to completely outclass Parramatta’s outside backs. Backed up 77 points last week and will easily be one of the biggest inclusions for teams coming into round six.
PREDICTED TOP SELLS ROUND 5
Latrell Mitchell (FLB) 73 points: While 73 points is a pretty solid output, a careless incident will see the Rabbitohs fullback potentially miss the next three weeks through suspension. Over 2000 SuperCoaches traded him out ahead of round five and expect that number to increase.
Herbie Farnworth (CTW) 40 points: Went down with an injury late in the Dolphins’ win over the Wests Tigers. With news coming through that he’s likely to miss four weeks, expect plenty of SuperCoaches to look for a replacement.
Dominic Young (CTW) -15 points: Produced one of the worst SuperCoach scores in history after being sent off against the Bulldogs, capping a torrid fortnight for buyers. With a likely holiday the Englishman is an easy sell.
Zac Laybutt (CTW) 45 points: This is a sad one. Laybutt has enjoyed a solid start to the season but suffered a suspected ACL injury against the Titans. Was on the way to posting a good score for the day and is tragic for the young man who looked to have a lock on the centre position.
Junior Paulo (FRF) 28 points: Came off the bench once again and wasn’t able to have his desired impact. Comes at a hefty price and there are some much better FRF options out there for cheaper, giving you the ability to upgrade other positions as well.
ROUND 5 WINNERS
Eli Katoa (2RF): 110 points - Was phenomenal for Melbourne and looks so good out on an edge with his line running. There were 30 people that traded him out of their side ahead of his 110-point effort, the most of any player on Thursday night.
Jahrome Hughes (HFB): 108 points - The band is back together with Cameron Munster making his season debut and Hughes was the beneficiary with a monster effort to crack the ton.
Joey Manu (CTW): 108 points - Put up some big numbers in the second half and with James Tedesco out for round six, expect Manu to lace them up at fullback where he’ll get his hands on the ball more.
All out for 889 pic.twitter.com/SzSdoCh4g4
— Aman Talks NRL SuperCoach (@AmanTalksNRLSC) April 7, 2024
Matt Burton (5/8/HFB): 147 points - Everything went right for Burton against the Roosters with three tries heavily inflating his score. Still, he formed a formidable partnership with his outside men.
Samuel Hughes (FRF): 72 points - Was one of the premier FRF cheapie options and he rewarded those that stuck solid in a big way. Scored a try and finished with his biggest score of the season.
Zac Lomax (CTW): 112 points - For all the discussion about his future and what his best position is, Lomax just keeps putting up big SuperCoach numbers on the wing for St George Illawarra.
Shaun Johnson (HFB): 112 points - Scored tries, set them up and completely dominated South Sydney. At under $700k he could be shaping up as a genuine HFB1 option for SuperCoaches looking to spend money elsewhere.
Wayde Egan (HOK): 88 points - He’s a gun player who is so good around the ruck and now the talk has started about him playing Origin. Could easily make a first choice hooker option for many teams.
Dylan Edwards (FLB): 119 points - Has cracked the century for the third time in five rounds and his form is simply irresistible. In a stacked position, he is putting his hand up as a must buy, just not for round six.
Too early to open up Bostock as a keeper talks?
— NRL SuperCoach Chat 🾠(@nrlscchat) April 6, 2024
Luke Garner (2RF): 88 points - When a budget second rower can score like that, it makes him an enticing proposition. Looked good against Manly in a breakout SuperCoach performance that he needed.
Daly Cherry-Evans (HFB): 129 points - Is he going to score massive like that every week? No. Will he miss time during Origin? Yes. Can he give you a consistent output with the odd massive score in the coming weeks? You bet he can.
Aidan Sezer (HFB): 69 points - When you have a player who is guaranteed to start in a key position, has put together two impressive scores and still is less than $360k, that screams winner to me.
Scott Drinkwater (FLB): 139 points - That was more like the Drinkwater we know. He was an attacking force for the Cowboys and bumped his score well over the century mark with two tries. Those who captained him reap the rewards.
Ethan Strange (5/8/CTW): 93 points - Dual-position player who started at the minimum and continues to get the job done. There’s so much to like about him and he can continue to make your team money.
Matthew Timoko (CTW): 125 points - The saying ‘he’s got spiders on him’ genuinely feels like it applies to Timoko. Defenders struggle to bring him down and that is a great asset to have in SuperCoach.
ROUND 5 LOSERS
Christian Welch (FRF): 34 points - A reduction in minutes this season is hurting his viability as a SuperCoach option. Would need to see him starting games before making a purchase.
Josh King (2RF): 34 points - Has been previously considered a lock for many teams due to his strong output, but this season it’s just not happening for him, evidenced by just 34 points against Brisbane.
@RL_Guru@scplaybook1@jay85s@SC_Brain@AmanTalksNRLSC@SupercoachGuns@NRL_SC_Addicts@nrlscchat@SuperCoach_Hub@WackosWhispers I didn’t think it could get any worse than a bloke I played in 2022 with a -18 C. I present you a bloke in my work league with a -28 C. pic.twitter.com/23ykN09H4s
— Murray Wood (@MurrayWood17) April 5, 2024
James Tedesco (FLB): 4 points - Couldn’t get into the game, like many of his teammates, due to the conditions and now will have at least one week on the sidelines after suffering a nasty head knock.
Sam Walker (HFB): 3 points - Is in a similar position to Tedesco with the pair going down with injuries in quick succession. Like his captain will miss at least round six before being considered for selection.
Cody Walker (5/8): 39 points - Has gone from a must have to a cannot buy. At over $600k he just isn’t performing in SC with his customary try assists drying up with Souths badly out of form.
Dean Hawkins (HFB): 16 points - It’s worrying for South Sydney that both halves appear in this section. Hawkins has struggled to score well in SuperCoach since coming into first grade, but does look the long-term option with Lachlan Ilias suffering a major injury.
Chanel Harris-Tavita (HFB): 4 points - One man’s opportunity is another man’s door closing. Harris-Tavita looks to be the odd man out with Te Maire Martin favoured to partner Shaun Johnson in the halves.
— The SuperCoach Whisperer (@SCWhisperer) April 6, 2024
Liam Henry (FRF): -1 point - Through no fault of his own it was a match to forget when he was taken off early into his stint off the bench. Owned by over 25,000 SuperCoaches so it was a tough one to take.
Izack Tago (CTW): 32 points - Despite a strong start to the season and a hefty price rise, Tago couldn’t make things happen in a loss to Manly, a bitter pill for those with the $800k centre in their teams.
Justin Olam (CTW): 32 points - Was one of the most popular inclusions for round five after a big score against the Eels, but failed to deliver and will have many thinking they jumped the gun.
Samuela Fainu (FRF): 12 points - Has been one of the best performing cheapies so far this season, but injury cut his night short. Hopefully he will be back to his best soon to continue his good form.
Tom Dearden (5/8): 24 points - While Chad Townsend and Scott Drinkwater feasted on the Titans defence, Dearden was left to starve. He produced just 24 points in a low impact SC game from the five-eighth.
Death Taxes, and Danny Levi.
— The SuperCoach Whisperer (@SCWhisperer) April 7, 2024
It’s inevitable.
Jeremiah Nanai (2RF): 28 points - One of the most devastating edge back rowers in the competition when things are going right, but it’s fair to say this wasn’t his round, and it proved costly for SuperCoaches.
Tom Starling (HOK): 10 points - It’s becoming quite clear that the Canberra hooking role belongs to Danny Levi, making it very hard for Starling to be a viable SuperCoach option at present.
Clint Gutherson (FLB): 28 points - He was praised heavily in this article last week for a great showing on Easter Monday, but not much went right for King Gutho on a tough night for the Eels.
Originally published as NRL SuperCoach wrap round 5: Winners, losers, predicted top purchases and sells
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