SuperCoach NRL 101: Glossary of terms, how to play

Interested in SuperCoach NRL but confused by the jargon? Here’s a list of the most common terms and what they mean.

A Keeper, a Gun, there are plenty of SuperCoach terms you could attach to Roosters star James Tedesco. But what do they mean? Scroll down for the answers. Picture: Getty

With terms like Cheapies and Cash Cow, Guns and PODS, Floors and Ceilings it’s no wonder some people get confused by terms used in fantasy footy.

But don’t be discouraged.

If you can get your head around all this slang you will be one step ahead of the rest.

Here is your A-B-C guide to get your head around all the lingo, to give you an edge in SuperCoach NRL.

Average Draft Position or ADP: The pick at which a player is typically drafted in most leagues.

Auto-Emergency: When one player in your starting team does not play, the Auto-Emergency will kick in, giving you the points of the player on your bench with the lowest score above 0.

Bench: Players on your team that are not in your starting line-up and typically won’t contribute to your final weekly team score. This term differs from Reserves (see below).

Breakout: A breakout is a player who is expected to have, or is already having, a standout year.

Break-even: The score a player needs to achieve each week to keep his value the same. Players with negative break-evens will generally make a lot of cash. Players with high break-evens lose cash.

Bust: A player who is expected to have a below-average year and should be avoided.

Bye week: Refers to weeks 13, 16 and 19 of the NRL season, where almost half of the teams have a week off and Origin players are out. This will mean some of your players will miss a week so you will have to prepare in advance.

The captain pick is one of the most important decisions made every week in SuperCoach. Nathan Cleary of the Panthers is always a popular choice. Picture: Getty

Captain: The player you select as your Captain each week will score double points. If your captain does not play, you will instead get double points for your Vice-Captain.

Cash Cow: Players that SuperCoaches expect to rise in price so they can later be sold off for profit to bring in more guns.

Ceiling: The perceived maximum scoring potential of a player. The higher the ceiling, the greater the potential for more SuperCoach points.

Cheapie: A player, usually a rookie or veteran coming back from injury, who can make SuperCoaches some money.

Collusion: When Draft players appear to be working together to gain an unfair advantage over the rest of the league.

Commissioner: The league-organiser who decides on the league settings and may have a role in approving league trades.

Fleecing or Trade robbery: When one Draft team involved in a trade is quite obviously worse off.

Floor: The perceived lowest scoring potential of a player. The lower the floor, the more likely a player will be a bust.

Free Agent: Draft players who are not owned by other teams, and are not on the ‘waiver wire’, and can be picked up by any team, at any time.

Gun: Players who net big scores consistently week in and week out.

Keeper: A player you place in your team and leave there the rest of the season. Usually guns you can set and forget.

Lock: Someone who is seen as a certainty to start in a certain position.

Mock Draft: A fake or practice draft done to prepare for the real thing. Allows you to see which players are in high demand from other players.

MPG: Minutes per game. The average amount of minutes a player plays each week.

PPG: Points per game.

POD: Point of Difference, as in a player who makes huge scores but few people have them in their team. These players will help your team stand out from the rest.

Pre-Draft Ranking: The order in which players’ names appear during the Draft, based on their statistics in the previous year.

Projections: An estimated score that a player is expected to get in a given week, based on historic statistics and past performance against certain teams.

Players with impact - like Thomas Hazelton - consistently bank the highest PPM averages. Picture: Getty

PPM: Points per minute. The average amount of points a player scores in one minute. Generally speaking, a PPM higher than 1 is very good.

Reaching: Drafting a player way too early, or a player who you could have got later if you waited.

Reserves: Each week you can select a maximum of four players on your bench, whose points will count to your weekly total.

Salary Cap: Refers to the total amount of money allocated to create your line-up in the Classic format. Every team has a maximum cap to work with.

Set and Forget: An extremely reliable player who you can put into your team and rely on them to get you a good score.

Sleeper: A low or mid-range player who is underrated or set to surge.

Snake Draft: A system in which participants take turns drafting players, with the entrant who leads off the first round picks the last in the second round. He/she then picks first in the third round and so on.

Stash: Holding onto a player that may not be SuperCoach relevant now, but could be if he got a starting spot.

Stream: A player who is expected to have good performance for at least one week and could be worth playing in certain match-ups.

SuperCoach relevant: A player who is expected to have an impact in SuperCoach and is worthy of consideration in your teams.

Stars like Scott Drinkwater are usually straightforward picks, but SuperCoach Plus can help players navigate week to week decisions on who to buy or sell in Classic, who to trade or target in Draft to get an advantage. Picture: Getty

SuperCoach Plus: The premium SuperCoach experience that gives you access to valuable stats, break-evens, and the all-important bye-planner.

Taco or Ghost ship, Passenger: When one team in your league becomes inactive, stops setting a proper line-up, or generally has no idea what they’re doing, giving easy wins to whoever is head-to-head with them.

TLT: Team list Tuesday, the time of the week when NRL team lists are announced for the upcoming weekend.

Trade bait: Stashing a good player in Draft for the sole purpose of trading them to another player in need.

VC loophole: A quirk of the SuperCoach system that allows a player to potentially dump a captain that won’t perform well for a player that did.

Value pick: Drafting someone later than they should have been taken or getting a player everyone has missed. Getting good value players is one of the keys to winning your Draft league.

Waivers: Players who are not owned by other teams in Draft, but are available to be picked up by teams with priority on the Waiver Wire.

Originally published as SuperCoach NRL 101: Glossary of terms, how to play