SuperCoach NRL 2018: Wilfred Zee’s wrap of the good, bad and ugly from Round 18
ROBBIE Farah finds top gear, Nathan Brown’s a bust and a serious dad joke. Former SuperCoach NRL champion Wilfred Zee looks at the good, bad and ugly of Round 18.
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FORMER SuperCoach NRL — presented by hipages — champion Wilfred Zee looks at the good, bad and ugly of Round 18.
Panthers v Sharks (12 — 24)
The Panthers were valiant in defeat, but the Sharks just had too much grit and touches of class to get the job done. Both teams can take a lot out of this game as the Panthers can look forward to getting some of their key players back in coming weeks, happy with the way their youngsters took it to the Warriors and the Sharks, while the Sharks can pocket an important two points as they look to cement a spot in the top four for the finals.
Let’s look at the key performers in this game.
The Good
Matt Moylan (116)
Ah, the classic revenge game. Moylan probably had this game circled on his calendar in the preseason, but he certainly turned up against his old club. He scored a try, set up another, broke the line three times, forced a dropout, offloaded twice (once effectively), busted nine tackles and got through 30 points in pure base stats. He also kicked a ball dead, but all in all he had a very strong game. He was sitting on a three round average of 59.7 as well as a five round average of over 65, but his ability to drop single digit games are truly scary for that run
home. High risk, high reward though!
Waqa Blake (94)
A handy 59 last week on the bye round, and now another great score. He has come back on fire after a long layoff where he hadn’t played since Round 5. There will be a real conundrum
to work out where Tyrone Peachey will play as you can’t drop Blake while he’s in this form!
He scored a try, broke the line twice, offloaded twice effectively, busted 12 tackles, and scored 29 points in pure base stats. He’s never been a great worker, but his base stats have been solid since his return.
The Bad
Paul Gallen (22)
He played 47 minutes for his paltry score; his work rate left a lot to be desired. It was revealed post-game that he was suffering from a virus, which probably didn’t help his cause on the night.
Sione Katoa (42)
The score isn’t that horrible but the fact that it includes a try with a linebreak and a tackle bust – 29 points right there – means his base stats were just 13. Yuck.
The Ugly
Jayson Bukuya (18)
He played just 16 minutes as he suffered a shoulder injury, limiting his time on the field. This
extended the minutes of Fifita, who played 63 minutes but didn’t look himself while on the field.
Knights v Eels (18 – 16)
This game was primetime, but it wasn’t a very good spectacle. Plenty of errors and ‘dumb
footy’ too. But as always with this season in the NRL, we had yet another exciting and tense
finish, with the Bunker overturning a last-ditch effort from the Eels to score the matchwinner.
Mitchell Pearce’s return had an immediate impact, as he controlled and managed the game for the Knights to come away with the win.
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly of this game.
The Good
Jarryd Hayne (100)
So many SuperCoaches swore off Hayne due to his uninspiring play since his return to the NRL – flashes of his old brilliance coupled with weeks of indifference and apathy and
punctuated with injury in between too. Well, since his return from injury (the latest one) he has been impressive, both in workrate and his old ability to sniff out an attacking stat. In this
game he had a field day at left centre, setting up a try, breaking the line three times, busting 14 tackles and notching 32 points in pure base stats. The Eels don’t have a bad draw to finish the year, so is Hayne an option for you?
Siosaia Vave (71)
Vave played just 34 minutes but his PPM was off the charts! He scored a try with a line break, busted three tackles and smashed through 38 points in pure base stats too. He’ll never be fit enough to play the minutes required to be SuperCoach relevant so don’t get trapped from this flash in a pan score!
The Bad
Nathan Brown (45)
Playing 59 minutes, Brown’s workrate was disappointing to say the least. This isn’t what we expect from the workhorse in terms of minutes or work. On the naughty list for the time being!
Bevan French (27)
27 with a try assist and a forced dropout. That’s because of only 17 points in pure base stats along with four errors!
The Ugly
No major injuries to note, although Sione Mata’utia went off (yet again!) for a HIA with just nine minutes to go, so he didn’t have enough time to pass the HIA and return to the field. Cam King got his knee strapped twice in the second half but remained on the field. He also managed to poke himself in the eye haha!
Bulldogs v Rabbitohs (6 – 24)
It was an interesting first half, but the result was never really in doubt, with the Rabbitohs just having too much class for the battling Bulldogs. Much like last week, there are some positive signs for the Bulldogs to look forward to for next year, while the Rabbitohs continue to show they are a force to be reckoned with this year.
The Good
Will Hopoate (135)
Jeez, plenty of SuperCoaches did NOT expect this. Sure, the scoreline maybe, but not Hoppa scoring over 60 – let alone over 130 – with the Bulldogs only scoring the one try.
Okay, so yes he set up the sole try (along with the accompanying line break assist), but he also had a line break, TEN effective offloads, nine tackle busts and a massive 49 points in pure base stats. What a performance!
Robert Jennings (113)
Another hat trick, another 100+ score! Robert Jennings is well in the running for top tryscorer of 2018 – especially if the Rabbitohs keep steamrolling teams like they have been. He also broke the line twice, offloaded once effectively, busted three tackles and scored 34 points in pure base stats. He is a cracking POD who is probably too expensive now, but he could have been a real pick-up a few weeks ago!
The Bad
Josh Morris (23)
He’s usually known for his defensive prowess but he had a few lapses on his edge, which allowed the likes of Angus Crichton to cash in. Bulldogs needed him to lift the way Hoppa lifted!
The Ugly
No major injuries to note. Cook and Crichton both got an early shower with the result beyond doubt.
Sea Eagles v Storm (13 – 14)
This was a real tussle, although the game itself was not of high quality. In the end, Cameron Smith steered his team home despite the Storm struggling to play at their normal level; understandable given their many outs. The Sea Eagles played above what they were expected to do but ultimately a few ongoing issues let them down again.
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly from this game.
The Good
Shaun Lane (100)
Lane scored both tries for the Sea Eagles in an impressive 80-minute performance. They will miss him next year as he heads off to the Eels. He also broke the line once, offloaded effectively twice, busted three tackles and got through 44 points in pure base stats. He certainly did his part in trying to get this team the win.
Manase Fainu (95)
Off-field controversy aside, this kid can play. Getting through 77 minutes in just his second game of first grade, he set up a try, broke the line once, offloaded effectively five times, busted one tackle and got through 51 points in pure base stats. That’s a really impressive performance from the young hooker. Hopefully he can get his life sorted off the field so he can fulfil his on-field potential!
The Bad
Brian Kelly (20)
Kelly has had some up and down games but he has the ability to go missing from time to time. Blame it on his young age perhaps, but Kelly has the potential to be a real force in this Sea Eagles side if he was able to find some more consistency.
Tom Trbojevic (27)
A massive five errors ruined Tommy Turbo’s chances of a big score, and put a dent in his normally solid base stats too. Not his best game!
The Ugly
Christian Welch (14)
He left the field for a HIA, which he failed, after just 10 minutes. This meant bigger minutes for the other middle forwards.
Raiders v Cowboys (38 – 12)
Wow, a game where the Raiders didn’t have to let the other team be in the lead before a last-gasp win. Also, a game where the Raiders didn’t let the game slip away while leading!
What a weird week hah!
Let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly from this game.
The Good
Michael Oldfield (105)
Oldfield by name, but he’s not too old to still run the length of the field… *rimshot* Sorry, sorry. Hey, I have a licence to make Dad jokes! Anyway, a hat trick, two line breaks, four tackle busts and 26 points in pure base stats is all it took for Oldfield to take out Perfect 8 honours ahead of his wing partner on the other flank.
Jordan Rapana (95)
What a return from injury for Rapana. He looks fresh and back to his best with plenty of runs out of dummy half, tackle busts galore and high involvement. Two tries, two line breaks, an effective offload, five tackle busts and 31 points in pure base stats make up his score from this week.
The Bad
Lachlan Coote (23)
That score includes a try. I think that just about says it all! -8 in missed tackles and three errors didn’t help his cause at all!
Antonio Winterstein (18)
Low workrate is the issue here, yet again, so it just emphasises how lucky those who took the punt on him for a Round 13 bye coverage option really were! He surely needs to step aside for some young guns…
The Ugly
Jarrod Croker (5)
Owners feared the worst when he went down early, only to have their hopes built up once he got his knee strapped and played on. Then, he went off as he finally succumbed to his knee injury. What a trooper! Sezer took over the goalkicking and Blake Austin joined the backline in his stead.
Broncos v Warriors (6 – 26)
A game of seventh against eighth (just on points differential), it came as no surprise to anybody that the Warriors suddenly turned up again and flogged the flat, Origin-affected
Broncos. In a game where key forwards Josh McGuire and Andrew McCullough put in some of their worst games of the season off the back of playing Origin, the Warriors forwards also turned up in emphatic fashion. Once the battle in the middle was comprehensively won by the Warriors, and the outside backs were unable to spark the team into action, well, there was only ever going to be one outcome in this game.
Let’s look at the good, bad and the ugly in this game.
The Good
Agnatius Paasi (119)
In yet another shining example of why Perfect Eight is near impossible to win, Paasi scored at an amazing 2.64 PPM in his 45 minute stint. He scored a try, set up another, broke the line three times, busted seven tackles, offloaded effectively twice and still found time for 42 points in pure base stats. He destroyed the Broncos up the middle and was a massive reason for the Warriors win.
Solomone Kata (94)
The Broncos fielded a very inexperienced right edge and the Warriors were onto it straight away. It became even more inexperienced once Su’A was injured, seeing effectively three rookies in Fifita, Staggs and Isaako lining up together. Kata licked his lips and got to work, and it was only some desperate defence and a sideline that stopped him scoring four tries! Kata scored two tries, broke the line once, busted six tackles, held up one player in-goal and scored 37 points in pure base stats. He got to see plenty of ball and got through plenty of work!
The Bad
Jordan Kahu (19)
He had a few opportunities and unfortunately didn’t take the right choices, either leaving Oates with no room or ignoring him at the wrong times. His work rate was low but that was always the case with Kahu.
Jamayne Isaako (24)
Plenty decided to keep Isaako for the byes and potentially for the run-home, but this was a disappointing score in what should have been a highscoring game for the Broncos!
The Ugly
Jaydn Su’A (36)
He started the game at right centre which wasn’t great, but his day ended after 44 minutes due to an ankle or knee injury. Fifita replaced him on the right edge for the remainder of the game.
Andrew McCullough and Tevita Satae were both sinbinned.
Dragons v Tigers (16 – 20)
A big upset in this game with the Tigers stepping up to defeat the top four Dragons – albeit with a heavy Origin representation backing up from a tough series. Farah and Mbye have had a positive impact on the team – despite the bad first-up loss – and I’m really interested to see how this continues moving forward.
Let’s look at the good, bad and the ugly in this game.
The Good
Robbie Farah (97)
84, 64, 92, 97 – those are Farah’s four scores from this season. He is a SuperCoach gun and looks like he is going to be able to maintain his minutes moving forward – maybe not the attacking stats though! Farah had two try assists, a line break, two line break assists, a forced dropout, a tackle bust and 45 points in pure base stats. Busy man but the Rabbitohs this coming week will be a new challenge!
Paul Vaughan (90)
Vaughan was super busy in this game, playing 55 minutes and getting through 62 points in pure base stats. Throw in one line break, an effective offload and seven tackle busts and you have a massive game from just base stats and base attack stats!
The Bad
Benji Marshall (23)
His impact on the field was better than his SuperCoach score, which has been the case for most of this season. Great for the Tigers, not so much for himself as a SuperCoach player.
Josh Aloiai (20)
Even though he starts, Aloiai only gets sub-30 minutes and hence he scores poorly. Don’t get trapped!
The Ugly
Nene Macdonald (27)
Nene was killing it, scoring at a point per minute before a suspected midfoot sprain saw him leave the field. Kurt Mann replaced him.
Chris Lawrence (42)
He left the field in the 63 rd minute with a hamstring injury and faces several weeks out. Luke Garner debuted on that left edge for the final 17 minutes.
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Originally published as SuperCoach NRL 2018: Wilfred Zee’s wrap of the good, bad and ugly from Round 18
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