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SC NRL Winners and Losers: Key takeaways, studs and duds from Sharks vs Bulldogs, Panthers vs Eels

Nathan Cleary and Nicho Hynes are back. Catch up on the winners and losers from Friday footy, plus the studs and duds from Sharks vs Bulldogs and Panthers vs Eels.

Sean Teuma and Wilson Smith
11 min read
March 15, 2024 - 10:43PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
Nicho Hynes returned to SuperCoach form with a solid score. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
Nicho Hynes returned to SuperCoach form with a solid score. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Another Friday night is done and dusted with some huge scores across the board and four players cracking the century.

It was also a night of carnage with plenty of injury concerns across the board, including Bailey Simonsson (failed HIA) and Poasa Faamausili (category 1 HIA) of concern.

Panthers forward James Fisher-Harris only played 25 minutes before a suspected shoulder injury, with Kelma Tuilagi clutching at his chest and going off midway through the second half.

In terms of the judiciary, Jarome Luai will face two charges of a high tackle (on Simonsson) and a trip, while Briton Nikora was sent to the sin bin for a shoulder to the head of Viliame Kikau.

Onto the studs and duds for the night with an eye to the future, here are the 10 players that really stood out, and 10 to reconsider putting in your SuperCoach squad moving forward.

STUDS

1. Izack Tago (116 points) - A breathtaking performance and made a weakened left-edge look second-rate

2. Teig Wilton (116 points) - Looked like a man on a mission and was used by the halves well

3. Joey Lussick (74 points) - Could’ve secured the 80-minute hooking role for the Eels

4. Josh Curran (75 points) - Came on early and didn’t disappoint, top scoring for Canterbury

5. Moses Leota (73 points) - Scored a try and could be in for a minutes boost in the coming weeks

6. Dylan Edwards (126 points) - It seemed like he was everywhere. Rewarded with a bumper score

7. J’maine Hopgood (91 points) - Boosted by a try but he looked good. Hard working and consistent

8. Ronaldo Mulitalo (115 points) - When Ronaldo is on fire it’s a beautiful sight

9. Isaah Yeo (96 points) - Backed up a 67 last week with another top score. Great player

10. Blake Taaffe (49 points) - Put up 49 points despite doing it tough. Performing above his price

DUDS

1. Brendan Hands (1 point) - Played just four minutes with Joey Lussick performing well

2. Jarome Luai (30 points) - Well below his breakeven and faces suspension

3. Mitch Moses (29 points) - While Dylan Brown took over, Moses failed to crack 30

4. Briton Nikora (24 points) - Would be stunned if he doesn’t miss a few weeks for that tackle

5. Drew Hutchison (27 points) - His price tag is the only saving grace after a low-scoring effort

6. Braydon Trindall (24 points) - Not picking up attacking points is hurting Trindall

7. Clint Gutherson (35 points) - A challenging night for an $807k player

8. Morgan Harper (23 points) - After a great round one, was brought back to earth

9. James Fisher-Harris (20 points) - Went off with injury and could be an instant sell depending on the severity.

10. Stephen Crichton (35 points) - Was tough going and couldn’t make a SC impact

Sunia Turuva scored a double and cracked 80 SuperCoach points in a strong showing. Photo: Jason McCawley/Getty Images
Sunia Turuva scored a double and cracked 80 SuperCoach points in a strong showing. Photo: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Full-time - Penrith 26-18: Well Penrith are on the board. Some might call it convincing in the way they denied Parramatta.

Others will say eight points isn’t too much to get excited about with the Eels’ left-edge hampered twice with injuries.

Whatever the case, the Panthers have bragging rights in the west and have their first win of the season.

Top SuperCoach scorers:

1. Dylan Edwards - 126

2. Izack Tago - 119

3. Isaah Yeo - 96

4. J’maine Hopgood - 91

5. Sunia Turuva - 84

6. Moses Leota - 73

7. Nathan Cleary - 71

8. Shaun Lane, Dylan Brown - 63

10. Ryan Matterson - 61

Injury ward: Bailey Simonsson (failed HIA), Kelma Tuilagi (chest), James Fisher-Harris (shoulder)

73rd minute - Penrith 26-18: Parramatta is throwing everything at the Panthers with just seven minutes to play.

Repeat six agains helped them get down in Penrith territory, but the clock is not on their side currently.

Can they cause a late upset?

65th minute - Penrith 26-18: It was Taylan May who starred last week in a beaten side, and it’s centre partner Izack Tago getting it done tonight.

He has run riot on the right edge, running for over 200m and picking up 101 SuperCoach points in the process.

We’re yet to see Brendan Hands or Daine Laurie get any gametime. If they’re in your final 17, it might be time for a stiff drink.

60th minute - Penrith 26-18: A dropped ball from Sean Russell gifted Penrith a set on the Eels line and they needed just one tackle to take their chance.

A spread gave Izack Tago a well deserved try

Tago leads all scorers with 100 points, with Dylan Edwards on 87 and J’maine Hopgood sitting on 73.

55th minute - Penrith 22-18: Isaah Yeo put a cross field kick and hit Sunia Turuva on the chest for his second try.

You read that right.

The lock was caught with the ball on last and delivered to edge the Panthers ahead once again.

It came a few tackles after Kelma Tuilagi was left in agonising pain with a chest injury after a tackle on Liam Martin went wrong.

47th minute - Parramatta 18-16: Oh no.

Owned by 10.7% of players, Liam Henry spilt his lollies over the line after looking destined to score.

Jarome Luai is coming to life and Izack Tago is causing havoc for the left-side Eels defence.

Fisher-Harris is still in the sheds with a shoulder complaint.

Halftime - Parramatta 18-16: Dylan Brown take a bow.

He’s been outstanding this half and has his second try assist of the game, drawing in the defence and putting J’maine Hopgood over.

Brown is on fire and rises to 52 points for the half.

After a poor points performance last week, Jarome Luai is turning in another dud with just seven.

Ryan Matterson has just 12 while Cheapie icon Liam Henry sits at 13.

Top scores:

1. J’maine Hopgood - 60

2. Dylan Edwards - 57

3. Joey Lussick - 56

4. Nathan Cleary - 54

5. Moses Leota - 53

Mitchell Moses of the Eels is tackled. Photo: Jason McCawley/Getty Images
Mitchell Moses of the Eels is tackled. Photo: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

30th minute - Penrith 16-12: A sweeping backline play from the Panthers was almost thwarted by King Gutho.

But a smart play from Sunia Turuva to slide close to the sideline and avoid the fullback saw him crash over in the corner.

Penrith are again in front as Turuva rockets up to 52 points.

In concerning news for the Panthers, James Fisher-Harris went straight up the tunnel after coming off.

Top scores: Leota 53, Turuva 52, Lussick 47, Edwards 50, Lane 44, Tago 48

25th minute - 12-all: So much for a defensive game!

We’re going at almost a point per minute here with a lovely Dylan Brown ball putting Shaun Lane into a hole to see him score with ease.

Brown is a popular five-eighth among SuperCoaches and now sits at 29 points, with Lane on 43.

20th minute - Penrith 12-6: Moses Leota is wasted in the front row.

Give the man a 3 on the back of his jersey.

A stepping and sprinting display saw him race away to put Penrith in the lead.

He’s on 49 points with Cleary going to 44 with a line break assist.

Another blow for the Eels with Bailey Simonsson ruled out after a failed HIA.

15th minute - 6-all: Dylan Edwards makes up for it.

He gets on the end of a beautiful Nathan Cleary grubber to give Penrith their first points of the season.

That was weird to type out in round two.

Edwards lifts to 22 points with Cleary now on 18.

5th minute - Eels 6-0: How easy was that.

Joey Lussick darts his way over from dummy half with Dylan Edwards looking elsewhere to get Parra on the board in the opening minutes.

That play takes him to 33 points.

Full-time - Sharks 25-6: To rub a bit of salt into the wounds, Nicho Hynes kicks a field goal in the 80th minute and the Sharks win by 19.

He finished with 70 points with Wilton and Mulitalo the stars with 115+ for the pair.

Josh Curran was brilliant for the Bulldogs, with Briton Nikora (24) and Drew Hutchison (27) sure to come into trade consideration with below-par scores.

Top scorers:

1. Teig Wilton - 116

2. Ronaldo Mulitalo - 115

3. Josh Curran - 75

4. Siosifa Talakai - 72

5. Sione Katoa - 71

6. Nicho Hynes - 70

7. Blake Wilson, William Kennedy - 57

9. Jesse Ramien - 55

10. Jacob Preston, Cameron McInnes - 54

Injury Ward: Poasa Faamausili (Canterbury - head knock)

77th minute - Sharks 24-6: Throw in another try of the year contender for the sake of it.

A backline movement saw Mulitalo get a perfect offload away to a wrapping Wilton to see the back rower get over the line.

Wilton now sits on 115 SuperCoach points with Mulitalo on 112, with Talakai producing a very solid 71.

70th minute - Sharks 18-6: Try of the year?!

What on earth did we just witness.

A magical flick from Teig Wilton to Siosifa Talakai was backed up with a grubber from the centre, with Ronaldo Mulitalo almost fumbling it, before getting a toe to the ball, regathering and scoring to stretch the lead to 12.

Mulitalo (82) and Wilton (81) are having blinders tonight, while Josh Curran’s 69 will see him on the players to watch for round three.

65th minute - Sharks 12-6: Nicho Hynes is up to SuperCoach 51 points, while Briton Nikora is stranded on just 17.

The defence of Hynes makes the bulk of his output while he still looks to find his attacking mojo.

58th minute - Sharks 12-6: Jesse Ramien brilliance gives the Sharks their first lead of the night.

He powered through a tackle of three to get an offload to Sione Katoa, who flirted with the touchline but managed to touch down with centimetres to spare.

Ramien jumps to 48 points with Katoa now on 55.

We also have a sighting of Tuku Hau Tapuha.

The young gun is on the field for the first time as Blake Taaffe puts down another bomb. He’s had an unhappy night under the high ball.

A try assist and line break assist keeps his score at 36.

Dale Finucane is on the field in NRL game 250. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
Dale Finucane is on the field in NRL game 250. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

50th minute - 6-all: Some sloppy play to start the second half.

The Sharks haven’t been able to get it out of their own end, while the Bulldogs have made too many errors.

Kurtis Morrin is flying under the radar with 31 points while popular cheapie Samuel Hughes has just eight.

7PM: Final team lists are in for the Panthers vs Eels clash.

Daine Laurie (FLB/5/8, $515,100) comes onto the bench at the expense of Soni Luke who is the 18th man.

Joe Ofahengaue (2RF/FRF, $356,300) will start in the front row with Junior Paulo dropping to the bench.

Daine Laurie is back in Panthers colours. Photo: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
Daine Laurie is back in Panthers colours. Photo: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Halftime – 6-all: What a first half that was.

If you thought last night had it all, this game has matched it.

A HIA on the first tackle of the game, a try denied because the referee was in the way and plenty of scuffles.

In between all that there’s a game of footy going on, and both teams are unable to be split at 6-all as they head into the sheds.

Special shout out to referee Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski for managing to get ‘shenanigans’ into a chat with the captains.

Nicho Hynes sits on 27 SuperCoach points after a solid enough first half but will need to lift in order to send coaches home happy.

Josh Curran is flying with 46 and Jacob Preston put together an impressive first 40 with 34 points.

The top scorers at the half:

1. Blake Wilson - 48

2. Teig Wilton - 47

3. Josh Curran - 46

4. Ronaldo Mulitalo - 44

5. Jacob Preston - 34

34th minute - 6-all: Fight night!

Someone better tell these boys that the boxing was on the other night.

Nikora is in the thick of things again with a late tackle on Matt Burton after a kick, prompting Reed Mahoney to have a push and shove with the second rower.

Latest scores: Josh Curran 46, Blake Wilson 44, Teig Wilton 42, Cameron McInnes 32, Max King 28

Jaeman Salmon of the Bulldogs is met by the defence. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
Jaeman Salmon of the Bulldogs is met by the defence. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

26th minute - 6-all: That’s better from the Sharks.

Hynes puts Teig Wilton through a huge gap to get past Hutchison, before handing it off for Braydon Trindall to get the home side on the board.

Nicho converts the try and we’re all locked up.

That moves Wilton to 44 points with McInnes next best for the Sharks on 28.

Blake Wilson gets the scoring underway at Cronulla. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
Blake Wilson gets the scoring underway at Cronulla. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

18th minute - Bulldogs 6-0: Blake Wilson gets the Bulldogs on the board after a nice backline movement.

Blake Taaffe threw the last pass and was laid out by the defence for his troubles.

Wilson now leads all SuperCoach scores with 37, followed by Josh Curran with 25 who has benefited from more minutes.

9th minute - 0-0: Unsurprisingly, Poasa Faamausili has been ruled out of the contest with a Category 1 HIA.

But in another twist, Briton Nikora has been sent to the sin bin for a shoulder to the head of Viliame Kikau.

It was Kikau that looked to get the scoring underway in the seventh minute of play, only for the Bunker to rule a neutral infringement for referee Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski getting in the way of a chasing defender and denying him an opportunity.

6PM: And we’re away!

Dale Finucane walks out onto the ground with his two children in a lovely opening.

Andrew Voss and Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach are in the box for Fox League/Kayo.

Poasa Faamausili goes down on the very first tackle of the game after clashing heads with Cameron McInnes.

Josh Curran is onto the field.

Poasa Faamausili of the Bulldogs is attended to by team trainers after a head clash. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
Poasa Faamausili of the Bulldogs is attended to by team trainers after a head clash. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

5.45PM: 15 minutes to go.

Two intriguing clashes tonight, but the clear pick looks to be Penrith vs Parramatta. I’ve tipped the Sharks and the Eels – and if both win I’ll have matched my score from last week. What a tough first round it was to find a winner.

Onto the important things – when you’re tucking into a pizza and loving life with four hours of footy, what sides do you go for?

Garlic bread and chicken wings are undefeated for mine.

It’s officially a sellout crowd at PointsBet Stadium and with a full house at BlueBet Stadium for the second match, it continues a great start to the season attendance-wise.

5.30PM: Half an hour until kick-off.

Did you make any trades after the opening round or are you HODLing?

After failing to crack four figures (like many apparently) I pulled the trigger on bringing in Nicho Hynes, Zac Laybutt and Haizyn Mellars (the way South Sydney are going, anyone could be a chance of getting a start in the backline next week).

Out goes Greg Marzhew, Drew Hutchison and Jaeman Salmon in my squad.

I’ve given the captain’s armband to Nicho. Home game and heavy favourites surely points to a 100+ point game, right?

He’s the lone player I have from this game in my team, but I’m going heavy in the battle of the west.

Dylan Brown, J’maine Hopgood, Nathan Cleary, Taylan May and Liam Henry – I’m relying on you five to land me some respectability.

Tuku Hau Tapuha makes his club debut tonight for Cronulla. Picture: NRL Photos
Tuku Hau Tapuha makes his club debut tonight for Cronulla. Picture: NRL Photos

5PM: Final teams are in for the Friday night opener between Cronulla and Canterbury.

The Bulldogs remain 1-17 as named on Tuesday, with Tuku Hau Tapuha (FRF, $204,300) coming onto the bench in place of Royce Hunt.

After their courageous win in New Zealand last week, Toby Rudolf comes into the starting 13 with Dale Finucane to come off the bench in game 250.

Josh Addo-Carr is out for the Bulldogs with Connor Tracey (CTW, $566,100) coming onto the wing to replace the injured Foxx.

Interestingly out of the top five players owned from the two teams, four are Bulldogs:

1. Samuel Hughes (FRF, $238,900) – 40.8%

2. Jaeman Salmon (2RF/CTW, $317,100) – 40.5%

3. Nicho Hynes (HFB, $970,000) – 29.0%

4. Drew Hutchison (HFB/CTW, $354,900) – 27.0%

5. Poasa Faamausili (FRF, $238,900) – 17.3%

Nicho Hynes is the third-most popular player among the Sharks and Bulldogs. Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images
Nicho Hynes is the third-most popular player among the Sharks and Bulldogs. Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images

EARLIER: There’s no way to sugar-coat it – Nicho Hynes (26 points) and Nathan Cleary (36 points) were bad in round one.

Nicho’s Sharks may have somehow escaped with the two premiership points (way to choke Wahs!) but his 26 SuperCoach points was the second-worst 80-minute score in his career, while Cleary’s 36 points was his ninth worst 80-minute effort.

With each player taking north of $900K out of the SuperCoach salary cap another bad performance will see many reaching for the trade button.

There’s plenty of other SuperCoach storylines from the two big games with some of the biggest being:

* Speaking of star halves, Parramatta’s Mitch Moses (33 points) was hampered by a groin injury in round one and he’s been cut by almost 1,500 owners already, can he bounce back?

* Cheapie hookers Joey Lussick (61 points) and Soni Luke (62 points) had big games in round one and both are popular buys heading into the match – but beware – history suggests neither can maintain that scoring rate,

* Bryce Cartwright had a cracker in the season opener scoring two tries and throwing six offloads, will Penrith’s renowned defence shut him down?

* The injury to Josh-Addo-Carr caused interchange chaos at the Bulldogs, hopefully this week we get a better guide as to how minutes will be shared in the pack.

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Originally published as SC NRL Winners and Losers: Key takeaways, studs and duds from Sharks vs Bulldogs, Panthers vs Eels

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Original URL: https://www.themercury.com.au/sport/nrl/supercoach-news/nrl-live-sharks-vs-bulldogs-and-panthers-vs-eels-supercoach-scores-and-analysis/news-story/54bd4113f4e522619cbc6dad04d5b4b3