POD Watch Round 7: Corey Norman, Kenny Edwards emerge as options

WITH Round 7 in the books and the representative period fast approaching could Corey Norman emerge as a genuine keeper?

AS we edge our way closer to the representative period, the majority of players mentioned in POD watch will come from the teams that offer some sort of decent bye coverage during this integral part of the SuperCoach season.

There will still be the odd player thrown in to accommodate for the head-to-head players but the main focus over the next five weeks will be to identify players that could help us fly up the overall rankings.

1) Corey Norman (5.1 per cent ownership)

Norman gets a start for the second week in a row after locking away his second Perfect Eight victory in as many weeks.

Norman has set up seven tries in the past fortnight and will start round eight with a three game average of 73.

Potential owners will need to make a move this week with the dual 5/8/FLB increasing in value by $44,000 to sit with a price tag of around $322,000.

2) Kenny Edwards (1.1 per cent ownership)

Edwards has now made a steady $53,000 so far this season and will continue to be a slow-burner until round twelve.

In round three, when Manu Ma’u was suspended, Edwards played eighty minutes on the edge. Manu Ma’u won’t play Origin but Beau Scott is expected to be named which could mean that Edwards takes over his role for big minutes during the big bye rounds 12, 15 and 18 in which the Eels play.

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3) Gareth Widdop (2.5 per cent ownership)

Widdop returned to form against the Titans with a season-high 93 but will amazingly still drop in value by $3000 this week after a poor recent run of SuperCoach form.

This means that his 93 will now sit in his rolling average for the next few weeks which will result in this dual 5/8/HFB, who covers rounds 12 and 15 seeing a decent increase from what will be his $257,000 round eight price tag if he can replicate last weekend’s form on ANZAC day against the Roosters.

Widdop had his best SuperCoach game of the season against the Titans.

4) Jack De Belin (2.5 per cent ownership)

JDB simply can’t be ignored any longer. His weekend score of 70 may have been inflated by a try but he has averaged 75 minutes in his last five games and will start next round valued at around $382,000.

Many SuperCoaches are nervous about how the return of Ben Creagh will impact on his minutes but I think it’s time to get past his hair style and get busy livin’.

5) Tyson Frizell (1.6 per cent ownership)

Frizell is a cheaper option in the Dragons pack and will be available for somewhere near $346,000 when trading reopens for business today. Frizell has averaged 56 so far this season but his scores have been made up predominantly of base stats with only the one try scored in round one.

He played 66 minutes for 65 points last weekend but played the full-eighty during rounds 5 and 6, however, he is missing the attacking flare that Benji Marshall brings to the team.

6) Ben Hunt (4.9 per cent ownership)

Hunt ($420,000-rd 8) will now be the highest priced POD who will not play Origin after his 141 monster against the Knights.

He has had a brilliant recent run of form averaging 98 in his last three games but will be tested by some firmer opposition over the next month when the Broncos come up against the Rabbitohs, Sharks, Sea-Eagles and Cowboys.

Kahu scored a double and will score even better if he continues to kick goals.

7) Jordan Kahu (3.2 per cent ownership)

Priced at around $282,000 this week, Kahu has presented himself as a possible upgrade option for Pat Mata’utia after scoring four tries in his last three games.

Kahu will continue to increase in value over the next few weeks and seems to be taking more of the goal kicking duties from Corey Parker, however, it would be remiss of me not to mention that he only averaged 24 over the first four rounds of the season.

8) Paul Gallen (3.4 per cent ownership)

Only an option head-to-head players looking to surge to the pointy end of their league tables. Gallen will command a large chunk of the salary cap in round eight, somewhere in the ballpark of $484,000 to be exact, but if you’ve got the dough, with a 73 average and very low ownership, Gal could be your man.

9) Tim Grant & Ava Seumanufagai (1.9 & 0.5 per cent ownership)

When news dropped last week that Aaron Woods would miss 4-6 weeks due to injury, Tim Grant and Ava Seumanufagai’s output and minutes were always going to be monitored a little more closely in round seven by many SuperCoaches.

Tim Grant (56) has played between 58-60 minutes on four occasions this year and played 63 minutes against the Storm whereas Seumanufagai (48) saw only a small 4 minute increase of game time from his season average.

Considering this game also had an extra five minutes of golden point and with Sauaso Sue looking to return from injury next round, I think there are better options (namely Eels prop Daniel Alvaro) than Tim and Ava.

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10) Dylan Napa (7.2 per cent ownership)

Followed up from his 80 minute season-high 90 points last weekend with another solid 67 in 64 minutes pre-updates.

Napa has made some decent cash for the 7 per cent of SuperCoaches who sit with the Roosters’ hit-man in their FRF/2RF after averaging 63 in his last five games.

For those that don’t yet own him but are considering the trade, with an expected price tag of $360,000 heading into round eight, to trade him in sounds a few alarm bells with word coming out of the Rooster town suggesting that Boyd Cordner and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves could be back as early as next round. Potential owners may want to hold off until after round twelve and monitor how the return of Cordner and JWH affect his minutes.

Originally published as POD Watch Round 7: Corey Norman, Kenny Edwards emerge as options