Buy, Sell, Hold Round 19

Remember last year when we had all those trades and you could basically max trade until the end of the season? Good times.

This season with the re-introduction of bye rounds and the full 25 rounds many will be struggling for trades. The injury toll and line-up changes this week haven’t helped. Even before teams were released at 4pm on Tuesday we had news of Taane Milne being benched, Xavier Savage out for the season, Alex Johnson out with a hamstring injury and Ryan Papenhuyzen making his return from the bench.

Best call – BUY Payne Haas (89). Almost a must have this week.

Worst call – Anything to do with Jason Saab. The new king of (many) rocks and (very few) diamonds. Which one will show up this week? Rocks if I play him, diamonds if I don’t. Toss a coin.

Tom Trbojevic ($995,200 FLB – 0, Avg: 129.2, BE 18)

Turbo against the Tigers. Not much more needs to be said. Break your team to do it. This is for your own mental health.

Payne Haas ($530,200 FRF – 89, Avg: 65.8, BE 18)

Not as cheap as he was last week after picking up another try assist, but still under priced for what he will deliver. Haas’ minutes appear to have stabilised with Matt Lodge and Tevita Pangai departing, spending 64 minutes on field in the past three outings, with the last one coming after playing in the third Origin game. Once the Broncos get past Penrith this weekend and the Roosters in Round 22, the Broncos have a soft draw including two games against the Knights.

Ryan Matterson ($549,700 2RF – 135, Avg: 67.1, BE 0)

Nothing about chasing last week’s points here, Matterson is a certified Supercoach keeper yet is somehow only owned by 14% of coaches. With that break even he’ll be out of reach for most in the next week or two. His minutes have been on the decline of late, not having played 80 since Round 10, although it hasn’t really affected his scoring. The three forward bench the Eels have named (if it remains that way) should help his minutes.

Jordan Rapana ($444,000 CTW – 79, Avg: 60.3, BE 31)

The Raiders fullback injury crisis worsened this week with Savage being ruled out for the last two months with a shoulder injury. That pushes Rapana off his wing and into the fullback role. He played one game in the #1 jersey last season, scoring 42 points in Round 12. Prior to that you have to go all the way back to Round 2, 2015 to find him being named at fullback, and in that game he scored 39. Not great returns but a very small sample size. At worst he’ll have the ball in his hands more which is a positive. At 6% ownership he’s a very sneaky point of difference right now, but won’t be for long.

Josh Addo-Carr ($517,800 CTW – 0, Avg: 63.3, BE 56)

If you’re struggling for numbers in the backline this week, picking up The Fox could set you up nicely for the remaining eight rounds. Other than 14 points against the Raiders in Round 11, Addo-Carr hasn’t scored under 50 since Round 6, and has hit triple figures three times during that period, which would be an excellent strike rate if Nicho Hynes and Tom Trbojevic didn’t exist. The Storm’s run home doesn’t matter that much as they’ve shown they can put points on anyone this season. Unlike Rapana, he’s not a complete point of difference with 15% ownership however.

Haumole Olakau’atu ($520,000 2RF – 95, Avg: 58.5, BE 20)

The run home is no fun if we’re all sporting the same lineups. At just 4% ownership Olakau’atu is a fantastic point of difference who is sporting a five round average of 68.6 and has nailed down an edge role with the Sea Eagles. If that five round average continues he’s probably under priced by about $80k. He’s even posted some good scores without Turbo in the line-up. Manly’s run home does feature games against the Eels and Storm, but also includes the Tigers this week, Bulldogs and Cowboys.

Tohu Harris ($490,200 2RF – 6, Avg: 68.6, BE 154)

A must sell this week after Harris suffered an ACL tear on the weekend. These things never occur at a good time, but Harris’ run of injuries couldn’t have come at a worse time for Supercoaches. Wishing him all the best and hoping to see him back early last season.

Alex Johnston ($770,600 FLB|CTW – 69, Avg: 72.4, BE 88)

The decision on what to do with AJ is a tough one. If you have trades, or cover, it would make sense to hold him for the Rabbitohs games against the Titans (Round 22) and Dragons (25). The issue is that between those games they play the Roosters and Panthers. Hamstrings, as we all know from Supercoach experience, are a tough injury to return from. I usually would lean towards hold as CTW is usually easier to cover than other positions due to scoring volatility, but the lure of chasing points is hard to resist and $770k can free up a lot of options.

Karl Lawton ($455,800 2RF|HOK – 26, Avg: 60.1, BE 98)

Lawton proved a very handy pickup during the last bye round, holding onto an edge spot and picking up a couple of tries along the way. He’s out of the Eagles 17 this round and can be sold after making $110k for owners.

Mitch Moses ($579,000 HFB – 0, Avg: 59.9, BE 57)

Moses had been on tear before Origin 3, scoring back to back 100s and then 50 points in a loss to the Panthers, and looked like a solid choice to hold the halfback spot until Nathan Cleary returned. Now with a back injury he’s a strong candidate to sell, if not this week then definitely next week when Jahrome Hughes hopefully returns.

Taane Milne ($461,400 2RF|CTW – 58, Avg: 58.0, BE -17)

Many of us avoided Milne as he had all the makings of a bye cover trap. However, he proved most of us wrong by scoring 131 in Round 17 and increasing in price by $274k. He still has a negative break even this round, meaning that you can hang on to him to squeeze the last bit of cash out if you’re not forced into any other trades. For most though, he’s made more than enough cash to be used as a bridge to a keeper.

Shaun Johnson ($485,900 HFB|5/8 – 17, Avg: 51.8, BE 113)

A fine rage trade option this week following a paltry 17 points against the Broncos on Sunday. There’s a great chance for SJ to redeem himself this Sunday though as Cronulla faces the Bulldogs. If he can’t make amends for some poor scores this weekend, then he should be punted.

Kodi Nikorima ($424,300 HFB|5/8 – 20, Avg: 62.2, BE 131)

Nikorima followed up his lowest score of the season in Round 17 (7 points) by being shuffled to the interchange bench. Thankfully he’s returned to the starting line-up this week and may have some more freedom with Chad Townsend returning. He’s absolutely worth holding for the run home with the Warriors draw over the next month after the Souths game, where they face the Tigers, Sharks, Bulldogs, Broncos, Raiders and finally the Titans to finish the season.

Tevita Pangai ($529,100 2RF|FRF – 0, Avg: 67.3, BE 78)

He may not get the same minutes he saw at the Broncos, but with the weapons around him he could easily match his scores in a fraction of the time. If you’ve held this long, as 13% of owners (or is that zombie teams?) have done, what’s another week or two anyway?