JT’s Weekend Roundup – Round 5

This week in SuperCoach was a bit of a mixed bag, with some of the usual suspects at fullback tearing teams apart, those that don’t own Fifita tearing their hair out, and young guns like Sam Walker, Charlie Staines and Brett Morris taking it to their more veteran opponents. On the other side of the coin, the likes of Big Tino, Big Capes, Big Jet and Big Ted disappointed. If you avoided that carnage, well done to you.

I thought I did reasonably with a score of 1,200 at the end of the round last night, but downdates to Papenhuyzen saw my 1160 for the week drop me 2000 spots! Crazy old year. A 1515 got the cash this week – and if you look at that winning side, there’s really not many controversial plays. Isaiah Papali’i is on an absolute tear though and his 109 definitely helped! What a POD.

As we mentioned on last week’s pods, now is definitely not too early to start thinking about bye planning with Origin looming in rounds 13 and 17 to wreak havoc on our SuperCoach sides. We now have to consider who is playing themselves into form enough to jag an Origin jersey (Peachey, To’o, Papy, Fergo, Luai – just some of the more popular names that SuperCoaches will be hoping only get named from Game 2!). And who we might be able to target for those all-important weeks. Will Matto be back this week, and is he even a buy? Who will we need to cover the all-important fullback spot over those weeks?

And finally:

Yee.

Haw.

The Weekly Top 5

  • Rockers– the ‘SuperCoach-relevant’ players who killed it
  • Floppers – the ‘SuperCoach-relevant’ players who killed your week
  • Shockers – the left-field players who will no doubt be high on the list of trade-ins the next round and prime candidates for SC players chasing last week’s points!
  • Trade Fail of the Week – Always great value.

ROCKERS

1. David Fifita – 143. Massive effort against a weakened opposition. Against the poorer defensive teams this year Fifita’s been unstoppable with three tons in five games. Even in what seemed like a quiet round 1 outing he still notched 60. For those, like me, who went without him at the start of the year, we’re now playing catchup for a guy that has taken no time to settle in. His 102-point average to start the year is huge, as is his price now. And if you look at the opposition to come – Manly, Broncos and Tigers in the next month – it’s going to be a very, very difficult call to make to not break your side to fit him in.

2. Brett Morris – 111. Four tons now to keep up this incredible run of form for the ageless veteran. Doesn’t just find himself on the receiving end of some quality ball, as he did on the weekend for another double, but also goes searching for work and finds plenty of busts along the way. Ticks all the boxes. Only concern for him this year is the chance he does get rested as the year wears on, but for now, he’s basically scoring in one week what it is taking our cheapie CTW brigade to do in 3 or 4. Incredible.

3. Latrell Mitchell – 138. He’s just finding his way into the game at exactly the right times. Scored a try that ultimately made sure the Bunnies kicked on out of a lull in the first half, then managed what was described as an “Under 8s style run” to charge onto the ball, run into a still defensive line, pop a ball out and send Reynolds straight through the middle for a class linebreak assist in the back end. It’s always been quality over quantity for Latrell but he’s showing plenty of quality so far this season. A low score of 67 in 5 games is great signs for his long-term consistency.

4. Tyrone Peachey – 101. Playing across the park to cover for the concussed Phillip Sami, but still primarily at his newfound lock position, Peachey pulled out one of his trademark attacking games. A late burst from the in-goal to break multiple tackles and get an offload away ultimately boosted him to his first ton since way back in R21, 2018. He started with a bang with a try assist and kicked on from there, his 80 minutes on-field (helped of course by that injury) also a big plus. He had a down week last round, with a stack of negative points hurting him, but was at his best here. In his new role as starting lock, he looks a very interesting play in the CTW this season. One of the few moves I’ve gotten right it would seem this year!

5. Ryan Papenhuyzen – 113. Some might even say this was a quiet game for him which goes to show how high expectations are. A bit of furore about some late-night lost points on Sunday but it seems to have been the correct call with a few phantom linebreaks given to him. A very popular captaincy option this week and with good reason, providing so much value through his support plays through the middle and tearing apart some weaker teams. Playing himself into an Origin jersey which hurts a little SuperCoach wise, but will be well-deserved.

FLOPPERS

1. James Roberts – 14. We’ve held him around through a few suspensions and poor scores so far this year in the hope that a matchup against the Cowboys would provide a much bigger return. Not to be. He’s lost value, scored in the teens and had a very poor game on the field. Very few will be able to resist the urge to rage trade, but the only question is who do we go to given the lack of cheapie options there at the minute.

2. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui – 26. It was the Fifita show all game here, with Tino left to pick up whatever crumbs were thrown his way (not a lot) having been moved from the middle to the edge as a result of the Sami concussion. It didn’t help his workrate despite the 65 minutes on the park, and a visibly frustrated Tino was the result. At $500k, these sorts of down weeks can be pretty costly, but with a near-ton also still in his rolling average, SuperCoaches should probably hold fire just yet on punting him from their side. Read above for the handy run that Fifita himself has if you need any other reason to keep him in.

3. David Fusitu’a – 29. It felt very nice to punt him from the side this week. Just getting nothing going. Put on a good hit in what’s probably his highlight of the season so far. You just know he’s going to score 3 tries and ton up soon, lure us all back in, and then go back to these 20s for another two months.

4. Jordan Riki – 39. May just be nearing the end of his run in our sides as a genuine cash cow. His ability to fit into your 17 with just the one score above 55 all season now has to come into question. The Broncos just don’t have the ability (or want) to get him and Niu any early ball on that right edge. It’s costing both of them in hitup points and Riki’s ability to bust tackles just isn’t being put to use. Playing a lot of 80-minute games which is a good sign for the faith the coach has put in him, and will eke out some more cash rises over the coming weeks, but just doesn’t look a play at the minute with the way they’re going.

5. Kurt Capewell – 40. Strange season so far for Capewell. By all rights he’s still scoring well for a CTW given how poor that position has been this season, but it’s definitely a bit more erratic than you’d like to see from a guy playing at second row. Minutes are fluctuating wildly (71 here) and he’s moving around the park a bit. Without tries his scores can be low, and even with them (last week) they can still be low. Not sure what the tonic is for him. Perhaps a matchup against the Broncos this week will launch him back into that Rocker category. His tackling efficiency looks a little sloppy too – 5, 3 and 4 missed tackles over his last three games.

SHOCKERS

1. Jason Saab – 45. Hallelujah.

2. Will Kennedy – 69. Again, not a huge score, but worth noting just how settled he now looks in the fullback spot. An average of 76 for the season incredibly would have him mid-range in this crazy position so far this year, but he looks a guy definitely worth considering as coverage in those bye weeks (he would play R17). Likened to the great David Peachey all night in commentary, and with Shaun Johnson’s return imminent, you’d be hard-pressed to move him on to accommodate any spine shuffle there.

3. Corey Thompson – 104. His average of 74 is comparable to the much-more fancied Brian To’o (77) and he’s looking damn good in racking up those points. Regularly finding the line and the Titans seem to love shifting it down his edge. Should form a great combination with Fogarty, Kelly and Fifita. It’s not quite at the same level (yet) as Luai/Kikau/Crichton/To’o, but that left edge looks just as lethal at times. As Lakey mentioned in the podcast, we definitely need to start treating this Titans side seriously and Thompson is a prime example. Great player, great reward. Just 2% owned!

4. Isaiah Papali’i – 109. A try here for his first-ever SuperCoach ton. He just keeps getting the job done, ever since his stint off the bench in Round 1 to turn the tide for a slow-starting Eels outfit. What do they do when Matto gets back? At a negative breakeven and seemingly just improving with every week, it’s the only ‘con’ on the list of reasons you shouldn’t be looking at this guy. Anyone who took the punt has been well-rewarded with a 90 and a 100 in his past fortnight. As we’ve seen before, these can often be flash-in-the-pan efforts and he’ll regress to the 40-point average many expected of him given his recent history in the game, but the new jersey looks to be doing wonders.

5. Joe Ofahengaue – 97. Moved into the second row pre-game and scored one of the junkier tries you’ll see in a defenceless outing for the Tigers and Cowboys. Of course many have already moved on from him after being benched a couple of weeks ago. He’s then gone on to score a 60 and near-100. Of course. Of course.

INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS

Injuries

  • Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (Ankle) – 1-2 weeks
  • Curtis Scott (Ribs) – 1-2 weeks
  • Josh Hodgson (Hip) – TBA
  • Connelly Lemuelu (Shoulder) – TBA
  • Chris Randall (Wrist) – TBA
  • Ben Te’o (Bicep) – TBA
  • Freddy Lussick (Arm) – TBA
  • Jack Gosiewski (Foot) – TBA
  • Dylan Walker (Hamstring) – 4 weeks

HIA – Joey Leilua, Wade Graham, Josh Dugan, Phillip Sami, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (all failed)

Suspensions

  • Ben Marschke – Crusher – 1-2 weeks
  • Dylan Brown – Crusher – 1-2 weeks

Justin

North Queenslander born and bred, Justin is also very much a Cowboys tragic. Rumours have it that his first born son will be named Thurston.

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Magpies4Eva007

Cheers JT! Much appreciated!

DCE2011

Great write-up, JT. Appreciate all the effort you put in.

DCE2011

Cowboys and Manly record their first wins (there’s still hope for both of us). 🙂

The Duke

Thanks for the write up Justin. Captained the newly acquired Fifita as I didn’t trust my first choice in Fergo.

The Duke

I didn’t rate him but thanks be to an injured Keary/Tapine combo led me to have enough to get him and Fergo.

AJW

Thanks again Justin – another much needed tonic from the weekend’s craziness. Just gonna listen to the pod at brekkie (here on the other side of the world!) – and congrats to your Cowboys, as Leichhardt Oval is indeed a wonderful ground (esp to win at)! I feel good that the Eagles came back from adversity too – those first wins are just amazing for that horrible frustration you can feel (I’m sure the players suffer a thousand times worse), but now ‘the dam wall has busted!’ Onward and upward! 😉 Cheers mate!

AJW

Hahaha JT – it sort of mirrored my last visit to Leichhardt about 28 years ago – was there to witness yet another episode of the Backdoor Benny vs Mario Fenech feud – with Mario (who was finishing his career with North Sydney) coming off up the tunnel (about 2 metres away from yours’ truly!) covered in blood, and fuming – a bloke not to stuff about with in that sort of mood! Good luck with the Cows mate – the Sea Eagles will be looking to build on that very close victory – I’m predicting a top 6 spot… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by AJW
fc

Peachey stayed in the middle, with Proctor playing centre and Tino edge

Pool Man

Thanks JT, another great write up.

Crazy

Shockers: Averillo not worth a mention?

lobs

hi JT, is there a particular reason as to why condon didnt play 80?

StormWarning

Cheers.

It’s tempting to go Thompson instead of To’o after reading this but barring injury I can’t see how To’o doesn’t ton up against the Broncos this Thurday. Gold Coast have a more difficult opponent this week which is saying something about the Broncos.

Tipping a cricket score and SC party this Thursday.

Mel

YEE! HAW!

Awesome write up, cheers! Shame about the Hammer, especially coming up against the dogs