Croker’s Call: Another harsh SC lesson learnt

Canberra Raiders captain Jarrod Croker reveals his trades and tactics for Round 18.

Croker's Call

I’ve learnt some big lessons in my debut SuperCoach season.

Last weekend I added to that list.

That lesson was that you shouldn’t assume 1,366 points would earn you a rank rise or a league victory.

Nope, I actually dropped a few spots into 18,725th place overall, but more gutting was the fact I was knocked out of the SC Playbook league.

Yep, the miracle finals run is over, although to be fair it never really started.

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I did win a preliminary final of my public league with a gritty 23 point win though, so I suppose that’s something.

My skipper Nathan Cleary scored 73 which was a tad underwhelming.

Kalyn Ponga went massive for me, while Stephen Crichton and Maika Sivo were my only players under 58 points.

Apparently that’s not enough!

It’s now up to my little mate Sammy Williams to fly the Raiders flag having knocked off the Spy by 36 points to go straight through to the prelim final.

If I had as much time as him on the sideline this year to spend on SuperCoach that could’ve been me…

Not to worry, I’ll try win my other league and see if I can finish with a bang to creep into the top 10-15k overall.

Onto this week’s trades.

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MITCHELL AUBUSSON to TINO FA’ASUAMALEAUI

Mitch Aubusson makes way after plenty of weeks sitting in my reserves. He earned me some decent cash and produced a few solid scores when I needed him, so thanks for your services mate.

In comes Melbourne destroyer Tino Fa’asuamaleaui who has been starting at lock since Dale Finucane succumbed to injury.

This guy is as damaging as just about any player in the game. Rather than just being a straight up big bopper, he’s got enough late footwork at the line to really trouble defenders.

He’ll be my secret weapon for the run home, so hopefully he continues with decent game time for the final few rounds.

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CAPTAIN

I’ll be going with James Tedesco as captain this week. Unfortunately we were the victims of his freakish abilities last weekend, proving the difference in a tight game.

He takes on the Knights who have a few key players out this week, so it’ll be good to see someone else on the receiving end.

My vice-captain will be Damien Cook who I’m hoping can take advantage of some unconvincing Tigers defence in recent times.

Good luck to everyone this week!

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