Weekly Wrap: Highs, lows and shocks, Rd 7

Check out our Round 7 NRL SuperCoach wrap, with some big individual scores setting up for another interesting trade week.

Weekly Wrap

The ANZAC Round is one of the better rounds on the NRL Calendar and this year it was no different. The scores across the weekend were high and the footy was even better!

There were some tough trade decisions to be made before lockout and the big question lied in the fullback position.

With Ryan Papenhuyzen out, Latrell Mitchell suspended and James Tedesco having a SuperCoach form slump there were decisions to be made.

Well hopefully by 4pm on Sunday those questions were answered with the NSW fullback Tom Trbojevic tearing the Tigers apart! What a sight to see him back to his best.

SuperCoach though can be a cruel game as I sat down last night. With players like Fifita, Turbo, S. Walker and TPJ in my side, I was coasting for a 1400+ score. It was brought down heavily by captain Teddy. Oh what could have been…

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Panthers v Knights

There seems to be two certainty’s in life these days, forgetting to check into cafes and restaurants on the Service NSW app and Nathan Cleary knocking out 90 odd on a Thursday night.

He’s a very safe captaincy option with those willing to put the straight C on him early on in the week happy to bank the points. 

Kalyn Ponga didn’t quite back up last week’s brilliance, but that’s typically his game. Not really rocks and diamonds, more like quartz and diamonds. I’d be holding for the next few weeks anyway.

Connor Watson and Jayden Brailey continue to score well, not really warranting a trade with both set to play round 13. Owners have a tough decision to make – upgrade or hold.

Titans v Rabbitohs

Friday night was a smorgasbord of tries and there were none better than David Fifita’s barnstorming three in the first half!

He looks like he eats rocks for breakfast but my word he can play. He made an absolute mockery of the Rabbitohs defence close to the line, shrugging off Adam Reynolds what looked like four times in the one play. He is now the leading overall scorer in this year’s SuperCoach after Friday’s 153 and will cost you around $850k if you somehow don’t already own him.

Corey Thompson was the other Titan to crack a ton with 110 that didn’t include a try! I’d be keeping an eye on him over the next month with a three round average of 88.

For Souths, Cam Murray backed up last week’s performance with 84 whilst Alex Johnston banged out his highest score of the year with 94. 

And Benji wound back the clock to notch up 105. I’m throwing it out there, but he could shape as a massive POD over the Origin period with the possibility of Latrell, Walker and Cook all missing some footy.

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Eels v Broncos

The SuperCoach scorers at the Fox lab were kept busy on Friday as the high scores continued on a hot and humid night in Darwin which seemed to be the perfect setting for a return of the Carty Party!

Like staying out past midnight, I’m too old to be joining in on parties these days so I’ll watch from afar, but it was good to see him hit the 2016 form that saw him become the most popular SuperCoach player.

Parra’s backline were on fire with Clint Gutherson and Maika Sivo going large, with the latter notching up 157. I was called out last week for not including Gutherson in the fullback discussion and he made me look silly this week with 124, but I know deep down I was right. He’s not worthy of cleaning the mud off Turbo’s boots.

TPJ finally found that SuperCoach form we know he possesses with an even 100 for the night and it could have been more had he not have been held up over the line twice. He comes at a cheap price but you have to ride the rollercoaster of owning him. He will play round 13 so that’s a massive tick in his column.

And if you can afford him, Payne Haas has to come into your side. 78 in 57 minutes in a well beaten side. He’s a lock for the back end of the year.

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Sharks v Bulldogs

If I said the SuperCoach scorers were busy on Friday night then they had little to do on Saturday! A bit of a bludger of a match but that didn’t matter when you were riding the Bulldogs home for their first win.

Luke Thompson was mentioned by me last week and the guys on the podcast as a smokey for a downgrade option and he didn’t disappoint. He finished the night with 65 in 63 minutes and his base looks good.

Mawene Hiroti was still able to knock out 89 despite the bunker playing no-try bingo with him.  

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Cowboys v Raiders

Things seem to be going from bad to worse for the Green Machine, either that or we have grossly underestimated the Cowboys for 2021.

Valentine Holmes continued his hot run of form, notching up back-to-back 90+ scores and has a pretty good run coming for the next six weeks. He is dual position in the CTW/FLB and goal-kicks. The 2021 version of Zac Lomax.

Tom Starling looked electric out of hooker for the Raiders and depending on what Stuart does with Josh Hodgson, he may feature heavily for the next month or so at least.

Ben Condon found the stripe again for those owners who bought him cheap. He will continue to make money in the coming weeks and may even lock down that edge spot for the foreseeable future.

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Tigers v Sea Eagles

Anyone know the quickest way to get someone a knighthood or a Lordship? I’m thinking Sir Tom Trbojevic has a nice ring to it, or even Lord Tommy.

My word, what a two weeks he has had! He only spent 60 minutes on the field for Manly but mustered an incredible 118 in that time to back up last week’s 117.

At $593k he is cheap and will only skyrocket in price. He takes on the Panthers who are ripe for a loss.

Josh Schuster continued his meteoric rise and makes trading him out even harder! He scored 74 on Sunday to take his three round average to 77. He has to be a hold for now and even a lock for your 17 most weeks.

For the sorry old Tigers it was much the same as we expect from them. David Nofoaluma scored 50 despite being starved of the ball. If he got points for every time he threw his hands in the air he would have finished with 120.

Roosters v Dragons

Jordan Pereira you have cost me!! The shocking hit on James Tedesco took him out for the game costing me and I assume a lot of others some vital head-to-head matchups!

The fact I had the captaincy on him hurt even more.  Teddy has been on a bit of a slide since Keary went down and the head knock might be the sign we needed to trade him out. I’ll be running the Turbo/Laurie combo until Papi comes back.

Thankfully though with Teddy’s downfall we have unearthed another Chook superstar! Sam Walker was outstanding once Tedesco left the field and banged out his first, and definitely not last 100+ score of his short career. With the lack of genuine scoring halfbacks outside Cleary, he may be a hold for the entire year.

My bold prediction of Lomax going big was a big letdown, but that puts me in good company for bold predictions in the SC Playbook ranks. At least we aren’t afraid of throwing a call out there whilst the Spy runs with his new segment – Timid Thoughts for the upcoming week.

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Melbourne v Warriors

A severely understrength Warriors outfit was always going to find it tough against the Storm.

The late withdrawal of Tohu Harris didn’t help owners and those who traded him in for the week.

Melbourne were clinical with six players cracking 80+ points! Jahrome Hughes was superb setting up what seemed like 16 tries whilst Nicho Hynes did his best Ryan Papenhuyzen impersonation to notch up 98.

He throws a beautiful cut-out ball that will see him be a SuperCoach scoring machine if he can find a starting spot elsewhere.

Harry Grant was kept relatively quiet for his 33 but Craig Bellamy won’t be able to keep him on the bench for too much longer.

Reece Walsh impressed on debut with the 18-year-old notching up 58. The real question though is where he gets his eyebrows and lashes done? Asking for a friend.  

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