Champion PODs: Rd 17, unique players to find an edge

• SQUAD BREAKDOWN: Rd 17 team insights and SuperCoach analysis
• SPY TALK: Answers the big questions, Round 17

I figured most SC Playbook readers and podcast listeners will have a fairly good grasp on the wide variety of options available for trading in right on the buzzer of this second bye round.

Thus, I will narrow my focus on who I believe to be the highest upside guys over the next round or two (very short-term plays) for those of us who have nothing to lose and want to play ultra-aggressive Supercoach to make up ranks. 

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1. Joseph Manu

Sitting at $469k I simply must put Manu at the top of this list given the fact that he likely plays fullback in the next two fixtures for the Roosters against the Bulldogs and Cowboys…

In all honesty I expect Manu to ton up in both these games and he is easily ranked as my second best pick for the captaincy this week against the struggling Bulldogs (narrowly pipped by Cody Walker who I have left off this list because I assume nearly everyone playing seriously already owns him).

2. Campbell Graham

Two braces in a row resulting in two tons in a row for Campbell Graham as South Sydney look to bring the pain over the next month of footy against the Cowboys, Bulldogs, Warriors and Dragons. At $530k you are getting solid value for a CTW who could easily average 90+ over the next month if he continues to find the try line.

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3. Daniel Tupou

Keeping the Roosters vs Bulldogs theme going, Garrick scored 170 odd last week against the Bulldogs right edge defence and now Tupou gets a shot.

I also expect Tupou to be a solid long-term hold in the CTW position to end the year (better than the guys listed above) as he is extremely playable in most games, though he can be sat on harder matchups against the likes of Penrith and Souths. An absolute steal for $481k this week. 

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4. Jason Taumalolo

A lot of debate over this guy recently, has he lost his Supercoach relevance or does he still have what it takes to crank out some 100+ scores in the increasingly important 2RF position? I personally think it is the latter, though I can see why many think it is the former.

Lolo is coming off a broken wrist earlier in the season which I believe has inhibited his tackle busting ability all season which is normally a staple of his Supercoach arsenal.

The minutes are hovering around 60-65 which is certainly enough for a player of Taumalolo’s calibre to do some serious damage. Watch out for him to attack South Sydney’s middle forwards this week as they’ll be missing the likes of Cook, Murray and Arrow who normally do all the hard hitting through the ruck.