Player Profile: Can super POD Luai finish in style?


<p>While many SuperCoaches are out of trades, and have been for a while, there’s others out there with a trade up their sleeve for Round 25.</p>



<p>Naturally we’re led to chase high ceiling players with our final trade, and that leads us to the key positions of halfback, five-eighth, CTW and fullback.</p>



<p>Amid all the damage of the Round 25 teams, all popular fullback options have been named to play, so we can look past that.</p>



<p>CTW is certainly a position of interest, with Brian To’o the obvious pick there for anyone after an outside back to bolster your squad.</p>



<p>Put simply, if you can use your final trade to recruit Nathan Cleary or Daly Cherry-Evans I’d just do it, while Harry Grant is another decent option.</p>



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<p>However, the position I’ve seen plenty of questions around has been five-eighth.</p>



<p>I’d imagine that is because it’s a position that boasts high ceiling players, and the fact that many don’t have a player in that role with the likes of Cody Walker and Cam Munster rested, along with the injuries to Adam Doueihi and Shaun Johnson.</p>



<p>For those that can’t use duals to get Cleary or DCE, we’re forced to look elsewhere, and there’s really only one match up that takes my eye.</p>



<p>It’s the Panthers clash against the Eels, which brings Matt Burton and Jarome Luai into contention as a final trade.</p>



<p>Penrith have named a full-strength side and should belt Parramatta’s C Grade squad.</p>



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<p>We know relatively well what we’ll get with Burton at centre and have spoken plenty about him of late, but what about Luai who has fallen off the map in the back half of the season?</p>



<p>Owned by just 3% of the top 100 through to the top 1,000 ranked NRL SuperCoach teams overall, could he be a super POD to finish the season?</p>



<p>While his numbers of late have been poor, he hasn’t had a full-strength Panthers side on deck, namely Nathan Cleary.</p>



<p>At just $359,100 he’s certainly a viable option for those in need of a five-eighth, but let’s take a deeper dive into his numbers.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>WITHOUT CLEARY</strong></h2>



<p>Games: 5</p>



<p>Average: 36.8PPG</p>



<p>Top score: 46</p>



<p>Low score: 30</p>



<p>The numbers without his chief playmaker are very poor, but it’s worth noting the opposition he faced in those games.</p>



<p>In the five clashes, he played Melbourne twice, the Eels, Roosters and Broncos.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>WITH CLEARY</strong></h2>



<p>Games: 15</p>



<p>Average: 63.7PPG</p>



<p>Top score: 128</p>



<p>Low score: 21</p>



<p>Now there’s no doubting that even prior to Penrith’s injury phase Luai had regressed in scoring a touch, so the lack of troops at stages is only somewhat of an excuse.</p>



<p>But even in recent weeks with Cleary back and a few other key squad members we’ve seen Luai returning to more promising scores.</p>



<p>In the three games since Cleary’s return, he has scores of 81, 22 and 63.</p>



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<p>More importantly, we saw him begin to take the line on far more last week.</p>



<p>I don’t put that down to a confidence issue, I think it’s the fact he had a dominant side on deck, and a forward pack that rolled through the middle.</p>



<p>He’ll get that same go-forward this week, and more, and he could carve up off the back of it.</p>



<p>Whether you’re a gun playmaker or a dud playmaker, life is pretty easy behind a dominant pack.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>VERDICT</strong></h2>



<p>While there’s no guarantees in this game, especially for Luai who has low scores to his name with a strong Panthers side around him, I like him as a super POD for Round 25 and he could be the difference in many head-to-head grand finals.</p>



<p>I can see him pushing for his second tonne of the season, but we’ll have to wait and see.</p>



<p>It&#8217;ll come down to your own scenario though. Anyone in a head-to-head grand final who looks likely to win their clash can probably opt for a safer option.</p>



<p>Those chasing points in a head-to-head decider should look closely at Luai who could prove the difference.</p>



<p>For overall players, it&#8217;s similar. If you&#8217;re looking to consolidate a position it&#8217;s probably a better move to get someone like Harry Grant or Brian To&#8217;o, but if you&#8217;re chasing points to hit a certain ranking he is a serious option.</p>



<p><strong>SUPERCOACH TERMINOLOGY KEY</strong></p>



<p>MPG = Minutes per game</p>



<p>PPG = Points per game</p>



<p>PPM = Points per minute</p>



<p>BPG = Base per game (point accrued in tackles + runs + missed tackles)</p>



<p>POD = Point of difference</p>



<p>3RA = Three round average</p>



<p>5RA = Five round average</p>



<p>BREAKEVEN (B/E) = The score a player must record to earn a price rise.</p>



<p>*Please note all our stats are taken from the geniuses at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nrlsupercoachstats.com/">nrlsupercoachstats.com</a></p>


Player Profile: Can super POD Luai finish in style?

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