Sit v start: Who to play in your final 17, Rd 12?

With Harry Grant a late out for this week, a lot of us will be looking for an extra reserve. Throw in a round of relatively close matchups and start/sit is looking relatively tricky. Here are my thoughts for the round, with plays listed in priority order.

Thanks as always to the legendary nrlsupercoachstats.com, whose website I’ve utilised for position vs team analysis and various stats breakdowns.

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START

Ranking	Player	Vs	Matchup	Avg	3RA	Base + Power – Negs	Avg Minutes
1	Butcher	Sharks	12th	50	55	44	57
2	Pangai jr	Dragons	1st	59	57	52	64

It’s hard to go past Butcher, after he’s 67 in raw base stats last week. Similarly with TPJ, even though he’s coming off the bench, he still scored 71 in 56 minutes last week in the same role.

CONSIDER

Ranking	Player	Vs	Matchup	Avg	3RA	Base + Power – Negs	Avg Minutes
3	Penisini	Raiders	3rd	55	64	44	80
4	May	Cowboys	16th	70	60	40	80
5	Tago	Cowboys	16th	61	65	37	80
6	Arrow	Tigers	12th	53	46	52	65
7	Drinkwater	Panthers	13th	76	59	29	77
8	King (J)	Manly	1st	55	51	49	63
9	Coates	Manly	8th	52	18	20	80
10	Starling	Eels	3rd	54	53	43	63
11	Taafe	Tigers	9th	49	51	15	78
12	King (M)	Dragons	2nd	44	36	44	38
13	Martin (T)	Titans	6th	34	27	16	79
14	Vailea	Knights	1st	31	35	17	81
15	Randall	Warriors	11th	46	46	43	67
16	Suaalii	Sharks	14th	54	65	31	80
17	Tuipulotu	Storm	12th	53	59	36	80

Those who’ve held onto Penisini were rewarded with his highest score of the season last week. I like him as a play again, with a nice CTW matchup vs the Raiders.

The Panthers young guns have shown they can score against anyone, so they’re still well up my rankings. Arrow, I expect to continue to be solid, especially whilst Murray is out.

Drinkwater has a tough matchup but he’s class! Think he can be played if needed. Josh King always has sneaky upside in the Storm and gets a favourable matchup vs Manly.

Coates’ ceiling may well be worth a punt. You’ll need to accept the high-risk level though with his low floor.

Starling always has attacking upside so isn’t the worst play. Taafe can be hard to pick but does have a three-round average over 50 coming into a decent matchup vs the Tigers.

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Max King’s output has dropped off as of late. The only things in his favour are a favourable matchup vs the Dragons and an intriguing move to the edge.

For someone who has been a clear sit all season, Vailea could be a sneaky play this week. Knights concede the most of any team to CTWs. Don’t think I’d go there unless your desperate though.

Randall has been hard to catch and with Crossland on the bench i expect him to get a rest at some stage. He’s followed by Sualii and Tuipolotu, who are down the rankings due to matchups.

SIT

Ranking	Player	Vs	Matchup	Avg	3RA	Base + Power – Negs	Avg Minutes
18	Ilias	Tigers	6th	34	36	18	80
19	Koula	Storm	12th	32	36	28	66

Ilias, I have as a perma-sit, due to his low floor and game not being well suited to SC. Koula’s matchup against the Storm also has him as a clear sit for me.

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