Captain’s Challenge: Round 22, skippers to target and avoid

We run the rule over the best NRL SuperCoach captaincy and vice-captaincy options to consider.

NRL

Friends.

A little while back, Tim taught us all a very important lesson about the dangers of drinking whilst SuperCoaching.

And now, as SC Playbook Support Coordinator, I feel I must speak out about another dangerous obstacle we may face as SuperCoachers in our everyday lives. An obstacle that can very well derail a season and leave us in complete heartbreak.

SuperCoaching whilst choosing makeup.

A nightmare I lived through just last weekend.

You see, Tim begged pleaded asked me, to do a reel on the SC Playbook Instagram page – (click here to view me pronouncing ‘round’ as ‘rond’ and staring up at the ceiling 200 times in an attempt to remember my words).

And of course, wanting to look my very best for my big debut and for you my dear readers, I decided to go and buy some new eyeshadow last Thursday night.

Now, everything was going well. I found the perfect palette in the perfect shade of earthy natural tones in Sephora. The nice makeup guy complimented my eyebrows etc etc.

And then I got home.

And sat down on the couch, and turned on my TV as the Roosters vs Broncos game was just about to start, congratulating myself on my excellent time-keeping skills and the fact that I made it home in time for the game.

Then I opened up my SuperCoach app. And all was not well my friends.

Rewind back an hour earlier to when I was in Sephora. And I must confess, I am the type of gal who will SuperCoach anywhere. And I may be the only gal in the world who has ever done some SuperCoaching in the middle of Sephora. But I did. And that is where things went horribly wrong.

Because somewhere in between that SuperCoaching session in Sephora when I was somewhat distracted by over 500 different eyeshadow choices, and turning on my TV – I MANAGED TO TAKE THE RESERVE OFF TEDDY!

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And the game had just started and there was nothing I could do and my heart was pounding and I jabbed furiously at the reserve button trying to make it work, and it didn’t work and it just kept telling me Teddy was locked and that I needed to choose 17 players, and so instead, I walked around and around in circles in my lounge room in complete and utter despair.

And because of that one little mistake – SuperCoaching whilst choosing makeup – I lost out on approximately 60 points and around 200 overall places.

But even worse. I lost my pretend H2H I was having in my head against Spy. Because of the 60 points. Because of the makeup.

However. I am still beating him in the overall rankings. So that is really quite nice.

Can I beat him two years in a row ladies and sirs?…Only four weeks to go…

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Now. In other news. Latrell.

What a revelation he was on the weekend.

Of course, our Captain Congratulations goes to everybody who Sir Captained him (including yours truly), and whilst my heart also broke for my Warriors – the fact that Latrell scored 304 Sir Captain points in 62 minutes did help me get over the Teddy heartbreak somewhat.

Why he had to come off the field I do not know. I guess Jase just doesn’t have him in his SuperCoach team. What a pity for him – that’s a lot of points to miss out on friend…

So without further ado, let us turn our attention to this week’s Captains and there really is only one Captain this weekend, who is of course:

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Prince Nicho in the rain vs the Tigers

There could not be a more obvious Captain Obvious this round.

Because this is a weird weekend where most of our popular Captaincy choices are playing equally good teams.

For example, I would not even know how you would go about choosing a Sir Captain from tonight’s Panthers vs Storm matchup. Eels vs Bunnies? Which Eels team turns up?

No idea.

So, who do you choose when good Sir Captains are playing each other?

You choose the Sir Captain with the easiest matchup.

And so I, like the majority of SuperCoachers, will choose Prince Nicho this weekend.

And this is a beautiful match up for our favourite Prince. Because did I mention I checked the weather in Tamworth – and yes, it is forecast for rain.

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So, physics tells us we can expect an extra 40 – 60 points on top of the score he would have normally got.

And coming off a stunning 112 points last weekend vs the Dragons, Nicho is currently enjoying an average score of 84.

And last time he played the Tigers back in Round 5, he scored a 117 including a try assist, FOUR try contributions, and two linebreak assists.

So all this means we can expect a double ton out of Nicho, because all the stars and stats have aligned.

In mathematics circles, this is what is call a mathematical probability.

But if you insist on Captaining somebody in the later matches, you MUST, simply MUST Vice Captain Nicho.

Now because we keep using the photo of Prince Nicho for this article (and I mean, is there a more beautiful image to look at every week – I think not), but because we do, and because we must allow a little variety into our lives sometimes, I apparently need to give you some more choices. Tim said.

So here are some more potential Captains:

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200 Game Teddy

200 NRL games.

Congratulations to the man I will have forever in my SuperCoach team (even if I didn’t play him last week…and ouch, my heart just broke anew).

Now, this Saturday arvo match is being played at the SCG, and I truly believe we are going to see a big old ton from Teddy because:

  1. It is his 200th game.
  2. He is in some absolute SuperCoach form, enjoying a three-round average of 108.
  3. In Round 4 this year when he played the Cowboys he scored an 88, and last year vs the Cowboys he scored a 131 AND a 178.

And yes, the Cowboys of last year weren’t the Cowboys of this year, and etc etc…

But. I think the Chooks have the edge in this one, and I think that Teddy leads those Roosters to absolute victory.

Vice Captain with confidence friends.

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Scotty D

Of course, I might be completely wrong and the Cowboys might absolutely come out and play.

And in that case, you might like to consider at least a Vice Captaincy on Scotty D.

Enjoying a three-round average of 81, Scotty came from behind last week to whack out a nice solid ton for owners.

And of course, the week before that, he enjoyed 106 points vs the Dragons.

However, the week before that he only scored a big 36.

Vs the Tigers.

And according to the SuperCoach app, which is a godsend for pulling out smart little pieces of info – the Roosters have only conceded 46 points to fullbacks since the end of the Origin period…so yeah.

Scotty D’s a Vice Captain only friends.

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Garrick vs The Titans

Turning our attention to the last matchup of the round, we find ourselves on the Gold Coast, at Cbus, sitting in the crowd and wondering if the Titans will remember they have a 13th player named David Fifita on the field with them.

Or if his invisibility cloak will mean he only accidentally gets the ball when somebody throws it in his general direction.

Anyhow, we are not here to talk about Big David (and OMG I hope he pays all us faithfuls back this weekend with a big old ton), but rather about the fact that Manly are playing the Titans and I do believe we have a guy who may go extra-large here.

And that is Garrick.

And by God, I would be so scared of this matchup if I didn’t own him.

Now, it must be said that Garrick is only enjoying a three-round average of 56 at the moment. But that is not his fault, but rather the fault of a certain SuperCoacher who brought him in and broke him.

Ahem. I won’t name names…

But. The last time Garrick played a struggling team, which was Newcastle, he scored a delicious 122.

And last time he played the Titans back in Round 6, he scored a 76. And last year back in Round 15 when the 2021 Titans were arguably a better team than the 2022 version – he scored a completely delicious 156.

And according to the SuperCoach app, the Titans have conceded 76 points to fullbacks over the past month.

So. When I sum up all of those statistical stats – I can somewhat confidently say I’m banking on a nice ton out of Sir Garrick. Or at least 93 points.

Choose your Vice Captain wisely though friends (ahem Nicho), because this is the very last match of the Round, so Garrick can only be a Sir Captain.

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An Absolute Pod Who Could Go Large

Want to take a risk that could pay off with big moves up the rankings? Want to absolutely outplay your H2H opponent with a pod?

Choose a left-of-field Captain friend – somebody with the potential to whack out an absolute score for you this weekend.

And because I’m running out of time, let me just give you a little list:

Manu – An absolute fizzer of a score last week vs the Broncos compared to what we’ve enjoyed from the great Sir Manu of late, might see you ignore our favourite Kiwi as a Vice Captaincy or Captaincy option this week. But a word of warning – don’t expect this weekend to be a repeat of that. Despite the 48 last week, he still boasts a three-round average of 113 – and when he played the Cowboys back in Round 4 this year, he scored a 118, including two tries and two try assists – Ignore him at your own peril.

One of the Broncos – The Broncs have one of the easier matchups this week vs the Knights. At what minute of the game will Reynolds crack a ton? How many times will Ezra set up a try? Can we ignore future Immortal Cobbo – or will he take five intercepts and score five tries too? Can big Payne Haas crash over for a try or two? Surely if you own any of these players and you want to take a risk on your Captain this week, you could do worse than go one of these.

DCE – Despite a lacklustre few rounds resulting in a three-round average of 36 – this matchup vs the Titans is super favourable for DCE. With a 111 and a 118 in his last five matchups – can you really ignore a Captaincy on DCE?

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Verdict

Prince Nicho. Vs the Tigers. In. The. Rain.

But of course, for the formality of it all we must also choose a Vice Captain, and for me, that is Teddy in his 200th NRL game playing at the SCG.

But if you feel like waiting till the last game of the round, you may Sir Captain Garrick vs the Titans. Or go a little bit left of field and whack the big C on a POD your H2H opposition doesn’t have who has the chance to go absolutely massive in a hail Mary play that will see you crowing from the rooftops (or crying into your bottle of whisky).

But whoever you choose, I hope he absolutely tons TF up for you, and I hope that you win your H2H, and I hope that you climb up those overall rankings.

And as always, I hope that your weekend is as gloriously glorious as Prince Nicho playing in the rain.

Until next week

Clementine xxx

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