Captain's Challenge: Who to skipper in Round 22?

For sure mate, always a great VC option. Nice shout.
&#8211; TW

No love for throwing the VC on Sam Walker?

Last weekend was an exciting one for captaincy choices with many avoiding the ever popular Tom Trbojevic due to his tough match up with the Storm.



It was funny, there were plenty of different options and they basically all sat in the same bracket of scoring.



We called it as the week to go against Turbo who still scored well with 87 points.



Our number one and two picks were Kalyn Ponga (71) and Adam Doueihi (86), while the next best were David Fifita (87) and Cody Walker (91).



James Tedesco (99) was another option, but like the rest he failed to break the tonne.



Basically, captains had a rare weekend where the results had very little impact on the overall rankings.



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This week I’m extremely tempted, and terrified, to anti-POD Tommy Turbo against the Eels.



But that’s more based on personal scenario. I’m fairly overall focused rather than head-to-head, so those results don’t really worry me.



In sitting in just over 900th overall and I need a POD move to make big jumps.



More on that note in the verdict below though.



As per recent weeks, and what I expect will be the norm for many in the final month, lots of SuperCoaches will have a free shot at the vice-captain loophole, meaning you effectively have two captains to choose from.



Those people will take a slightly different approach to the below analysis than those with reserves who make looping tougher.



Let’s take a look at this week’s skipper options.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TIER ONE</h2>



TOM TRBOJEVIC



Once again Turbo is very hard to go against as skipper.



For good reason he’ll be the number one pick for most SuperCoaches.



He already put 159 points on the Eels back in Round 11 which says about all you need to know.



Parramatta concede the 12th least points to fullbacks, but obviously Tommy is different to most fullbacks.



The only slight concern is that if the Eels do lift for this game after a few poor weeks they may be able to contain Trbojevic to 80-100 points.



In that case it’d prove a decent opportunity to anti-POD him as skipper.



However, the case to go against him is slim, he’s faultless.



JAMES TEDESCO



Tedesco is a huge option this week, the only issue is it’s at the expense of Turbo.



Unfortunately for that reason we can’t VC Teddy and C Turbo.



I was very keen on Tedesco, and still am, until Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Angus Crichton were ruled out.



Aided by Victor Radley’s five sin-binnings, the Broncos somehow upset the Roosters earlier this season, Tedesco still managed 97 points in the loss.



I do think the Roosters will win this comfortably, and Teddy looks absolutely primed for a big finish to the season.



The Broncos concede the most points in SuperCoach to fullbacks.



He has five tonnes this season and is sitting with a 3RA of 102PPG.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TIER TWO</h2>



CODY WALKER



Cody is another great option this week against the flimsy Titans defence.



Gold Coast are putting up plenty of points, but I suspect it’ll be limited this week as the Rabbitohs should get on top of them in attack.



Surprisingly the Titans do concede just the 8th and 10th most points to halfbacks and five-eighths respectively which is okay.



Cody at times basically plays as another sweeping fullback though, and the Titans edges are ordinary, so he could have a field day.



He has three tonnes in his last seven games and hasn’t scored below 76 since Round 11 against Penrith.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CAPTAIN RISKY/PODS</h2>



LATRELL MITCHELL



While of course hard to go against Turbo, Latrell is a pretty decent play with obvious risk.



He has a 3RA of 98PPG and the Rabbitohs are finishing the regular season in style.



Mitchell has a 150+ in him coming up and this could be the game.



The Titans concede the seventh most SuperCoach points to fullbacks.



ADAM DOUEIHI



Doueihi just keeps knocking out scores effortlessly.



A bit like Nathan Cleary, he just seems to accumulate so well across a number of categories.



He runs plenty, leading to tackle busts and offloads, kicks goals, and goes looking for ball.



The Cowboys concede the most points to both five-eighths and halfbacks which is so enticing.



Further, they have a halfback and a hooker lining up in the centres, and Jason Taumalolo is missing. It’s a very weak Cowboys side.



We know he can go big with scores of 141 and 154 this season.



The risk is that the Tigers are seriously unconvincing, but surely they at very least put a decent amount of points on the board against the Cowboys.



KALYN PONGA



KP looked very dangerous last week and his 71 could have been far more.



The Sharks have been pretty unconvincing of late, but we know they can turn up on their day.



I think injury is the only risk of Ponga not going large here, and 150+ is certainly in his grasp despite not goal-kicking.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">AVOID</h2>



NATHAN CLEARY



If Cleary does play, there will be owners who will be tempted to skipper him against the Dragons.



Prior to injury he’d have been a lock in skipper for this without question.



However, injury aggravation is a serious concern, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him take a backseat with his running game on return.



He’ll run the show, organise, get the team around the park and kick frequently, but perhaps he won’t want to push his running game immediately.



Maybe a VC option, but there’s too much doubt as straight skipper despite knowing what he’s capable of.



DAVID FIFITA



I speak frequently about chasing ceilings, and Fifita just doesn’t have the ceiling of his captaincy rivals.



Last week was okay on a seriously tough week, but Fifi just doesn’t have that 200+ in him that we’re after, especially while coming off the bench in a 60 minute role.



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



Personally I’m tempted to avoid Tom Trbojevic this week, but I don’t have it in me to advise others going against him.



It’s a bit boring just going with him, but we know how easily you can get burned by going against the Sea Eagles star.



I have to lock him in as my number one pick, but there’s certainly quality options elsewhere.



For those of you focused on head-to-head, have a look at your match up and if you look well positioned to win than Trbojevic is the smart choice.



If you’re behind after the first few games of the round and need to chase points then looking elsewhere might be the go.



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If the Eels can keep Turbo to 80-100 odd points, or God forbid he gets injured early, there’s huge chances at a big ranking swing.



Tedesco, Ponga and Walker are all capable of going 180+ which would be a huge move.



After Turbo, Teddy is my choice who I’m seriously thinking about captaining.



Advise wise, I’d VC Walker and C Turbo.



Side note, those who do have a free crack at the vice-captain loophole, take your gamble on a high-upside player early in the round, and if it fails just lock in Turbo.



SUPERCOACH TERMINOLOGY KEY



MPG = Minutes per game



PPG = Points per game



PPM= Points per minute



BPG = Base per game (point accrued in tackles + runs + missed tackles)



POD = Point of difference



3RA = Three round average



5RA = Five round average



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



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

Captain’s Challenge: Who to skipper in Round 22?

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