Just when we thought we could hang in for the final three weeks, Round 22 gave us a hammer blow with more guns suspended or getting injured!

CHN, Matto and of course the big one Tommy Turbo may not be back for the regular season!

This has been a year like no other with injuries, suspensions and the lack of trades everyone seems to have. Even astute planning meant you may not have fielded 17 this week.

And those with depth haven’t always been set. Some of that depth is holding players that won’t be back for 2021 because trades are so low.

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I have been cautious all year with trades as readers of this fine weekly column would attest to and it’s started to come in handy.

I might be able to trade Turbo out AND back in if he gets named for Round 25 but that is something I’ll worry about then. That’s more of a gloat than anything.

Those with no trades may be looking at close to two million dollars of salary cap sitting there doing squat and not a thing can be done about it.

Good luck to those who won their head-to-head matchups and are through to either a prelim or elimination final. This is where head-to-head gets interesting!

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Storm v Raiders

Well this Storm side just keeps rolling on but the biggest issue us Supercoachers have is getting our Storm players the right amount of minutes!

Harry Grant and Brandon Smith shared time again with the latter bagging an early try to finish with 82, whilst Grant’s 64 came in 52 minutes. As a Grant owner all we are asking for is three games of 80 minutes.

Nicho Hynes was on most chopping blocks after two weeks of sub 50 minutes. Thankfully for those who held this week he managed to get 70 minutes and finished with 72 to ensure he didn’t lose too much cash in the process.

The late hit from CHN on Hughes may have opened up Ryan Papenhuyzen to start if the club decide to rest Hughes and play Hynes at half which myself and most of Twitter agrees on. It would mean Hynes stays relevant for another week. Tough I know!

Papenhuyzen looks better and better each week and has reclaimed the goal kicking duties.

If he gets a starting spot at roughly $420k he is near a must-have. He would need to survive on attacking stats as he looks a little light on. Might be trying to make weight for the Spring Carnival.

As noted CHN’s season is over with the back-rower set to spend three weeks on the sidelines. I’m sure we are stuffed elsewhere so he isn’t that big of a loss for owners.

Minute Watch – Grant 52, Smith 69, Papenhuyzen 29, Hynes 70

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Dragons v Panthers

Well the prodigal Supercoach son returned with Nathan Cleary getting through 80 minutes unscathed.

He was in everything again and somehow made his way to 82. I haven’t heard so much dribble about a return from a shoulder injury since the Spy came back to Monday night Oztag after a sprained ankle.

Cleary’s ability to score well so effortlessly would have non-owners very concerned. He will drop a bit in price but can you afford him? A match up against Souths next week then games v the Tigers and Eels, he will be the difference to any trying to chase points or win head-to-head matchups.

Matty Burton was robbed of a try-assist early but was still good enough to rack up 71. I’m not sure how they awarded it to Luai but the Spy agreed with the Supercoach pencil pushers which does not surprise me.

Jack Bird was solid at fullback if anyone has an injury crisis in their CTW position scoring 67. With no sign of Dufty returning he may have locked down that 1 jersey for the next three weeks.

Minute Watch – Yeo 71, Tago 50, Kikau 45

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Broncos v Roosters

How do you pick it? Owners of Walker, Tupou and Tupouniua would have been salivating at the prospect of this matchup but all three were very underwhelming to say the least.

Walker didn’t register a try-assist, Tupou should have scored 80+ but was held to 31 and Tupouniua barely saw any footy and finished with 28.

Teddy was the everywhere man on Friday and should have registered about 160 points if things fell his way. He was held up, had two try-assists disallowed and yet still managed 99. He gets through a mountain of work which means you can bank on a base of 60 odd.

For Brisbane, this was one they should have iced. I don’t think the NRL had any choice but to blow a penalty for the high shot. The same crisis merchants saying it wasn’t a penalty and the game has gone soft would have been the same ones saying the high shot crackdown is over if a penalty wasn’t blown.

Any who, Payne Haas found the line for his first try of 2021 and banged out an impressive 84. He hasn’t scored under 60 since Origin and anyone not running with him needs a good hard look at themselves.

Victor Radley was a very popular trade in last week yet may not play again this SuperCoach season.

Minute Watch – Haas 59, SST 48

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Rabbitohs v Titans

This Rabbitohs side is firing and the Supercoach points keep coming!

Cody Walker is on an absolute tear at the moment and would even be able to set me up for a four pointer.

If it wasn’t for Turbo and his exploits we would be screaming from the rooftops about his 121. Unfortunately though for those who captained him it wouldn’t have been enough.

Walker was able to set three tries up helping Latrell on his way to 115, his 3rd 100+ score in four weeks.

About two weeks ago I dismissed him as a FLB option for his inability to knock out back-to-back big scores. Thankfully I’m not paid as a Supercoach advisor.

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Josh Mansour also reaped the benefits of being Souths left winger scoring 94 to back up last week’s 171. Expect AJ to be back next week so those scores surely won’t stick around.

I’d say David Fifita was quiet off the bench, but that would be assuming he had any impact at all. 31 in only 56 minutes, it’s a worry for all of us owners heading into the next three weeks. The big move might be to anti-POD him if trades allow.

Brian Kelly continues his hot run of form scoring 99, with his 20 against the Dragons four matches ago his only score under 70 over the past 6 weeks!

Minute Watch – Murray 64, Tino 45, Fifita 56, Peachey 35

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Cowboys v Tigers

A pretty dour affair which was a pretty good indication of where both these sides sit for 2021.

Adam Doueihi however doesn’t deserve to be playing with the crew he is.

He is out and out their best player and if it wasn’t for him, the Bulldogs wouldn’t be last.

99 on Saturday brings him to six weeks since he last scored under 80! He is available at FLB and has a very good run.

The question though is does the scoring stop? The Tigers seem to be able to score points and he is going to have a hand in most tries.

Both Val Holmes and Luciano Leilua were very quiet with the latter only managing 49 points. A lot traded him in after Crichton was suspended as a POD move that so far hasn’t paid off.

Holmes just can’t seem to get his hands on the footy enough when his side needs and he will need a monster three weeks to reclaim some of that mid-season form.

Minute Watch – Robson 80, Utoikamanu 41, Blore 80, Twal 73

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Sea Eagles v Eels

‘Time frame for a return to NRL after fractured cheekbone’ quickly became the hottest Google search amongst Supercoaches with Tommy Turbo set to spend ‘a couple of weeks’ on the sideline due to a head clash he had with Saab in the 53rd minute.

Can Peter V’Landys suspend the comp until he is fit again? I’m not sure and he won’t answer my repeated messages.

Devastating news to all as he was set to finish the year as the highest scorer in only a third of the games!

In a year riddled with injuries, one to our star FLB couldn’t have come at a worse time. With little to no trades left, coverage of the great man will be tough although if you have trades the near $1.1m price tag could get you a few handy pickups.

He scored 179 which now comes as no surprise. The surprise of the night though was Reuben Garrick being a point away from notching up 200!

His 199 included three tries and eight goals. You won’t win your head-to-head leagues without him.

Needed to pop back up for this one; Tom Trbojevic is expected to miss at least the next 2 weeks after suffering a fractured cheekbone (via @BulldogRitchie). Appears to be a minor fracture with Manly initially expecting just bone bruising, most result in a 3-5 week return to play
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) August 15, 2021

DCE has gone to another level and has one of the easier jobs in the NRL.

Give early ball to your edges or kick long and let Saab run! He has the ability to have monster game but with Turbo out, he might not find the linebreak assists as easy to come by.

It was a(nother) night to forget for Eels supporters as they kissed season 2021 goodbye.

Matterson knocked the Ant Man Brad Parker out cold with a sickening shot and will now join CHN and not play again in the regular season.

Gutherson continued his wretched run, only scoring 24 points. He has one score of over 60 in the past six weeks and owning him has now become a liability as they take on both Melbourne and Penrith in the last two weeks.

It’s a tough night when Tom Opacic is your highest scoring player with 49. Go Manly!

Minute Watch – Walker 51, Papali’i 53, Matterson 52 (sent-off), Paulo 47

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Warriors v Bulldogs

Despite the two games the NRL threw on, didn’t Moreton Daily Stadium look a treat from a locked down NSW!! And didn’t Josh Curran enjoy the surroundings!

The classy back-rower knocked out a massive 139 for owners, it was a huge POD play after his 111 last weekend. He was in everything yesterday, scoring a try and setting one up. I think he was on 50 odd only 6 minutes into the contest!

He’s still a cut price second-rower if you wanted to move on a Matterson or the like. You won’t be disappointed.

An increase in minutes for AFB landed him 70 points whilst centre come second-rower Euan Aitken banged out an impressive 74 which was largely in base stats.

Aaron Schoupp has been solid for the Dogs in 2021 meaning he makes his tackles and runs. You don’t have to be a star to stand out in their side but he gets through a lot of work and has an uncanny ability to find the line.

Minute Watch – AFB 64, Curran 80, Tevaga 54, Nikorima 28, James 58

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Sharks v Knights

In the last game of the round, a lot of head-to-head matchups rested on the shoulders of Ponga and co to score big.

Well Kalyn certainly didn’t get the Supercoach memo and crashed to a lowly 36.

Still not the worst score from a top 5 Fullback in Round 22 (Cough, Gutho, Cough).

He just couldn’t inject himself like he and owners would have liked. The Knights looked a tad rushed with Pearce, Ponga, Best and Brailey playing together for the first time this year. They’re a better side when they play off the cuff and give Ponga early footy.

The points were fairly split in the battle of Best and Ramien with Ramien scoring a try on his way to 90 giving some hope to owners that he can have a hot run in the next three weeks, whilst Best set Tuala up with a nice flick pass to finish with 72. Both are handy players to have at your disposal at this time of the year.

Minute Watch – Talakai 80, Barnett 80, Watson 58, Klemmer 45

Weekly Wrap: Highs, lows and shocks, Rd 22

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