Final word: Skippers, weather watch, super PODs Rd 3

It’s a sharp turnaround to Round 3 of Supercoach Big Bash with an early start on Saturday.



The Stars face the Thunder to open the round, with that fixture beginning at 3:30pm.



It’ll be all systems go on Saturday morning to prepare trades for the round.



After a poor opening round, the Cooma Stallions had a vastly improved round 2, notching 1,039 points to move up to a more respectable 12k overall, here we come!



<a id='ckwTIZPbTzZYt-tVzSGPpA' class='gie-single' href='http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/1459951214' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;' rel="noopener">Embed from Getty Images</a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'ckwTIZPbTzZYt-tVzSGPpA',sig:'xLKX92ZBwL5nQ3KRI_kmfecUu_j9abzY6JBUn8H23bQ=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1459951214',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});</script><script src='//embed-cdn.gettyimages.com/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async></script>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Weather Watch</h2>



All weather is courtesy of the Bureau of Meteorology as of Saturday 9AM. All times are in AEDT. Forecasts are subject to change.



Saturday



3:30PM: Stars v Thunder, Lavington Sports Ground, Albury



Forecast:&nbsp;Shower or two, 30 degrees, 60% chance of 0-2mm of rain. The chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon and evening.



Verdict:&nbsp;Monitor showers and storms as there’s a chance the game may be impacted, however it doesn’t look too bad at this stage.



Saturday



7:15PM: Hurricanes v Renegades, Blundstone Arena, Hobart



Forecast:&nbsp;Partly cloudy, 20 degrees, 5% chance of any rain.



Verdict:&nbsp;All clear



Tuesday



6:05PM: Sixers v Stars, SCG, Sydney



Forecast:&nbsp;Possible shower, 31 degrees, 40% chance of 0-1mm of rain, the chance of a thunderstorm.



Verdict:&nbsp;Monitor the updated forecasts, however it looks fairly clear despite some minor threat of rain.



Tuesday



9:15PM: Scorchers v Renegades, Optus Stadium, Perth



Forecast:&nbsp;Partly cloudy, 25 degrees, 5% chance of any rain.



Verdict:&nbsp;All clear



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="651" src="http://scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/11-edited-1024x651.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2250144" srcset="https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/11-edited-1024x651.png 1024w, https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/11-edited-300x191.png 300w, https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/11-edited-768x488.png 768w, https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/11-edited-1536x976.png 1536w, https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/11-edited-2048x1301.png 2048w, https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/11-edited-640x407.png 640w, https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/11-edited-1200x762.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 98vw, (max-width: 1199px) 64vw, 770px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Looking ahead</h2>



Hopefully people planned well for round 3 as numbers could be very slim for many, and I suspect some may even struggle to field a full XI if they haven’t planned accordingly.



This is due to the fact the Strikers and Heat are on the bye this week.



Look to offload players from these two teams, while noting the Strikers do have another double in round 6, and the Heat in round 7.



This makes Matt Short a potential hold despite the high price tag.



In round 3, we see the Stars and Renegades on their second double of the season.



While unconvincing on field, the Stars schedule remains friendly with another double looming in round 5.



We are all pretty heavily invested in those sides already, so it might be worth using a trade on a Thunder player who has the double in round 4.



The Thunder also play in the first game of round 3, making them a strong option for the auto-emergency loophole.



The Perth Scorchers have the bye in round 4 and 5, so any expensive players should be sold, however they’re the only team on the bye those weeks so it could be worth holding one or two for loophole opportunities.



<a id='qPL2YeK9QC1N7mSYRcAFlw' class='gie-single' href='http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/1867194994' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;' rel="noopener">Embed from Getty Images</a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'qPL2YeK9QC1N7mSYRcAFlw',sig:'UbJyHvrBbWQ5sks9LRmoBl7rJQ-PgO6Dn5UXoSSiZMY=',w:'469px',h:'594px',items:'1867194994',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});</script><script src='//embed-cdn.gettyimages.com/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async></script>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Super PODs</h2>



In the Final Word, we’ll look at the super POD options, the players at under 5% ownership (or around about) that could send you soaring (or falling) up the overall ranks.



They come with big risk, but the reward is immense if it comes off.



Generally speaking I’ll look to single game week players, with doubles upcoming, as the low-ownership double game round players on that given week tend to sky-rocket out of super POD territory once the round begins and trades are locked in.



Ollie Davies and Corey Anderson were the picks last round, scoring 57 and 8 respectively.



We call that rocks and diamonds…



To be fair, Anderson was more of a watchlist option rather than a buy with the Hurricanes poor draw.



Davies remains a great pick up this round too, I think I’m going to buy.



Let’s get to the round three picks.



Daniel Sams 6.7% (among top 10% ranked overall)



Sams has had a bit of a mixed start to the season, scoring poorly by his lofty standards.



Is he regressing a touch or will he rediscover his best form?



There are genuine question marks around a guy who we considered a must for the Thunder round 4 double at the start of the season, such as whether he will even bowl his maximum overs each round having bowled three and two in each of his first two games.



For that reason people aren’t flocking to him, and I’ll likely wait another round to see what overs he bowls, but we know he has huge upside.



He’s a genuine wicket-taking bowler and is batting at number six, so the role remains fairly enticing.



If he comes out and bowls his four in round 3 he’ll be in every team for round 4, so it could be worth the early gamble.



Usama Mir 2% (among top 10% ranked overall)



Mir is available for the round 3 double for the Stars, but not the round 5 double.



While there may be more merit in getting a player who will play the maximum games, Mir was the only real impressive bowler in the thrashing at the hands of the Scorchers, taking 1/22 off his four.



He’s an international quality bowler and looks a decent pick-up.



<a id='gAqbUgXXRexrge9pp0rlsA' class='gie-single' href='http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/1865829980' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;' rel="noopener">Embed from Getty Images</a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'gAqbUgXXRexrge9pp0rlsA',sig:'O72Uj1moEBc89CPbpMOBJiAM7eP3UCC2DLUzEiP4p7s=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1865829980',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});</script><script src='//embed-cdn.gettyimages.com/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async></script>



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



Each week we’ll list the top players with both the highest and lowest breakevens, plus a few additional players worth noting, to help track your cash movement.



The breakeven number is the score required in the upcoming round for a player to make or lose money.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Lowest breakeven (Money-makers)</h3>



Paul Walter -68



Jamie Overton -54



Mitchell Swepson -43



Hamish McKenzie -27



Chris Jordan -26



Nikhil Chaudhary -25



Matt Short -20



D&#8217;Arcy Short -20



Jack Edwards -15



Moises Henriques -14



Zak Crawley -12



Tanveer Sangha -12



Jordan Silk -3



Jake Fraser-McGurk -2



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Highest breakeven (Likely price drop)</h3>



Note that the substantially high Renegades and Stars breakevens are the scores across both games of their double.



Will Sutherland 146



Jhye Richardson 145



Beau Webster 143



Quinton de Kock 133



Sam Harper 130



Paddy Dooley 122



Josh Inglis 118



Jordan Cox 105



Tim David 103



Steve O&#8217;Keefe 101



Adam Zampa 100



Marcus Stoinis 100







<a id='M2-rbLY9S0VAt_If9UeR7w' class='gie-single' href='http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/1837011367' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;' rel="noopener">Embed from Getty Images</a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'M2-rbLY9S0VAt_If9UeR7w',sig:'zEMlJ4yebmvBmJTO274c9AAkzkqT7g-jcijp_7e1GgI=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1837011367',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});</script><script src='//embed-cdn.gettyimages.com/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async></script>



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



With the Stars playing the first game of the round and being on the double, they’re the obvious choice as your vice-captain.



There’s no major need to beat around the bush, Glenn Maxwell is back on deck and is the only real option here in my eyes.



Lock him in and hopefully the Big Show delivers for us to spare the hassle of nailing a captain later in the round.



The Renegades are the other team on the double and will be the best team for captaincy choices.



There really is a plethora of genuine options you could go with in this side.



Will Sutherland came back to earth in round 2 with 27 points, but definitely has the best role in the team and is the safest pick.



Feeling uneasy with how much you’re gambling with? You’re not alone, sport fans love a punt, but sometimes it can get a bit out of control. There’s help available with Gareth and the team at CECAL. Make the call and get in contact here:&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/3L2yG1W">https://bit.ly/3L2yG1W</a>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="http://scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Email-Gareth.w@cecal.org_.au-Phone-9559-4013-1024x576.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2250566" srcset="https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Email-Gareth.w@cecal.org_.au-Phone-9559-4013-1024x576.png 1024w, https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Email-Gareth.w@cecal.org_.au-Phone-9559-4013-300x169.png 300w, https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Email-Gareth.w@cecal.org_.au-Phone-9559-4013-768x432.png 768w, https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Email-Gareth.w@cecal.org_.au-Phone-9559-4013-640x360.png 640w, https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Email-Gareth.w@cecal.org_.au-Phone-9559-4013-1200x675.png 1200w, https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Email-Gareth.w@cecal.org_.au-Phone-9559-4013-800x450.png 800w, https://blog.scplaybook.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Email-Gareth.w@cecal.org_.au-Phone-9559-4013.png 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 639px) 98vw, (max-width: 1199px) 64vw, 770px" /></figure>



There will be temptation for some to go with Jake Fraser-McGurk after a blistering start to the season, but I’m not keen to roll the dice on a bat only option that is so explosive.



The upside is enormous, but he could just as easily plunder two single digit scores.



Adam Zampa would be a decent choice, but he’s been known to sit out a game over Christmas in the past and hence becomes a bit risky.



Kane Richardson would be solid, but with Peter Siddle looming rotation is a concern.



The more I look at it, the more I think Sutherland is the play.

Final word: Skippers, weather watch, super PODs Rd 3

Discussion (0)

Beers & Breakevens subscriber exclusive: Super PODs, sub 10% owned picks

NRL Round 9 team lists: Full squads + NRL Supercoach analysis

NRL Round 8 team lists: Full squads + NRL Supercoach analysis

NRL Round 7 team lists: Full squads + NRL Supercoach analysis