Head-to-head focus: NRL Supercoach Bye Planning Strategy

The bye rounds mean many things. 



We get the creme de la creme of our sport; State of Origin. Players will turn up next week with new leg tats. And importantly, we’re almost halfway through our overall SuperCoach season!



If you’re focusing on Head to Head, most leagues will already be over the ‘halfway’ mark, with Finals kicking off typically in Round 23. 



In this article, we’ll tackle how you should navigate the upcoming State of Origin period between rounds 13 &#8211; 20 to maximise your chances of winning your league.







First things first &#8211; check your league settings. 



Each SuperCoach ‘League’ is set up differently and this will impact how you should address the crucial bye rounds. 



The things to look for are; 1) does your league play H2H in the Major Bye weeks or has this been toggled off, and 2) when do your finals start.



To give you an example of this In my “Salary Sombrero” league, we’ve turned off head-to-head match-ups in this season’s major bye weeks (13/16/19) but still separate ties on the ladder by a teams overall points. 



That has meant I’m looking at ‘favourable’ draws quite differently than most overall coaches. 



With our finals system running between rounds 23-26 I know I will only have seven H2H match-ups after round 12 remaining in order to finish in the Top 8 of my league and make finals.



Practically this shift in mindset away from needing to score big in the Major Byes means that while Timmy, Spy and co. will wax lyrical about the Dolphins being the team to target as the only side to feature in rounds 13, 16 and 19, they’re not going to be as relevant to me and I’ll judge them harshly for having a bye in round 14 and 18.



Here’s my tips on how to navigate the upcoming byes for H2H.



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size">1. Take stock of your position on the ladder and plan accordingly</h3>



Pending on your early season form &#8211; or in my case, the lack thereof &#8211; you may be able to take a different approach to the next period of SuperCoach. 



As it stands, most coaches will be in one of three positions currently, and your attitude to the eight week bye period may change accordingly. 



Those positions are:



1. Entrenched



You’re flying high at or near the top of your league. 



Your team is well setup and you can be confident that you will at least make your H2H finals.If you’re firmly entrenched in the top 8 then now could be the time to be conservative and save trades. 



Sure, the lure of a ‘bye’ or ‘second chance’ in your finals system is great, but nothing can beat trades up the sleeve.



2. Peloton



You’re in the pack, well in contention for finals but still needing to work hard to ensure you get there. 



This is almost the worst place to be as you need to both look ahead and behind at the teams around you. 



If this is you, weekly you’ll weigh up the need to jag wins or conserve your trades.



3. Chasing



You’ve had a shocker. 



You most definitely started with Braydon Trindall, and you need to hustle hard to be in with a shot of making fnals. 



In this instance, you may be left with no choice but to trade hard, find PODs in an attempt to run the table and gain some respect in your league.



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size">2. Count your numbers for round the Major Byes and Mini Byes</h3>



Our great mate Spy is huge on this. 



A lot of Coaches can get caught up planning for the Major byes (Rd 13, 16, 19) where seven teams are not playing and our Origin stars are unavailable. 



But the Mini byes (Rd 14, 17, 20), the weeks after Origin, can be even trickier as we try to find full 17s with three teams on the bye and Origin stars often not confirmed until 24-hours before they march out. 



This is where knowing your league settings can give you an advantage. 



If your league does play Byes, then it’s carry on as per normal, but if they don’t counting your numbers a week ahead could help you avoid a banana peel and jag the win against your opponent. 



A practical example of this is looking at the five-eighth spot where you may be running a Max Plath/Galvin combination. 



While Plath is a handy number in 13, the Dolphins have the bye in round 14 followed by an away game against the high-flying Cronulla Sharks. 



With a H2H focus and no match-up on the Bye Round, you could trade in a Cody Walker (Titans + decent run of games) or Matt Burton (Eels + ok run of games)



In short, if you&#8217;re looking short, trading in the Bye week to get ahead would be astute.



Here’s a quick view of the 14/17/20 Mini bye teams:



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size">3. Save your trades!</h3>



Trades are the most valuable currency in H2H Finals, and a real way to separate yourself from your rivals. 



Saving trades could mean the difference between having to hold the likely $1.25m value of Payne Haas or Reece Walsh on your bench in their round 24 bye or having the chance to get players of equal value in. 



Save those trades!



The number is 8. 



That is the optimal number of trades that you’d ideally have at the start of your H2H finals to allow you the best chance of ‘max trades’ during the four weeks (I know someone will be thinking you could have more trades if you have a boost but no one is gonna have any left by then, cmon now).



If you’re not playing the byes in your H2H league there’s only two valid reasons to trade in round 13: a) you’ve run your numbers for round 14 and you are looking light on due to the Dolphins, Raiders or Roosters bye or b) an active round 13 player in your team has a huge BE and is about to drop a ton of cash. 



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. Know which teams have the best game coverage in H2H rounds</h2>



All teams have byes between rounds 13 and 20, so a quick study of the draw is important to understand where you might be caught short with one of your guns missing a game. 



To understand this, look at the draw between those rounds and remove 13, 16 and 19 to see which teams have the best coverage. 



And as always, the draw will be judged different dependent on if you play byes or not.



Jay Schubert has already done a brilliant analysis of this for overall right <a href="https://scplaybook.com.au/2024/04/30/how-to-plan-for-the-origin-bye-rounds/">here</a>. 



Without delving into the quality of the draw itself, the Tigers and Knights both have only one bye each between rounds 13 &#8211; 20.



Removing the Major Byes, the Tigers, Storm, Bulldogs, Dragons, Knights, Cowboys, Warriors and Broncos play all three of the ‘mini byes’ in rounds 14, 17 and 20. 



As a H2H player, these are the teams I most want to delve into to find players with great availability to help give me an edge in my league.



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size">5. Know your opposition</h3>



This is a super dedicated approach to H2H, but could prove a difference maker, especially in the byes. 



Studying your upcoming schedule of league opponents and identifying who are your uniques can help guide your tactics for the bye period. 



For example, if you know this week that your opponent is stacked in round 14 with Roosters, Dolphins or Raiders players and won’t have enough trades to field a full 17, sitting back and taking the win without trading could prove huge down the track for your league. 



Pending your position on the league table, you may need to decide on your level of aggression throughout the bye period. 



If you’re chasing ranks and need to climb the table trading during the byes is fine, however be smart about it.

Head-to-head focus: NRL Supercoach Bye Planning Strategy

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