TCT SuperCoach: Your Weekly Guide to Surviving the Season

(League Code: 704791)

Round 3 brought plenty of action for SuperCoach players, with the first price changes of the season now in play. Just as momentum was starting to build, a wave of injuries and suspensions has thrown many sides into chaos, forcing tough calls and reshaping plans heading into the coming rounds. Balancing cash generation with on-field scoring is now more crucial than ever.

Congratulations to Michael’s team, THUNDERMACHINE, who led the way in the TCT league this week with a brilliant 1,393 points. Meanwhile, Mark’s team, The Real dEEL, continues its strong start to the season, holding onto 1^st place after three rounds in the TCT league.

My Team

I had a mare this week, scoring only 1,138 points. Not only did my team score poorly, but it genuinely felt like everything that could’ve gone wrong, did.

The timing couldn’t have been worse either, with so many of my players picking up injuries or suspensions in the worst possible week, with the Bunnies on the bye this coming round – a team that most coaches, myself included, are heavily stacked with. Ryan Couchman is now facing a long stint on the sidelines, Trey Mooney and Tom Chester both picked up one-game suspensions, Lisati added to the pain with an injury, and as I write this, Payne Haas has been ruled out through injury.

I ended up captaining Sua Fa’alogo, who put up 79 points. Not horrible by any means, but I just needed so much more to make up for how poor the rest of my team performed. In saying that, I didn’t really have anyone else who went huge, so there’s nothing to be too worried about there.

As stated in my previous article, I used a boost and brought in Ryan Couchman (ouch!), Sua Fa’alogo, and Nathan Cleary. None of them lit the world alight, which pretty much summed up my week.

Despite already boosting, I’m seriously considering going again. I usually like to go hard with trades early to set my team up for the long run. It’s a strategy that’s worked well for me before. I just need to be careful not to leave myself short on trades at the back end of the season.

Round 3 Review

Let’s break down the key SuperCoach takeaways from Round 3:

Premium Guns

Hudson Young (2RF – $750.9k – 95 points):

He was absolutely everywhere. Pumping out 95 points with just a try assist and a linebreak for attacking stats is impressive. Very promising signs and one to target soon. An elite 2RF option.

Dylan Edwards (FLB – $772.5k – 93 points):

The Panthers look like the best team in the comp right now, and Edwards looks refreshed and ready to go. Two tries and heavily involved all game. Don’t like to say it, but he’s got a pretty handy matchup against my Eels this week.

Jayden Campbell (HFB – $711.4k – 97 points):

As mentioned in last week’s article, if JC was fit, I’d expect him to come straight into the starting side. He’s an incredible SuperCoach player, and it certainly helps when he bags two tries. He was highly owned before the injury, but everyone understandably sold off. He now firms as an incredible POD at 1% ownership.

Scott Drinkwater (FLB – $729.4k – 96 points):

A great bounce-back from Drinky. Reward for those who held through those poor back-to-back scores, despite knowing that he would lose a stack of cash. Unfortunately, he has a tough matchup against Melbourne this week.

Mid-Range Movers

Thomas Jenkins (CTW – $697.1k – 134 points):

Milky Jenkins – what a freak! Four tries and one of the biggest price rises of the round. He was the highest scorer this week, and probably belongs in the premium category from now on.

Joe Chan (2RF – $444.1k – 128 points):

An absolutely incredible performance from Joe Chan. Three linebreaks, a try, and a try assist, everything you could ask for. He hasn’t typically been a great SuperCoach player in the past, but he now has the role, the minutes, and he’s sitting in a gold mine running off Jahrome Hughes. He made $134k just this week, and he still has a breakeven of -37. Expect him to make a motza again.

Jackson Ford (FRF – $669.8k – 120 points):

This is shaping as a breakout season for Jackson Ford. He’s now scored in back-to-back games, but it’s his base that really stands out. Started in the front-row before shifting to the edge, playing 80 minutes and pumping out roughly 80 points in base. As long as Mitch Barnett doesn’t eat into his minutes as he works back from his ACL injury, Ford looks like a great pick-up, and is set to keep making money.

Tanah Boyd (HFB – $698.3k – 116 points):

I regrettably didn’t jump on Tanah Boyd last week, thinking he couldn’t keep this up… but he has. He’s now averaging 112.7 points per game and has a great match-up against a weakened Tigers side this week. If he keeps this rolling, he could genuinely become the most expensive SuperCoach player in the game. Despite his outrageous price rise, expect his price to keep rising. Another one who probably belongs in the premium category now.

Jaxon Purdue (5/8/CTW – $598.6k – 115 points):

Albeit against a poor Titans outfit, Purdue finally showed what he’s capable of this season. For those who don’t own him, he’s a very interesting option at the 5/8 position. The position is very dull at the moment, with most thinking they could get away with Cody Walker, but that’s not looking so simple now. Definitely one to consider.

Jaxon Purdue

Jaydn Sua (2RF – $668.4k – 110 points):

Maybe it’s just me, but Jaydn Sua has gone well under the radar. Sometimes it takes a performance like this to really notice. He’s averaging 86.3 points per game, sits in just 1% of teams, has a breakeven of 29, and a great run coming up against the Titans, Cowboys, and Manly. Could be a great POD play.

Players of Concern

Jacob Kiraz (CTW – $746.7k – 28 points):

28 points is well below what we’ve come to expect from Kiraz. That said, it was a low-scoring game played in heavy rain, so I wouldn’t be stressing too much if you own him. As a non-owner, it’s nice to see. That 28 will sit in his rolling average for a couple weeks, which should bring his price down a bit.

Sam Walker (HFB – $614.7k – 29 points):

As mentioned in my previous article, Sam Walker hasn’t been performing, and that was never going to change against the best defence in the league. It’s time to move on to a better HFB option like Cleary, Hynes, or even Boyd before his price plummets even further.

Sam Walker

Trey Mooney (2RF/FRF – $483.3k – 35 points):

I don’t think Trey Mooney is the slam dunk many thought he’d be, especially after that big score in Vegas. He played 44 minutes this week (reduced slightly due to his sin bin), but the previous two weeks were still only 49 and 50 minutes. The PPM is great, but if the minutes aren’t increasing, he’s just not that important to own. Hurts that he also has a one-game suspension this week for his dangerous tackle on Boyd.

Cody Walker (5/8 – $434.6k – 34 points):

Mr consistent – back-to-back 34s… A lot of coaches thought they could get away with a cheap Cody Walker to start the season, and it started off brilliantly after his Round 1 performance against the Dolphins. Unfortunately, that’s not really the case. If this continues, I’ll be looking to move him on in a couple of weeks, but for now, I have much bigger issues to deal with.

Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (2RF/FRF – $614.6k – 41 points):

40 minutes looks like his new role, which is simply not cutting it. Leaking cash and not producing. Sell.

Reed Mahoney (HOK – $412.4k – 34 points):

Sharing minutes with Soni Luke in back-to-back weeks, only getting 62 minutes. Reed is no longer relevant without an 80-minute role. Sell when you can.

Team List Watch

• Simione Laiafi named on the bench for Manly – cheapie watch.
• Huge news with Luke Metcalf returning early from his ACL injury and slotting in at 5/8, keeping Boyd at halfback. Wheels up for Boyd owners!
• Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad returns at fullback, pushing Taine Tuiapiki out of the side.
• Jarome Luai out with injury (4 weeks). However, Adam Douehi has been fortunately cleared of anything serious and has been named to play.
• Adam Reynolds returns for the Broncos. Interesting to see how this affects the scoring of Reece Walsh, including who gets the goalkicking.
• Massive out with Payne Haas sidelined with an AC joint injury.
• Fletcher Sharpe named again. Does he actually play this round after being a late out last week?
• Trey Mooney out with a one-game suspension.
• Brian Kelly returns following Samrani’s meniscus injury (6+ weeks). Araz Nanva named in reserves and looms as a potential cheapie debut through a late change.
• J’maine Hopgood out for the season with an ACL injury.
• Jack Cogger returns from concussion protocols. This will impact the minutes of Isaah Yeo.
• Tom Chester out with a one-game suspension, with Zac Laybutt returning. Owners will be hoping Chester keeps his spot when he’s back.
• Briton Nikora drops out from the Sharks’ side with a busted nose.
• Double Couchman casualty: Ryan Couchman and Toby Couchman both out for the Dragons. Ryan is facing four weeks on the sidelines, while Toby is out with concussion protocols.
• Bunnies have the bye.

My Trades

For now, my trades are as follows:

• Keaon Koloamatangi >>> Jackson Ford
• Trey Mooney >>> Joe Chan
• Keano Kini >>> Reece Walsh

Keaon hasn’t exactly lit the world alight like we expected, especially playing those big minutes in the front row. He’s not an urgent sell by any means, and this is definitely more of a luxury trade, but I really like what I’m seeing from Jackson Ford. It also works well structurally, as I need another player this week, and moving on a Bunnies player with the bye helps cover numbers.

As discussed, Trey Mooney hasn’t been the homerun we anticipated. Add in the suspension this week, and I’m pretty keen to cut ties. If he does eventually land a big-minute role, I’ll happily jump back on given his PPM. For now though, Joe Chan is the target. He’s in a great spot and should continue to make a motza running off Jahrome Hughes.

Keano Kini is in no way an urgent trade, but I’m really keen to hop on Reece Walsh with his nice run that he has coming up over the next month. That’ll leave me with three gun fullbacks in James Tedesco, Reece Walsh, and Sua Fa’alogo, which I really like the look of.

Captaincy

At the moment, I’m leaning towards the VC on James Tedesco against Manly, and I’m split between putting the captaincy on Reece Walsh against the Dolphins or Nathan Cleary against the Eels. If I wasn’t biased, I’d probably just lock Cleary in… unfortunately, I am biased.

I think Teddy is a great option this week. Manly stunk it up against the Knights in Round 2, and the Roosters are desperate for a win. Teddy looked strong against the Panthers and honestly did all he could. This feels like a game where he could go huge. If he does, I’ll happily loop by throwing the captaincy on Cody Walker (on the bye). That would also allow me to avoid playing Jonah Pezet, who I don’t expect to score well against the Panthers.

Although I won’t be going this way and don’t have some of these players, I can definitely see the appeal in captaining a few other options:

• Sua Fa’alogo vs Cowboys
• Jackson Ford vs Tigers
• Tanah Boyd vs Tigers
• Val Holmes vs Titans

I’m keen to hear your thoughts, trades, and captaincy calls – drop them below! Let’s see who nails Round 4. See you next week!

SC Adrian

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