TCT SuperCoach: Your Weekly Guide to Surviving the Season

Round 11 brought us Magic Round, and while the atmosphere looked as good as ever, the quality of some games left a bit to be desired. From a SuperCoach perspective, it was still a solid scoring week overall, but the standout scores were largely produced by lower-owned players rather than the usual premium guns leading the way.

Congratulations to Chris’ side, MR PERPETUALMOTION, which topped the TCT league this week with a solid score of 1,495 points.

Meanwhile, we’ve seen yet another shift at the top of the overall standings, with Warren’s team, BOOTS THUNDER, claiming first place in the TCT league as the competition continues to heat up.

My Team

It was a fairly average week for me, finishing with 1,285 points.

My trades saw Sam Walker make way for Jamayne Isaako, while Setu Tu was upgraded to Greg Marzhew. Both were brought in largely off the back of strong recent form, as well as their expected price rises. Unfortunately, both Isaako and Marzhew posted 56 points exactly. As expected, Marzhew’s price still rose a massive $130k despite this score, but a breakeven of -102 will do that.

Like most, I handed the captaincy to Nathan Cleary. Unfortunately, Cleary looked to be in cruise control for much of the match, salvaging his score with a late try assist on the final play to finish with a somewhat fortunate 77 points.

The number of players I had heading into the major bye round was initially looking pretty grim, largely based on the Origin selections I expected. Luckily, things fell my way. A few key names, including Heilum Luki and Jackson Ford, missed Origin selection, while Kulikefu Finefeuiaki’s inclusion as QLD’s 20^th man has reportedly come with permission to still line up for the Dolphins this week. Suddenly, what looked like a huge problem has turned into a much more manageable position.

Round 11 Review

Let’s break down the key SuperCoach takeaways from Round 11:

Premium Guns

Toby Couchman (FRF/2RF – $685.3k – 94 points):

Toby Couchman continues to put together enormous efforts through the middle for the Dragons, playing 75 minutes and producing 84 points in base alone. Much like his twin brother Ryan, Toby is working tirelessly every week, and his SuperCoach numbers reflect that effort. His base output has been incredibly reliable, and the scary part is that any attacking involvement would likely push him comfortably into scores of 100+. Unfortunately, with the Dragons playing as poorly as they are, the likelihood of any attacking stats for Toby looks very unlikely.

The Couchman brothers are getting through a mountain of work!

Erin Clark (2RF – $679.4k – 85 points):

Erin Clark continues his dominance from last season, posting a four-round average of 85 points. What makes this even more impressive is that these scores haven’t come in massive minutes, with his 61-minute outing last week comfortably his highest this season. His output has been elite, averaging an incredible 1.7 PPM across the last month. With Mitch Barnett out due to Origin, Clark could see increased minutes during this period. At just 7% ownership, he shapes as a seriously appealing POD option. The main drawback, however, is the Warriors’ schedule, with two byes between Rounds 12 and 18.

Mid-Range Movers

Fletcher Sharpe (5/8 – $512.7k – 91 points):

Despite shifting to left centre following Bradman Best’s late withdrawal, Fletcher Sharpe didn’t miss a beat, crossing for two tries and recording his highest score of the season. More importantly, Sharpe looked as involved as he has since returning from the injury that sidelined him after Round 1. With a favourable run of fixtures approaching and last season’s top-scoring 5/8 now available at a discounted price, he’s firmly on my radar as a trade target next week.

Oliver Pascoe (HOK – $433.5k – 99 points):

Since taking over the starting hooker role from Sam Verrills, Oliver Pascoe has wasted no time making the position his own, producing scores of 81 and 99. His appeal goes beyond simple base production, with Pascoe showing genuine creativity around the ruck, highlighted by a try and try assist last week alone. With a breakeven of -38, now is the perfect time to buy Pascoe, who has quickly established himself as one of the standout second-hooker options in SuperCoach.

Oliver Pascoe has taken the starting hooker role with open arms

Dane Gagai (CTW – $511.9k – 123 points):

Dane Gagai started the season strongly before his scoring output cooled considerably, later revealed to be linked to an injury he had been carrying. Against the Titans, however, he looked back to his damaging best. Gagai piled on 40 points in base, along with a try, a try assist and two linebreaks in what was a dominant display. If he’s genuinely back to full fitness, he looms as a fantastic POD option at just 1% ownership, particularly with a favourable matchup against Parra next week.

Players of Concern

Reece Walsh (FLB – $603.7k – 39 points):

Reece Walsh remains a genuine concern following his return from a facial fracture. Since returning, Walsh is either limited or understandably hesitant, and that’s reflected in his base stats across his last two games, where he’s averaged just 9.5 points in base. Despite this, Walsh has upcoming clashes against the Dragons and Titans at Suncorp, and motivation to push his case for a QLD recall. At a discounted price, I’ll be considering Walsh as a potential buy next week, despite these concerns.

Reece Walsh’s involvement has reduced dramatically

James Tedesco (FLB – $859.6k – 21 points):

A 21-point outing from James Tedesco was about as uncharacteristic as it gets. In fact, it marked his lowest SuperCoach score in five years outside of injury-affected games. Most owners would still view Teddy as a classic set-and-forget option, but the situation has become more complicated following his NSW Origin selection ahead of Dylan Edwards. Owners will now have to navigate the inevitable Origin-related disruptions over the coming months. Combined with the cash leakage expected from this score, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some coaches seriously consider selling.

My Trades

At the moment, I’m boosting and making all four trades this week:

• James Tedesco >>> Scott Drinkwater
• Simi Sasagi >>> Joseph Tapine
• Brandon Smith >>> Oliver Pascoe
• Jonah Pezet >>> Te Maire Martin

I don’t particularly like moving James Tedesco on. The trade is mainly driven by two things: firstly, I want Scott Drinkwater in my side, and secondly, Teddy’s Origin selection changes the equation. While the 21 sitting in his rolling average is likely to see him leak some cash over the coming weeks, that wasn’t the deciding factor here. Had he avoided Origin duties, he would no doubt be a genuine season keeper. However, I’ll be more than happy to bring him back in later on.

Simi Sasagi is a straightforward sell given his extended injury layoff, which opened the door for Joseph Tapine. Tapine is in strong form, traditionally performs well through the Origin period, and importantly provides valuable coverage during what is always a tricky stretch of the SuperCoach season.

Oliver Pascoe is the trade I’ve come around to more and more as the week has gone on. He wasn’t initially in my plans, but the deeper I looked into it, the harder he became to ignore. He gives me a strong second hooker option and looks like tremendous value. With his price set to rise quickly, this feels like the ideal time to jump on before he reaches a price point that becomes difficult to justify for a second hooker.

I’ll also be bringing in Te Maire Martin, who replaced Tanah Boyd following his ACL injury. He looked sharp, has a favourable matchup against the Dragons this week, and could be the perfect second 5/8 in my team. The obvious concern is Luke Metcalf returning to the side. However, with the way things are currently unfolding at the club with Metcalf, I’m hopeful that TMM can hold onto the role.

After these moves, I’ll head into this week with 14 active players (excluding Herbie – given he’s expected to be a late out). Given only your top 13 scores count during the major bye rounds, I’m very happy with 14 players this week.

Captaincy

VC – Jackson Ford vs Dragons (A)

Coming off the bench last week, Jackson Ford didn’t produce the same SuperCoach output we’ve become accustomed to this season. Fortunately, Mitch Barnett’s Origin selection should see Ford return to bigger minutes this round, and against a struggling Dragons outfit, the opportunity is there for a strong bounce-back performance.

Captaincy – Scott Drinkwater vs Bunnies (H)

Scott Drinkwater has a habit of stepping up during the Origin period, and this week shapes as another good opportunity for him. Playing at home in Townsville against a Rabbitohs side dealing with plenty of changes, I’m backing Drinkwater to deliver a big captaincy score.

Although I won’t be going this way, I can definitely see the appeal in captaining the following players:

• Jamayne Isaako vs Raiders (A)
• Sua Fa’alogo vs Storm (A)
• Alex Johnston vs Cowboys (A)

I’m keen to hear your thoughts, trades, and captaincy calls – drop them below! Let’s see who nails Round 12.

SC Adrian

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