TCT SuperCoach: Your Weekly Guide to Surviving the Season
Round 22 is done and dusted, and it was one of the highest-scoring rounds of the year. For those playing H2H, finals kick off this week in most leagues.
Congratulations to Kim’s side, Kimbos Collies, who topped the TCT league this round with an incredible 1,873 points. Meanwhile, Chris’ side, Senior Paulo, produced another outstanding score to further cement first place in the overall TCT standings.
My Team
I scored a strong 1,774 points this week, which launched me back into the top 1% overall.
It was a great round, with nine of my players scoring 100+ points (10 if you count Fletcher Sharpe, who I left on the bench). Even then, the score could have been much bigger if Kayal Iro and Toby Couchman hadn’t both been ruled out early after failing their HIAs.
My only trade was bringing Blayke Brailey in for the injured Harry Grant. Brailey rewarded owners with his second try of the season, finishing on an excellent 91 points.
I handed the captaincy to Nicho Hynes, who delivered another brilliant 133 points. He accumulates stats so effortlessly that he was closing in on 100 points before even registering a major attacking stat. With the Sharks in outstanding form and a dream run home, I’m feeling very confident captaining Hynes for the remainder of the season.
Round 22 Review
Let’s break down the key SuperCoach takeaways from Round 22.
Premium Guns
Sam Walker (HFB – $754.1k – 207 points):
82 points scored by the Roosters, with 36 of them coming from Sam Walker alone… are you for real? Walker is one of those players you simply can’t predict. Just six games ago, he scored -1, and now he’s produced the fifth-highest SuperCoach score of all time, tied with Greg Marzhew’s five-try masterclass from earlier this season. If you think the Roosters can continue their form, now is the time to jump on. Walker has a -30 breakeven and is set for a huge price rise. That said, would anyone really be surprised if he scored under 20 this week? I certainly wouldn’t.
Sam Walker’s points from tries, try assists, try contributions and goals alone are better summed up with a screenshot…
Ryan Couchman (2RF – $698.2k – 123 points):
In just 57 minutes, Rouchman produced 96 points in base and power, before adding a long-awaited try and line break for his first 100+ score of the season. It’s an incredible performance, and with a three-round average of 96.3 points per game, anyone who sold after his “poor” scores of 66 and 57 in Rounds 17 and 18 will be absolutely kicking themselves.
Mid-Range Movers
Ronaldo Mulitalo (CTW – $646.8k – 101 points):
As the Sharks continue to dominate, so too does Ronaldo Mulitalo. A try and a try assist last week lifted his four-round average to 85.5 points per game. With Cronulla’s outstanding draw beginning against the Dragons this week, I’m seriously considering jumping aboard the Mulitalo train, with him sitting at just 6% ownership.
Stephen Crichton (CTW – $584.6k – 122 points):
The Bulldogs have really turned a corner, and at the forefront of that has been Stephen Crichton’s move to 5/8. While his base is incredibly low in that role, the attacking stats have been flowing. Since officially being named at 5/8, Crichton has averaged 97.6 points, excluding his injury-affected game against the Raiders. With all five remaining Bulldogs games being played in Sydney, coupled with matchups throughout against Souths, the Dragons and Broncos, he shapes as a genuine POD. Even the Panthers in Round 26 could prove favourable if Penrith decide to rest players before finals.
At just 4% ownership, is Stephen Crichton worth a punt?
Fletcher Sharpe (5/8/FLB – $591.3k – 116 points):
Fletcher Sharpe finally reminded us what he’s capable of, crossing for two tries, making two line breaks and adding a solid 41 points in base. The next three weeks also look promising, with games against the Raiders, Titans and Sea Eagles.
Te Maire Martin (5/8/HFB – $626.8k – 130 points):
Unfortunately, plenty of coaches sold TMM for Jayden Campbell last round. Ironically, the pair faced each other, with TMM producing his highest score of the season while JC managed only 61 points. That said, JC owners shouldn’t panic. The Titans take on the Cowboys this week, while the Warriors face Penrith, so I’d be expecting a big bounce-back from JC.
My Trades
At this stage, I’m going to go a little rogue and make the following move:
- Reece Walsh >>> Ronaldo Mulitalo (via flex)
As I mentioned above, the Sharks are flying, and so is Ronaldo Mulitalo. I want a piece of it, and Cronulla’s draw to finish the season is simply irresistible.
Captaincy
VC – Herbie Farnworth vs Broncos (H)
I expect Herbie to have a huge game against the Broncos. That said, he’d need an enormous score for me to seriously consider looping given who I’m captaining this week.
Captaincy – Nicho Hynes vs Dragons (A)
Arguably the most in-form player in the competition against the Dragons. Need I say more?
Although I won’t be going this way (or don’t own some of these players), I can definitely see the appeal of captaining:
- Kalyn Ponga vs Raiders (A)
- Haumole Olakau’atu vs Storm (A)
- James Tedesco vs Bulldogs (H) – barring injury
Best of luck this week! Let me know your trades, captaincy calls and thoughts in the comments.
SC Adrian
Don’t sleep on the Sua VC against the hapless Manly side in Perth.