TCT SuperCoach: Your Weekly Guide to Surviving the Season

Round 23 has now passed, and it was a stark contrast to last round, with significantly lower scores across the board. At the forefront of that was the round’s most-captained player, Nicho Hynes, who failed to fire against the Dragons, as they bumbled their way to just their third victory of the season.

Congratulations to David’s side, DaMen, who topped the TCT league this round with a solid 1,503 points in what was a tough week for many. It’s business as usual at the top, with Chris’ Senior Paulo continuing to hold first place.

My Team

I scored 1,339 points last round in what was quite a tough week for my side.

With TMM and James Tedesco ruled out, the Tigers on the bye, and Toby Couchman unavailable due to concussion protocols, I was left with only 18 players before trades. In my mind, though, it was effectively 17, as I didn’t expect Saxon Pryke to either play or perform as well and for as long as he did.

Instead of trading Reece Walsh to Ronaldo Mulitalo, I traded Kayal Iro to Mulitalo. In a way, I was thankful it went this way, as Reece Walsh ended up being one of my higher scores of the round with 92 points.

Some really poor scores in my CTW position hurt me, with Greg Marzhew, Marky Mark and my newly traded Ronaldo Mulitalo all scoring 41 or below.

I was also one of the many people who fell into the Nicho Hynes captaincy trap. However, with the form of the Sharks and Nicho in particular, who could have really seen this coming? A score of 61 isn’t diabolical, but we simply need much more from our captain at this stage of the season.

Round 23 Review

Let’s break down the key SuperCoach takeaways from Round 23.

Premium Guns

Billy Smith (CTW – $731.8k – 110 points):

I didn’t expect Billy Smith to make his way into my Premium Guns category, but he simply deserves to be here off the back of his form this year. A five-round average of 94 points per game is brilliant. In those last five games, he’s also averaged 36.2 points in base per game, with a high of 48 last week against the Bulldogs. That gives him a really solid floor, while his abundance of attacking stats this season has made him such a strong and reliable option. With a breakeven of 78 and a tough matchup against Penrith this week, I’d be waiting until after this week to buy if you’re interested.

Billy Smith has shown himself to be a super reliable CTW this season at only 2% ownership!

Ryan Couchman (2RF – $748.3k – 95 points):

I doubt non-owners are considering buying Rouchman at his price point, but I’d like to give him a special mention this week for an outrageous outing. He produced his first 80-minute performance of the season, likely due to his brother’s absence, and amassed an incredible 87 points in pure base, largely thanks to his outstanding 66 tackles.

Mid-Range Movers

Francis Manuleleua (2RF – $570.5k – 114 points):

Last round, Manuleleua grabbed two try assists, nine tackle breaks, two linebreaks, two offloads, a linebreak assist and 36 points in base, pushing his three-round average to 100.3. Manuleleua is big, fast and a clear focal point in attack for the Knights. I can get around him as a buy, as I expect him to continue this form over his next two matchups against the Titans and Manly. However, prospective owners will need to be aware of the tough matchup against the Warriors in Round 26, followed by a bye in the final round of the season.

Leka Halasima (2RF – $394.8k – 94 points):

Halasima produced 64 points in base and power last round against the Panthers, while continuing to pose a huge attacking threat. That’s now back-to-back scores of 79 and 94 since moving to the centre position. If you have the trades to make the move, I love it, especially with the Warriors having an excellent run home against the Broncos, Souths, Knights and Manly.

I’m expecting Leka to tear the Broncos to shreds this week

Dominic Young (CTW – $579.9k – 145 points):

Another focal point in the Knights’ attack is Dom Young, with the Knights looking to go right for much of the game against the Raiders. This resulted in two tries, an assist and FIVE linebreaks for Dom Young. He could be an excellent H2H play over the next two weeks, with nice matchups against the Titans and Manly.

Luke Metcalf (HFB – $581.4k – 112 points):

Luke Metcalf was everywhere in his return against the Panthers, scoring two tries, a try assist, a linebreak and a linebreak assist. Importantly, Metcalf has also picked up the goalkicking. The problem, however, is that Metcalf only has the HFB position, so I don’t see much merit in picking him up. I’d be much more inclined to buy him if he had the 5/8 position, which would allow most people to make a straight swap from TMM to Metcalf.

My Trades

Given the unfortunate news that James Tedesco has been ruled out again, I’m left without a flex player this week with Sua Fa’alogo on the bye.

While I’d like to trade someone in such as Kalyn Ponga against the Titans, I’m not sure it’s a trade I should make given that Teddy is a must next week against the Tigers (on the basis that he actually plays).

For now, I won’t be making any trades, though that’s definitely subject to change.

Captaincy

VC – Herbie Farnworth vs Manly (A)

I’m a bit unsure on my VC this week, but what I am sure of is that Manly are a basket case, and I’m loving it. Look for Herbie to capitalise on this.

C – Nicho Hynes vs Raiders (H)

Despite last week’s poor performance, I’m backing Nicho in again. Back at home, I’m expecting Nicho to tear up the Raiders, who are essentially out of finals contention.

Best of luck this week! Let me know your trades, captaincy calls and thoughts in the comments.

SC Adrian

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