TCT SuperCoach: Your Weekly Guide to Surviving the Season
Round 25 has come and gone, and at this stage of the season, we can start to expect some seriously inflated scores against teams that have seemingly given up hope.
Congratulations to Mitchell’s team, Itsbeenalongtime, with an outstanding 1,662 points to top the TCT league last round.
With Chris’ side, Senior Paulo, leading the pack by more than 500 points in the overall TCT league, it’s going to take a herculean effort to run him down with only two rounds remaining.
My Team
I scored 1,410 points last round, which saw me continue to drop ranks as I seem to be stuck in a downward spiral.
Firstly, I outthought the room by VCing Isaako instead of Herbie as a POD move. Unfortunately, that backfired spectacularly, with Herbie going bonkers for 155 points.
Then, in a huge Hail Mary play, I traded out Reece Walsh for James Tedesco and, more controversially, Nicho Hynes for Sam Walker.
With the news that Teddy was once again going to be a late out, and with Walsh having already played by the time I got the news, I was in a bit of a predicament. Cleary had also already played, meaning I couldn’t captain Walker, as he was sitting in my HFB reserve position at this stage. I therefore had to trade in a halfback for Teddy, allowing me to move Walker into my flex position and place the captaincy on him.
In doing so, I ended up trading in Jayden Campbell, who was quite underwhelming with 53 points.
At half-time of the Sharks v Titans game, Nicho was sitting on around 15 points, and with Walker still to play against the Tigers, I was laughing it up. That was until Nicho did what he’s done all season: produce a couple of attacking stats out of thin air and jump straight to 80 points.
With such a Hail Mary play, I simply had to captain Walker, who went huge with 135 points. Unfortunately, however, many players had already looped Herbie, so I didn’t gain too much here.
I will, however, take credit for such a move being copied by our number-one leader, Chris’ Senior Paulo, which helped him work his way closer to the top 100 and saw him win his main H2H competition. You can thank me later, Chris.
After an unsuccessful Hail Mary play, and with no trades left for me to use, that likely quashes my hopes of climbing any further in the overall rankings.
Round 25 Review
Let’s break down the key SuperCoach takeaways from Round 25.
Obviously, there are the big names like Herbie who continue to produce huge scores, but as the season comes to a close, I’ve been trying to focus predominantly on players who are not only performing well but are also lowly owned. With only two rounds remaining, these are the types of PODs that could help make up some late ground:
11%-15% Ownership
Jacob Preston (2RF – $637k – 106 points):
Since Round 20, when he returned to 80-minute performances following his injury, Preston has averaged 79.2 points per game. As always, he’s a go-to for the Doggies in attack. However, I don’t expect many attacking stats this week against the Panthers. That said, the Doggies have a brilliant matchup in Round 27 against the Broncos.
Brian To’o (CTW – $565.6k – 131 points):
A first-half hat-trick from To’o, along with three linebreaks and eight tackle breaks, saw him produce his second-highest score of the season. While To’o could be an excellent POD at only 11% ownership, I wouldn’t be surprised if his game this week against the Doggies is a low-scoring affair. Then, while the Round 27 matchup against the Tigers is mouth-watering, there’s every chance the Panthers rest their side in preparation for finals.
If the To’o trade is on your mind, I’d be waiting until Round 27 after team lists come out.
Sam Walker (HFB – $833.7k – 135 points):
It was an all-round performance from Walker, who produced a try, two try assists, a try contribution and four linebreak assists. Since his crazy score of -1, Sam Walker has gone on to average 97.8 points per game, although that average is helped by his incredible 207 in the statistical anomaly that was the Cowboys game. While his final two games are somewhat difficult against the Dolphins and Souths, it wouldn’t shock me if both games turn into relatively high-scoring affairs.
Under 11% Ownership
Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (2RF/FRF – $694.3k – 113 points):
In 71 minutes, Tino produced 91 points in base and power. To add to this, he produced a linebreak, linebreak assist and a try contribution. This gives Tino a three-round average of 89.3 points per game. Keep in mind, Tino is only at 10% ownership after many coaches let him go earlier in the season.
Alex Johnston (CTW – $724.9k – 121 points):
AJ put on a clinic against the Warriors, producing two tries, a try assist and FIVE linebreaks. With AJ owned by only 3% of teams, the trade looks delightful, especially with his upcoming game against the Titans this week.
AJ is the trade of the round for me.
Valentine Holmes (CTW – $687.7k – 93 points):
Val Holmes has almost returned to his reliable best, getting a try, two linebreaks and two linebreak assists. With favourable games remaining against Manly and Parra, Val could boom. To top this off, he’s only at 5% ownership.
My Trades
No trades left for me, unfortunately, so this section is now quite redundant.
Captaincy
VC – Sua Fa’alogo vs Broncos (A)
This is Sua’s time to get his 200+ against a very vulnerable Broncos defence, a score that he’s been edging towards all season. We’ll also get to see if the new kick-off rule has any effect on SuperCoach scoring.
C – Sam Walker vs Dolphins (H)
I’m not feeling great about this captaincy. While Walker has been on fire, he’s also a player who, as we’ve seen, can go -1 on any given day, which is a scary thought for someone you’ve placed the captaincy on against a top-four side. That said, I don’t have much to lose!
Best of luck this week! Let me know your trades, captaincy calls and thoughts in the comments.
SC Adrian
