NRL SuperCoach podcast: Round 21 preview

Published Jul 25, 2024, 5:18 AM

Head-to-head finals are only two weeks away! It's time to get your team right. Join Tom Sangster and fourth-placed SuperCoach NRL player Mark Barnes for the answers.

This is the official Super Coach NRL podcast Game Day Preview.

Hello super Coaches, and welcome to our Game Day Preview podcast. It's round twenty one, the Head to Ad Finals just around the corner, and we have a huge guest on the show today. It is Mark Barnes, the barn Stormer, currently in fourth spot in Supercoach.

What's been your secret so far?

Oh jeez, that's a pretty long long answer. I'll try and make it short for you. I think I've done a few things differently than last year and certainly previous years. One of them I reckon that's really helped me, which sounds not very smart from super Coach logic, is front row Ford. I just went, it looks terrible. I don't want to do much with it. And did the same with Hooker and five eight. So my Hooker and five eight was the same for the first few months of the year. I just didn't any trades there and then upgraded and I were going okay, and front row Ford looked awful, and I just for three months went it doesn't matter, it looks bad. I don't reckon the points upsides there, and I just left it. And that's that.

With a lot of luck has been really helpful.

Yeah, well, I'll use the exact same tactic in the front row. And my front row still looks disgusting and I'm hoping to fix that up over the next couple of weeks. I just want to hit you up quickly with a couple of little pod picks for the run home.

Who do you think?

Look, I think my favorite one who is a real struggle even for me to try and get in, is Brian too, and that's why he's such a good pick. He's over eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars, so it's a massive investment. But we all know the Panther's great run home and he's around that ten percent mark, and I think because of the price, he's still going to stay really low and that's going to be beneficial for anyone that's got the trades and the money to be able to do it. So Brian Tye is probably my favorite. And if you can't afford it, I reckon you can go to the other wing. Taruva. He has shown an ability to go big. He's still young, and he's got a good draw there and he just seems to get tries on that side and we know that Brian Tyer doesn't necessarily always get the tries, but three of it does, so he'll get some doubles on the way home with that draw. So I quite like those, and then it's really hard for the other ones. I mean, someone in the fullback spot that I think will become more highly owned but isn't at the moment, is going to be Kaylan Ponger. When he hits that game in a few weeks where he plays the West Tigers, that's going to be an opportune in time to get him in and three point five percent ownership around about the moment, does he get well over ten percent? Not sure because a lot of people will be set on their fullbacks are out of trades.

Yep.

I love the Bryan to opick particularly, and pretty much no one can do it unless you've got big trades or you've got big money, so it makes him even more of a pod. Kaylen Ponger, for sure in a couple of weeks, got the buy this week and the big break even, so he's a guy to keep up your sleeve. But I currently have Teddy and Turbo in that position with not many trades left, so I think I'm going to have to run to the end, to the end of the season with those two. Send three your questions, guys. We've got them cranking here on Facebook Live, so send them through and we'll get to them very shortly. Burning issues for this weekend Nathan Cleary, First of all, are you bringing him in? Second of all, who are you selling? Which I think is probably the bigger question it sure is.

If you're not bringing in Nathan Cleary, I'm going to assume you're one of the ghost teams that stop playing because you've got upset with Zip Coach. You've got to be bringing in Nathan Cleary. There is no other answer to that. The only question that you need to ask yourself is who you're going to trade instead, And to me, there's several options. I would always, especially on the run home, prioritize guys who you're either going to sell down the track anyway, or that you don't want to be playing, and that makes it a lot easier. So, for instance, Wisharp, I think is an easy sell. Even in Monster doesn't play this week, he's got a sixty break, even he's going to be gone next week, you're going to have to sell him anyway, so do it now. Aiden Campbell's a bit more controversial, and you've got to basically ask yourself whether you believe in him or not. Five game average of ninety five while he's been starting six is very good. If you wanted to argue, keep in sure. But otherwise, if you're going to sell him over eight hundred thousand dollars, now you actually make money off that trade, which is amazing. And Dylan Brown is my one that I'm doing though there's just he's averaging okay for the season, but he's gone eighty plus three times. I don't see that he was getting better. In fact, I said him getting worse, even though his averages around about the same within a point of Moses being there or not. I just don't think they're going to be very competitive and their draws not great. So do I want to play Dylan Brown on the run home?

No?

I don't, so I may as well trading yep.

I agree with the Dylan Brown trade. Unfortunately, I still have Cody Walker in my team, so he's the one who's going to go for Nathan Cleary for me, which I think is pretty obvious trade.

Really, I'm keeping him. I've got Cody. I'm going to keep.

Cody because I mean his draws pretty good and he's got obviously no buyers. They probably won't rest players in the run home. Are you keeping Cody?

I mean it's basically him more or Dylan Brown. And I just feel like Cody has more chance of getting a bigger score. And I feel like Cody is the type of guy who if you play him against bad teams. He's got the Tigers coming up, you know that's a matchup I want the house players for, whereas I look at the Eels and go I don't really want to play Dylan Brown against anyone like he could play the team in sixteenth and still not go very well. So I just want to I want Cody for the matchups. But the biggest thing, I'll leave you with this number, Tommy thirty two percent ownership on Dylan Brown, and I think that Cody is hovering around that ten percent mark.

So he makes a big populce.

What about the other Walker? Sam Walker very popular sell this week. He's got that buy coming up soon, which I think is probably the biggest factor in why people are selling your thoughts there.

Look, I don't want to have to put my Rooster's hat on as a fan, so everyone just ignore the.

Fact Roosters fan on the sh But we've gotten rid of Sutherland and then we get another Roosters fan.

Oh dear, now you've got another.

Look.

I love Semmie Walker. I got him in my side. I would be in first place if not for him. I actually accidentally benched him on Anzac Day for his one hundred and seventy plus score, so I had a few beers and stuff and worked out very badly. So because of that, Sam He's got to stay my side so I can get a one seventy plus out of him. But being real about it, I think at the moment in the short term, Sam Walker is not great, but in the long term he's really good because that last four weeks of the Rooster's draw is mint and I think that people are going to want Sam Walker for that and he's just got such a good ceiling. So to me, a lot of people are deciding between Jerome Hughes and Sam Walker, and if you're doing that, I think Jerome Hughes is a play to keep for the immediate and if you're looking down the track on the last month at Sam Walker if you want to look long term.

Same three questions and comments. Guys, I'm loading him up now. There's currently no questions in so if you hit us with a question now, it will one hundred percent get answered quickly.

On Harry Grant, what are your.

Thoughts on him at the hooker position? I know you mentioned that it's not really a position to be targeting this year. He's got that Sternham injury, which seems to be okay now, like he backed up after Origin even though it seemed to be a bit of an issue.

Thoughts on him.

As a starting hooker for the run home even though he could get rested at any point with the Sternham injury plus the storm of basically said that they're going to rest players in round twenty six, so not in around twenty seven because they've got to travel in there. I think they're going to the Cowboys up in Townsville at some stage. So they've said that they're going to rest their players or so Brandon Smith said in a podcast that they're going to rest players in around twenty six and not twenty seven. Round twenty six is the head to head finals.

Do we trust the cheese? I don't know a look.

I started with Robson, I've still got Robson, and when Denny Levy topped out the goat of the hooker position, I ended up trading him out to Harry Grant when Grant was cheap and just went now I'm.

Set for the year.

I think if people have two hookers, it doesn't make sense to get granted at the moment with all the other options. But if you're running one hooker, or you know your hooker is pretty bad, then I do still think that Grant's an option because with Grants, one of the things that's really interesting is two out of the last three weeks Sry to our last three years, he's best scoring average. When you break up the season in the thirds, he's on the run home. So last year actually averaged eighties between round nineteen and twenty six, and that was still his lowest minutes average of the year too, so it didn't matter that he was getting spells and rested a little bit. So I think because hooker doesn't have that many great standout options aside from I Flatrell stays out and Damien Cook kicks for the rest of the year, then I do think that there's an option to get grand In. I will just throw out there if you want to get him. He scored one one seventeen one sixteen two tries against the Eels in round eight and the Eels are a lot more competitive then than what they are now, so it's an opportunity time to maybe get him.

Heaps of questions have just dropped in to her thoughts on this from Chris thoughts on Isaac tang Or. I was expecting more for him from him rather when Nathan Cleary came back last week.

He was okay.

He looked better with Cleary in the team. But also in that side, you've got Casey McClain, who's by farther cheapy of the week, plus you've got Taruva who you mentioned, and then Brian too. If you've actually got some cash, he's probably the I'd say that at least the second or third guy i'd be looking at in those outside backs at that club.

I need to measure my response so I don't seem like a tongue o hater. He is the worst player in that Panthers team to buy in my opinion, and I'm not saying that lightly.

We have to put it all into context.

Tommy at the start of the year when he actually scored well, he was beating up on slow second rowers who he ended careers of slow second rowers. But when he's up against centers, he's scored terrible. So I think that the stats all say it's bad, and then you go to the eye test and the eye test says well. I actually think if the Panthers had the depth that they've had in prior years, Brian Tung I would have found himself in hisself as cup. They just don't, so he's gotten a bit lucky. I don't see him turning it around. He's just too many thirties and forties and just not worth it. And Casey McLain you mentioned he will chat about probably later. He's probably better and he's half the price, so yeah, I couldn't possibly look at him.

Casey McLain at cheapy price is really hard to turn down.

Thoughts.

We've got lots of questions about Casey mc McLain, lots of love for you bring home.

The cash, Thanks everybody.

I've got a question asking can you still win the cash even though you're on the podcast? Yes you can. I can confirm that bonus now and we'll go quickly to Brown or Galvin to clearing. Surely wouldn't be selling Lachlan Galvin in his current form.

I said this a week ago on the Inner All Stars podcast, and I said it the week before it as well, and it was a.

Bit controversial at the time. I think that people come around on it.

I said at the time, I much prefer Lucky Galvin for the run home than when I do Dylan Brown. Gavin scored one hundred plus multiple times this year. He's gone eighty plus, way more than Dylan Brown, and he's actually got upside. Like the Tigers are already last, they're not going to get any worse, and he's still out perform Brown. So the only way is up. And because being a young guy that they want to develop, he's only going to either keep producing or get better. So he's got all the upside against Dylan Brown, and I'm keeping him one hundred percent over Dylan Brown.

I'm quickly going to mention our code deal at the moment, it's a dollar for the first month. You've got head to head finals coming up. Just test it out for a month to see how it goes. You get super Coach Plus, which is our stats offering. You get all the super Coach articles, all the podcast everything. It's tried out for a month to see how it goes. And I can tell you that the churn rate on that is very very low. Once people get on it, they stay on it. And I honestly don't even know how he can be a serious supercoach without Supercoach Plus.

I'm assuming you've got it, of course. Yeah, nice little plug.

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Now we had a little discussion before the show started. The Bulldogs are only paying are paying three dollars twenty five for the win against the Broncos. The Bulldogs are sixth on the ladder. The Broncos are twelve or eleventh or something.

One of the best defenses too.

I find I find that crazy, even though it is at sun Corps Stadium. So I've got them to win plus with Willi Army kickout to score a try, hopefully marking up against Kobe Heatherington on an edge there so it could be a good chance to score a try.

It's paying ten bucks yourself.

I'm going to stick stop show with my roosters. So last time I was on the show, am my twenty three to one roosters bet that came in. So I'm going to just keep righting the streak. Sydney roosters minus five and a half points against me, Dom Young to score first and also two tries Seemi Walker eight points. He's going to get fifteen to one on that, and I absolutely love it.

Yep, you're a bit more wilder than me, that's sure, but you definitely got up last time. And Dave Campbell hasn't shut up about since what is gambling really costing you? For free and confidential support called the number on screen or visit the website Gambling help online dot org dot.

Au cheap your Bible.

So you mentioned him before, Casey McClain, he's in for me this week. I don't think enufs are the way to go right now. I already have a lot of non players in my team. Plus I have Joe Chan, Plus I have Daddy Levi, who I don't quite trust. As aes I can't really use the loophole anyway. So I may as well get a proper cheapy in and Casey McClain is that guy.

I like it. I like it a lot.

Normally at this point of the season, we don't get somebody as good as Casey McLain as a downgrade. He hits at the perfect time, and this normally doesn't happen. He's hitting a great or, he's playing for one of the top teams. And he's also got a pretty good floor too. His floors better than Toungo's floor is and only bottom dollar. It's a great downgrade option if you've got trades or you can't use them right because you don't have the money. You can downgrade him and he might out perform half a your cent of wings on the run home at the moment. So I'm one hundred percent with your tom. I don't think that it's enough season. I've got twenty four and a quarter players playing because Poassa can only be a quarter order for when he does play, he's still out their quarter. But yeah, I think that this year You've used the word carnage many times and it's warranted. You need the depth otherwise you're going to struggle on the run home. Especially with low trades.

Yeah, there's going to be some big restings in the run home for sure, particularly from those top sides like the Panthers, Roosters, Storm. You think a whole bunch of those guys get rested, and it may not all happen in that final round. It might happen sort of spread out over those final few rounds. So you do need to keep a decent squad of players together. Jackson perdu is a guy who's I love on the eye test. I can't quite try to quite trust him this week as a buye given that they've got Tower Lungey going back into that team and he's on the extended bench, so I can't go there this week. But who knows, he could end up in that seventeen even with too Lungy coming back into the team. So look, it's too risky when you've got McLain there. If McClain wasn't around, I think a lot of people would be looking at perdue.

Eighty k difference as well, and that's probably the key figure there. One's bottom dollar, the other's not, and one's in the best team too. So yeah, I think in other weeks Perdue might have been more interesting, but just in a case of McClain week, I couldn't go there.

A couple of questions coming through. Matthew is asking RTS or the Hammer. RTS back at fullback this week, which is kind of enticing, But the Hammer got no buyers left. Arts has got that buy in think around twenty seven.

I think it is, yeah, laste.

Of the season.

I'd be going Hammer.

Yeah, I think it's probably closer than what it should be.

It has to be said that RTS may very well go out of fullback after this week, so you might only get one week, but it is a good week where he plays the Tigers in New Zealand. So I think if you've got a lot of trades that it makes sense just to take a rental on RTS, especially the next two weeks. Like even if he leaves fullback and goes to the wing. I like him on the wing a lot. He's scored seventies and eighties the last couple of weeks, and one of those the first score was on the wing, So.

I actually really like the RTS pod.

Everyone's bringing in the Hammer at the moment, top ten most popular trade in No one's bringing in RTS, So if you need one hundred grand difference and you want a pod, I'd choose RTS. If that's not a big concern for you and your team, then I'd go hammer.

Pete is asking what's to bring in McLain, Do you sell to Lungey or Eero, And I've actually got this exact issue this week, and it's a tough call. I'm leaning towards selling ta Lungey right now, but there's also a massive chance that Tulanga gets moved to fullback at some stage because they've essentially said that that's where he plays in the future. At that club, he was at fullback. He's a starting player for you in Super Coach every week. Whereas Eero, he's got a lot to lug, he's got a good base, hasn't got the attacking stats so far this year, but they've got an amazing run home, so he could easily get those attacking stats.

Yeah, and I think we saw an inkling in that last game.

Eo scored seventy eight points, got some attacking stats, and he did it really easily. I would sell to Lungey because I think one of the things that I've done this season that I've not done in other seasons. Is I really looked for the now and not tried to base stuff off what might happen in a month's time. And that makes a big difference because we don't have much of the season left. Tom So if you get to lug in the last couple of weeks of the season, and that's why you're not going to trade him now, it's not that helpful. And iro Ero, sorry, I think is pretty likely to get a stats West the Cowboy. Is there one of the worst defenses in the NRL, even though it's up in Townsville. I still think that that euro side is going to get good ball and potential. So I would trade Blaze as well.

Yep, Blaze is going for me this week onto the no go zone. This is the player or the trade that you think people shouldn't be doing this week. Me, it's Adam Fanuel Blake. Now, I've owned him since very early in the season and we've seen a marked drop off since he signed to leave the club and since he got suspended for that one week for not rocking up, not bothering to turn up into the sheds for the Warriors, it has been pretty significant. Then last week it went bananas and scored a try, etc. So people are seeing last week and not thinking about the couple of months before that. I'd be avoiding Adam vanel Blake, going for someone like payn Ass Mitch Barnett, if you've got the money.

Yeah, it's a really hard one.

I've been really off a' been all a year, and then he had that real purple pat I was glad that I stayed off.

I can see it going either way.

I can see you being one hundred percent right on it because he has shown let's say a fifty to fifty attitude at times, even at mainly before so I could see him packing his bag early and just leaving him in the corner of the room for the last four weeks of the season.

Made him leave.

But Topah Harris going down. He played almost seventy minutes last game. If those minutes continue at five hundred and ninety ode thousand, it does present value and probably alleviates that risk a bit. So if he does go badly and only average fifty five for the rest of the year, I don't think the investment's at high So I could probably go either way on that one.

It's a tough one.

Look, I own him, and I don't have enough trades to sell. But he's certainly a guy that I'm worried about. Who's your no goes on?

I'm super controversial here and I feel really bad about it. I got Tom Dawoivitch in a couple of weeks ago for his two tons, and I love the trade. But to me, you know, two weeks is a long time in supercoach Tom, and I actually don't love everyone trading him in this week. Yes, he's got a minor thirty break even, Yes it's going to be more expensive getting later on, but the time for his fullback status as the best guy to have was the last two weeks. The likelihood for him to get another one hundred and seventy plus score is slimmed. Tonne for the rest of the year and he's going against the Roosters and then got to buy. So the next two weeks you got one game, it's a tough game away against the Roosters at Alians. After that Shore he comes out and hits Cambro. But at that point you have all these other fullback options like Rees Walsh has a good run now could do what Turbo did the last fortnight, and then you've got guys like Kayln Ponger, who he said will be coming really check close to six hundred k potentially for a Tigers matchup. So yeah, I just don't think it's quite the right time for Tommy. I'd lay off him this week.

Yep.

I'm a happy Tommy Turbo owner. And it's a good question. It's a good point to bring this up as well, because you look at the captaincy stakes this week, which is our next segment. You've got Tom Chabovich at sixteen percent, but he does have that tough matchup against the Roosters and it's at alle Yards, whereas you've got James Tedesco in that same game only at fourteen percent off a bad week, which is generally when Teddy fires up the next round, and it's at Alliance where he's got a great record captain cy this week?

Are you going Teddy Turbo?

I could not possibly go near Turbo. I'm not interested in Turbo at all. I do think that Teddy is a smoky And this always happens in Super Coach. When someone really disappoints you, you don't want to reward them with.

The arm man the next week.

So Teddy got in the thirties last week and people are really annoyed about it. Still, I think it's a great it's a great option he's scored well against mainly in the past. It is at alliance. The Roosters have got a point to prove and they do generally bounce back. Whereas you look at Turbo, He's fourth worst average against all the teams is the Roosters. He's opposition the Roosters fourth worst average at a seventy and I just think that he's beat up on some poor opposition last couple of weeks and we're not going to see it as well this week.

So I'm definitely Teddy over Turbo.

Yeah yeah, Turbo playing at home you just always captain him. But away it's a little bit sketchy. And to this go last week at that tough matchup as well against the Storm in Melbourne, he's got a horrible record.

Against the Storm.

Yeah, he's a real bogie team, so I'm expecting him to bounce back. The number one captain cy target this week is Nathan Cleary forty six percent and that's when I wrote this yesterday. It's probably gone up since then is like, do you antipod him?

Though? It's not that it's against the.

Dragons, who and I'm a Dragons fan so I'm completely biased.

They're not that bad this year.

They're coming ninth and it's at Winds Stadium. The wind is going to be whipping off the Pacific Ocean. Like it's it's not that easy a matchup compared to what he had last week at home at Blue Bett Stadium, where he's just got an amazing record.

Yeah, I mean, do you remember what the rooster is he did the Dragons Anzactor, because.

Yeah, that was that's Ali on steam.

What about the heartland of rugby League and the Dragons and the Steelers. Look, I think you have to have a piece of Nathan Cleary, so you can't antipod him by not going the captaincy. But what you can do, which I think is a really smart move, is if you don't have any good VC options and you've got a loopable team, you can VC Cleary. Because there are teams that are set up quite well either or quite well with good aes, or set up quite badly but good for because they've only got like eighteen players or something. A VC Cleary could head your bets in because you can make sure you hit Cleary. But also you know, if you've got fifty percent of super coaches missing out on Cleary with a fifty five or something, you then hedge your bets for one of those later games. So I quite like that as the anti pod route.

Let's take questions till the end of the show. We've got any interest in putting the Sea on Hammer against the Titans. It's risky.

It's risky.

I mean, we've got some seriously good captaincy options of this time of the year and this week in particular. But I mean, Hamma was on fire last week.

Hat trick would not surprise me. But I did not have the kahunas to put the Sea on Hammer, that's for sure. Maybe at VC just to be a little bit safe, but I tell you that sometimes you got to risk it for the biscuit, as I say, and the hammer can score tries in bunches and against the Titans, it could very well happen.

Luckily he is saying, sorry, say from Luke will get Adam Fanua Blake vice captain into Teddy as captain. I'm not sure if Fana Blake quite as the upside for a VC at this time of year there was a buy around, you'd do it this week?

Yeah, I couldn't. I couldn't do it.

I'd rather go go other options that you've probably got in your team there. I'm sure that you've got some other ones. Even if if you're getting Cleary, you know VC Teddy and then see Cleary. But if you're not getting Cleary for whatever reason, I'd be looking at some other VC options.

I think for the Jesse upside.

We've got a person riding in asking if they should sell Casey McClain for Greg marsu getting rid of Greg Martin's on the buy this week. With Ponger coming back into that team with some good matchups, you would think that mars Hugh is a guy to hold for the run home.

I think one of the most important things in Super Coach is patients, and I think this is the time to show patients. You know, you're not going to want to be playing these guys every week. When Greg Marju hits that Tiger's game, you're going to feel really bad about selling him. So certainly in the next couple of weeks it's going to be painful to have him just sitting on the bench and not very useful because I wouldn't play Himgast the Penrith Panthers obviously, but that Tiger's game. There's some good matchups for the Knights on the run home. They need to make the eight. I quite like holding him, and I hope people do sell because he's not highly owned, and you'll become a real pod yep.

Well that is it for our game preview podcast. Obviously no game tonight, but plenty coming up over the weekend. Huge having you on with your wealth of knowledge coming forth, and I can see why, to be honest, hopefully you can storm home and get that fifty k.

Thanks very much, Tommy, and I've got a lot of messages and stuff on the podcast and everything, so appreciate the support from everyone. And I'll do my best, but it's going to take a lot of luck and a lot of stress. Probably, Yes, absolutely, catch the light of goss

Mm hmm

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