SuperCoach NRL: Some of the best, and worst, trades being made
With plenty of SuperCoaches hammering the trade button ahead of round two we take a look at some of the best, and worst, moves being made.
I‘ve separated this article into three sections — there are the no-brainers, the traps and then there are the trades that should come with a caveat.
THE ‘NO BRAINERS’
I’d like to think those players listed here are pretty uncontroversial, and several were covered by knowledgeable colleague Trent Copeland in his excellent Cheapie Bible
here, so I won’t waste too much of my word count trying to convince you of their merits.
Adam Keighran (5/8 | HFB) $168,100
The Warriors rookie was super impressive in his side’s opening round demolition of the Bulldogs. Despite filling a secondary role to Blake Green in the playmaking duties, Keighran still managed to score 87 points thanks to scoring a try, setting up another, breaking the line twice and kicking six goals. Don’t expect anything like that kind of production week in and week out, but he’s a must have.
John Bateman (CTW | 2RF) $400,000
The pre-season wraps were big on Bateman and the Englishman lived up to the hype in an 80-minute effort which saw him score 61 points in base stats. Played the last quarter of the game at CTW covering for an injured Bailey Simonsson (more on him below) which is a little bit of a worry as that indicates Bateman is the forward most likely to get shifted to the backs when injury strikes. Regardless of that, I think Bateman showed more than enough to suggest he’s the guy you want anchoring your CTW.
Briton Nikora (CTW | 2RF) $168,100
An 80-minute 2RF available at CTW for A base rookie price, Nikora scored 53 in base and threw three successful offloads. Madness that he is not owned by every single SuperCoach.
THE ’SURE, BUT HAVE YOU SEEN THIS STAT’ TRADES
All these players had big games in round one and are among the top trade in targets for round two as a result. However, each comes with some cautionary notes and it’s my job to bring them up.
Jason Taumalolo (2RF) $657,400
Speaking of big games, the Tongan wrecking ball had a whale in round one scoring 99 points. Great right? Well, keep in mind that his scoring in many categories — 37 points in hit-ups, two linebreaks (20 points) six tackle breaks (12 points) and a try assists (12 points) were well in advance of his past.
I’m a big believer that people can improve I just don’t think ‘Lolo’ can maintain those levels. Bouncing between edge and middle to accommodate Josh McGuire saw Taumalolo’s tackle number plummet and if, and when, his attacking stats revert to the mean that could cause trouble.
If you have the cash to trade up from an injured Nathan Brown then there’s no shame in this move. I’m not so sure I’d be trading out Marty Taupau (currently the fourth most popular trade in the game) for him though.
Taupau spent almost his entire first stint on the ground defending and barely got any time in attack as Manly kept dropping balls. I’m tipping the two to not have too dissimilar an average over next four weeks.
Shaun Lane (FRF | 2RF) $508,000
The towering Parramatta recruit played the full 80 minutes on the edge for the Eels, frequently pushing in to the middle to take a hit-up and make a tough tackle.
His round one score of 73 points was inflated by a try assist/linebreak assist (20 points) but Lane still pumped out 45 in base and due to a couple of injuries at the club he looks assured to play the full 80 minutes for a few weeks yet. Lane’s offloading skills should prove a constant threat throughout the season so the TA/LBA were no fluke and he’d be a player I’d be happy to trade for.
Cameron Murray (2RF) $458,900
Murray lived up to all the hype, banging out 52 points in base stats in 63 minutes against the Roosters on a slippery SCG.
With that said, you need to bear in mind that his score is boosted by a try, and then ask yourself would you be rushing to bring him into your squad if he had scored 53?
I still think Murray should be a trade target but not one you drop a proven gun who happened to have a poor first round (Taupau etc) in order to get.
Michael Morgan (HFB | 5/8) $409,200
Now the dominant half at the Cowboys, Morgan delivered in multiple categories on Saturday night with a try, try assist, line break and even a 40/20 for a total of 72 points. I’m expecting the try assists to be sustainable, and perhaps even built upon. As for the rest, there won’t be a try every week and I’m confident there won’t be even close to a 40/20 on a weekly basis either. That said, 55-60PPG is more than acceptable at $409K and I’d be happy to own him. Would I be trading Nathan Cleary (424 trades at this point) or Shaun Johnson (383 trades) to get Morgan? Not on your life.
Luke Garner (2RF) $265,100
Just under 5,000 SuperCoaches have drafted Luke Garner into their side following the West Tigers backrower banging out 80 points against the Sea Eagles on Saturday. I hope none of you expect to see such a stonking score again.
Don’t get me wrong, if I had picked up Garner to start the season I’d be pretty happy, after all 40 odd points in base from an edge second rower with good job security is nothing to sneeze at.
However, that’s where you should park your expectations, as Garner scored 30 points in one play last week, that’s not going to keep happening. I think I’d prefer to pick up Jacob Host or even Braidon Burns (more on him below).
Braidon Burns (CTW) $286,000
How’s that for a segue … let’s talk about Mr Burns than shall we? Playing at centre on the Rabbitohs vaunted left edge, Burns was busy (16 runs, 12 of those over eight metres), bustling (six tackle busts) and creative (one try assist and a linebreak assist).
And leaving the stat sheet aside, a rarity for me I’ll admit, he just looked good on the eye. Back to the stat sheet, I feel it would be remiss of me not to point out that Burns has never put up numbers like those and it is unrealistic to expect it to continue.
Players should keep in mind that CTW is a notoriously unreliable position and they essentially get a free look at Burns this week. That’s what I’m doing. However, I can understand the 703 people who have traded Jordan Kahu to Burns because Kahu did not pass the eye test — except of course Justin Hodges’ eye who awarded Kahu a Dally M vote for his performance …
Cameron Munster (FLB | 5/8) $548,500
Currently the fifth most traded in player for the round, and it is not hard to see why with many coaches seduced by Munster’s 105 point effort against the Broncos. But say what you like about Munster becoming the absolute focal point of the Storm offence following the retirement of Billy Slater, I’m confident he will not have another game in which he scored three try assists and four linebreak assists. Also, keep in mind that in 2018, Munster scored 103 points in round 20 and followed up with a 23 the next round, he scored 98 in round 15 and followed that up with a 14 point game in round 16. There are tremendous peaks but plenty of troughs and buying in after a peak just exposes you to the trough in my opinion.
Corey Oates (CTW) $504,000
Speaking of players who can take you to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, meet Corey Oates. Actually, let me step that back a bit because Oates actually has a decent floor thanks to his high workrate bring the ball back after kicks and propensity to bust tackles.
But that’s what you’re paying $500K for. Oates scored two tries and busted nine tackles in round one. A more realistic season expectation is a little under half that in each category. If you really have $500K to spend on a CTW then wait a week, take a look at Jordan Rapana and grab him. Genuine gun and massive POD.
Jake Friend (HKR) $481,500
Those who bought Jake Friend as a bit of a cut-price POD did so hoping he would deliver his usual bucketload of tackles. And that’s exactly what the great man did knocking down 53 South Sydney attackers. What not even the most optimistic of owner would have hoped for is two linebreaks and a try. Friend just doesn’t run the ball all that much, he never really has so those attacking stats are very much an outlier. Sure, grab Friendy if you want a ‘safe’ hooker who will get you 55PPG but don’t do it expecting much more. Also don’t be fooled into thinking this is a purchase that will see you price up to Damien Cook easily as mentioned above first round scores roll out of a players rolling average awfully quickly and Friend will likely only see a $50-60K bump in price over rounds 3-5 as a result of his big early score — and that is dependant on him continuing to play out 80 minute games which past history suggests is unlikely.
