NRL Supercoach 2019: Who to buy, hold, sell and watch - Round 2

Michael Di Lonardo

NRL Supercoach 2019: Who to buy, hold, sell and watch - Round 2 image

Don't hit the panic button after one week, especially on the long list of guns who failed miserably.

However, some trades may be necessary to clean up slight mistakes. For example, you may have picked the wrong cheapie. We know we did.

For the cocksure Supercoaches that think their team is perfect, there is always room for improvement.

Scroll down to see what moves you need to make to clean up your side.

WHO TO BUY IN SUPERCOACH

John Bateman 2RF CTW - $400,000

Round 1 score: 65

Ownership: 16.5%

Breakeven: -9

Why: Bateman was the only lock to play 80 minutes over the weekend and his dual-positioning at CTW - the position causing the most headaches - is irresistible. Mind you, 14 of those minutes were at centre when Bailey Simonsson came off with cramping, but there was nothing to suggest he wouldn't have gone the distance even without the injury. The Englishman had huge raps on him coming into round one and was listed as one of our top POD picks in the pre-season, delivering an impressive score of 65 with 61 in base stats. A must-have.

Braidon Burns CTW - $286,000

Round 1 score: 70

Ownership: 3.8%

Breakeven: -54

Why: What impressed us the most about Burns' performance was the Rabbitohs centre scored 70 points without a try or try assist. Burns put in the hard yards with 34 points in base stats and attacking stats were abundant with six tackle breaks and two offloads. All of those numbers were produced against the second best defensive side from last year in the Roosters. Having played most of his career on the wing, Burns - who is also a POD at 3.6% ownership - now has his chance closer to the action at centre and he is taking it by both hands. Job security isn't an issue either and it will only be solidified if Greg Inglis wants to move to fullback. After the Dragons, the Rabbitohs enjoy an easier run against the Titans, Sea Eagles, Warriors and Bulldogs.

Paul Vaughan FRF - $493,000

Round 1 score: 62

Ownership: 7.3%

Breakeven: 25

Why: Vaughan was a shining light in a relatively thin position, scoring 62 points with an incredible PPM of 1.17. He even saw a minutes bump, playing 53 in an increase of five minutes from last season which may have been a result of enforcer Jack de Belin's absence. Now with Tyson Frizell injured for the next month, Vaughan is an even more crucial middle forward for them. The NSW prop eats through tackles and hit-ups, has a handy offload and is capable of scoring a try. He's priced over $100K cheaper than the premiums and is just as safe.

Matt Gillett 2RF - $432,900

Matt Gillett

Round 1 score: 62

Ownership: 13.3%

Breakeven: 6

Why: Injury? What injury? Gillett churned through 70 minutes in the unfamiliar lock position in his first game back from a season-ending neck injury and was back to his old workhorse ways. The veteran racked up 57 tackles but his defensive load hampered his running game with just eight runs for 50 metres. Gillett doesn't offer much in his new role attack-wise, but his tireless efforts in defense will see him produce consistent scores and become a 60/60 player with some enticing price rises along the way.

Mitchell Moses HFB 5/8 - $383,800

Round 1 score: 69

Ownership: 4.8%

Breakeven: -23

Why: Another one of our POD picks from the pre-season, Moses did exactly what we expected him to do - take control of the Eels' attack and run the show. The Parramatta half's hands were busy, but so were his shoulders as he made a respectable 24 tackles. A score of 69 even had more room to grow, denied two try assists by The Bunker, one rightfully and one wrongfully. We're tipping Moses to become a popular pick next week with the round one failures of Nathan Cleary, Kalyn Ponga and Shaun Johnson putting the premiums in dangerous territory, but get on the train a week earlier for POD value when he faces the lacklustre Bulldogs outfit, who he has historically averaged 63 against throughout his career, in round two.

Jacob Host 2RF - $196,900 and Luke Garner 2RF - $265,100

Round 1 score: 45, 80

Ownership: 36%, 18%

Breakeven: -31, -80

Why: If you haven't already, add Host and Garner who emerged as the top cheap forward options, alongside the popular Briton Nikora, over the weekend. Garner, as we predicted, did not play the full 80 minutes and his average of 80 isn't sustainable after scoring a try, but he has the runs on the board and will make a tasty profit at the first price change. It will be interesting to see his score without a try. For Host's case, the Dragons forward's job security received a boost with news Tyson Frizell will miss a month with a lacerated testicle. Ouch. There were fears Host would be demoted back to the bench when Korbin Sims returned from suspension next week, but now he will see a few decent price rises at least as the Dragons face a minor middle forward dilemma.

WHO TO HOLD IN SUPERCOACH

Shaun Johnson ($603,00), Kalyn Ponga ($614,300), James Tedesco ($689,000), Martin Taupau (605,100), Nathan Cleary ($577,000)

Most of these premium guns are considered to be set-and-forget players. They are entitled to bad week here or there and a week of torrential weather didn't help their attacking value. If they perform ordinarily again next week, that's when you can consider a trade. If you're after some guidance, out of the listed names we are the most concerned with Kalyn Ponga and his switch to five-eighth, still finding his feet in the new role. But even then, he deserves a second chance

Dylan Napa FRF - $288,100

Round 1 score: 35

Ownership: 22.8%

Breakeven: 17

Why: Napa didn't play the minutes we all were hoping for, but Dean Pay said the prized recruit would be on a restriction until he built up his match fitness. Napa featured for 43 minutes against the Warriors. ‘’That’s the amount of minutes he can get out at the moment. Obviously once he starts to warm into the season he is going to get some more…we’re hoping to increase that over the season,'' Pay said. It means over the next few weeks Napa will have the chance to improve his average. The former Rooster will be a slow burn but will pocket some decent coin for you down the track.

Victor Radley 2RF HOK - $400,700

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Round 1 score: 32

Ownership: 28.3%

Breakeven: 57

Why: We have never been sold on Radley, and you would think a score of 32 would turn us off even more. But the 62 minutes of playing time has caught our eye. It may have been a dud week for the Roosters lock who managed a PPM of 0.97 last year. Minutes were always going to be the success criteria of his Supercoach selection, but the workload was never really in the question. Given his time on the field in round one, Radley remains a hold but one more bad score and he needs to be thrown in the bin.

Kerrod Holland CTW HOK - $428,100

Round 1 score: 36

Ownership: 9.2%

Breakeven: 57

Why: Referring back to the argument used for the premium guns, it's hard to press the trade button on the basis of one performance. There can positives taken out from Holland's score - he made 36 points out wide in a team that got flogged by 34 points, had just one attempt at goal and made an impressive four offloads on a dark day in attack. Give him his last chance.

Paul Momirovski CTW - $238,600 and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad CTW FLB - $265,500

Round 1 score: 24, 35

Ownership: 8.6%, 36.5%

Breakeven: 24, 10

Why: The rain-effected weekend limited the potential for many outside backs, particularly those with higher ownerships such as Momirovski and Nicoll-Klokstad. As stated before, most round one failures deserve another go.

WHO TO SELL IN SUPERCOACH

Corey Allan CTW - $168,100

Round 1 score: 2

Ownership: 26.3%

Breakeven: 47

Why: After being named on the bench last week, Allan has now fall out of the starting 17 and does not look likely to feature in the weekend's action. No point carrying a non-playing cheapie, but if there are other issues in your team to attend to, address them first.

Bailey Simonsson CTW - $168,100

Round 1 score: 44

Ownership: 25.3%

Breakeven: -37

Why: Another cheap CTW option that has fallen off the face of the earth, Simonsson has been replaced by star winger Jordan Rapana in a shock early return to the side from a dislocated shoulder. The Supercoach gods are cruel.

Nathan Brown 2RF - $582,000

Round 1 score: 20

Ownership: 7.6%

Breakeven: 135

Why: Brown was on fire in the first 18 minutes of Parramatta's win until his arm got caught on a Dean Whare tackle, tearing his pec in the process. Brown has been ruled out for the next three months - a devastating blow for those who were hunting POD value.

Thomas Flegler FRF - $168,100

Round 1 score: 13

Ownership: 23.8%

Breakeven: 25

Why: Flegler barely got a look in and will find it hard to get minutes in a stacked forward pack. Even with Matt Lodge's suspension, the starting pack run most of the show in Brisbane. Pass.

Gareth Widdop 5/8 FLB - $553,400

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Round 1 score: 21

Ownership: 11.5%

Breakeven: 125

Why: There appeared to be too many cooks in the kitchen as we got our first look at the Dragons' revamped spine. Widdop's base stats were horrendous, producing just 11 at fullback as the running was left to Jordan Pereira and Mikaele Ravalawa. It will take time for him to adapt, but make sure that time runs while he's off your books. Making life harder, Widdop faces South Sydney, Brisbane and Newcastle in the next three rounds.

Jordan Kahu CTW FLB - $278,700

Round 1 score: 21

Ownership: 35.3%

Breakeven: 42

Why: This is a rage trade on our behalf, so be warned there is emotion involved. We had an inkling Kahu could be a trap and a score of 21 is reminding us of our reservations. Base stats were the real issue, contributing just 14 while he missed his two attempts on goal. When the Cowboys attacked, he was missing in action as Michael Morgan and Te Maire Martin controlled business. We could be wrong here but we've lost interest.

WHO TO WATCH IN SUPERCOACH

Ryan Matterson 2RF - $521,500

Round 1 score: 67

Ownership: 7.6%

Breakeven: 23

Why: Matterson maintained his solid base stat numbers from last year, racking up 61 in his first Tigers appearance. Promisingly, Matterson was a key feature in their attack and was used a number of times for his line-running in the red zone, only to be stopped by Manly's defence. Played a full 80 minutes and has elements of becoming a keeper. Needs to back it up this week.

Isaiah Papali'i 2RF - $462,400

Round 1 score: N/A

Ownership: 1.3%

Breakeven: N/A

Why: Papali'i returns after a one-game ban from drink-driving, but he will have to work his way off the bench. We get a feeling Stephen Kearney could make a late change and promote Papali'i to the starting team. Tipped to transition to the middle this season, the Kiwi international's workload could go through the roof.

Blake Lawrie FRF - $216,600

Round 1 score: 42

Ownership: 1%

Breakeven: -19

Why: Lawrie starts at lock in place of Tyson Frizell after an impressive first hit-out that saw him earn 42 minutes. The greater responsibility will only help his Supercoach credentials, but he remains on the watch list with the return of Korbin Sims incoming next week. Sims may knock him out of a starting job. Wait and see.

Te Maire Martin 5/8 FLB - $283,200

Round 1 score: 61

Ownership: 11.2%

Breakeven: -37

Why: Martin's name has pricked the ears with a sizzling round one performance with his score of 61 helped by a try. The former Panther has historically averaged in the 50s in the past and he is already poised to make some coin with a breakeven of -37.

Clint Gutherson FLB - $439,300

Round 1 score: 58

Ownership: 10.6%

Breakeven: 16

Why: Gutherson was an integral part of Parramatta's attack and in a positive sign was demanding the ball almost every set. If the Eels are here to play, Gutherson will be to. Wait and see.

Michael Di Lonardo

Michael Di Lonardo Photo