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With the NRL SuperCoach finals only a couple of weeks away many are asking: ‘who should my final 17 be, and how many guns should I run with into the final period?’
In my opinion you will need to have a squad of 20 gun players and POD’s with the final seven positions filled with nuffies or mid-range players that will act as nothing more than back-up.
This is my best 20 man squad:
1. Josh Dugan
In a bottom-four side, Dugan has been the shining light. His form has seen him picked for the Blues in a year that almost saw him exiled from the NRL.
This mid-season form while earning him a sky blue has also been converted into SuperCoach points.
His 69 average is the highest for any fullback this year and puts him among the elite SuperCoach players.
2. Konrad Hurrell
A part from being an absolute mountain of a man, Hurrell also has one of the best strike rates of anyone in the NRL.
In his 29-game career Hurrell has crossed the line 20 times for a strike rate at just under 70 percent, meaning he should cross the line 4.9 times in the last seven games of the regular season.
That’s 132.3 points from tries alone. This should in itself be enough to warrant the $290,000 price tag that he carries, let alone the somewhat easy run home the Warriors have against teams that have questionable defensive lines at the best of times.
3. Greg Inglis
Pipped by Dugan for the fullback position, GI is still a must have and with his duel flexibility he offers cover for those that have the likes of Roberts, Flash or any other Duel in the reserve fullback position.
Because as we all know Dugan is never too far off an injury!
Inglis this year has capitalised on some great work by the men upfront lurking around the middle looking for an offload.
Although Souths play the other three top-four teams in a seven-week period this should not deter you from picking up GI, he aims up against these clubs and has an average of over 65 against them.
Punching out 92 against the second played Roosters at the start of the year.
4. Justin Hodges
He is probably the best centre in the game, now that GI has moved to fullback.
Even in an average Broncos side he still performs week-in, week-out.
The only issue with Hodges is that you will need some form of cover, because if there is one guarantee in rugby league it’s a Hodges injury.
If you’re willing to take the risk then you will no doubt reap the rewards.
5. Matt Gillett
Mr Consistent, there is nothing more mouth-watering for a serious SuperCoach player than a back rower with duel centre/wing ability and they don’t come much better the Gillett.
He is this year’s T-Rex and with a low score of 45 and a high score of 107 he is hard to look past.
He is a player that will still punch out 50s even in a quiet game unlike the rest of the centre/wings available this year.
6. John Sutton
This has been his stand-out year, he promised so much early in his career and never really lived up to the hype.
He has become much more consistent, which almost saw him pulling on the sky blue for the first time. His form has also been converted into SC points.
Being arguably the biggest five-eigth in the comp, Sutton has no problem taking on the line and often coming out the other side.
Meaning he can rack up about 40 in base stats alone, better than any half in the comp.
7. Jonathan Thurston
He has a tenancy to be inconsistent, 100 one week and then 30 then next.
But with Thurston looking to have a blockbuster game in Origin Game 3, he will take this form make to club level to try and help his struggling club back into the top eight (whether he does it or not is another story).
If the Cowboys are to be a chance in any game it will be because of Thurston and with the new points system helping the attacking player he will most definitely see some big scores through the back-end of the season.
The Cowboys biggest challenge will be in the form of Souths.
However, the other six games are against opponents outside the top four, it is also important to note that the Cowboys play five out of seven games at home and this would be the perfect platform for them to make a run to the finals.
8. Robbie Farah
He is the second best hooker in the game and the best (on averages) SuperCoach player this year.
We all know how good Robbie is but he has never been a must have SuperCoach player until this year.
He was always someone that was good to have but never a necessity like a Smith, Gallen or Parker.
Even with the horrible year that the Tigers have had, including the Benji drama Farah has still managed to perform.
With a low score of 59 and a high of 117 Robbie is not only a must have but a great captain choice (particularly in round 19). He’s consistency is well worth the $390,000 price tag.
9. Cameron Smith
Much like Farah, Smith is Mister Reliable! He is in arguably the best team in the comp (despite the fact they sit third) and is the orchestrator of the Melbourne attack, evident in their loss to the Tigers a couple of rounds ago.
One must also look at the ‘favouritism’ shown to Smith when awarding try assists in particular. Long story short he is a must have!
10. Andrew Fifita
Many jumped aboard the Fifita train at Cronulla but got off at Hurstville, long before it reached Central.
Now those that got off are looking to get on the next express train that comes through, after the best display by a front-rower this year against the Tigers.
The only question that places doubt about Fifita’s success as a SuperCoach player is the impact Paul Gallen will have once he returns.
11. Sonny Bill Williams
Put simply this man is a freak! He is in my opinion the best player in the comp. Not many people can jump from the back row to halfback and five-eighth quite like Sonny can.
He has been one of the keys to the Roosters success this year and will continue to be, provided that he can keep away from injury.
His offload apart from being spectacular to watch has converted into big SuperCoach points as they often lead to try assists, line break assists and this is looking past the fact that an offload is worth four points on its own.
12. Shaun Fensom
We all know the kid can tackle but he has been working hard on his offload, soon he will be popping them like Corey Parker.
Fensom bring consistence to any team and is one of only a few back rowers that consistently plays 80 minutes.
With Anthony Milford potentially moving to the back for the Raiders, the two or three offloads Fensom gets away could easily be turn into more points, with the young fullback lurking around the middle of the field to capitalise on his big man’s hard work.
13. Corey Parker
At the start of the year he wasn’t someone that people considered a must have despite his record as a SuperCoach player.
That was until he started showing us why he has been given the nickname ‘God’.
He ability to offload is second to none this year on several occasions he has made more than five offloads in a game which alone is 20 points.
He is also an auto-captain choice, although it would be nice to see him regain the kicking duties permanently.
One thing Parker has not done this year is cross the line so expect that to happen in the coming seven weeks, as he will be trying to avoid the nudie run on Mad Monday.
14. Sam Burgess
Many thought he would be the best pick in the forwards this year as he has an attacking style of play and they weren’t wrong.
He has crossed the line four times this year and will be looking to first catch and then surpass younger brother George who has crossed five times.
However, Sam has not played 80 minutes often this year (if at all) which from a SC point of view can be worrying particularly due to his $330,000 price tag. Although he is still a must-have!
15. Woods
His consistence has paid off for him this year and has picked up a sky blue! Averaging about 60 in base stats he has been one of the top line SuperCoach players this year, carrying on his form from last year.
A lot of coaches picked him up for the round 15 bye round but were burned due to James Tamou being dropped for disciplinary reasons and Woods been given the nod.
For those that held strong for this period you will no doubt be rewarded and for those that let him go, he should be back on you hit list.
16. Paul Gallen
There is a lot of question about Gallen and his injury. Is he worth it? Will he play big minutes? What everyone needs to remember is this is Paul Gallen.
He is no man, he is a machine! His work-rate is second to none in the NRL and you always know what you’ll get from him whether he plays 50,60 or 80 minutes.
He needs to be in your team even at the expense of another keeper (although ideally you will not need to do this).
17. Trent Merrin
Everyone know Merrin is a gun SuperCoach player but we are yet to see the combination with Dugan.
Early on in the season we saw the Merrin offload close to the line put several players over.
We have yet to see the same with Dugan, whether this is because teams are more aware of it or whether Dugan and Merrin haven’t quiet got their games in sync is the question.
Either way this is an exciting prospect for both Dragons fans and SuperCoach players.
18. Isaac Luke
Not quite a top 17 player but a very handy 18th man, many people picked him up at a discount price of $248,000 after a couple of poor performances and have not looked back.
Many thought that he would be an easy upgrade to Smith or Farah but his recent form has seen him look like the keeper we all know him to be.
19. James Graham
After his long stint on the side lines he has come back and continued to be a force in SuperCoach.
He is pretty much in the same boat as Luke, many of us are thinking it’s time to upgrade but are finding it hard to actually do it.
There were some encouraging signs when he play close to 80 a couple weeks ago but since then he hasn’t played massive minutes. He may not make the 17 but he is a great back up option.
20. Albert Kelly
He has taken out the last spot ahead of Reynolds based solely on the fact that he is a duel player.
If you play him at five-eighth in the team mentioned above you can run into the finals with only three halves and still be covered if there are injuries.
This is not to take away from the fact that he is having an outstanding year. Not many halves can go into half-time with a minus score and still punch out 50.
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