NRL SuperCoach Rd 6 preview, best trade-ins & top trade-outs

Injuries and suspensions ravaged the NRL heading into round six, and however unfortunate, this presents plenty of options for SuperCoaches going forward.

By this stage in the season, we should have been able to increase our squad value to bring more gun players into our sides. Simultaneously, there are still options on the market that look to have good job security with the potential for increased value.

SuperCoach Round 6 trade-in options

Zac Hosking (2RF)

Zac Hosking has come into the Penrith Panthers side over the past fortnight, making the back-row spot his own on Nathan Cleary’s side. This is an enormous opportunity for the former Brisbane Bronco, not only to secure a starting position in this Panthers side, but play with one of the best Supercoach scorers of recent history and become one himself. Hosking’s base stats are enormous, while also having the attacking and scoring upside that coaches love in their wide running forwards. A low break-even also means with a good game against the Sea Eagles, Hosking’s value could sky-rocket, making him very valuable in terms of building a well-rounded SuperCoach side.

Jack Johns (2RF)

Jack Johns has emerged as a viable downgrade option for SuperCoaches across the league, with the potential for increase in value as he looks to secure the starting lock position at the Newcastle Knights. Injuries to Mat Croker, Jacob Saifiti and the indefinite return of Adam Elliot favours Johns heavily for the weeks ahead. Johns’ base stats, attacking upside and non-existence of handling errors makes the middle forward a viable option to free up cap space and increase in value in place of players like J’maine Hopgood.

Ryan Matterson (2RF)

Ryan Matterson has returned to the Parramatta Eels starting line-up in the lock position for coach Brad Arthur with the hope the Eels will improve through the middle third of the field while forward pack leader Junior Paulo remains suspended. Replacing the cheapie of the year, Hopgood, it is expected that Matterson will gain more minutes in the middle third of the field. Matterson’s minutes for the Eels in just two games have been close to the full 80 per game, and if that trend continues, coaches should expect to see big point scores. Matterson has softer games over the next six weeks including the Tigers, Bulldogs, Knights, Titans and Raiders, and is not expected to be playing for the New South Wales Blues, which will make him a solid purchase to cover the bye round early in the season.

Lachlan Miller (CTW/FLB)

The injury to James Tedesco has given many SuperCoaches the opportunity to trade in Tom Trbojevic; however, not many are looking at Miller as an option. Trbojevic is selected in almost 60% of teams, with Miller in just over 10% of teams, making him a real point-of-difference (POD) option. Three of Miller’s next five games are at McDonald Jones Stadium, with matches against the Warriors, Eels and Titans to come. Miller is a great POD option who could also increase slightly in value in the next fortnight.

NRL SuperCoach Round 6 trade-out options

J’maine Hopgood (2RF)

The most popular SuperCoach buy of 2023 is officially a ‘sell’. Hopgood has been a superstar of the SuperCoach world to start the season with two scores in excess of 100, making nearly $250k in the process. Hopgood has been dropped back to the reserves bench for Parramatta in favour of Ryan Matterson, which does not bode well for the former Panther with the pending return of front-rower Junior Paulo. While there could be a bit more cash to be made in Hopgood, it is unclear on the amount of minutes he will play and how effective he will be off the bench. At the risk of decreasing in value, now is the chance to cash in Hopgood for a more reliable option.

Franklin Pele (FRF)

Franklin Pele continues to be one of the great unknowns in the SuperCoach world, and will stay that way until his return from suffering a broken arm against the Cowboys on Sunday evening. SuperCoaches the league over would have been hoping for Pele’s bench minutes to increase to a possible starting row as the Canterbury Bulldogs were plagued by injuries to their middle forwards; instead, he has become a casualty. Pele will not be a ‘hold’ option as it’s unknown what his performances will look like if and when he returns to the NRL.

James Tedesco (FLB)

James Tedesco was knocked out by Eels winger Bailey Simonsson on Thursday night. The 11-day stand-down period will see him return to the Sydney Roosters starting side as early as round seven, however, that will be against the Sharks in Cronulla with trips to New Zealand, Brisbane and Penrith in the weeks coming. Tedesco will also have a New South Wales Blues State of Origin campaign coming, and his history if head injuries growing, Tedesco is a ‘sell’ for someone like Lachlan Miller who scores well and will cover SuperCoaches in the Origin bye period.

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