NRL Round 16 matches centres, weather and Ballr NRL SuperCoach insights
NRL SuperCoaches are bracing for Round 16 to be a challenging minor bye round. Here's seven players who will have huge interest.
Friday, June 19
Newcastle Knights vs St George-Illawarra Dragons at McDonald Jones Stadium, 8pm AEST
Newcastle weather - game time forecast: Shower or two. 10-25% chance of rain.
Player of interest: Bradman Best is a POD SuperCoach option in his own right, but coaches will more so be interested in how he links up with Greg Marzhew. The man with the tree trunk legs has scored a try in every game Best has been alongside him. Marzhew has the highest breakeven of any starter this week but is worth the hold with his right-hand man back on deck.
Saturday, June 20
Wests Tigers vs Dolphins at Campbelltown Sports Stadium, 3pm AEST
Campbelltown weather - game time forecast: Mostly sunny. Player of interest: Taylan May rewarded those who took the punt on him last week with 98 points, showing no signs of the ‘ticking time bomb’ shoulder injury he’d rehabbed in previous weeks. May is hot and cold with base+power stats and carries risk, as does Adam Doueihi, who’s been named on the Reserves. But these two could quickly become too hard to ignore.
Gold Coast Titans vs Penrith Panthers at Cbus Super Stadium, 5.30pm AEST
Gold Coast weather - game time forecast: Shower or two. 50-75% chance of rain
Player of interest: Panthers custodian Dylan Edwards is one of the most popular trade-in options of the week. Despite only managing 74 points in s 68-0 drubbing, the potential for Nathan Cleary to be rested yet again has his value skyrocketing. Likely playing 18 as well if not called into Origin camp. He’s got the #2 base + power in the position, so a great floor to work from. Projected 83 with Cleary lurking, but expect it to rise if the mercurial No.7 is out.
Canterbury Bulldogs vs Manly Sea Eagles at Accor Stadium, 7.35pm AEST
Sydney Olympic Park weather - game time forecast: Mostly sunny.
Player of interest: Back from his latest hamstring injury and despite all his history, plenty of SuperCoaches will have Tom Trbojevic in their plans. Turbo was averaging 84 before he went down, and Manly has now well and truly embedded Fozball, which suits his game. Are you brave enough to take the risk on him first game back? For POD captain hunters, Haumole Olakau'atu will be of interest to see how he responds to his Origin snub.
Sunday, June 21
New Zealand Warriors vs North Queensland Cowboys at One NZ Stadium, 2pm AEST
Christchurch weather - game time forecast: Fine after morning showers. Low chance of rain
Player of interest: After underwhelming some last week with 60 in a low scoring game last week, Te Maire Martin owners are hoping he puts his stamp on the Cowboys to further solidify his starter status. What's adding to the nerves is Luke Metcalf is named in the 19 this week. TMM needs a big one and has a Ballr projection of 76.
Melbourne Storm vs Canberra Raiders at AAMI Park, 4.05pm AEST
Melbourne weather - game time forecast: Possible shower. 10-25% chance of rain
Player of interest: Will this be the game we finally see Sua Fa'alogo break out from a SuperCoach perspective? The recent scores of the Storm No.1, who still has the goalkicking, has non-owners feeling like they've escaped. The Raiders are having a tough season and Sua could be ripe to pick apart - perhaps even a risky captain option?
Sydney Roosters vs Cronulla Sharks at Allianz Stadium, 6.15pm AEST
Sydney weather - game time forecast: Shower or two. 10-25% chance of rain
Player of interest: All stoic holders of Nicho Hynes will be on edge all weekend to see whether the wet-haired prince rises off the Reserves in return from a calf injury. He's a top two run home halfback, so it could be a POD move to trade him in if you have another Shark, Rooster or bye player to move on after final teams are confirmed 90 minutes from kickoff.
Make your last-minute sit-start or captaincy decisions painless with the Rankings tool, which uses Ballr NRL SuperCoach Projections to rank the best players by position and tell you the chances of your player going big.