NRL SuperCoach Round 20 players to watch, match centres, weather and tips
We're now deep into the season and it's getting harder to find a point of difference. Here's some of the players who should be on your radar going to NRL SuperCoach Round 20.
Thursday, July 16
Penrith Panthers v Brisbane Broncos, CommBank Stadium, 7.50pm AEST
Parramatta weather - game time: A few showers. 50-75% chance of rain.
Player of interest: The only question this week is what armband to put on Nathan Cleary? It would be natural to use the VC in the first game of the round, but your first issue when looping is you will need to drop a good player this week, and the likes of Brandon Smith and Ethan Roberts are AE issues if you cop a further injury later in the round. A straight C avoids those problems.
Friday, July 17
Cronulla Sharks v Newcastle Knights, Ocean Protect Stadium, 6pm AEST
Cronulla weather - game time: A few showers. 25-50% chance of rain.
Player of interest: The hooker battle is fierce between Origin rakes Blayke Brailey and Harry Grant, even from a SuperCoach perspective. Brailey has well and truly bottomed out just above 600k and has no byes left, but he may be getting some early showers like he did in the 66-0 romp on the weekend. This game should be closer. But you wouldn't be using a valuable trade at hooker at this stage of the season and he's too expensive for a HK2. He would be a great POD if you have 10+ trades somehow.
Sydney Roosters v Melbourne Storm, Allianz Stadium, 8pm AEST
Sydney weather - game time: A few showers. 25-50% chance of rain.
Player of interest: Storm utility Tyran Wishart is now the No.1 half at the Storm and at 303k could be a solid downgrade option at 5/8 or HFB. The latter option could allow a combo of Cleary and Hynes in HFB and Flex - meaning both are captaincy options each week. Wishart could become an AE risk when both Hughes and Munster return, but if the Storm run out of puff, the Ferraris may be kept in the garage for the rest of the year.
Saturday, July 18
Canberra Raiders v South Sydney Rabbitohs, GIO Stadium, 3pm AEST
Canberra weather - game time: Fine. 95% chance of no rain.
Player of interest: Nearly 5% of the top 10% have Simi Sasagi in their sights, but have we seen enough? A junk time try got him to 58 last week after a base+power 60 first up. He could also have more cash to lose with a breakeven of 87. If you have an asset you plan to sell still rising, it could be worth waiting a to see if the Raiders and Sasagi are truly back. On the other side, Matt Dufty is one for the thrill seekers. In his 80-minute games this year, he averages 92. No fullback can boast that in 2026. It's an all or nothing play if you're on the edge of making head-to-head finals.
New Zealand Warriors v St George-Illawarra Dragons, Go Media Stadium, 5.30pm AEST
Auckland weather - game time: Mostly fine. 10% chance of 1mm or more.
Player of interest: Is it time to part ways with Ryan Couchman? He's arguably the cheapie of the year, but as is the case with cheapies, they have a use-by date. Rouchy has been hovering around his lowest minutes of the year the last two weeks - in the mid-50s - and while it will be enough for mid-60s scores, that's just not enough at this time of year. An easy sell if you need.
Canterbury Bulldogs v Wests Tigers, Accor Stadium, 7.35pm AEST
Sydney Olympic Park weather - game time: Shower or two. 10-25% chance of rain.
Player of interest: Plenty are looking for a mid-range 2RF to see them home and Jacob Preston could be the top prospect. He’s a former premium player and with a 111 breakeven, he could be under 500k next week. Viliame Kikau should also return, pushing Preston to his usual right side. He has averaged 69 in non-injury games this year.
Sunday, July 19
Gold Coast Titans v Manly Sea Eagles, Cbus Super Stadium, 2pm AEST
Gold Coast weather - game time: Showers. 50% chance of rain.
Player of interest: If you got burned in the early part of the season, look away now. Keano Kini has emerged as one of the best POD options for the Flex spot boasting a five-round average of 92 - the sixth best of all active players and the second best at fullback - only one behind Sua Fa'alogo. The Titans have six of their last eight at home and all but two games during the day. The only problem is Kini is 725k and coaches probably fancy their chance of finding someone cheaper to do the job.
Dolphins v North Queensland Cowboys, Suncorp Stadium, 4.05pm AEST
Brisbane weather - game time: Showers. 25-50% chance of rain.
Player of interest: Another one in the injury prone risk category is Braidon Burns. He has been coined the 'Aldi Jacob Kiraz' but he is indeed 'good different' compared to the Lebanese international at the moment. Burns is an eye-watering 737k but had a base+power of 63 on the weekend, averages 55 in that metric in the past five games - or 88 all told. The Cowboys have one of the best runs home, other than a pesky Round 25 bye, but if you have good CTW depth to cover, he could be the ideal run home POD if his body holds up. If nothing else the bye helps his longevity into those last two rounds.
Make sure you enjoy every moment of Round 20 thanks to the fantastic in-game experience of the updated Ballr NRL Match Centre, including the My Team feature to follow your scores, key team stats and a match timeline so you don't miss a thing!