KFC SuperCoach NRL: Tim Michell reveals his team for 2023

I’m not a KFC SuperCoach NRL expert.

I’ve been playing KFC SuperCoach AFL for about a decade and only picked up NRL when Peter V’landys brought the league back a few weeks before the AFL returned from Covid lockdown in 2020.

I’m in Victoria so it seemed like a fun thing to while away the time while stuck at home.

Boy was I hooked. Fast.

I was terrible – I finished about 50,000 total in that first season.

In 2021 it was 23 km and last year I managed a total of 3 km.

Let that be a lesson – you don’t have to be an NRL expert to be in the top 1 or 2 percent of KFC SuperCoaches.

I made some big mistakes along the way.

I never got Tom Trbojevic in 2021 when he averaged a ridiculous 143.

All I kept hearing about was how his hamstring was going to go at any moment.

Then last year I paid $1.2 million to start Turbo after being on Nicho Hynes all preseason.

Talk about KFC SuperCoach FOMO.

I spent the whole of last season pining for Joseph Tapine and Brian To’o, then I vowed I’d never go without them again.

As you’ll see below, I couldn’t squeeze them in.

This year I’m going into the season actually thinking I know a little bit about what I’m doing, which is probably a dangerous thing.

For the past several years, I’ve relied on our draft guru Wilson Smith, the man in the colorful shirts Rob Sutherland, guru Tom Sangster, and Mr Green Screen Trent Copeland for my trades.

But the message was very clear when I passed the experts last year – you are on your own now.

You know how Queensland won Origin with the worst team ever a few years ago?

So somehow I felt like reaching the provisional final of the Werksliga.

I might have pretended to be Ben Hunt sprinting away from Isaah Yeo to seal an Origin win, but it was more like a big front rower falling over the line for his one try every three seasons.

But that’s the beauty of KFC SuperCoach.

You don’t have to be a sports professional to be successful.

Because of this, I would recommend any of our AFL or BBL SuperCoaches to consider joining an NRL team to jump on board in 2023.

Perhaps your knowledge of the AFL byes will give you an edge over NRL supercoaches unaccustomed to navigating fixture carnage.

Here’s my (not-so-experienced) team to help those starting from scratch:

HOOKER

Brandon Smith HOK $478,200 (Roosters)

BANK

Tanah Boyd HOK/HFB $384,600 (Titans) – Reserves

You ultimately want to end up here with Harry Grant, but I can snag Smith and Boyd for essentially Grant’s starting price. Cheese leaving the Storm was a big blow, but I’ll find solace in his KFC SuperCoach point boost with an extended role. Boyd is expected to start as a halfback and I like that if you need to get out of Hynes after two rounds you can swing him over DPP.

FIRST ROW FORWARD

Tom Gilbert FRF/2RF $494,100 (dolphins)

Daniel Saifiti FRF $484,000 (Knight)

BANK

Stefano Utoikamanu FRF 319,200 (West Tigers)

Myles Martin FRF/2RF $200,800 (Knight)

Word seems to be that Gilbert will play for the Dolphins Lock and get a minute increase under Wayne Bennett at the Dolphins. His DPP is also a big plus. It could mean saving one trade a week. Trainers Smarter Than Me talk about Saifiti and the Knights don’t have a bye until Round 10. Maybe then he’ll go straight to Tapine?

2ND ROW FORWARD

Adam Elliott 2RF $564,500 (Knight)

Luke Garner 2RF $435,100 (Panthers)

Josh Schuster 2RF|5/8 $241,200 (Sea Eagles)

BANK

J’Maine Hopgood 2RF $298,800 (eels)

Jack Hetherington FRF/2RF $266,600 (Knight)

Ray Stone HOK/2RF $246,900 (Dolphins)

I had to start over with Elliott after jumping in last year with $313,000, which turned out to be one of the buys of the season. His mid-season PPM (points per minute) were incredible and he was to feature prominently at Newcastle. Schuster is a must at a crazy price and Garner should benefit from his move to Penrith – although the Round 3 bye is a shock.

HALFBACKS

Nathan Cleary HFB $841,000 (Penrith)

Nicho Hynes HFB $902,600 (Sharks) – Reserve

I will never start without Cleary again after making that mistake last year. It just got too difficult to get him in, especially in Origin time. I can understand why people would let Hynes fade at his high price, but I want him for the captaincy duties in Round 3 when Cleary has the bye.

FIVE-EIGHTH

Matt Burton 5/8 $594,500 (Bulldogs)

Adam Doueihi 5/8 $624,600 (Tiger) – Reserve

It’s hard to leave out Cameron Munster as the Storm man, but there’s so much value in this pair. Both key generators for sites that are tipped to improve quickly. For the AFL fans, Burton has the kind of left boots Scott Lucas would be proud of and can take them even higher than the former bomber.

WINGS/CENTRES

Nick Meaney FLB/CTW $643,800 (Forward)

Murray Taulagi CTW $578,700 (Cowboys)

Hayze Perham FLB/CTW $370,900 (Bulldogs)

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow FLB/CTW $330,200 (dolphins)

BANK

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad FLB/CTW $327,100 (Warrior)

Alofiana Khan-Pereira CTW$200,800 (Titans)

Bailey Hodgson FLB/CTW $200,800 (Knight)

Meaney may raise a few eyebrows, but with the uncertainty surrounding Ryan Papenhuyzen’s return date, he could be off to a flying start to the season – especially now it sounds like he’ll have kicking duties. Taulagi is a slightly cheaper way to enter the Cowboys friendly draw if you can’t afford Valentine Holmes. Perham was touted as a full-back with the Dogs and Hammer was jailed for the No. 1 jersey with the Dolphins. I’ve probably spent a little more here than other trainers, so I hope I don’t mind leaving To’o out.

FULL BACKS

James Tedesco FLB $836,300 (roosters)

BANK

Tom Trbojevic FLB $577,700 (Sea Eagles) – Reserves

When Turbo comes to the park for lap 1, you can’t skip it, can you? Kalyn Ponga, playing 6th, is also appealing but it’s hard to get past Trbojevic after paying more than double that price last year. Tedesco is just your set-and-forget KFC SuperCoach full-back and with the Roosters looking to improve, he’s a great starting option and also a contender for captaincy.

Originally released as KFC SuperCoach NRL, Tim Michell reveals his 2023 team and proves you don’t need to be an expert to play