Latest news with #ex-Maroons
News.com.au
06-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
NRL teams round 10: David Fifita ruled out indefinitely, plus Rob Sutherland's live Q&A
The curious case of David Fifita has taken another twist with the dumped Titans forward ruled out indefinitely and seeking urgent medical advice. Days after being sent to reserve grade by Gold Coast coach Des Hasler, Fifita will now not play at all this weekend. Instead, he will consult a specialist's opinion on an ankle injury he underwent surgery on last year. Fifita had a setback in his rehabilitation from the operation which limited his pre-season training. He then started the season as a bench forward and has struggled to produce consistent performances. After a lacklustre effort in Gold Coast's 50-18 round 8 loss to the Cowboys, Hasler dropped a bombshell and sent Fifita to the Hostplus Cup last weekend. The axing is understood to have come after Fifita asked Hasler to play on the left side where Maroons hopeful Beau Fermor has been firing in the back row. Fifita missed Gold Coast's Magic Round loss to the Bulldogs, the Titans' fifth straight defeat. The ex-Maroons forward only managed nine runs for 58m as the Ipswich Jets were thrashed 32-0. Fifita was set to remain in the reserves again this weekend, but the Titans have instead opted to send him to a specialist to investigate pain in his ankle. The Titans desperately need a win against the Knights in Newcastle on Friday night. —Travis Meyn ROB'S SUPERCOACH ANALYSIS AND Q&A With 18 players scoring 100+ and 49 players hitting 75 or more last week was certainly a magic round for SuperCoaches. Hopefully you cashed in. But if you were one of the unlucky ones who missed out, fear not because the big byes/Origin period is right around the corner and with a little planning now you'll make some big jumps up the rankings. I'll get into the usual Buy/Sell analysis of the most popular trades below and then you can join me for the live Q&A session via the comments section below but first a quick chat about byes/Origin. Max Bryden has done some excellent work HERE outlining how the byes work, which teams to target/avoid and also which players to target/avoid. And my colleague Tyson Jackson has had a go at naming those players who are set to benefit from teammates being selected for Origin HERE. In that article I added some Bye schedule/Origin commitment implications. This is an often overlooked issue. As an example - on paper Penrith players who are selected for Origin II will play round 16. But Origin II is in Perth and the Panthers's round 16 clash against the Warriors in Auckland at 3pm on Saturday. That's a long trip and a short turnaround. Do yourself (and me) a favour and check out both articles. BUY/SELL TRADE ANALYSIS Lyhkan King-Togia - A strong debut from LKT with two try assists, a linebreak, forced drop out and 25 in base. You don't 'have' to buy him this week as his price won't change until after his third game, but his coach indicated that the job security is decent so no objections to those grabbing the kid this week. Fletcher Sharpe - Form, draw, bye schedule - Sharpe ticks every box. Averaging better than 40PPG in base alone over the last few weeks all Sharpe needed was for the Knights to knock the rust off their attack and he looked primed to go big. That's exactly what happened against an undermanned Rabbitohs in Brisbane and with the Titans, Eels and Panthers (minus Origin players) to come there looks to be more points looming. Strong buy. Cameron McInnes - The third most popular buy of the round and I don't see it. Yes McInnes is a workaholic and yes he did snag a try last week on his way to 90 points. But the edentulous Shark scores too often in the 50-60 range to be a buy for mine. Much prefer the likes of Pearce-Paul or Olakau'atu for just a little more money. Kai Pearce-Paul - Speaking of KPP, the big man punched out his fourth consecutive 60+ score of the season with over 50 in base. A true POD in barely 1% of teams, Pearce-Paul and the Knights have a bye-friendly draw and the Englishman is not eligible for Origin which is another fillip. Jacob Kiraz - Another Magic round hat-trick hero, the only fear with Kiraz is that his fine form - and excellent partnership with Stephen Crichton (who HAS to be in the NSW team) - might see him picked for the Blues. I think the return of Zac Lomax from injury probably edges Kiraz out of Origin contention but it's still a chance and as a result I have Sharpe just ahead of Kiraz this week for those looking for a CTW. Dylan Lucas - Another 80 minutes, 60+ in base effort from Lucas and he's still available for under $700K. The Titans have been horrible at containing left edge 2RFs over the last few weeks and is would not surprise me in the least to see Lucas bag a try and 100+ points this week. Ryley Smith - The injury to Peter Mamouzelos has plenty of coaches turning to Ryley Smith and while I don't hate it I also don't love it. Smith is playing big minutes and he had his best game of the season last week making 49 tackles in 72 minutes. The Eels do play rounds 12 and 13 also so Smith is useful early bye cover. But he's no keeper so you are using one trade now to gain (at best) 50PPG over the next month before then using another trade ahead of round 15. Kalyn Ponga - Another Knight who cashed in against Souths, Ponga is an absolute steal at sub $550K. However, unlike last year when KP announced that he would not seek Origin selection, he's stayed silent on the matter this year and as a result we have to assume he's eligible. With Reece Walsh injured (and out of form) you would have to think Ponga is the leading contender to be named fullback for the Maroons. If that happens, then from rounds 12-18 Ponga will only play two games. Pass. Sua Fa'alogo - After scoring 66 points in 50 minutes in round eight Fa'alogo was given a start last week and he tonned up against the Raiders with a try, try assist, three linebreaks and a million tackle busts. Incredibly, Fa'alogo could be dropped back to the bench this week if Will Warbrick shakes his lingering concussion issues. Even if he survives the cut then the fact that Melbourne have byes in rounds 12 and 15 has me preferring Sharpe. Nicho Hynes - The Cronulla halfback has taken charge of the Sharks attack in the last few weeks and is reaping the SuperCoach rewards with a 3RA of 86.7. I won't try to talk anyone out of buying Hynes but I would say this. That three-round run of good scores coincided with games against a horribly out of form Knights, a defensively questionable Tigers and the cellar-dwelling Eels. The Sharks have Manly, Melbourne Roosters and a bye in the next four rounds. Hynes can score against anyone, but it wouldn't shock me if his next 3RA is about 15-20PPG less than his current one. Eliesa Katoa - Another week another score in the 70s from Melbourne's Mr Reliable. With no Origin issues Katoa is a great player to own throughout the major bye period though missing rounds 12 and 15 hurts. Luron Patea - A big boy with a decent motor (averaging 46 minutes, 24 tackles, 3.2 tackle breaks and 111 metres per game in NSW Cup) Patea is not the worst 'nuff' going around and might play some reasonable minutes over Origin but I'm not keen on cheapie props at this stage of the season. Scott Drinkwater - Another big second half effort saw 'Drinky' hit triple figures for the second game in a row. Seemingly out of Origin consideration, Drinkwater has a decent draw ahead missing just one match (round 12) in the next 10 weeks. The price is getting up there but that's really the only negative I can identify. Real FOMO areas as a non-owner. Beau Fermor - Another player with double 100s to his name, Fermor's fine form and versatility could be playing him into Origin. Which sucks for us owners and like Kiraz above is enough for me to caution overall players into looking elsewhere. Selwyn Cobbo - Loving life at fullback where he's punched out consecutive 70s for the Broncos. If the positional change were permanent then I would be all in on Cobbo at $470K. But it's not. So I'm not. Jaxon Purdue - Has rocketed to $638K and despite the Cowboys excellent bye round draw now is the time to cash in on the youngster. Corey Horsburgh - Was well contained by the Storm (and an HIA) last week but personally I'm happy to hold Big Red until we see the Origin teams. If selected by the Maroons then I'll move him on. If we get lucky and Slater looks elsewhere then his round 12 and 13 coverage will be valuable. Sandon Smith - Well that zero point effort (due to a concussion) really sucked for those of us counting the big cash increase that we expected after Smith scored 129 points against the Dragons in round eight. A bye this week then the staunch defence of the Dogs in round 11 is far from ideal. But I for one will hold because I needs all the round 12 and 13 coverage I can get. Smith a sell after those weeks for me. Connor Watson - The bye this week and then likely Origin selection has a few coaches offloading Watson this week and while I won't talk you out of it the hooker position is so thin that it's hard to sell a guy I'd love to lock and leave at the position all year. Isaiah Iongi - Another whose price has probably peaked and could be moved on. But there's also a fair argument for holding as the return of Mitch Moses has really fired up Parramatta's attack and Iongi is a direct beneficiary of that. The Eels play each of the next five rounds before missing round 15. I plan to hold until after round 14 at this stage but understand those who are selling. Jacob Preston - The Dogs are challenging Preston's crusher tackle ban at the judiciary and I think they'll lose. If they do then Preston will be rubbed out for four weeks and that would make him a sell. Jahrome Hughes - Bit of personal pain here as despite Hughes being: * Origin proof, * key to the best attack in the game, and *a POD at under 10% ownership, I think it's time to sell. Hughes is carrying a nagging shoulder injury and is one gang tackle away from missing big chunks of game time. Further, if/when the Storm run up a big score (as I expect they will this week against the Tigers) then Hughes will be yanked from the field for a rest. Sell.
News.com.au
26-04-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
NRL SuperCoach analysis and scores, live updates from Sunday fixtures
Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf has given a glowing endorsement of controversial prop Frank Molo as the ex-Maroons enforcer prepares to put his messy Dragons divorce behind him. Molo will make his first appearance for the Dolphins in Sunday afternoon's clash with the Raiders in Canberra. It will be the former Broncos hit-man's first NRL game since last year following an off-season saga at St George Illawarra. Molo, 30, refused to report for pre-season training with the Dragons in the New Year, reportedly because he took offence to comments made by a Dragons staffer around his decision to abstain from alcohol. Molo says he has been sober for about two years after pleading guilty to a domestic violence offence relating to an incident in December, 2022, on the NSW South Coast. The father-of-three was handed an 18-month conditional release order in March, 2023, and two-match ban by the NRL. Late last year, Molo said giving up alcohol and embracing Catholicism saved his relationship and career. 'Two years ago I had a bit of a rough patch with my relationship,' he told the Against the Grain podcast. 'I was on the brink of losing my family and relationship because of the selfish things I was doing. 'I was drinking a fair bit and wasn't being a good partner. 'My partner was going to leave me with the kids. 'I hit rock bottom. I feel like I've hit rock bottom a few times, but this was pretty bad. 'I chose to give up the drink and have been sober ever since. It was the best thing for me.' Molo has had a turbulent career since making his NRL debut for Brisbane in 2014. He had six NRL games under his belt in 2015 before producing a banned shoulder charge in a reserve grade game that resulted in the death of Sunshine Coast player James Ackerman. The incident rocked the game, with Molo receiving an eight-match suspension and falling out of the NRL system until he returned with the North Queensland Cowboys in 2018. He made his Origin debut for Queensland in the 2021 series and became a mainstay of the Dragons' pack over the past three seasons before his bitter exit last month, with the Dolphins handing him a two-year contract. Woolf has held an association with Molo since his junior days and said the hard-hitting forward had turned his life around. 'He is a great story, Frank,' he said. 'He has been through so much in his life and has got every reason not to be sitting here as an NRL player or the man he is. 'He's made some really good choices in his life and changes. He's a great example and it's great to have him as part of our team. 'I've known him since he was 18. I was part of the Broncos when he debuted as a 19-year-old. 'He's always brought a real desire for the physical side of the game. He lets you know he's on the field because he wants to run hard and hit hard. 'He loves the physicality. That's what I like about him as a footballer. 'The changes he's made in his life, the man and father he's become and example he is … that's why I want him in the team.' After spending three weeks in the Hostplus Cup, Molo has been elevated following injuries to Dolphins forwards Felise Kaufusi (knee) and Max Plath (foot). The Raiders and Dolphins are both on three-game winning streaks and Woolf said his team faced a tough challenge in the nation's capital. 'The vibe is really good,' he said of Redcliffe's revival after four straight losses to start the season. 'We are training really well and have good confidence about us. They're nice and confident in their ability. 'This is another big challenge for us. We're going to play a top three team at their place. 'They're a tough side, playing well and coming off three wins in a row. They come at you for 80 minutes. 'We know we need to be prepared for them and it will be a real challenge.'
