Welcome back to the Such Is Fantasy NRL SuperCoach & Fantasy Review for Round 5. Plenty of owners got torched by the Reece Walsh captaincy — myself included — and a few more were burned by bad luck and late injuries. Let's rip straight through every game, every score that matters, and every buy/sell/hold call that came out of the review show.

Blueprint check: the Dragons should be watching Manly closely. The contrast between the first four rounds under the old regime and the seagulls' first game under Kieran Foran couldn't be more pronounced — hard on the ball, hard in every tackle, playing at full tilt. That's what happens when a group isn't playing for their coach.

Thursday: Dolphins vs Sea Eagles

Manly were a completely different side and it justified the coaching change immediately. Buy Tommy Turbo — he was on for an absolute bonkers number before being pulled for a HIA he actually passed. 72 in SuperCoach would have been double that easy. Buy Ola Kuatu — impossible to tackle one-on-one, terrorised the edges all night and he'll benefit the most from Foran at the helm. Genuine high-ceiling back-rower.

On the Dolphins side: Buy Ruben Garrick — welcome to 2026, running hard, heavy involvement, looked back to his best after the rocket earlier in the season. Hold Herbie Farnworth — looked shaky but scored late to save owners. Sell Selwyn Cobbo — the attacking stats outside Herbie never arrived, and with a bye coming it's time to cut ties.

SuperCoach Scores

Kulikefu Finefeuiaki104
Ihope Walsh-Boyd95
The Hammer92
Herbie Farnworth90
Ola Kuatu85
Tom Trbojevic72
Ben Trbojevic70
Haumole Olakau'atu68
Reuben Garrick66
Jahream Bula63
Vini Fuiyaki53
Selwyn Cobbo41
Mele Mu'a39

Top Fantasy

Tom Trbojevic78
Herbie Farnworth77
Ola Kuatu70
Kulikefu64
The Hammer61

Friday: Rabbitohs vs Bulldogs

Quick rant: Adam O'Brien brought a defensive mindset to Newcastle. For two seasons the Knights had a top-three defence but couldn't unlock Bradman Best or Kalyn Ponga in attack. Cameron Ciraldo has now brought O'Brien in as the Bulldogs' attack coach. Newsflash — the Bulldogs attack is putrid. Their shape is so 2023. It's hard to put all the blame on O'Brien, but Ciraldo has to wear this.

Hold Latrell Mitchell — ton. Buy Tallis Duncan — back-rower with low ceiling but works his ass off, gets offloads and try assists. Decent bring-in. Sell Keaon Koloamatangi — dealing with a PCL injury, won't be playing 70 minutes. Move on. Hold Cody Walker — solid return. And please — stop talking about Campbell Graham for Origin. 26 in SuperCoach and I've seen that movie in 2022.

Bulldogs: can't trust a single asset right now. Enari Tuala had 77 on pure effort but the shape around him is broken. Jacob Kira flopped with a 54.

SuperCoach Scores

Latrell Mitchell101
Alex Johnston77
Enari Tuala77
Tallis Duncan68
Jamie Salmon61
Cody Walker58
Viliame Kikau59
Keaon Koloamatangi54
Jacob Kira54
Reed Mahoney52
Davvy Moale42
Campbell Graham26

Top Fantasy

Tallis Duncan66
Jacob Kira66
Enari Tuala54
Alex Johnston51
Cam Murray51
Lachlan Galvin50

Friday: Panthers vs Storm

Serious question: is it worth bringing in every Panthers player? They look unstoppable. With Reece Walsh out we've got options and I genuinely think there's a case for Jenkins even at his astronomical price. The Panthers are not going to stop scoring.

Buy Nathan Cleary — 115, captain choice of the week. Buy Dylan Edwards — 108, legitimate Walsh replacement. Casey McLean is a teenager and he's unreal — footwork, speed, awareness. Origin bolter. And for everyone claiming Brian To'o has fallen off: stop it. They're clearly managing his and Yeo's workloads so these guys don't retire in two years.

Storm side: Hold Sua Fa'alogo — scored a try at the end to keep the cash rise ticking, indefinite hold. Hold Cameron Munster — 62 and five-eight owners can't be unhappy. Hold Xavier Coates — 56 keeps the price rises going. Well done anyone who followed the call to fade Harry Grant and back Blake Brailey — Brailey outscored him again.

SuperCoach Scores

Nathan Cleary115
Dylan Edwards108
Casey McLean95
Thomas Jenkins85
Brian To'o73
Isaah Yeo69
Cameron Munster62
Xavier Coates56
Isaiah Papali'i50
Jahrome Hughes47
Harry Grant39

Top Fantasy

Nathan Cleary80
Dylan Edwards70
Thomas Jenkins64
Isaah Yeo56
Casey McLean55

Saturday: Dragons vs Cowboys

Dragons fans — Manly showed you the blueprint. It's time to move on from Shane Flanagan. The players aren't playing for him. That's just how it goes — sometimes the voice gets old and the message stops landing. Flanagan isn't a bad coach, these guys are cooked.

Buy Jake Clifford — 125. Whoever picked him up as a cheapie in classic, enjoy the price jump. Buy Jaxon Purdue — genuine top-two or top-three five-eight option with Fletcher Sharp. Well done to owners, I'm not one of them and it'll be hard to get to him before Origin. Hold Heilum Luki — 75, keeps scoring. Sell Valentine Holmes — meant to be fixture-proof and he's not. Could be time to move on. Sell Jaydn Su'A — warned against him, plus Dan Atkinson might be dropped for Kyle Flanagan which would be wild.

SuperCoach Scores

Jake Clifford125
Scott Drinkwater88
Lomax (Ly Lualua)81
Heilum Luki75
Tom Chester74
Jaxon Purdue69
Jack Gosiewski67
Hamish Stewart58
Jaydn Su'A57
Reimis Smith54
Damien Cook47

Top Fantasy

Jake Clifford89
Tom Dearden65
Ly Lualua63
Jaxon Purdue60
Heilum Luki60
Scott Drinkwater57

Saturday: Titans vs Broncos

Reece Walsh captaincy disaster. He came out looking unbelievable — that near kick-return try would have been the difference — then stepped out. He copped a HIA right after and should be owed a line break for that play. Hopefully the adjustment on Monday softens the blow. Captain Cleary owners, you won the week.

Broncos: Ezra Mann's best game in about 18 months with a 97. Kotoni Staggs 76, Xavier Willison 71 playing big minutes, Patrick Carrigan 70. Sell Payne Haas — NRL Physio flagged the re-aggravation risk on the AC joint and the fact he missed the game suggests it's high grade. If you jumped off two weeks ago, well done. If you're still stuck on him — rough spot.

Titans: Hold Jayden Campbell — 70, solid pod halfback, but the top two are still Cleary and Nico Hynes and you need to get to them ASAP. Hold AJ Brimson — 53, keeps price rises going. Sell Keanu Kennedy — not the guy he was two years ago. Watch the eye test. Should have been sold two weeks ago.

SuperCoach Scores

Ezra Mam97
Kotoni Staggs76
Xavier Willison71
Patrick Carrigan70
Jesse Arthars70
Jayden Campbell70
AJ Brimson53
Payne Haas49
Philip Sami43
Iszac Fa'asuamaleaui39
Reece Walsh38
Adam Reynolds20

Top Fantasy

Jojo Fifita64
Patrick Carrigan61
Ezra Mam61
AJ Brimson54
Kotoni Staggs53

Sunday: Sharks vs Warriors

Buy Nico Hynes is coming into my team as soon as possible. He's running the ball more than last season and the half-back position is proving to be the highest-scoring slot in the game. I'm leaning three halves over three fullbacks this year.

Quick admission — I've been wrong about the Sharks. They've been really impressive and their assets are back in the mix. Nico Hynes 144 is elite. Sell please don't trade in Will Kennedy after a 113. He's a great journeyman, underrated fullback, but he is not a SuperCoach asset. Do not do it.

Warriors: is DWZ the best finisher in NRL history? Three tries, 103 in SuperCoach. Incredible. If you own him, keep him — don't rush to add. Jackson Ford — 60, didn't play the last 15 minutes which was disappointing. Two price rises in, thinking about moving him to Alex Twal. Tanah Boyd back down to a 41 — that's the outlier regression we were worried about. Leka Halasima 57, Metcalf clocked 74.

SuperCoach Scores

Nico Hynes144
Will Kennedy113
DWZ103
Ronaldo Mulitalo79
Wayde Egan76
Luke Metcalf74
Braydon Trindall70
Nicho Hynes' shadow (Clark)68
Siosifa Talakai65
Toby Rudolf61
Jackson Ford60
Leka Halasima57
Blake Brailey54
Tanah Boyd41

Top Fantasy

Nico Hynes78
Will Kennedy68
DWZ66
Wayde Egan64
Billy Burns62

Sunday: Knights vs Raiders

Not gonna gloat too much — the Raiders were really awful — but the Knights have been great. You lose Dylan Brown and Kalyn Ponga and it feels like the sky is falling, then you remember Sandon Smith and Fletcher Sharp are in the halves. I'd take that spine compared to what we've had.

Buy Dane Gagai — 131, winding back the clock, gave Ethan Sanders a bath. Relevant pod. Hold Dom Young and Greg Marzhew — they're going to score plenty of tries on the wings all year. Buy Dylan Lucas — 70, going to get some attack and push a ton plus. Buy Fletcher Sharp — 70, PCL looks like it's settled. Don't mind the purchase. Sell Trey Mooney — back to a 47, move him on over the next couple of weeks.

Raiders: Ethan Strange 95. Well done if you brought in Simi Sasagi. Noah Martin 76 — probably a sell next week depending on the price. Sell Savelio Tapine — still disappointing, please tell me you don't still have him.

SuperCoach Scores

Dane Gagai131
Ethan Strange95
Dom Young86
Greg Marzhew83
Noah Martin76
Dylan Lucas70
Fletcher Sharp70
Hudson Young65
Simi Sasagi60
Trey Mooney47

Top Fantasy

Dane Gagai86
Noah Martin63
Ethan Strange62
Dylan Lucas61
Jacob Saifiti61
Simi Sasagi60

Monday: Eels vs Tigers

Officiated really poorly but credit to the Tigers. Parramatta have not produced at the level they did last season and Mitch Moses has not been at his usual standard. The Tigers on the other hand are flying.

Buy Kai Pierce-Paul — as a Knights fan, what did we do? He's a freak, ceiling over the next three seasons is anything. Want him ASAP. Buy Terrell May — 90, back to big minutes. Buy Alex Twal — 86, keeps producing, sample size is real. Hold Adam Doueihi — 69, doing the job, good bridge to Cleary/Hynes later.

Eels: Dean Hawkins (twiddle-style cheapie) emerged with an 88 at half — resist the urge to bring him in his first week, wait one more score. Sell Mitchell Moses — 68 is fine if you're holding, but the cash should be going to Cleary or Hynes. Bailey Simonsson dislocated ankle — out for some time. Jonah Pezet hamstring — just a 14, park him, sit on our hands.

SuperCoach Scores

Kai Pierce-Paul95
Terrell May90
Dean Hawkins88
Alex Twal86
Bailey Simonsson75
Junior Paulo70
Adam Doueihi69
Mitchell Moses68
Api Koroisau59
Jahream Bula (Findo)64
Naka Senior44
Jonah Pezet14

Top Fantasy

Kai Pierce-Paul89
Alex Twal82
Terrell May75
Jock Madden68
Api Koroisau61

Round 5 Buy / Sell / Hold Summary

BuyNathan Cleary
BuyNico Hynes
BuyTommy Turbo
BuyOla Kuatu
BuyDylan Edwards
BuyJake Clifford
BuyJaxon Purdue
BuyDane Gagai
BuyDylan Lucas
BuyFletcher Sharp
BuyKai Pierce-Paul
BuyAlex Twal
BuyTerrell May
BuyRuben Garrick
BuyTallis Duncan
SellPayne Haas
SellSelwyn Cobbo
SellKeaon Koloamatangi
SellKeanu Kennedy
SellTrey Mooney
SellVal Holmes
SellJaydn Su'A
SellSavelio Tapine
SellMitchell Moses
HoldLatrell Mitchell
HoldCody Walker
HoldSua Fa'alogo
HoldCameron Munster
HoldXavier Coates
HoldJayden Campbell
HoldAJ Brimson
HoldHeilum Luki
HoldAdam Doueihi

This Team List Tuesday recap is from the Such Is Fantasy NRL SuperCoach & Fantasy Podcast. Catch every episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and follow Stephen on TikTok.