Welcome back to the Such Is Fantasy NRL SuperCoach & Fantasy Review for Round 7. Latrell Mitchell at centre is an absolute freak of nature. Kaelan Ponga is back and better than ever. And Adam Dewey's shoulder has us all sweating. Let's rip through every game and every buy/sell/hold call.
Friday: Cowboys vs Bulldogs
The Cowboys flogged the Bulldogs and it's now official — North Queensland are a genuine top-six side after a horror start to the season. Good on Todd Payton for getting them there. For the Cowboys, Hold Reid Mahoney put in a revenge game with a 97. If you own him, you probably didn't play him — but that's the awkward reality with Mahoney. Hold Braden Burns at 77 is fine draft relevancy. Hold Scott Drinkwater 76 — you'll get a 150 every other week, you just have to ride the 60-70s in between. Hold Tommy Chester at 76 has been brilliant and is an indefinite hold unless he's your path to a Herbie Farnworth. Hold Jake Clifford 73 — season average north of 80, the SuperCoach pedigree is absolutely there in 2026.
For the Bulldogs — steer clear of absolutely everything. Lachlan Galvin 85, Leo Thompson 79, Josh Curran 79 and Jacob Preston 65. None of these are buys until the Bulldogs show us something completely different under Adam O'Brien's attack coaching.
SuperCoach Scores — Cowboys
Friday: Dolphins vs Melbourne Storm
The Dolphins are a genuinely strong side. Back-to-back losses to the Panthers and Warriors don't scare me — those are two top-four teams. They bounced back to beat Melbourne, which says everything. Buy Fini Fuiaki 108 — this guy keeps proving the doubters wrong. Buy Jack Bostock returned for a 105 and will be the most picked-up player on waiver wires this week in draft leagues. In classic, I want one more score before I rush in — but the Dolphins have the best draw over the Origin bye period, so he's firmly on the watchlist. Hold Selwyn Cobbo at 89 with a try — he's scored a try every week since I sold him, of course. Watch Max Plathan 85 — I'd avoid bringing him in only because he's almost certainly going to be picked for Origin, which cuts into his value during that period.
For the Storm: Sell Suifua Longo 76 — with Kaelan Ponga back now, Longo becomes exposed as a fullback risk and the Origin selection picture complicates things further. Sell Uduk Kamanu — he has simply not hit the 70s and 80s we expected when he came into sides a month ago. Cut ties. Sell Cam Munster 43 — move him before Origin. He probably doesn't need to come back into your side afterwards either until Melbourne show us more.
SuperCoach Scores — Dolphins vs Storm
Saturday: Titans vs Raiders
The Raiders were heavily depleted and the Titans just didn't show up for a winnable game. Another coaching masterclass from Ricky Stuart. And Simi Sasangi is an absolute must-own — watching him move to the back row and torch Arama Howe twice with footwork, speed and strength in the same game was something else.
Buy Simi Sasangi 109 — two tries, a must-have. If you haven't pulled the trigger yet, there is no more waiting. KO Weeks 85 and Corey Hawesborough 78 are solid Canberra holds. Timiko 78 also relevant.
For the Titans: Bo Firmor 81 has had relevancy this season but I don't see an Origin call coming. Buy Tino 76 — his minutes are up, his output is up, and it's now out that he had clean-out surgery before the year and was being nursed back in. That explains the slow start. He'll play Origin, and after that he's a buy. Philip Sammy 71 with a try — my draft darling keeps delivering. Watch Cooper Buys — Arama Howe looks to have peaked in value, potentially got hooked. As soon as Cooper gets 80 minutes, he's a buy because he's a gun. Not yet though.
SuperCoach Scores — Titans vs Raiders
Saturday: Eels vs Warriors
The Warriors just keep getting it done and Jackson Ford is all but a shoo-in for Origin. Another try, another 119 — he's a must-own if you have him. If you don't, you're probably waiting until after Origin now. He'll be worth close to $900K by Origin time and you'd sell just before selection is confirmed to cash in at peak price.
Hold Cant Piera — three weeks, two tries each time, 90 in SuperCoach. Buy Aaron Clark — starting to produce exactly what he did last season. He's not going to play Origin and that makes him golden during that period. Hold Tanner Boyd 80 — if you have Adam Dewey and you have Tanner Boyd, easy hold over Origin. Roger Tuovasek 80 is relevant in draft.
For the Eels: nothing stands out as a buy. Volkman scored 77 and has a very low break-even next week — could be a sneaky pickup. Sell Mitch Moses — and I know I might be on an island here, but he has shown nothing this season that earns him an Origin jersey. For Origin 1, it's Nathan Cleary and Jerome Luai. Moses hasn't done enough.
SuperCoach Scores — Eels vs Warriors
Saturday: Roosters vs Broncos (38–24)
A wild one that the Roosters led big before the Broncos made a late game of it. For the Roosters: Nat Butcher 95, James Tedesco 84, Sammy Walker 82 — he keeps chugging along and might be worth considering over the Origin period. Reece Robson 71 with a try — third or fourth best hooker option behind Braley and Grant, sits alongside Abbie Kaurasau in that tier.
For the Broncos: Patrick Carrigan top-scored with a 96 — continues to be a premium hold. Hold Reece Walsh 86 — nice return. Hold Jordan Riki 76. Hold Xavier Willison 76 — good return for new owners who brought him in two weeks ago when he was flagged here as a buy before his 110.
SuperCoach Scores — Roosters vs Broncos
Sunday: Knights vs Rabbitohs (42–38)
The drunkest game of the season, and one of the most entertaining. What a spectacle. Kaelan Ponga came back from a hamstring injury and didn't look remotely ginger — he was in everything from the first whistle and looked completely unrestrained. Normally players feel their way back in after a hamstring. Not Pongas.
Greg Marzhew top-scored with a 131 and is having a season. Trey Mooney 123 in SuperCoach — yes, that Trey Mooney, with two tries. You couldn't make it up. Bradman Best 106, Dylan Lucas 97. Hold Dylan Brown 83 — potential trading option during the Origin period. Fletcher Sharp 58 — hasn't quite hit the heights we thought he would. Staying away for now.
For the Rabbitohs: Latrell Mitchell 141 — and I'll say it again, watching him play centre this year makes me wonder what we missed from him at fullback for the past seven or eight years. He is the best centre playing the game right now. Alex Johnson 127 — what a season he's having outside of Latrell. Cody Walker 66, Sell Cam Murray — his scores have been really ordinary all season. If you have him in draft, drop him. No value moving forward. Campbell Graham 41 — not relevant.
SuperCoach Scores — Knights vs Rabbitohs
Sunday: Sharks vs Tigers
The Sharks hammered the Tigers and Kale Iro put a dagger through my heart for the second week in a row — sold him during the bye and he's gone hat-trick, hat-trick. You genuinely could not write it.
T. Wilton 105 with a hat-trick — who would have guessed? Brayden Trindall 91 bounced back from his worst ever SuperCoach score last week. Blake Braley 72 — keeps delivering. For confirmation on avoids: Britt-Nicaro scored 33 — three weeks of telling you to avoid him, he's confirmed. Siosifa Talakai 32 — hopefully you stayed away.
For the Tigers: Buy Alex Twal 95 — finally brought him in this week and he's been the right call all along. Terrell May 79 continues to be relevant. Watch Feynu 63 — looked like he might have picked up a serious injury late in the game. Check team lists carefully. And of course, the big one:
SuperCoach Scores — Sharks vs Tigers
Sunday: Panthers vs Seagulls (18–16)
Arguably the most surprising result of the round. The Panthers weren't at their best and Kieran Foran's Seagulls pushed them to the wire. An 18-16 Panthers win, but credit to the Manly rebuild.
Nathan Cleary 98 topped the Panthers. Brian To'o 88 with two tries — two weeks in a row now, he's on the way back up. Hold Isaiah Yeo 80 — since people recommended selling at 63-65 a couple of months ago he's averaged over 80. He'll play Origin now and it's done — but an excellent hold if you stayed patient.
Ghana 39 — he's not getting 80 minutes and it's killing owners. Painful situation. For the Seagulls: Watch Ola Kuatu 63 — the question is Origin selection. If he doesn't get picked for Origin 1, he comes straight into my side over that period because the draw is excellent. Sell Tanjela Pasekka 43 — he's peaked in price and the output isn't justifying the hold. Move on. Kula 63 and Ruben Garrick 57 both okay but nothing urgent.
SuperCoach Scores — Panthers vs Seagulls
Round 7 Buy / Sell / Hold Summary
Buys
Kaelan Ponga — back and better than ever, plays great draws in Rounds 8 and 9 before Origin.
Simi Sasangi — absolute must-own, two-try performance, no more waiting.
Aaron Clark — no Origin risk, handy over the bye period.
Jack Bostock — wait one more score in classic, but add immediately in draft.
Alex Twal — proven himself over multiple rounds now.
Sells
Angus Crichton — gone.
Heilum Luky — cash in before Origin picks him.
Uduk Kamanu — hasn't delivered, cut ties.
Harry Grant — move him before Origin, Braley is the better asset.
Cam Murray — no value moving forward.
Thomas Jenkins — sell now, losing cash fast.
Tanjela Pasekka — peak price, move on.
Arama Howe — peak price, Cooper Buys waits in the wings.
Holds / Watch
Trey Mooney — hold one more week to cover Jackson Ford's Warriors bye, then sell.
Tanner Boyd — easy hold over Origin if you had Adam Dewey.
Ola Kuatu — wait for Origin selection announcement before trading in.
This Round 7 NRL SuperCoach & Fantasy Review is from the Such Is Fantasy podcast. Catch every episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and follow Stephen on TikTok.