The new NRL SuperCoach season is almost upon us and many teams are looking at the best options to start Round 1 with.
Whether you are a seasoned SuperCoach veteran or a first-time SuperCoach player, one thing remains the same – not missing out on the must-have cash cows and cheapies is critical to starting your season.
In 2026 there are more options than in a number of years, so it can get tricky navigating the best choices, and if you don’t have enough of these cheapies in your team it will cost you the ability to have enough premium guns to score elite points.
The following players aren’t the only options available, but they are the ones you should prioritise and are considered a must-have to build your team for Round 1 when it comes to the cheaper options.
MORE: NRL SuperCoach 2026: The gun must-have of the season
Jonah Pezet $235,600 (5/8)
The Eels Dylan Brown replacement ticks all the cheapie boxes to be a must-have for Round 1 – job security, talent and near bottom-dollar pricing. All whilst plying his trade and developing in one of the best systems in the NRL at the Melbourne Storm.
Pezet is coming into his first season with a locked-in starting job and he is also old enough to have the experience to perform right out of the gate.
He should be able to easily average 45-55 points with an upside to be even higher, but probably the biggest plus is position.
The 5/8 spot for SuperCoach is one of the weakest in the game, and avoiding spending much on your second 5/8 spot is critical to building a competitive team elsewhere.
Siale Faeamani $201,400 (CTW)
The CTW position in SuperCoach requires the most players to fill your roster – a whopping seven – so it is absolutely critical to have some cheapies in there.
Whilst traditionally CTW cheapies often don’t offer the job security and performance consistency of other positions, here we may have an anomaly.
Brian Kelly and Alofiana Khan-Pereira have moved on for the Titans, creating opportunity and Faeamani has won a spot in the backline.
He is a Brian To’o clone and we saw that in all its glory in the Titans final trial where he scored 58 points with ease, which included a lot of runs and tackle breaks.
The youngster has the perfect type of game to translate brilliantly to SuperCoach and he has the chance to become one of those rare cheapie unicorns who you can actually play in your starting 18.
Setu Tu $201,400 (CTW)
You could almost just copy and paste what has been said about Faeamani above when looking at Tu as a SuperCoach prospect, except he doesn’t quite have as good job security and potential.
He does have a similar game though, where how he plays translates very positively to SuperCoach with a lot of try-scoring prowess (13 tries in 14 games in NSW Cup in 2025) as well as tackle-break ability.
Tu does have some competition with now-veteran Tyrell Sloan projected to start in reserve grade and fellow rookie David Fale vying for a spot in the Dragons backline.
Despite some competition he will start Round 1 in the Dragons starting side and needs to be in your SuperCoach team.
Ethan Sanders $246,400 (HB) / Daniel Atkinson $235,600 (HB)
I have put Sanders and Atkinson together here because quite simply: you need one of them.
The downside is both are listed as halfback only for position so having two cheapies will be a bold strategy and is a bit much for most teams to consider.
Which one will be better is anyone’s guess with Atkinson having more first grade experience but Sanders playing in the better team where he could be the goal kicker.
Atkinson right now projects to be at around a 45 average, whilst Sanders, if he has the goal kicking, could surpass that.
There is no doubt though that job security favours Atkinson heavily, whilst Sanders can easily be dropped for young gun Coby Black at any point – including early in the season.
One or both will definitely work out well for SuperCoaches but the hardest part will be which one to choose for Round 1.
The saving grace is if you get it completely wrong they are both almost identical in price point, so an early trade to the other to rectify your choice is a relatively easy fix as well.
These guys are not quite ‘must-haves’ due to various reasons, but they may quickly become that depending on team lists and rotations.
Heamasi Makasini $235,600 (CTW)
Certainly the most exciting cheapie prospect of the pre-season with some electric tries showing he would potentially be a CTW keeper and cheapie of the year.
So why not have him in the must-have group above? Simple: job security.
Whilst he may very well win and keep the job on the Tigers left wing, right now to start he will need to hold out Jeral Skelton, or others.
Despite his amazing trial performances, Makasini may still find himself starting the season in reserve grade with Marshall under pressure to get the Tigers to the top eight this year and a likely reliance on experience early on could be costly for Makasini.
If he is named Round 1 he is a must-have, but with some job security risk.
When a player can score tries and break tackles like Makasini can though it could also easily be his year to take the cheapie of 2026 accolade.
A good strategy for teams struggling to fill that last CTW spot if he is not named is to pick him anyway – he will get an opportunity during the year and it will save you a trade down the track.
Ativalu Lisati $269,400 (2RF)
Lisati would have found himself in the must-have group if we had written the story two weeks ago.
Unfortunately since then he seems to have lost the opportunity to take Eliessa Katoa’s vacant 80-minute edge back-row job.
He still can be useful if named at lock, just bear in mind Trent Loiero will be back in a few weeks and Lisati can likely find himself on a bench where his role is a mix of middle and edge minutes in the rotation.
It would be enough to make money after starting some games, but it will be a slower burn than other cheapies.
With the points per minute (PPM) he has shown in his dozen NRL games he should average 60s in points and become a must-have – but he would need to be named on the edge Round 1.
Josh Patston $275,000 (2RF)
At the Gold Coast the loss of David Fifita was immense, but the biggest surprise might be unheralded rookie Josh Patston emerging as the frontrunner to take the former Origin forward’s place.
With a new coach on the glamour strip though it isn’t too surprising to see the pack shaken up and former edge options in Klese Haas and Chris Randall have been moved to the middle by Josh Hannay for 2026, presenting a goldmine of opportunity.
Unfortunately for Patston another gun youngster in Cooper Bai may end up cannibalising his minutes, and if Patston starts but only plays 55-60 minutes, it is going to be a long journey to make enough cash to trade him out without some luck.
He is also $75k above minimum SuperCoach pricing, further hindering his cash generation.
Trial form was also very spotty with fairly underwhelming performances that show without the minutes he could even be a 30s SuperCoach average and a mistake.
There is still upside and an opportunity for Patston to emerge as a great option in your 2RF spots, but whether that happens or not is hard to predict.
Jesse Colquhoun $332,500 (2RF/FRF)
The young Sharks forward is about to come into his own, having won the starting 13 jersey vacated by injured skipper Cam McInnes.
With McInnes likely out the first two months of the season, and the veteran possibly returning via limited bench minutes, job security is a big tick for Colquhoun.
He is very likely the most reliable option on this list as he should have a good work rate in the middle with good minutes, which should see his base be anywhere up to 50 points per game, depending on how well he can perform in his new role.
In limited starting opportunities in the past he has been around a 49 average, and that should really be his floor with a 55+ point-scoring season whilst starting not out of the question. The fact that he is a dual position player is also another big tick.
The only downside is he will not deliver attacking stats and is a very meat-and-potatoes player, but the consistency in base stats certainly isn’t a negative.
He is also at a price point that is relatively expensive compared to the cheapies on the list so his cash generation could be slow at times.
However, the Sharks have re-signed Colquhoun to a massive deal through 2030 so they believe he is their future, and with that will come consistent minutes and role.
When building your teams for Round 1 in SuperCoach there are dozens of unique and viable strategies a coach can go with on their way to winning the $50k first prize – and most of them can work.
None of those strategies or team builds happen without cheapies and cash cows though, so make sure you choose the right ones for 2026.