Top 50 NRL SuperCoach draft picks<\/a>, but the truth is you can throw a blanket over the field in the Top 10.<\/p>\nBetween the new scoring changes and big swings to overall positional depth at both halfback and fullback, this is the year where you should really just take the player you like the best.<\/p>\n
From my projected number 1 pick, Payne Haas, to the number 10 in Kayal Iro, there might only be five points between their season averages in 2026.<\/p>\n
In previous years, that gap might\u2019ve been closer to 15 points.<\/p>\n
Obviously there\u2019s no need to get too silly \u2013 like Denan Kemp taking Ezra Mam in the first round \u2013 but if you\u2019ve got a gut feeling about any player having an outstanding year then just take them.<\/p>\n
Lesson 2: The depth at halfback is incredible<\/p>\n
Obtaining a \u2018gun\u2019 halfback in Draft used to be an absolute cheat code.<\/p>\n
The difference between the best and worst was over 25 points and the ripple effect was often coaches panicking and taking poor quality players early in the draft just to escape that feeling that they would miss out.<\/p>\n
But the halfback position has been flipped on its head this year and is now arguably the deepest in the game.<\/p>\n
The 12th ranked halfback in my pre-season draft board is Jamal Fogarty who could average 65. When you look at other spine positions \u2013 hooker, five-eighth and even fullback \u2013 the 12th best player could honestly be averaging 55 or less.<\/p>\n
What this means is there\u2019s no longer a need to rush to fill the position.<\/p>\n
And in fact, it\u2019s been quite prudent to wait in mock drafts until Round 6 or even later before picking one up because there\u2019s often late round sleepers available.<\/p>\n
Having this lesson in the back of your mind come draft day could be the ultimate cheat code.<\/p>\n
Lesson 3: The fullback depth is questionable, and it\u2019s great to lock down a gun early<\/p>\n
We\u2019re used to fullback being the Ferrari in the garage.<\/p>\n
But between injuries, the new scoring system and some player movement, the depth is now really questionable.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s really two clear tiers to the position for me.<\/p>\n
Tedesco, Walsh, Drinky, Edwards and Kini feel trustworthy and capable of a 75 plus average. And then there\u2019s a step down towards Turbo, Ponga, Hammer, Iongi, Gray, Gutherson and co who might be closer to a 65.<\/p>\n
You might think that\u2019s disrespectful to some SuperCoach greats of the past in Ponga and Turbo, but Draft is not really the format to be mucking around with too many injury prone guys.<\/p>\n
In mocks, this depth has meant that I\u2019m hell bent on trying to land a fullback in Round 1 or early Round 2.<\/p>\n
More than any other position, it\u2019s the one I am keen to get right and I\u2019m happy to let the likes of Haas and Herbie slip as overall my side feels better when I take a fullback first.<\/p>\n
As you\u2019ll see from the teams below, I prefer the current balance of those who grabbed a fullback in Round 1 \u2013 Sangster, Chad Townsend, and Kat Haddad \u2013 compared with those who grabbed a half like Tim Williams and Wilson Smith. <\/p>\n
Albeit in a 10-man league with only 8 players, all of the sides are stacked.<\/p>\n
Of course those second tier fullbacks will all have to go to someone\u2019s team, and if you can get one of them in Round 3 or later you\u2019d be pretty happy assuming that you\u2019ve been able to stack other parts of your team.<\/p>\n
But again, every team I\u2019ve drafted so far this year feels better when there\u2019s a certified gun at the back.<\/p>\n
Lesson 4: The new scoring system helps CTWs and raises questions about second-row depth<\/p>\n
Try assists will be awarded to the last pass in 2026 which is a boon for the likes of Herbie, Iro and Val but it doesn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n
The big names have grabbed the headlines but even mid-rangers like Starford To\u2019a, Moses Suli and Jesse Ramien should see an uptick this year.<\/p>\n
In all, it means the position is now higher scoring at the top end, but also way deeper than before.<\/p>\n
And where there\u2019s depth, it means you don\u2019t need to prioritise filling all of your CTW spots as early.<\/p>\n
In contrast, once you get past picks 80 or 90 in any 10 or 12 man mock drafts, the quality of the second rowers presenting is quite stark.<\/p>\n
It feels like there\u2019s fewer guys than ever who could confidently score you a 60.<\/p>\n
So if you\u2019re playing in a league where you need to own multiple second rowers, do not leave it too late as otherwise you\u2019ll be fishing for scraps.<\/p>\n
Lesson 5: Draft is the absolute best<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve made it this far in the article this might be something you already know, but Draft is just one of the most fun things you can do with your friends who like footy.<\/p>\n
Before the League of Legends draft there was a lot of excitement and chatter in the room. But once the clock started and picks were flying off the board, there were concentration levels like I have never seen before \u2013 this really mattered to everyone.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Chad and Kempy \u2013 first time drafters \u2013 at the conclusion of the Draft, they both were both pumped about the experience and excited for the season to commence.<\/p>\n
And it was just another great reminder that this format of the game brings groups of people together in the best way.<\/p>\n
So if you haven\u2019t got a league yet, grab your mates and get started.<\/p>\n
And after all that, here\u2019s a preview of everyone\u2019s team from the League of Legends.<\/p>\n
Let us know in the comments who you think is going to be matchup in the Final come Round 25.<\/p>\n
Pick 1 \u2013 Ru\u2019s Rooters, Rugby League Guru<\/p>\n
Pick 2 \u2013 Cooma Stallions, Tim Williams<\/p>\n
Pick 3 \u2013 Sangster\u2019s Paradise, Tom Sangster<\/p>\n
Pick 4 \u2013 Who\u2019s Ur Hadady, Kat Haddad<\/p>\n
Pick 5 \u2013 Hamberra Raiders, Hammy Goodman<\/p>\n
Pick 6 \u2013 Waterboys, Matty the Waterboy<\/p>\n
Pick 7, Big SuperCoach Guy, Chad Townsend<\/p>\n
Pick 8, Backseat Bandits, Wilson Smith<\/p>\n
Pick 9 \u2013 The Flying Beaks, Denan Kemp<\/p>\n
Pick 10 \u2013 Jaroman Empire, Max Bryden<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Calling it the \u201cleague of legends\u201d is a pretty big name, and the big names sure came to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[250717,64,63,250714,4579,250711,159186,15832,21683,250703,250710,250712,198365,250701,4518,250706,250716,250715,216516,7677,761,762,158,13390,3252,250709,250708,11242,250719,240107,250705,194449,85,250713,250718,250704,250707,194292,250702,22317,230033],"class_list":{"0":"post-498127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-absolute-cheat-code","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-backseat-bandits","12":"tag-chad-townsend","13":"tag-cheat-code","14":"tag-denan-kemp","15":"tag-draft-picks","16":"tag-ezra-mam","17":"tag-fullback-depth","18":"tag-fun-things","19":"tag-gut-feeling","20":"tag-halfback-position","21":"tag-hammy-goodman","22":"tag-jamal-fogarty","23":"tag-kat-hadad","24":"tag-kat-haddad","25":"tag-max-bryden","26":"tag-mock-drafts","27":"tag-moses-suli","28":"tag-national-rugby-league","29":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","30":"tag-nrl","31":"tag-payne-haas","32":"tag-player-movement","33":"tag-positional-depth","34":"tag-pre-season-draft-board","35":"tag-quality-players","36":"tag-real-banter","37":"tag-scoring-system","38":"tag-season-averages","39":"tag-season-launch","40":"tag-sports","41":"tag-supercoach-nrl-league-of-legends","42":"tag-tier-fullbacks","43":"tag-tim-williams","44":"tag-time-drafters","45":"tag-tom-sangster","46":"tag-tommy-sangster","47":"tag-try-assists","48":"tag-wilson-smith"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}