Who to start and who to sit is the biggest question each week for GDS coaches. Outlined in this blog we will cover three different player matchups for the upcoming weekend’s footy. After reading this, hopefully some of the questions you might have over certain players would have been answered. Let us know your thoughts on who we have down below on all of our social channels: twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
Liam Martin – EDG, Panthers (38.6 avg) vs Eliesa Katoa – EDG, Storm (42.7 avg)
If you are looking at the averages of both players, the decision on who to select should be straight forward but it’s not. If you have the selection dilemma between these two players, I’m going with Martin. The main reason for this is that the Panthers are the better attacking side and I’m predicting that they will make their fourth successive Grand Final. On top of this,Hughes missed last weekend’s game against the Roosters due to a calf injury and I have doubts that he will play this weekend. Hughes is very important for Katoa’s attacking output as they have made a great combination as the season has gone on. Katoa averages 4 points less per game when Hughes isn’t playing in the halves. This is important as Martin plays on the right edge outside Cleary and he averages 8 points more per game when Cleary is in the side. Even if Hughes does play, I still prefer Martin over Katoa this week.
Verdict - Start Martin and sit Katoa
Nick Meaney – WFB, Storm (50.8 avg) vs Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad – WFB, Warriors (42.8 avg)
If you are looking for a third WFB this week, it’s likely that Meaney and CNK are both under consideration to start in your side. I believe we will see both the Panthers and Broncos progress through to the Grand Final but have a feeling that the Broncos vs Warriors game will be closer than the Panthers vs Storm. I really think that the Storm are going to struggle to score points against the Panthers. Since the 2021 Grand Final between these teams they have played each other on four occasions. In these fixtures the Storm have scored 16 pointstwice and 6 points twice. You might be thinking, why is all this important when trying to decide who to start between Meaney and CNK! It’s because Meaney is the goal kicker for the Storm and I don’t think he will be kicking any more than two goals this week. His averageof 50.8 drops to 38.8 if you take off the points that he scores through goal kicking. This just shows us how heavily reliant he is on goal kicking to bump up his score. CNK offers a far better floor in my opinion as he normally runs for more metres and breaks more tackles. On top of this, the Panthers are the worst match up for fullbacks as they allow an average of 36.6 points to this position.
Verdict - Start Nicoll-Klokstad and sit Meaney
Patrick Carrigan – MID, Broncos (54.8 avg) vs Tohu Harris – MID, Warriors (50.4 avg)
I’ve been finding it very hard to decide between these two players this week, but it all comes down to which team I think is going to win and what minutes each player is likely to play. As Ithink the Broncos will win, I believe Carrigan is more likely to play less minutes than Tohu. Both players are very valuable to their teams but with Tohu being the Warriors captain and the Warriors being underdogs, I think Tohu is more valuable than Carrigan is to their teams this week. With this being my narrative, I can see Tohu playing the full 80 minutes. If the Broncos get out to a substantial lead, we may see Carrigan see extended rest on the pine ahead of a possible Grand Final.
Verdict - Start Harris and sit Carrigan
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