In this blog we will have a brief look at the previous and upcoming rounds of the NRL. In round 6, who's performances stood out for the right or wrong reasons and which players made the GDS Squad of the round. With round 7 not too far away, who should coaches consider starting and which players have positive matchups. Have a read below and gain an edge over your competition. Let us know your thoughts on who we have down below on all of our social channels: twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
GDS Squad of the week for round 6
HOK - Brandon Smith (Roosters) 69 points
MID - Jaimin Jolliffe (Titans) 76 points
MID - Patrick Carrigan (Broncos) 74 points
MID - Jake Trbojevic (Sea Eagles) 73 points
EDG - Shawn Blore (Storm) 73 points
EDG - Teig Wilton (Sharks) 70 points
HLF - Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles) 93 points
HLF - Shaun Johnson (Warriors) 88 points
CTR - Joseph Manu (Roosters) 95 points
CTR - Zac Lomax (Dragons) 63 points
WNG - Josh Addo-Carr (Bulldogs) 99 points
WNG - Sione Katoa (Sharks) 75 points
FB - Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (Warriors) 80 points
BENCH FWD - Terrell May (Roosters) 71 points
BENCH FWD - Hudson Young (Raiders) 70 points
BENCH HLF - Jamal Fogarty (Raiders) 86 points
BENCH BACK - Kalyn Ponga (Knights) 78 points
BENCH BACK - Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (Warriors) 74 points
Squad Total 1407 points
How many of these players did you start?
The performance of the week
This award goes to Josh Addo-Carr. He was off to a terrible start this season after he was ruled out at halftime in his games against the Eels and Rabbitohs. With only an average of 8 points going into the Storm game, I don't think he would have been on many coaches' radars. Especially with the Storm being big favourites and the game being in Melbourne. In this performance he had 3 tries, 5 line breaks, 6 tackle breaks and 1 offload, this comes to 70 points through attacking stats. On top of this, he ran for a whopping 243 metres, and this was the most metres he has run for since round 19 in 2022 against the Titans. The Bulldogs looked really good attacking down the left edge with Kikau, Xerri and Crichton coming into the line from fullback. It will be interesting to see if the Bulldogs keep this combination on the left edge moving forward. After a performance like this and if the Bulldogs do keep this left edge combination, many GDS coaches may consider Addo-Carr as a starting option moving forward.
Riser
This award goes to Shawn Blore. Blore transferred from the Wests Tigers to the Storm in the off season and he has quickly emerged as the Storm's starting left edge forward. He's played three games this season and averages 50 points. He won't be scoring a try every week, but this was the first time that he played the full 80 minutes. Blore made 40 tackles, ran for 87 metres and this works out to be 48 points in base stats. Who knows if this sort of performance is an outlier at this stage but there have been big wraps on this kid for a while. At only 23 years old, I believe Blore is a player coaches should target if they don't already have his card. He is currently ranked 6th in the edge forward rankings and he might be a player many coaches are sleeping on.
Faller
This award goes to Zac Hosking. Hosking was the best edge forward over the opening two rounds with scores of 69 points vs Knights and 97 points vs Wests Tigers. Over his last three games he has only averaged 28 points. A lot of his decline is through no fault of his own. Against the Sharks he was ruled out due to a Category One HIA after only playing 43 minutes. Against the Titans he spent time on the side-line in the first half after receiving a head knock. He was able to return to the field only to dislocate his shoulder and then be ruled out for the remainder of the game after only playing 32 minutes. Hosking has now been ruled out for a few weeks and even when he returns, he will still a risky starting option as who knows what the Raiders forward rotation will look like. Hosking has a very relevant game for GDS coaches and hopefully we see him have a big minute role upon his return from injury.
GDS Team to Beat - Round 7
HOK - Wayde Egan (Warriors) - GDS average of 50 points & positional rank of 6th
MID - Isaah Yeo (Panthers) - GDS average of 62 points & positional rank of 2nd
MID - Patrick Carrigan (Broncos) - GDS average of 57 points & positional rank of 3rd
MID - J'maine Hopgood (Eels) - GDS average of 56 points & positional rank of 5th
EDG - David Fifita (Titans) - GDS average of 53 points & positional rank of 2nd
EDG - Kai Pearce-Paul (Knights) - GDS average of 48 points & positional rank of 10th
HLF - Shaun Johnson (Warriors) - GDS average of 65 points & positional rank of 1st
HLF - Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles) - GDS average of 60 points & positional rank of 5th
CTR - Joseph Manu (Roosters) - GDS average of 61 points & positional rank of 2nd
CTR - Valentine Holmes (Cowboys) - GDS average of 61 points & positional rank of 1st
WNG - Jason Saab (Sea Eagles) - GDS average of 52 points & positional rank of 2nd
WNG - Reuben Garrick (Sea Eagles) - GDS average of 39 points & positional rank of 19th
FB - Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (Warriors) - GDS average of 76 points & positional rank of 1st
BENCH FWD - Haumole Olakau'atu (Sea Eagles) - GDS average of 58 points & positional rank of 1st
BENCH FWD - Terrell May (Roosters) - GDS average of 54 points & positional rank of 7th
BENCH HLF - Nicholas Hynes (Sharks) - GDS average of 60 points & positional rank of 4th
BENCH BACK - Selwyn Cobbo (Broncos) - GDS average of 50 points & positional rank of 4th
BENCH BACK - Kalyn Ponga (Knights) - GDS average of 65 points & positional rank of 2nd
Players with positive matchups
Kai Pearce-Paul
After only playing 40 minutes in round one, KPP has played every minute for the Knights since then. What's been really impressive about his first season in the NRL is his work rate. He is averaging 44 points just through tackles and running metres. In attack KPP is averaging 2.8 tackle breaks per game and is constantly looking to offload the ball after making contact. Outside of tackle breaks and offloads, the only other attacking stats he has scored from is one line break. This week KPP comes up against the Bulldogs who allow an average of 49 points to the left edge position. Of these 49 points, 16.5 points are allowed through attacking stats. With KPP being one of the better edge forwards at scoring through base points and with him up against the worst defensive team to left edge forwards. I believe that he is a great starting option this week and he might be flying under the radar of a few coaches.
Jason Saab & Reuben Garrick
After seeing the team lists, I think this might be a good weekend to double down on the Sea Eagles backs on their right edge. This week Saab and Garrick will match up against the Brian Kelly and Alofiana Khan-Pereira. In the four games where Kelly and AKP have been paired up on the Titans left edge, they have allowed an average of 60 points to opposing right wingers and 53 points to opposing right centres. I wouldn't be surprised if the Sea Eagles look to exploit the Titans' left edge with Saab and Garrick putting in good performances for GDS coaches.
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
After returning from injury, CNK has been in sublime form with 71 points vs Rabbitohs and 80 points vs Sea Eagles. This week he comes up against an inconsistent Dragons team that allows an average of 53 points to opposing fullbacks. CNK is averaging 304 running metres a game and has looked dangerous every time he has touched the ball. He is a big part of the Warriors attack and I think with Jack Bird out for the Dragons, CNK might have some additional room to move. Maybe he even gets his first meat pie of the season. CNK isn't one of the big names at fullback in GDS and I think he is being slept on by many coaches.
