Thurston’s stocks set to take a Super hit
MANY of the best players in SuperCoach – including Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith and Shaun Johnson – will cop reduced scores this year following a significant change to the scoring system.
Thurston is set to be worst hit. If the new system was applied to last year’s stats, the Queensland and Australian great would be docked 51 points, or almost an entire game’s output, following revelations he was statistically the worst attacking kicker in the NRL last season.
Over the off-season, SuperCoaches were given the chance to vote on scoring changes for 2018.
The most significant change is the addition of a “kick goes dead” stat, which incurs a -3 point penalty.
This stat has a significant impact on games because teams concede a seven tackle set, often turning the momentum of matches.
The official definition for this stat is: “Any kick that goes dead/touch in goal without being touched by another player. The erroneous kick must lead to a 20m tap and seven-tackle set for the opposing side.”
Significantly, many of the worst offenders for kicking the ball dead are popular SuperCoach players, and SuperCoaches must therefore factor in a drop in points from attacking kickers.
The most alarming of these players is Johnathan Thurston – the sixth most popular player in SuperCoach 2018.
The other two stats added to SuperCoach this year are:
Intercept Taken (+5 points);
Hold attacking player up in goal (+3 points).