Supporters League Update

Last year we ran a prototype competition which pitted 16 NRL fanatics against each other whilst representing their team they support. We called this the Supporters League.

The premise was pretty simple. Each NRL club would be represented by an NRLCEO and each of those users selected their top six players from the team they support before anyone else. We then went through a draft to fill the squads to 14 total players. So what each user was left with was a team dominated by their team they support and in almost all circumstances included their own kicker too.

Surprisingly, despite not making the real NRL finals, the Parramatta Eels took out last year’s competition. It was so popular that we opened it up wider and this year we filled four competitions.

So with just three rounds left until finals kick off, I thought I’d write up a preview of who is still in the premiership race and even more interestingly, which clubs are doing the best across all four competitions.

Combined Table

Firstly, here is the combined table of all four competitions which shows the Cowboys are easily the most dominant team not dropping below fourth in any category. It’s pretty easy to see why when you can draft Jonathan Thurston, Michael Morgan, Gavin Cooper, Ethan Lowe, Antonio Winterstein and Jake Granville straight up before anyone else.

In saying that, once we get to the top eight finals series, anyone can win!

Supporters League I

The original competition from last year contains a majority of players who played last year, so it’s very competitive. With three rounds to go there are still six teams in contention for the Minor Premiership.

The Broncos lead ably by site owner Mig are currently in the lead by two points and with their for and against ahead of the rest most likely need just two victories from the remaining three games to take out the Minor Premiership.

The Bulldogs have been solid as a rock all season and sit in equal second place. Their coach AC is in his first season of NRLCEO, so it’s a fantastic debut season. Also in equal second place, the Titans are batting well above their average. Their CEO Bona is part of the original NRLCEO competition which was played on a spreadsheet back in 1999 so his experience has shone through. He only has two Titans remaining in his squad (Ryan James and Zeb Taia) but has picked up the top try scorer (Vunivalu) along the way.

Back in equal fourth are the Cowboys, Sharks, Eels and Raiders. Of those teams, the Sharks and Cowboys have the most points scored for. The Raiders and Eels are lucky to be sitting above the Roosters and Tigers despite having a worse points differential.

Mathematically eleven teams can still make the top eight, but four of them are fighting for the 8th position. It’s an extremely tight competition and we can’t wait to see who progresses to the finals.

Supporters League II

I find myself in this second competition representing the Raiders so I know this competition well.

The Cowboys have the most dominant ladder position and the most wins (16) across all leagues. Their CEO Deano is one of the original NRLCEO competitions so once again, knows his stuff. He has astutely picked up Iosia Soliola, Bevan French and Latrell Mitchell as mid season pickups which is why he is in such a dominant position. Minor Premierships mean nothing though and he’ll still need to win in the finals.

In second place, the Bulldogs are one of only three teams guaranteed a place in the finals. Their CEO ‘337’ has been around for a few years now so has a lot of experience and tactical nous. The Dogs success is on the back of the brilliance of James Graham, Aiden Tolman, Michael Lichaa and Josh Jackson and more recently the brilliance of Brett Morris. He also drafted very well with Marika Koroibete and Joey Leilua his import stars.

Of course I’m a big fan of my own team! My Raiders started the season slowly and have risen from 11th place to 4th over the past six weeks. Jarrod Croker and Josh Hodgson have been the stars and I managed to pickup Suliasi Vunivalu from the start of his try running streak too. Sadly for me Shaun Fensom hasn’t fired, but I just can’t cut him loose. In equal fourth is the Sea Eagles who have performed much better in this competition than any others. Their CEO Jimmy is an old school mate of mine and has done with with a solid all round team with no out and out superstars.

Rounding out the fight for the top eight is the Roosters, Broncos, Warriors, Rabbitohs, Storm and Tigers. Unfortunately the Moneyball boys Ted (Panthers) and Marcho (Knights) look to have run their dash too late.

Supporters League III

There is a very tight battle for supremacy in the third supporters league! The Storm hold a two point lead over the Cowboys and the lead has chopped and changed throughout the year. Both CEOs look to be in their first season of NRLCEO and not only have they been dominating the Supporters League but I’ve seen both of their names winning plenty of cash on SuperDraft too!

Lead by first time CEO Mel B, the Storm side have been scoring highly on the back of their Melbourne contingency including Cam Smith, Cooper Cronk, Jesse Bromwich, Tohu Harris and Marika Koroibete. But even losing Billy Slater for the season hasn’t even managed to stop them with Ben Barba having an amazing year. There were some other astute pickups with Iosia Soliola, Joey Leilua and Mitch Barnett all scoring well. Hopefully the last week Craig Bellamy curse of resting Cam Smith won’t hurt their chances.

With another first time CEO leading them, the Cowboys have dominated on the back of a core squad of Jonathan Thurston, Michael Morgan, Gavin Cooper, Ethan Lowe, Jake Granville and Lachlan Coote but they are ably supported by David Klemmer, David Fustia, Solomone Kata and Tuimoala Lolohea (until recently). They could consider themselves unlucky to be in second despite scoring the most points in the competition, but you still have to win each week so consistency is key.

The Tigers are doing amazingly well in this league to be sitting in third despite placing 9th, 11th and 12th in the three other leagues. James Tedesco has been the sole destroyer from a Tigers perspective, but CEO Matt drafted brilliant with Boyd Cordner, Curtis Rona, Kevin Proctor and Kyle Feldt all scoring well for him.

The Broncos have dropped off in recent weeks but still sit in equal fourth with the Roosters. The Broncos of course had first pick of Anthony Milford, Bent Hunt, Josh McGuire, Andrew McCullough, Corey Parker and James Roberts, which gave them a pretty great start to the season, but it’s the pickup of Cameron Munster than has probably been of most value to their run to the title. The Roosters have done amazingly well in this competition across all leagues, but this particular league sees them sitting the highest in equal fourth. Coach JP has had to contend with the Roosters changing their kickers more than their undies, but now looks settled with Nathan Cleary taking the kicking tee.

Rounding out the race for the finals is the Sharks, Warriors, Raiders, Dragons, Sea Eagles and extreme outside chance – the Knights.

Supporters League IV

The tightest race for the Minor Premiership out of all four competitions! Five teams could still realistically take out top spot so it will be interesting to see what happens.

The Bulldogs are equal top with the Eels as it currently stands. The Dogs CEO Sheriff is one our of live scoring volunteers, so we hope he wins! Although the Eels probably have the easier run home.

Looking at the Bulldogs squad, he let go of Michael Lichaa but other than that retains a strong core of six Bulldogs players. It’s his imports where he really shines though with Elliott Whitehead, Jack Bird, Jamie Buhrer and Kevin Naiqama all in good form leading into the finals.

I’m backing the Eels to take out the minor premiership in this one, which is a fantastic effort considering all the players they have lost. But unlike the NRL, this Eels side got to keep Nathan Peats even when he moved to the Titans.  It will be a tough ask without star winger Semi Radradra, but fortunately for Coach Czerny he has Latrell Mitchell to call upon too.

There are three teams in equal third but we will start with the Cowboys. Their CEO will be well know to many of you – Rhys from the Moneyball Podcast. His Cowboys players speak for themselves but he’s relied on his local Canberrans in Iosia Soliola and Joey Leilua as well as Will Hopoate to get near the top of the table. Storm CEO Jamie has a great Melbourne contingent to work with but he has also picked up the try scoring gun Corey Oates too to help his scoring capacity. The Warriors, lead by CEO Ambrose are doing the best in this competition out of them all. They are my pick to take out the title with a superstar line-up featuring Shaun Johnson, Simon Mannering, Bodene Thompson, Ben Matulino, Tom Trbjovic, Greg Inglis, Michael Lichaa, Will Chambers and Bevan French! If they can all stay fit, they are a red hot chance!

Lastly, the Broncos deserve a good mention. Their for and against is amazing with the fourth highest points for and lowest against. Good to see a female CEO in charge here with Clara playing her first season and doing extremely well. Anyone in the top eight can win it, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see her take out the title!

Good luck to all the teams in the remaining week’s and I’ll be back with another update when the top eight are confirmed! Thanks to everyone to playing in this unique competition, it’s been a lot of fun.

For those interested, here is the full Club Championship Table below:

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JB

A Founder of NRLCEO. Jamie spends far more time on running the site than his own team and is therefore a perennial struggler, much to the delight of his mates. He is a former Bears, now Raiders tragic. A rangy lock who avoided running the ball at all costs, he once tackled (flopped on) John Hopoate. Web geek by day, web geek by night.

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