NRL SuperCoach Round 23: Expert guide to Herbie Farnworth replacements

The Australian

6 hours ago

Another round and more injury carnage.
A couple of weeks ago I recommended Hamole Olakau'atu as a buy - he promptly dislocated his shoulder.
Last week I recommended Isaah Yeo as a buy - he also injured his shoulder - and while we're waiting on news it looks like he'll miss at least one week and possibly longer.
So let's see who I can put the kiss of death on this week!
The biggest issue facing SuperCoaches is 'who should replace Herbie Farnworth,' and I'll devote my word count to that topic. For all other questions be they be trade, line-up or captaincy related please hit me up via the comments section below.
NRL Round 23: Teams and SuperCoach Q&A.
Farnworth, who was on track to score around 200 points against the Warriors last week before his hamstring popped, is out for 'four to six weeks' - but let's just call it the remainder of the season.
The silver lining (such as it is) is that Farnworth is priced at $840K and so those selling can afford pretty much anyone they want.
Let's look at the options:
Zac Lomax/Jacob Kiraz: Lomax is currently in 85.4% of teams in the top 10% of overall rankings, Kiraz is in 95.5%. If you don't own either than just snap them up. Lomax had his worst game of the season last week with the Storm holding him to 41 points. But he has the leaky Cowboys this week and the denuded Rabbitohs the week after. Get on. Kiraz, switched to between centre and fullback against the Tigers on the weekend and despite the horrendous conditions he still barged over for a try and a respectable 66 points. The Bulldogs draw is pretty tough, but Kiraz is a must own, and play, no matter who the opposition is.
Dane Gagai: The most popular pick of the round and it's easy to see why. The veteran Knight has had three stages to his 2025 season. Stage one covered rounds 1-11 plus where Gagai was playing centre. In those ten games, Gagai averaged 56.8PPG. The second stage was rounds 12-17 (incl) where Gagai played centre AND kicked goals. In those six games Gagai averaged 65.5PPG with 9PPG (net) of that coming off the tee. that leaves Gagai's third period - rounds 19-21 in which he has been playing fullback (note Gagai is recorded as playing centre in round 19 but in reality he played at fullback and Fletcher Hunt played centre). In those three games - against top-four teams the Storm, Warriors and raiders - Gagai scored 104, 93 and 92 points. The Knights attack is awful - they are the only team yet to score 300+ points - yet Gagai has managed to deliver big SuperCoach totals with a high workrate, efficiency in attack and terrific tackle bust numbers. The remaining draw (Panthers/Cowboys/Broncos/Sharks/Eels) is not particularly good nor bad so that's not a deciding factor. On the whole I think Gagai is a BUY.
AJ Brimson: Another player who has played different roles in 2025, Brimson started the season at five-eighth for the Titans before moving to his preferred fullback position in round 11. At number six, Brimson averaged 54.2PPG from nine games. At fullback Brimson is averaging 71.2PPG from nine games. The Titans are favourites to win the wooden spoon, but that has much more to do with their woeful defence (ranked 16th) than their mediocre attack (ranked 13th). And then there's the draw. The Titans play the Rabbitohs/Sharks/Warriors/Dolphins and Wests Tigers in their remaining games. Souths are a great matchup right now and the Wests Tigers leak plenty of points too. I feel Gagai is potentially the safer play, but could be talked into Brimson as an aggressive POD BUY.
Bradman Best: Another Knight, big Bradman is due back this week from a knee injury. A base stat powerhouse, Best is currently in just 5.2% of teams and while I prefer Gagai if you were looking for a POD that has the potential to go large then Best could be your guy (provided he's back from injury of course!). UBER POD BUY.
Matt Timoko: The tackle busting centre has bagged two tries in each of his past two games and scored triple figures in each. The Raiders have the most productive attack in the competition this year and have ridden that hot hand to the top of the table. Canberra do have a bye still to serve (Round 24) which is concerning and of their four remaining match-ups - Manly, Penrith, Tigers, Dolphins - three of those are top-eight defences. PASS.
Ronaldo Mulitalo: After a bit of a drought, Mulitalo found his groove over the past fortnight with scores of 91 and 98. A word or warning - those scores came against the woeful Rabbitohs and Cowboys defences. Another word of warning - the Sharks are on the bye in round 25. the bye and the mixed draw has me looking elsewhere. PASS.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck: Roger the dodger rarely goes really big and is yet to score 100+ this season, but his phenomenal workrate (he has scored 40+ in runs ALONE over the past four games) means he very rarely has a quiet game. The Warriors have a top-four finish to defend and a mixed draw ahead with some decent match-ups in rounds 24-26 (Dragons, Titans, Eels) bookended by tougher matches against the Dogs (@Accor Rd 23) and Manly (@Brookvale Rd 27). A BUY - but I think others on the list are preferable. PASS
Beau Fermor: The edge forward is available at CTW and his base workrate (averaging 50BPPG) makes him the safest pick of any on this list. A good line runner and more than capable of scoring 100+ when he does barge over, Fermor may not have the sexy upside of a Gagai or Brimson, but if you just want to lock in a safe 60 each week with upside then he's your guy to BUY.
Casey McLean: The left edge of the Panthers is humming and McLean has been in superb form over the past four rounds scoring 70, 109, 77 and 81 points with four tries over that span. Penrith's soft draw is about to stiffen up considerably which is a concern and I think McLean will struggle to maintain his recent scoring. PASS.
Rob Sutherland
Sports Journalist and Digital Producer
Rob Sutherland has never won SuperCoach NRL but he always has an opinion on how you might. Renowned as much for his deep collection of Hawaiian shirts as he is for his depth of statistical SuperCoach analysis, our podcast regular is here to fix your team - and hopefully keep you entertained along the way.
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Rob Sutherland