NRL SuperCoach 2026: POD play of the week round 17

Point of difference selections (PODs), strategies and plays are a hugely important part of any SuperCoach player’s season, whether it is chasing head-to-head wins or climbing the overall rankings week to week.

It is always important not to make too many POD plays, but you will always need some to be successful — balance is key.

Each week when reviewing the NRL matches for a round, there will inevitably be POD players among the top dozen scorers, as well as several POD strategies such as benching a highly owned player or captaining someone few coaches are considering.

This week marks the week before our final major bye round of the season and, with State of Origin about to finish for another year, a critical time to make a huge push up the rankings before the run home begins as well as plan for next week.

One of the most important things to consider with a POD is ceiling and this weeks pick has that in spades, despite a not so ideal matchup this week he offers all that and more in next weeks major bye round.

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Lehi Hopoate/ CTW / $558,900 / 2% owned

Hopoate comes into Round 17 following a 99-point outing against the Bulldogs where he crossed for two tries. While playing the Melbourne Storm this week is not ideal, the Sea Eagles are about to hit a very nice run of games.

This week’s Storm match is at least at home for Manly, and Melbourne have still been conceding plenty of points as well, but with the following three games against the Eels, Cowboys and Titans, it is easy to see why Hopoate has serious SuperCoach potential.

Hopoate has already scored 103 and 99 points against the Cowboys and Eels this year, while sporting a career average of a whopping 96 historically against Parramatta, which also happens to be his opposition in a big bye round that could help rocket teams up rankings and secure important H2H victories.

Hopoate is cheap enough to offer strong value, but the good thing about purchasing the Manly flyer is he can easily be held for the duration of the year as a fifth to seventh CTW option on the run home.

Last year Hopoate posted a career-high 160 SuperCoach points, and the Sea Eagles attack is humming even better in 2026, promising plenty more tries to come.

Hopoate has already scored 12 tries in his 13 appearances for Manly, and with a 67 average is already an under-the-radar keeper.

With his ceiling to go huge as an uber POD at just 2% ownership, he is exactly the type of calculated play teams need to make to separate themselves from the pack and all the common players now highly owned.

There is inherent risk, as with any POD. Hopoate does have some lower scores in him and owners would need him to hit attacking stats, though with his current strike rate and how football is flowing on the northern beaches, that seems like a decent bet.

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NRL SuperCoach 2026: POD play of the week round 17

Lehi Hopoate/ CTW / $558,900 / 2% owned

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