NRL SuperCoach Trial Watch: Winners, Red Flags & What Actually Matters

Ryan Tucker

Editor

Last updated: Mon 16 Feb 2026 12:23

Ryan Tucker 16 Feb 2026

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Trai Fuller secures Dolphins' starting fullback role.
Trey Mooney impresses with strong minutes and metrics.
Focus on roles, not emotions, for SuperCoach success.

Trai Fuller of the Dolphins breaks away from the defence. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

SuperCoach Trial Watch: Who Helped and Who Hurt Their Case?

The first meaningful weekend of NRL trials has given SuperCoach players something real to analyse, but not everything we saw deserves a reaction.

SuperCoach Trial Watch: Who Helped and Who Hurt Their Case?
Interesting Ups
Trai Fuller
Trey Mooney
Connor Watson
Don’t Overreact
Casey McLean
Nicho Hynes
Josh Patston
Role Watch
Jake Simpkin
Sharks Middle Depth

Preseason football is about roles, minutes and clarity. Not highlight plays. Not one quiet half. Not a single missed tackle. Everything else is noise.

We are two weeks out from Vegas. Team lists will matter more than any highlight or quiet half of football. Smart SuperCoaches adjust for roles, not emotion.

Stay patient. Stay disciplined. And don’t tear up your team over one afternoon in February.

Interesting Ups

Trai Fuller

If there was one meaningful development, it was role confirmation.

With Fuller shaping as the Dolphins’ starting fullback and Herbie Farnworth set to play centre, the 2026 three-fullback structure is very much alive again. Fuller looked dangerous every time he touched the ball and, more importantly, he looked comfortable in the role.

At his price point, he doesn’t need to be elite, he just needs job security and attacking opportunity. He appears to have both.

Trey Mooney

Minutes were the key watch here and Mooney got them in his second hitout in Newcastle Knights colours.

Over 50 minutes with strong run metres and tackle numbers is exactly what SuperCoach owners wanted to see. He didn’t need a try or attacking stat to justify his inclusion.

If he’s playing meaningful minutes in Round 1, he shapes as one of the safest value picks in the second row.

Connor Watson

Quietly one of the more intriguing watches.

Watson logged heavy minutes and looked comfortable through the middle. In a season where hooker and flex structures are wide open, he may be getting overlooked simply because the Roosters have a perceived logjam.

Minutes trump narrative. If Watson’s role is secure, he’s firmly in play.

Don’t Overreact

Casey McLean

A quiet game in a rep fixture shouldn’t undo a full season of quality output.

McLean didn’t see much ball, but that says more about game context than his SuperCoach viability. System players in unfamiliar lineups often look flat in trials.

Unless role clarity changes at Penrith, this performance shouldn’t move the needle.

Nicho Hynes

The structure was tighter. He played closer to the ruck. Trindall saw plenty of ball.

But this wasn’t a Sharks premiership match, it was a representative fixture. Hynes still showed class in patches, and trial shape doesn’t always translate directly into club execution.

There’s something to monitor, but not something to panic about.

Josh Patston

The box score won’t jump off the page, but the role remains intact for the Titans young gun.

If he’s playing solid minutes at a basement price, he doesn’t need to dominate trials. Cheap starters are about cash generation, not dominance.

Role Watch

Jake Simpkin

If minutes don’t materialise, the conversation ends quickly.

Trial rotations are rarely definitive, but if Simpkin isn’t trusted with primary hooker minutes in Round 1, there are safer options elsewhere. This is less about performance and more about team list clarity.

Sharks Middle Depth

The Sharks middles were physically outplayed in patches against Parramatta.

It’s only February, and fitness loads vary wildly across clubs, but it’s worth monitoring whether Cronulla’s rotation tightens up before the season starts.

For SuperCoach, middle stability matters, particularly when assessing halves who rely on ruck dominance.