Boosts are a feature in NRL SuperCoach that give you an extra trade in a given round, taking you from your regular two trades per week to three. They are a limited resource across the season so knowing when and why to use them is an important part of playing the game well.
How Boosts Work
Each coach is allocated 5 boosts to use across the season. When you activate a boost for a round you gain an additional trade for that week, giving you more flexibility to reshape your squad than you would normally have. It is important to understand that the boost itself counts as one of your 46 total trades for the season - so you are not getting a free trade, you are simply unlocking the ability to make three trades in that week instead of two. Once a boost is used it is gone, so the decision of when to deploy one deserves real thought.
When to Use a Boost
There are several situations across a season where burning a boost makes a lot of sense.
An injury crisis is one of the most common reasons. If you are hit with multiple injuries in a short period and your two regular trades are not enough to cover the damage, a boost gives you that third move to get your squad back in shape without having to make painful compromises.
Generating cash is another strong reason. Early in the season when cash cows are rising rapidly, an extra trade allows you to cycle through value players faster and grow your war chest more quickly than your opponents.
Boosting in a captain is a well known strategy where coaches use the extra trade to bring in a player specifically to captain for a high value round, then trade them back out the following week. Done at the right time this can add a significant score to your total.
Origin rounds are also a key consideration. State of Origin takes a large number of NRL players out of their clubs for representative duty, which can leave your squad short and your scores exposed. Having a boost available heading into an Origin round gives you the flexibility to cover the gaps and keep your team competitive.
When Not to Use a Boost
The temptation for beginners is to use boosts early when excitement is high and every trade feels urgent. That said, there is nothing wrong with using a boost early in the season if you have made mistakes in your initial team build that need correcting. A bad pre-season decision left too long can cost you more than the boost is worth, so if you need three trades in the first few rounds to get your squad right, do not be afraid to use one. Just make sure you are using all three trades with purpose and not burning the boost on one move you could have waited on.
As the season progresses, boosts become increasingly valuable so the bar for using one should get higher over time. By the back half of the season a boost in the right round at the right time can be the difference between winning and losing your league.
A note from SC Mattrix
I have played every version of SuperCoach ever made. Every single one. Except NBL Beat the Coach - and seriously guys, fix that up.
The boost story that changed the way I think about SuperCoach did not even come from NRL SuperCoach. David Van der Giesen won the inaugural NBL SuperCoach competition and when Hammer and I interviewed him on our NBL show, he revealed he had used all of his boosts in the first eight rounds. Every single one. Gone before half the season had been played.
His strategy was simple - grab every cash generation opportunity available, set the team up as fast as humanly possible, and then hold on for dear life. It was reckless by conventional SuperCoach wisdom. It was also brilliant. It won him the whole thing.
That interview opened my eyes and genuinely changed the way I approach boosts. I am no longer scared to use them. If the opportunity is there early, I take it. Cash does not wait and neither should you.