Two of the most important decisions you make each week in NRL SuperCoach have nothing to do with which players you own - they are about how you use them. Captaincy is a weekly lever that can significantly boost your score if used correctly, and it is an area where smart coaches consistently gain an edge over the field.
The Captain
Each week you nominate one player in your squad as captain. Your captain's score is doubled for that round. If your captain scores 80 points, they contribute 160 to your total. It sounds simple, but the decision of who to captain each week is one of the most debated topics in the SuperCoach community.
As a general rule, you want to captain your highest scoring player. Premium players who consistently put up big numbers are the safest captain options week to week. However, there are times when matchup, form, or a particularly favourable game makes a different player the smarter pick.
The Vice Captain
You also nominate a vice captain each week. The vice captain exists as a backup - if your captain does not play for any reason, your vice captain automatically takes over the captaincy and their score is doubled instead. Always set a vice captain. Forgetting to do so and having your captain ruled out late is a costly and avoidable mistake.
Who Should You Captain?
For beginners, the safest approach is to captain your most consistent premium player each week and only deviate from that when you have a strong reason to. As you get more comfortable with the game you will start to factor in matchups, venue, recent form, and the structure of the round when making your captaincy call. It is one of the decisions that separates good coaches from great ones over a full season.