The VC Loop: How To Use It Without Screwing It Up
The VC loop is the greatest cheat code in NRL SuperCoach and the mechanic most casuals butcher every single year. It’s not complicated. It’s just misunderstood, mis-timed and misused by coaches who think they’re doing “a move” when really they’re detonating their own score. This is the no-nonsense guide to pulling off the loop properly and never getting burned by an auto-emergency again.
1. What The VC Loop Actually Is
The VC loop lets you turn your vice-captain’s score into your captain score, but only if your actual captain doesn’t play. That’s it. It’s not magic. It’s not a risk-free gamble. It’s a simple manoeuvre that hinges on one thing: having a non-playing reserve in your squad that you can deliberately zero out to block the real captain.
2. When You Should Use It
You use the loop when your VC plays early in the round and absolutely smashes it. Think 120+. Maybe 110+ if you’re conservative or your captain options are weak that week. Anything under 100 usually isn’t worth the loop unless the round is a bloodbath. The VC loop should feel like an insurance heist. If you’re sweating the score, it wasn’t big enough.
3. How The Loop Works (Step-By-Step)
Here’s the clean version casuals never understand:
Put the VC on an early-game gun.
If they go huge, you switch your captain to an NPR (a player who is not playing that round).
You move that NPR into your starting 13 so they are guaranteed to be a zero.
Because your captain doesn’t take the field, your team automatically defaults to your vice-captain’s score as the double.
4. The NPR Is Everything
The loop lives or dies on whether you’ve got a clean, safe, genuine non-player. You need a bloke who is definitely not named in the 17, preferably not even in the squad. A fringe rookie. An injured cheapie. Someone who is guaranteed to sit in trackies and earn you nothing. If your NPR randomly gets named late, your loop is dead. This is where casuals fall apart. Don’t trust “maybe” players. NPRs must be reliable zeros.
5. How Auto-Emergencies Can Destroy Your Life
If you choose the wrong NPR or mismanage your bench, the auto-emergency mechanic will sneak in and wreck everything. Here’s how the AE pain works:
If your captain is a zero, the AE system will bring in your lowest-scoring non selected reserve to fill the spot. If that player scores 14, you’re stuck with that 14. This is why you must calculate what score you are likely to get from your reserves when looping.
6. Using DPP To Clean Up Loops
Dual-position flexibility is your best friend. DPP players let you rearrange your lineup to drop the NPR directly into your starting 13 without burning trades or compromising structure. Smart coaches build DPP chains so looping is always easy. Casuals pray for luck. You’re not casual.
7. When Not To Loop
You don’t loop if your VC score is mid. You don’t loop if your captain is a proven 120 monster about to play the Dragons. You don’t loop if your squad structure is messy and the AE risk is too high. You don’t loop if your NPR is sketchy and might actually play. A bad loop is worse than no loop. If you’re hesitating, skip it.
8. Advanced Loops (For The Sickos)
The truly elite coaches loop proactively. They plan their NPRs weeks ahead. They pick bench cheapies knowing their loophole value. They target early-round VCs specifically to create captain pressure. They make the opposition sweat because nothing is scarier than a coach holding a 138 VC on a Thursday night with a perfect NPR waiting. Looping becomes psychological warfare.
Final Word: Loop Smart Or Don’t Loop At All
The VC loop is not a trick. It is a weapon. Used properly, it’s 80 to 140 free points a few times a year. Used poorly, it’s a catastrophic implosion that will leave you staring at your AE score like it personally robbed you. Plan your NPRs. Protect your reserves. Don’t get greedy. Don’t get emotional. Loop like a professional and you’ll steal wins every year from the coaches who still think it’s “too complicated”.
