Read on for a detailed review of all the NRL action across Indigenous Round, purely from an NRL Fantasy perspective.

Byron & Liam pull out all of the NRL Fantasy factors from each game and deliver insights and opinions to help with your trade decisions ahead of the upcoming Bye Round.

Prefer to get your NRL Fantasy news in audio format? Tune in to the weekly NRL Fantasy Podcast by Outta Their League here, on iTunes or Spotify!

Eels (10) v. Panthers (16)

Bankwest Stadium | Thursday, 23 May 2019

Eels

Whilst it wasn’t pleasing on the eye, the Panthers snapped a 6-game losing streak and gave the Eels their first defeat at Bankwest Stadium.

Mahoney (49) played another 80 minutes which proved his role against the Storm was more tactical, rather than a long-term plan as many owners feared.

Alvaro came off the bench and in an impressive PPM display, managed 32 points in 27 minutes. He has, however, been one of the biggest disappointments this season with price drops to the tune of $267,000.

Sivo (31) scored a try and continues to make money for the 20% of coaches who own him, while Moses’ (41) form has dipped after his impressive start to the season with a 5 game average of 41.8. After round 6 (56 avg), we thought that Moses could finally fill his Fantasy potential and become a genuine keeper by the end of the season. However, it looks like he will continue to remain the next tier under the likes of Pearce, Reynolds, Cleary again this year.

Ferguson (23) and Gutherson (25), who both have mid-30 averages and similar prices ($460,000-485,000), both had disappointing performances. Neither are showing enough consistency to be relevant Fantasy trade-ins at the moment.

Panthers

The big story here was Nathan Cleary hitting an impressive 66 points on his way to again securing the number 7 jersey for the Blues.

Owners would have been rubbing their hands together to the thought of Cleary missing out, however an injury to Adam Reynolds and a pass mark from Cleary in this game seemingly got him across the line.

In another standout performance, Brian To’o hit 39 points – purely in base stats. With injuries to Blake and Whare and the dropping of DWZ, his spot looks pretty secure and he shapes as a handy cash out option this week.

Tamou (54) and Fisher-Harris (42) remain borderline keepers, whereas Kikau continues to underwhelm with a three game average of 28. Despite his pedigree, he looks one to avoid at the moment.

Sea Eagles (18) v. Titans (36)

Lottoland | Friday, 24 May 2019

Sea Eagles

Dessies’ men would’ve approached this one expecting to win comfortably, but they failed to work into the game and the Titans made the most of their opportunities.

Popular trade in target, Dylan Walker continued his hot start to the year with another 47 points. This seen Walker’s price jump by some $39k and with a break even of 8 ahead of Round 12, owners can expect plenty more to come – at least in the short-term.

Taupau (56) and Jurbo (58) were busy in the middle and Cade Cust managed two try assists and a respectable 41 points. Those bringing him in this week will have their fingers crossed he has done enough to edge himself in front of Elgey and Croker as Manly look to settle on DCE’s long-term halves partner.

Titans

The surprising win was led by Roberts (87) who scored two tries and provided two try assists, while his under-fire halves partner (Taylor) scored a respectable 44 points with two try assists of his own.

A massive blow saw Arrow ruled out (pre-game) which would of hurt many NRL Fantasy coaches. As a result, the 2.5% owners who held Whitbread (33) would’ve been fist pumping to the news he would join the starting line-up.

Whitbread looks set for a continued run in the starting side with Arrow on Origin duties over the coming rounds and will keep his price climbing as a result.

Rein (69) has become one of the best mid-range pickups this season with a 5 game average of 59, while Brimson improved from last weeks performance with a solid 41 points in the fullback position. Coaches monitoring Brimson need to be reminded of the possible return of Gordon within the fortnight.

Cartwright (44) owners would have been initially disappointed to see him dropped to the interchange, however he scored well in 47 minutes due to a try and try assist to his stat sheet.

Knights (38) v. Roosters (12)

McDonald Jones Stadium | Friday, 24 May 2019

Knights

Mitchell Pearce (72) continued his scintillating form against his old club with a emphatic win against the Roosters.

With a try, try assist, 5 tackle breaks and 488 kick metres, Pearce is the current in-form NRL Fantasy player with a 5 game average 67.2. For those who picked him up when his price bottomed out a month ago ($580,000-630,000) will be chalking this up to one of the better buys of the year.

Ponga (59) scored well, but had to leave the field for a HIA after 58 minutes after a late shot from JWH.

During the week there was plenty of interest through social channels about Mann partnering Pearce. Mann was elevated to the starting line-up again this week, but scored a disappointing 22 points. As we mentioned in our latest podcast, unless Mann is a starting hooker he is simply not Fantasy relevant.

Klemmer (41) has now only scored above 44 points once in four games and the 9.6% of owners would be concerned with his recent form – especially with his Origin duties which could see him eased back into the action in club land.

Roosters

The high-flying Chookies had their wings clipped by a red-hot Knights team in this game after losing Keary early to a nasty concussion.

Despite the loss, Teddy ran for nearly 300 metres and busted an incredible 13 tackles on his way to a team-high Fantasy score of 82. If you don’t own him (like Liam!), he has to be a priority post-origin.

Outside of Teddy, Taukeiaho (53) had a powerful 61 minute stint, however Crichton continues to fall short of our expectations with a disappointing 39 points. Unfortunately, instead of being the cut-price keeper owners thought they had on their hands – Crichton looks like sell heading into Origin.

Another popular sell this week is Latrell Mitchell (16). I’d find it hard to argue against this one should he spend too many more games at five-eighth.

Raiders (16) v. Cowboys (22)

GIO Stadium | Saturday, 25 May 2019

Raiders

The Raiders were condemned to their third consecutive defeat by the Cowboys.

Wighton (62) was the clearly the Raiders best player with 4 tackle breaks and a try assist. It was clear the Raiders 6 was looking to do all he could to secure that debut for the Blues. No other Raiders player scored more than 49 points, which tells you all you need to know about the rest of the squads performance.

Hodgson left the field after 41 minutes with a broken thumb and as a result, Havili managed 49 points in 40 minutes. Havili has been named to start at hooker in place of Hodgson over the next 4-6 weeks and at a $362,000 price point and with a BE of 21, he will be a very popular buy this week.

Cotric managed 33 in base on his way to securing a call-up for NSW and has been much improved since his shift to CTR. Unfortunately, CNK had a disappointing night with just 26 points.

Young (43) has proven to be a strong Fantasy cheapie in his limited appearances, and looks to be set for an extra 1-2 games in the starting line up until Bateman returns.

Cowboys

Taumalolo (78) remains the one and only trade-in target from the Cowboys with another incredible performance. Playing big minutes (69) and getting through a mountain of work, he is the Outta Their League buy of the week and our pick for the best captain option.

Mitchell Dunn (39) was a late inclusion into the starting team in place of Hess and managed a decent score over his 70 minute stint. However, he has been named at CTW this week and therefore looks to be one to avoid – much to the detriment of Byron who bought him in mid-round!

Whilst Morgan managed a rare 60, he remains a sell if you can turn him onto the likes of Adam Reynolds this week.

Warriors (2) v. Broncos (8)

Mt Smart Stadium | Saturday, 25 May 2019

Warriors

The resurging Broncos come away victorious in a tight contest in New Zealand for the ‘Kodi Nikorima Cup’.

RTS (15) had an extremely underwhelming game which would’ve the eye of non-owners hoping for further price drops to come before picking him up prior to Round 16. For those who have traded this week, hit that reverse trades button now.

The highly regarded CTW, Herbert scored a modest 23 points to back up his 60 from last week.

If you are one of the 13.8% of coaches who still own Burr, he remains a trade-out option after reaching his peak a few rounds ago. A move to Tolman or Taupau this week looks like a good shout.

Broncos

The most pleasing aspect of this win for a number of NRL Fantasy coaches was the performance of Tom Dearden (54). The rookie half cruised his way to a season high 50+ score after getting through plenty of defense and helping out with the general play kicking. After another $51k price rise, he’s looking every bit a fantastic cash cow.

Milford (66) bounced back from this mid-thirties effort last week with a 66 point effort and Payne Haas recovered from a low-scoring first stint to finish up with 51 points of his own.

Turpin (29) owners would’ve been hoping for more points from his 50-minute stint and TPJ continues to struggle for enough minutes to work his way into NRL Fantasy relevancy.

Rabbitohs (32) v. Tigers (16)

ANZ Stadium | Saturday, 25 May 2019

Rabbitohs

It’s been widely reported that the Rabbitohs are one of the happier clubs at the moment and no one could argue that they’re flourishing under the leadership of Sam Burgess and Wayne Bennett in 2019.

Many expected that the Tigers would challenge them this week given how effective they were in the previous round controlling the likes of Smith and Munster, however Souths found a way to win despite losing Reynolds to a suspected serious leg injury.

NRL Fantasy coaches (present company included) were rejoicing after the news that Reynolds has been cleared of any serious injury and will line up this week as one of the best Round 12 options. With an average a tick over 50 for the year and the position as the conductor of one of the best attacking outfits in the competition – many will be jumping on this week.

With the two other Fantasy relevant players in Murray (77) and Cook (80) out on Origin duties in Round 12, there isn’t a whole lot outside of Reynolds in terms of trade targets this week.

Tigers

Corey Thompson’s switch to fullback due to Mbye’s injury saw him also switch to pure ‘BEAST MODE’ with 75 points derived from a try, 187 running metres and 14 tackle breaks.

Farah (21) again shared his role with Liddle (31) and this would be raising alarm bells for owners after playing just 46 minutes.

Brooks (54) continues his impressive season with another 50+ performance, while Matterson (54) continues to show his worth as a reliable 2RF starting option til’ the end of the season.

Marshall turned back the clock with 56 points with a try, a try assist and 253 kick metres. It is hard to believe Benji considered retiring after his stint with the Dragons a couple of years ago.

Bulldogs (6) v. Storm (28)

Belmore Sports Ground | Sunday, 26 May 2019

Bulldogs

How good are suburban grounds? Belmore was rocking for its first (and only) NRL game of the season. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to inspire the Bulldogs against the Storm.

Only one player scored more than 46 points which is no surprise as the Bulldogs don’t have many NRL Fantasy relevant players other than Tolman (47).

It feels like a lifetime ago when CHN (26) cracked the 100 milestone and he’s scored more than 31 points just once since then.

Before the season, there was optimism from a Fantasy angle through Napa, Martin, Holland and Lewis, however only one of these players is currently in the starting line-up. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, it has been a year of disappointment in both actual NRL and from a NRL Fantasy perspective.

Storm

It was too easy for the Storm at the spiritual home of the Bulldogs with Josh Addo-Carr proving too much to handle. Two tries and over 200 run metres from the NSW Blues flyer seen him coast to 75 NRL Fantasy points.

Munster (38) scored well below his season average with no tackle busts or line breaks to his tally, and Papenhuyzen (27) wasn’t able to set the game alight either after coming off the bench and playing in the middle. Despite this low score, the exciting young talent has banked some $200k for those who took the risk and brought him into their side.

Rounding out the talking-points from this game was Cameron Smith (60) who would’ve put a smile on the face of the 26,000+ players that own him with another outstanding score.

Dragons (9) v. Sharks (22)

WIN Stadium | Sunday, 26 May 2019

Dragons

It’s not looking great for the ‘Red V’ in actual NRL, but when it comes to NRL Fantasy – there is one guy that will be hot on the radar of all serious coaches from Round 13 onward.

That man – Cameron McInnes. A try, 5 tackle busts and a whopping 68 tackles were all in a days work for the hardworking hooker.

Many threw Lomax a shot at their starting side after him being moved to Fullback, however he failed to edge his alternative in Bronson Xerri after coming up with a mid-thirties effort.

Ben Hunt (44) seen a big downturn in his scores when compared to previous weeks and we will likely see scores closer to what we seen in this game in the weeks to come with the impending return of Norman.

Sharks

Moylan returned to fullback with a respectable 35 points, while Xerri (63) led the backline with a impressive hat-trick. Coaches who were thinking that Xerri had reached his peak last week were proven wrong as he still has a few weeks (at least) of price rises to come.

Flanagan (42) has remained one of the most consistent cash cows of the season – even with his limited time in the top squad. Some owners will be looking to go early and sell him this week amidst rumours that Johnson looks likely to return in Round 13.

Fifita (50) played less than minutes than coaches would have expected (53 minutes). Due to his dodgy hammy, I think set-and-forget options like Cook and Haas should be considered as captain ahead of the big prop until he looks to get back to full strength.

Popular Fantasy CTR, Nikora (49) scored well and remains a keeper – likely for the year. Coaches will be keen to see if his scores improve once Johnson returns, as his scores dipped immediately in his absence.

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