ByronRead on for an in-depth look at all the action across Round 6 of the NRL through the lens of two of the biggest NRL Fantasy Tragics, Byron & Liam from ‘Outta Their League’.
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Sharks (24) vs. Panthers (20)
PointsBet Stadium | Thursday, 18 April 2019
Sharks
An exciting comeback at PointsBet Stadium highlighted the Sharks resilience and character with an impressive second half performance led by NRL Fantasy must-have, Andrew Fifita (71). Fifita entered the game under an injury cloud before the match which had a number of coaches scrambling for another captaincy option, however, he showed no signs of slowing down with a try, 5 tackle breaks and a line break to his stat sheet.
Xerri got an opportunity to show his blinding speed with a scintillating try on his way to an impressive 59 points. With a BE -13 this week, it isn’t too late to put the Xerri on top of your trade-in targets this week. See what we did there? #PunLife.
A couple of late changes seen Will Kennedy (34) switched to the fullback position, and Dugan (42) shifting to centre. Shaun Johnson was again impressive with 55 points and is definitely one to look at as he continues to find his feet at his new club.
Nikora (68) has transformed from a bargain basement player to an out-and-out keeper in the CTR position with another impressive performance boasting 8 tackle breaks and a try assist, all the while tripling his value.
Capewell (54) remains to give NRL Fantasy coaches headaches that may have moved him on prematurely (us included!) with consecutive 50+ showings.
Panthers
Despite playing in a losing team, Nathan Cleary produced his highest score of the season (78) and pushed his average above 50 for the first time this year.
Owners will be delighted after some worrying signs over the past couple of weeks with a decrease in kick-metres and overall sub-par form, but if you got in touch with us and we convinced you to keep him when things were looking shaky – you’re welcome!
For non-owners focused on head-to-head, it’s important to note that this score looks set to have his price trending upward again over the coming weeks (BE 31) and he looms as a great buy for Round 7.
With back-to-back keeper-like scores, he is now favourably positioned to claw back the $76,000 he leaked to start the year and reaffirm his place as a premium HLF option in NRL Fantasy.
Outside of Cleary, there isn’t a whole lot to like from the Panthers backline and Outta Their League favourite, Josh Mansour was no exception as he once again underwhelmed with another low 20s score.
Over in the forwards, Kikau’s stocks as a pick-up ahead of the Round 12 Bye took a significant hit with a score of 28 points off the back of little-to-no attacking stats and 6 missed tackles. As a gun of previous years with huge attacking upside, he is still one to keep an eye on over the coming weeks as we approach Round 12.
The one standout for the Panthers pack won’t come as a surprise to the 3.5% of coaches that own him, but James Fischer Harris is just keeps getting it done with a another score in the 50’s. After an early season average of 55.5, 113k in price rises and that crucial availability in Round 12, it would be hard to argue against JFH as one of the NRL Fantasy buys of the year!
Bulldogs (6) vs. Rabbitohs (14)
ANZ Stadium | Friday, 19 April 2019
Bulldogs
Another disappointing result for the brave Bulldogs who again come away without the two-points against a classy Rabbitohs side. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many positives from a NRL Fantasy perspective for the dogs of war.
The main talking point from this game comes from popular NRL Fantasy buy, Okunbor (11) who scored has now scored sub-20 in consecutive weeks.
Ogden managed a try and an impressive 42 points as he positions himself as one to monitor closely given his mid $300k price tag and low break even ahead of Round 7. The question mark here is in relation to whether or not he can make enough money before Napa returns to justify the two trades.
Tolman (59) has continued to lead by example for the Bulldogs with another hardworking performance consisting of 47 tackles and a score of 59. Given his lack of attacking stats, he does slightly sit in the next tier under the likes of Fifita, Taupau and Klemmer – but you could certainly do a lot worse then Tolman given his consistency!
Finally, Rhyse Martin was relegated to the bench for Adam Elliot before kick-off, but he did still manage to play 61 minutes. Despite this, the disappointment from owners surrounding this late change was compounded further by his lackluster score of 26.
Martin remains one to watch given his pedigree, bye round coverage and declining price – however, things aren’t looking great at the moment!
Rabbitohs
The Rabbitohs out-and-out keepers in Reynolds (50) & Cook (61) continue to impress, however it was Cameron Murray who caught my attention.
We’ve been on the fence so far this year as to whether Murray is a true keeper to the end of the year, despite his 56 point average. This is largely due to his game time which has been around 50-60 minutes per game and the seemingly unsustainable attacking stats he accumulated in the early rounds in order to reach these scores. However, it’s worth noting that Murray notched up 63 points on the weekend without a line break or a try – and he looking every bit a keeper as a result!
Question marks remain surrounding Sam Burgess and his NRL Fantasy keeper prospects after failing to crack the 50 mark four weeks running. For mine, he is not quite a keeper this year when we compare him to the likes of some of the busier middles such as Jake Turbo, Fischer Harris and the like.
Storm (20) vs. Roosters (21)
AAMI Park | Friday, 19 April 2019
Storm
After a disastrous first half (trailing 20-6), the Melbourne Storm showed tremendous character and resilience in the second half to level the scores and send the game into golden point. The inspired second half performance was orchestrated by the GOAT, Cameron Smith (77) who provided a try assist and a 50 tackles for his team. What else is there to say about Smith? He certainly wouldn’t look out of place in any team.
In the halves, Croft (59) excelled with strong base stats stemming from 30 tackles and taking the lead with the general play and goal kicking while Smith recovers from a groin complaint. If Croft can maintain regular 50+ performances like he ended the 2018 regular season with, he will quickly become a popular trade-in target.
K.Bromwich (57) continues his impressive form which sees him as one of the most improved NRL Fantasy players this season with an average of 53 to start the year. Who seen this coming?
Christian Welch (60) has been a quiet achiever from the bench (avg 41.3) this season, and he produced his best NRL Fantasy score of 2019 with 6 tackle busts, 200 run metres and 24 tackles. As 18th man for the QLD maroons in previous games, he is giving himself every chance of another call-up this year.
Kamikamica (41) has now scored a try in consecutive weeks which sets him up for some handy price rises over the coming rounds (BE 1).
Roosters
Latrell Mitchell, take a bow! What an advertisement for Rugby League. This was hands-down one of the most entertaining games I’ve seen in a long, long time.
There is plenty to unpack on the Roosters and we’ll start with the star of the show, Latrell Mitchell (50). A score of 50 doesn’t quite do his actual performance and impact on the game justice, however any score above 45 in the CTW is one we’ll take. As we mentioned last week, we’re flushed for quality options at centre this year and as a result, we haven’t been able to build a case for Mitchell over options such as Nikora, Bateman, Capewell, however, he is certainly making a strong case now with 60 and 50 in his last two outings.
If you feel like taking a punt, this is the week to do it as he enters the round with a break even of 26 and looks set to regain much of the 87k he has lost after a slow start.
Angus Crichton was busy with 44 tackles, but had just two tackle busts to his name which is low by his standards. Despite this, he managed 54 points and owners that jumped on in the last week or so will be happy. At the current 169k discount and a break even of 40, he looks like a great pickup again this week for those after a cut-price keeper.
Lastly, we had Nat Butcher playing 53 minutes and going over a point per minute with a score of 56 on the back of 39 tackles. We covered Nat Butcher in detail over the pre-season in our Roosters Season preview and he is absolutely one to watch if he can keep up those minutes given his appetite for work. He enters round 7 with a break even of 8, so scores of 35+ will see him get away from you pretty quickly if you’re considering him.
Warriors (10) vs. Cowboys (17)
Mt Smart Stadium | Saturday, 20 April 2019
Warriors
It’s a worrying time for the Warriors, who were defeated at home again this week by an out-of-form Cowboys side.
Cheapie halfback, CHT (34) continues to produce respectable NRL Fantasy scores and is now priced at $371,000 with a a break even -1 leading into Round 7. If you don’t already own him, it’s not too late to trade him in this week. However, this is the last week to bring him in given his price is climbing rapidly and you’re missing valuable price rises required to justify the two trades to get him in and back out your side.
Lachlan Burr (63) and Tohu Harris (64) continue to dominate the forward pack. Burr has doubled his value within 6 weeks and definitely looks to be a hold (BE -1) as he has been the preferred option for Kearny over Papali’i to date.
Tevaga (56) has also continued his impressive PPM from the bench this season with an average of 46.7 but we would like to see him in a starting role before considering him as a justifiable trade-in target.
Lastly, the in-form WFB of the season, RTS (54) is still spearheading the Warriors attack with an amazing solo try, 6 tackle busts and 2 line breaks to his name in a losing team. The premium WFB should be on every NRL Fantasy coaches radar to pick-up at some stage during the season, alongside the likes of Ponga, Teddy and Turbo.
Cowboys
Despite notching up their second win of he season, the Cowboys don’t really have a lot of NRL Fantasy relevance this year – particularly with no Taumololo in their side.
Michael Morgan continues to be solid without being amazing, but he has made a handsome sum of $131,000 over the opening rounds. He is likely to make money again this week, however coaches playing for overall honours will be looking to move him on before Origin as he doesn’t seem to be quite good enough to be considered a premium keeper when we consider the output of DCE and Cleary in recent weeks.
Josh McGuire had arguably his best game of the season to date and this was reflected by a score of 58. Regardless, the only forward I would be considering from the Cowboys pack at this stage is the returning Jason Taumalolo who we all know is unstoppable at his best. Lolo is lurking on an extended bench as he eyes a return from
Dragons (12) vs. Sea Eagles (10)
WIN Stadium | Saturday, 20 April 2019
Dragons
Whilst Dragons fans may be considering themselves pretty lucky to get away with the 2-points in Wollongong, they’d be quietly confident in their teams prospects this year given this was their fourth win in a row after losing Widdop to injury in Round 3.
The main beneficiary of Widdop’s injury in terms of their NRL Fantasy output is Ben Hunt. Hunt has now scored 51, 98 and 65 in consecutive weeks off the back of plenty of attacking stats and a healthy sum of kick metres as the dominant kicker in the side.
If you didn’t move him on in one of the previous two rounds, Host is a certain sell after playing just 40 minutes from the bench and he looks to have plateaued with a break even inline with his most recent score (20). In contrast, if you went with option B in Blake Lawrie to start the year youre sitting pretty as he continues to make money with another more than achievable break even in Round 7 (20).
Despite Hunt’s rapid rise, the NRL Fantasy star for the Dragons is a title that continues to be held by Cameron McInnes who boasts a 5-round average of 63.8. He is a certain keeper (barring injury) right throughout the year.
Sea Eagles
Popular WFB cheapie, Garrick (-2) come away with a horrendous negative points tally on the back of 5 errors, whereas PPM machine Taupau’s (46) minutes are still a concern (48 minutes). As a Taupau owner, I am sticking strong and hoping that he will climb to reach 50-60 mins on a regular basis. He has pedigree, so patience is key here.
DCE (73) is now the most expensive player in NRL Fantasy and with a try, a try assist, 366 kick metres over the weekend, it’s not hard to see why!
Meanwhile, Jurbo (42) had a (rare) poor Fantasy performance for his standards.
Titans (38) vs. Knights (14)
Cbus Super Stadium | Sunday, 21 April 2019
Titans
An impressive home performance seen the Titans pull-apart the disappointing Knights. One of the low-lights to come from the game was the season-ending injury to Ryan James who is owned by 5.7% of coaches. As an NRL Fantasy favourite, we wish him well in his recovery.
Popular dual position option, Bryce Cartwright (45) scored well again with a try assist and 35 tackles to his name and looks set to continue his price rises for the 18% of owners.
Rein had a relatively low score (38) but remains a hold until Peats returns. Given the Titans didn’t call upon him for a heavy defensive load in this game, Rein’s low scored is probably justified.
Ash Taylor (11) continues to disappoint with an incredibly dissapointing season avg. 13.3, whereas his halves partner, Roberts (66) had his best game of the season with 2 tries, and a try assist.
Popular second row forward, Arrow (46) hasn’t showed the consistency to be a set-and-forget viable Fantasy captain option so far this season, but remains a hold for mine.
Knights
Things are looking pretty dire for the Knights on the field, however there are a couple of shining lights in NRL Fantasy terms.
We’ll start with everyone’s favourite player, Kalyn Ponga. We had him tipped as buy of the week in the last two rounds and he hasn’t disappointed. If you didn’t jump on, he is still available at over $100k less than his starting price. But with a break even of 27 this week, you may want to move pretty quickly!
David Klemmer reaffirmed our comments last week dubbing him as a premium front rower in NRL Fantasy this year after another solid performance that was reflected by his 51 Fantasy points. Klemmer hasn’t scored below 50 this year and is one of the most reliable options up front as the clear forward leader at the Knights.
Jesse Ramien showed what he is capable of when given early ball with a score of 53 off the back of 9 tackle busts. However, we can make the same argument here as we did with Latrell earlier in that it’s hard to find room for him in the 17 at this stage due to the options we have available for selection.
Mitchell Pearce has been one I’ve been watching closely waiting for the perfect week to jump on at a bargain, but I am starting to get cold feet now after another disappointing score. I’d like to see at least one performance from the Knights and Pearce inline with our preseason expectations before snapping him up.
Raiders (26) vs. Broncos (22)
GIO Stadium | Sunday, 21 April 2019
Raiders
With 10 points now to their name, Ricky’s Raiders have been the competitions most improved team this season.
They’ve gone from being the heaviest forward pack in the NRL to the lightest and it’s absolutely paying dividends! The pace of the game this year really seems to suit the mobile nature of their squad whether they’re working their way up the field with their leg speed or moving laterally to close holes in the defensive line.
There is one guy, however, that is leading by example and that’s one of my new favourite players, John Bateman (80). He was a late inclusion into my team ahead of Round 1 after watching some YouTube highlights of his form overseas and hearing him speak about his competitiveness and willingness to leave it all on the paddock. Those videos sold me and I’m glad it did. He’s made a whopping $210,000 and has a five round average of 62.7. It’s rare to say this for a CTW option, but he’s now a genuine captain option with plenty of upside.
If you don’t own him, he’s about to get dearer again off the back of a BE of 35 so you simply have to find a way to get him in.
Another forward doing great things for the Green Machine is Ryan Sutton. He scored 52 points in 52 minutes over the weekend and he is hot on the radar of a lot of Fantasy coaches this week. I’ll be avoiding him at this stage given his score was boosted with his first try in the NRL and I wouldn’t expect too many from the big Englishman. With that said, I understand the interest given his low break even.
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad hyper extended his knee in this game, but he has been cleared to play in Round 7 in what is a big boost for the 25% of NRL Fantasy coaches that own him. We’ve had a couple of questions come in through the week regarding our thoughts on moving him on for the likes of Ponga and others, however, he’s a definite hold in my opinion. With consistent 40+ scores and availability in Round 12 (against the Bulldogs no less), I can’t see a viable argument for selling him.
Finally, Emre Guler who looms as a potential cheapie option in the Front Row this week for coaches looking at a downgrade option. I won’t be bringing him in this week and my reasoning for that is there has been a bit of chat that Stuart will be looking to rotate the bench props between the Mounties and the top squad in these early rounds and if that’s the case, Guler may not get enough games to justify the two trades to get him in and cash him back out.
With that said, he may be one for the watch list as we took a look at his numbers from last year and he did play 3 games for about a point a minute and an average of around 30. If he was to secure a bench spot and push scores of 30-35pts on a consistent basis, then there is absolutely good reason to consider him further ahead of the first bye.
Broncos
What has gone wrong at the Broncos this season?
Bird (42) scored a try to save his score, however with a break even of 32 he could be a good trade-out option this week if you can upgrade to a premium or go down to Xerri. Popular young forward, Payne Haas (60) didn’t disappoint in his second start of the season playing 80-minutes in the front row. In two weeks, he has already increased his value by more than $150,000 but remains a must-buy for non-owners this week with a negative 24 break even.
McCullough (55) had a solid fantasy game, but this score is what coaches have been expecting on a more consistent basis as opposed to the sub-50 performances we have seen this season. Another 80 minute performance for Gillett (56) will have pleased owners, however he is awkwardly priced for someone who isn’t a keeper or a genuine cash cow.
D. Fifita (44), Flegler (31), Carrigan (22) all had solid PPM displays, however minutes are ultimately the biggest concern for these players and each of these players should only be considered if this increases significantly, and consistently.
Eels (51) vs. West Tigers (6)
Bankwest Stadium | Monday, 22 April 2019
Eels
Mitchell Moses was hell-bent on silencing the #OurJungle comments from the Tigers when referencing Bankwest Stadium and he certainly made it his own with the first try and the first field goal at NRL level now etched alongside his name in the history books.
I normally don’t enjoy games that blow out like this one did, but Moses was so fun to watch as he absolutely tore the Tigers apart on his way to a season high 97 points. We’ve touched on it in previous weeks, but he is relishing the opportunity to be the dominant playmaker and looks a serious prospect for your NRL Fantasy team this year.
Looking back at previous years, he is typically a ‘streaky’ player where he goes on runs of amazing scores only to back it up with a string of sub-30 efforts to bring him crashing back down to Earth. However, if you’re hot on Mitchell Moses for your team this year, I don’t think I can talk you out of it. He’s in less than 4% of teams currently, but I expect that to climb after that blistering performance. As an owner in draft, I’m more than happy to give him a starting role every week given his upside.
Another player ticking along nicely is my reserve Hooker, Reed Mahoney. He also come off his best score of the season with a try-boosted 68 points. He’s made just shy of $150k this season and looks set to make plenty more over the coming weeks with this high score now in his rolling average. If you don’t already own him, however, the ship has well and truly sailed and I’d look to hold off a couple of weeks as Farah’s price comes back and find the extra funds to jump on him instead if you’re after another hooker.
Sivo continues to keep his price ticking along with another solid mid 40s score and he is the clear standout when compared to the likes of Ravalawa and Garrick in terms of who is a hold in that cheapie WFB bracket.
Finally, Shaun Lane played his way back into form with a 58 and you could do a lot worse than hold him now given his Round 12 coverage and attacking upside.
West Tigers
Things started badly for the Tigers as Farah failed his HIA test just 8 minutes and this would have certainly hurt a lot of coaches looking forward to seeing their captain play in the last game of the round. Overall, there weren’t too many positives from a NRL Fantasy perspective, with no player hitting the 50 point mark from the Tigers heavily beaten side.
Matterson (48) topped the scoring for the Tigers this week, followed by Eisenhuth (46) and Brooks (40). Popular NRL Fantasy forwards, Twal (39) and Garner (39) had disappointing games by their standard. However, if you own either of the aforementioned players, I wouldn’t be too concerned as they have proven their capabilities over the opening rounds on multiple occasions.
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