Read on for a comprehensive analysis of all the NRL action across Round 8, purely from an NRL Fantasy perspective. Byron & Liam put each game under the microscope and deliver insight designed to assist you with your weekly player selections, trade choices and captain choices.

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Rabbitohs (38) v. Broncos (6)

ANZ Stadium | Thursday, 2 May 2019

Rabbitohs

Bennett won both the off-field and on-field battle in this one by unanimous decision as the Rabbitohs made it look easy against Seibold and the young Broncos in what was a fitting tribute to their recently retired leader, Greg Inglis.

The Broncos leaked plenty of points and there were more Goannas on the field than the Australia Zoo.

But local wildlife aside, there were a host of bunnies posting big NRL Fantasy numbers and there were none better than explosive dummy half, Damien Cook.

Cook (70) may have had coaches a little worried throughout the majority of this game, but he came home strong with 2 try assists, 2 line break assists and 47 tackles to dramatically improve on his score from last week.

Reynolds proved why he should be hot on the radar of coaches in the next few rounds with another high 50s performance, and Cody Walker found the line twice in this game for another solid score (54).

Murray left a little to be desired after failing to crack 50 and Sam Burgess firms as a sell after managing just 40 points, despite playing 69 minutes and scoring a try. Finally, coaches who still have Corey Allan will be concerned after another performance that highlights his lack of base stats.

Broncos

It’s worrying times for the Broncos as this promising squad sits well outside the top 8 after 8 Rounds.

Jack Bird (66) continues to surprise coaches who thought he had reached his peak a fortnight ago with 13 tackle breaks. Bird has even pushed himself into Origin contention, while remaining as a definite hold in NRL Fantasy with a break even of 9.

McCullough (76) repaid coaches who were patient with him. Admittedly, it did take a little longer than expected from McCullough to get his NRL Fantasy boots on. However, with a three-game average of 57.7 he was starting to look like he was set to recoup the money lost to start the year in the next few rounds. However, in a cruel blow for owners, McCullough suffered an MCL injury at training and is now set to miss up to 8 weeks.

Haas (51) is playing more minutes than I had expected at this stage of the season. Over the past month, he has shown enough to indicate that he could become a genuine keeper.

Milford (59) has had some good Fantasy form over the past couple of rounds. Although, he will need to string together some more 50+ scores to be considered for my team, due to his inconsistency in past NRL Fantasy seasons. 

Popular cheapie, Tom Dearden (35) had a solid debut, and was one of the few shining lights for the Broncos. Dearden looks a good acquisition for any Fantasy squad as he looks to cement his place in the Broncos halves for the remainder of the season. It isn’t too late to pick him up this week with a price of $233,00 and break even of 3.

TPJ (36) is fast becoming one of the most frustrating NRL Fantasy players to own due to his inconsistency. Dubbed as a near must-have by many in the pre-season, he has certainly underwhelmed.

Cowboys (28) v. Titans (14)

1300SMILES Stadium | Friday, 3 May 2019

Cowboys

Jason Taumalolo made an immediate impact & proved to be exactly what this side has been missing in recent weeks by leading his team to a much needed victory over a struggling Titans side.

Once JT was confirmed to start at lock in final team lists, we put out a poll on Instagram asking whether or not our listeners thought he would crack 58 pts. And, unsurprisingly, the OTL community were spot on with 70% of respondents voting no. With that said, he certainly wasn’t far off.

So, let’s start with JT. Keep in mind, this was his first game back since suffering a some-what serious injury in Round 2. After getting an early handling error out the way, he got right to work.

In a damaging 60 minutes, Lolo notched up 54 NRL Fantasy points derived from 217 run metres, three tackle busts, 1 line break, 1 try and 20 tackles.

Take out your red marker pen and circle Jason Taumalolo for a trade in target before Round 12. With that said, he does come into Round 9 with a break even of 72, so you can certainly wait a week or two before pulling the trigger to ensure your acquiring him right as his price officially bottoms out.

Outside of this glittering performance, there wasn’t a whole lot of other talking points outside of the calf injury to McGuire suffered in the 29th minute and a stock standard score in the 40s we have come to expect from the still heavily owned Cowboys halfback, Michael Morgan.

Due to pending Origin duties and recent inability to crack the 50, it seems Morgan is a good 10 or so points behind the likes of Adam Reynolds and DCE (when fit). As a result, he looms as a sell to an established gun in the coming weeks.

Titans

Rein (55) is a certain hold until Peats returns with another impressive performance on the weekend, while Cartwright (34) is getting close to peaking and looms as a trade-out option for head to head players in the not too distant future.

The returning Proctor (63) has stepped up in the absence of the injured Ryan James. The 1.5% owners of owners will be hoping he can continue his recent run of form that has led to a three-game average of 56.3.

Arrow (67) carried out a strong performance with 211 running metres and 44 tackles and remains a premium 2RF player who should be on the radar of all coaches as a buy post Origin.

Brimson (64) and Taylor (49) saved their best performance of the season for the Cowboys. Brimson scored a try and provided a try assist and Taylor also had a try assist to his name.

While the ship has sailed now to acquire Rein and Cartwright, Arrow would be the only player from the Titans that should be on non-owners radars as a buy.

Sharks (20) v. Storm (18)

PointsBet Stadium | Friday, 3 May 2019

Sharks

John Morris’ best win as a head coach saw the Sharks defeat a disappointing Storm side. With the injury crisis at the Sharks, a number of promising young players have stepped up transitioned to first grade with ease. These performances will give plenty of coaches that own the likes of Xerri and Uele plenty of confidence over the upcoming rounds.  

Popular cheapie, Flanagan (40) showed why coaches were happy to pick him up despite a likely short stint of 4-5 weeks (while Johnson is out) with the top squad with another solid performance, and Bronson Xerri (30) is producing respectable scores from his base stats alone. Xerri has made $179,000 so far this season and looks to have the potential to make much more with a break even of 15 heading into Magic Round.

Popular captain option, Fifita played far less minutes than usual (51 minutes), which resulted in a lower score than we would normally expect from the barnstorming forward.  

Nikora (35) had a rare quiet night, whereas Capewell (34) firms as a trade as he seems to have plateaued in recent weeks.

Storm

Craig Bellemy will tell you, the Storm were a lot worse than what the scoreline reads in comparison to their well-documented professional standards.

With the exception of a late fight back in the final stages, the Storm never really clicked in attack and this is evident in the NRL Fantasy output of their primary attacking weapons in Munster (37) and Croft (36). Given Munster’s recent form, he remains a keeper for the season despite this rare low score and we get the feeling that Melbourne will bounce back in a big way in Round 9.

Cameron Smith got through plenty of work, but failed to mount any real attacking stats. As a result, he come away with a relatively low 50 NRL Fantasy points and would have disappointed those who captained him in this highly anticipated grudge match. Dale Finucane (59) bounced back to NRL Fantasy form after 3 poor scores and Kenny Bromwich keeps motoring along with another 61 points to his name. With still no sign of Joe Stimson, Bromwich looks good for plenty more points and price rises over the coming weeks and is positioned as one of the buys of the year for Fantasy coaches alongside the likes of Burr.

Raiders (30) v. Panthers (12)

McDonalds Park | Saturday, 4 May 2019

Raiders

Well, they got the win – but it come at a huge cost!

Everyone’s favourite dual CTW option, John Bateman left the field after just 26 minutes and simultaneously broke his cheek bone and the heart of several coaches that chose to captain him this week.

NRL Physio is estimating a 5 to 8 week recovery, so Bateman will likely be a sell for the majority of coaches this week. Unfortunately, this low score of 20 does see his price drop some $43k this week, but, nonetheless, there are plenty of great options at his price point.

On a positive note, Charnze Nicholl-Klokstad fought back from a dismal half time score (helped by an early-bin) to reach a respectable 41 points, and Josh Hodgson managed one of his best scores of the season with a handy 53 points on the back of 47 tackles.

Panthers

Cleary (53) capped off a solid Fantasy performance with a try and firms as a cut-price keeper option for head to head players at $701,000. With a three-game average of 57, Cleary is now causing coaches that moved him on early to regret the lack of faith shown in him.

Kikau (37) was brought down by yet another injury after 53 minutes of play, which was very disappointing as he had been earmarked by plenty of coaches to trade-in for round 9. In positive news, he has been named on an extended bench this week and doesn’t look set for an extended stint on the sidelines at this stage.

Tamou (78) was the Panther’s stand-out, while JFH (51) form has dipped recently with a three-game average of 47.3. I would not be looking at either as a POD option, instead, I would be prioritising Kikau (when fit), Lolo (next week) and Martin.    

Egan (36) continues to be a good interchange/emergency option for your Fantasy squad (if you already have him), while Aekins (26) is definitely in the no-go zone with a hefty price-tag of $538,000.

Sea Eagles (18) v. Bulldogs (10)

Lottoland | Saturday, 4 May 2019

Sea Eagles

The Sea Eagles resurgence continues with a scrappy win at home against the Bulldogs.

Garrick (63) was the surprise NRL Fantasy stand-out with a double and the kicking duties. Garrick is definitely a hold, however no other back-line players for the Sea Eagles are currently worth looking at.

Croker’s (17) injury has forced a reshuffle ahead of this weekend. Koroisau (26) shifts to Five Eighth and that opens the door for Fainu (64) to be promoted from the bench and take up the starting hooker role. Fainu has been impressive off the bench this season, with monstrous PPM displays over the past two rounds. In 54 minutes, he completed 30 tackles and four tackle breaks. Depending on the extent of Croker’s injury, he may present as a mid-range value pick-up for coaches, especially with his round 12 availability and break even of 28.

Taupau (48) scored amazingly well in 39 minutes. The most concerning aspect is still the lack of game time with Taupau now regularly playing less than 50 minutes. Luckily, he is arguably the best PPM player in the game, so his low scores are still solid and he remains a hold if you currently own him.

Waddell (38) proved he has plenty of money and points to offer owners again this week and enters Round 9 priced at $449,000 and with break even of 0.

Jurbo (53) continues to do what he does best with consistent 50 plus performances. If you don’t have him in your squad, you need to devise a plan to work him in now or post origin.

Bulldogs

Those who jumped on Corey Harawira-Naera would have been expecting more after he managed just 31 points in 80 minutes. On a positive note, irrespective of this low score, CHN’s price still climbed some $33k. Importantly, coaches will be hoping his 8 missed tackles on the weekend are a one-off and he can pick up some more of those attacking stats we seen in Round 7 (where he hit triple figures) in the coming weeks.

Jack Cogger has gone under the radar and hit another 50+ score, however we do expect him to make way for Foran next week or the week after as he looks to return from injury.

Tolman (41) only played the 50 minutes this week and this was reflected in his Fantasy score. Rhyse Martin failed to reach his BE of 50 with a score of 45, and as a result, looms as a great pickup ahead of Round 12. Finally, Lachlan Lewis fell short of the 50 mark again despite kicking for over 300 metres in this game. Those who own him will be hoping he returns to his 50+ scores we were seeing on a consistent basis with Keiran Foran in the side.

Roosters (42) v. West Tigers (12)

Sydney Cricket Ground | Saturday, 4 May 2019

Roosters

The Roosters vs West Tigers or A.K.A the Latrell Mitchell (98) show, was a great opportunity to see one of the NRL’s finest players produce an individual masterclass. Mitchell’s performance consisted of a hat-trick, try assist, 5 tackle breaks and 202 running metres. With the loss of Bateman for 6-8 weeks, Mitchell will be targeted by many coaches to fill the void.

Keary (32) and Cronk (37) are classic examples of great NRL players, who are not Fantasy relevant this season.

Radley (26) has been one of the most disappointing players this season. There was plenty of hype surrounding Radley before round one, however he hasn’t delivered in the absence of Friend.

Crichton (47) had a quiet game, but still remains a solid prospect to pick up at a discounted rate. However, currently not an urgent trade-in due to round 12 unavailability and Origin duties.

After last week’s performance, a lot of Fantasy coaches eyes were on Taukeiaho (31). Unfortunately, he had an underwhelming game with just 44 minutes required from the damaging middle forward.

West Tigers

I felt for the Tigers in this one, and in particular, poor Esan Marsters who had the very tough job of lining up against Latrell Mitchell.

They fought hard for much of the game, but it well and truly got away from them in the end. But, despite the scoreboard, there was still plenty of solid Fantasy scores for the joint venture.

We’ll start with one of the best from this year, Robbie Farah. He hurt many coaches a couple of weeks ago with an early exit on the back of a nasty head knock, but he repaid the faith again this week with a try and 65 points.

Farah’s score of 8 in Round 6 will drop out of his rolling average this week and as a result, his price has now officially bottomed out. He looks a great pickup this week for those head to head players looking to pick up a season-long keeper at a discount. It is worth noting, however, that Jacob Liddle is now on the bench for the Tigers and he does pose a threat to Farah’s minutes. With that said, Farah may still be a final 17 player even with just 70 minutes a game.

Alex Twal (62) bounced back to form with a 60+ score which was welcomed with open arms by coaches who have copped his high 30s to low 40 efforts over the last couple of weeks. Twal remains a hold should this form continue.

Luke Brooks has now hit back-to-back 50s and Ryan Matterson was seemingly unaffected by his positional switch to five-eighth after scoring a try and 60 NRL Fantasy points.

Esan Marsters was completely outclassed by his opposing Centre and had a rare off-night with just 14 points. Owners shouldn’t panic though, as I’d be surprised if Marsters fails to crack 20 again this year.

For those who will be considering a CTW as a replacement for Bateman, Marsters should come into consideration, alongside Mitchell, given his superb 2018 form.

Warriors (18) v. Knights (36)

Mt Smart Stadium | Sunday, 5 May 2019

Warriors

Unfortunately for the Warriors, they ran into a red-hot Knights team who have seemingly clicked in the gear and are running high on confident off the back of their leader, Mitchell Pearce.

It’s been widely publicised that Kodi Nikorima has signed with the Warriors (effective immediately) and unfortunately, this spells the end of a run for one of the most popular NRL Fantasy cheapies, Chanel Harris-Tevita.

Owners would have been hoping for one more big price rise before he is relegated back to Canterbury Cup, but the young HLF managed just 19 points after spending the last 12 minutes on the bench. Nonetheless, he has made $241,000 for Fantasy coaches and gives us more than a little money to play with in Round 9. The CHT & Bateman combo will be popular trade out option this week.

When looking at the remainder of the team, there really isn’t a lot to report on. RTS (33) had a rare off-game, but more importantly, seemed unaffected by his hamstring strain. Herbert scored a try and manged 30 points which will ensure that his price will continue to rise if he is able to keep Kata out of the team and Lachlan Burr exceeded his break even this week, but is edging closer to becoming a sell. If you started with Lachie Burr, take a bow as the journeyman has made a whopping $354,000 and has been one of the buys of the year.

Knights

The Pearce (74) resurgence continues, with one try and two try assists. A proven NRL Fantasy gun, this form is not a surprise. Pearce is still heavily under priced at $637,000 and with break even of 19, he looks to be a great upgrade target for halfbacks such as CHT and Morgan.

Ponga (61) continues as a must-have in the WFB position, while Klemmer (44) scored his first sub-50 performance. It will be interesting to see if this performance was a one-off, or if a dip in Fantasy form is imminent .

Eels (32) v. Dragons (18)

Bankwest Stadium | Sunday, 5 May 2019

Eels

The Eels are turning Bankwest Stadium into a fortress with another impressive display.

Gutherson (62) showed exactly why the Sea Eagles are interested in adding him to their squad with one try, 4 tackle breaks and 252 running metres.

Sivo has arguably been one of the most surprising NRL Fantasy factors this season with an average of 40.5. He remains a hold with a break even of (-2) and round 12 availability.

Moses (39) had a disappointing night considering the dominant win. It will be interesting to see if Moses maintains his impressive start to the season, as coaches seem to be getting cold feet already.

Mahoney (60) remains a hold, and could possibly become a genuine keeper if he maintains his recent three-game average form of 62.3. Whereas, Lane (34) looks to be heavily reliant on attacking stats in order to post impressive scores.

With the required trade-out of Bateman this week, Ferguson (44) becomes another options for coaches, behind both Marsters and Mitchell.

Dragons

A second victim of the Eels at Bankwest, the Dragons were gallant until the final whistle but just didn’t have quite enough strike power to manage a come-back against their in-form opposition.

The Dragons lost both Tyson Frizell (eye poke) and Corey Norman (fractured cheekbone) in this game and there were some ramifications for NRL Fantasy.

Namely, the minutes required of popular dual position cheapie, Blake Lawrie.

Lawrie smashed his 27 break even in this game by going more than a point a minute in a busy 57 minute stint and owners will be looking forward to the invaluable price rises to come.

NRL Physio’s assessment of Corey Norman’s cheek would see him sidelined anywhere between 2 – 6 weeks and this would likely see increased points for someone like Ben Hunt who would likely shoulder much more of the general kicking in his absence. Hunt, however, is destined for Origin this year and would be one to avoid for overall players.

The 5.61% of coaches that picked up Zac Lomax will take his score of 31 in a losing side, but will hold hope of some bigger games for the young CTW up against less formidable competition in the weeks to come. With a break even now of 1, Lomax is certain to make money and is positioned as a handy option in your emergencies for any WFB or CTW casualties.

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