NRL Fantasy Scout, Wicky & Kyle Bedford will be bringing you the most important news every week to help you with your NRL Fantasy teams!

This week, we cover our key players to buy, hold & sell + recapping how our teams went in Round 2 & key notes from all 16 teams playing this weekend.

Buy/Watch/Hold/Sell

Buys

Joey Lussick (HOK, $514K)

• After 2 weeks of solid minutes and scoring, Parra have decided to go with the 1 hooker, with Hands being dropped from the bench
• This means you can now be confident Lussick will play the full 80 minutes. Priced at 37, Lussick looks to be a potential 50+ average

Lachlan Galvin (HLF, $261K)

• Galvin looked great on debut in the halves and scored well (43 Points). Looks a good buy, and someone you can even play in your scoring 17

Kulikefu Finefeuiaki (EDG, $293K)

• Luki is set to miss 8 weeks with an ankle injury. Finefeuiaki has looked promising off the bench and scored well in his limited minutes
• With Gosiewski named on the bench, I’d expect around 35-40 Pts in 60 minutes

Ones to Watch

Terrell May (MID, $574K)

• May continues to impress, scoring well and getting solid minutes. However, there’s still plenty of doubt on whether these 50+ minute games will continue
• With some changes to the Roosters side this week, it looks very possible that one of Butcher/Watson/Crichton might steal some extra middle minutes off of Terrell May
• We think it’s okay to wait another week on him. If he sees big minutes yet again, he’s probably a borderline keeper so it’s fine to pick him up
• If his minutes drop down to 40-45, then you’ve dodged a bullet.

Mitch Kenny (HOK, $498K)

• Kenny looks set to continue playing 80 minutes with Daine Laurie named as the bench utility
• Although he’s not the most exciting fantasy option, Kenny is capable of averaging 45+ in 80 minutes
• The risk here is the possibility of Soni Luke returning to the bench, or Daine Laurie getting a run at hooker off the bench

Holds

Jacob Liddle (HOK, $588K)

• Liddle will miss this week with a concussion. No need to panic here, as he looks to be a solid scorer

Sitili Tupouniua (MID/EDG, $408K)

• After playing just 62 minutes last week, he looks like a possible sell. However, priced at just 30, he probably has slight value even if playing just 60mins
• With Wong dropped for Crichton, we expect Tupouniua to continue to get 60 minutes, but it’s not a bad idea to hold onto him as it’s possible he could still get an 80 minute role
• Even with 60 minutes, he’s bound to score a couple tries and do okay for your team while you deal with other issues

Kalyn Ponga (WFB, $705k)

• A couple low scores for Ponga as he starts to lose cash. Knights come up against a weakened Melbourne team this week, where I’d be holding Ponga
• He has a 35 and 39 with minimal attacking stats, which is unlikely to continue. Most people have bigger issues than trading out a Ponga too

Brandon Smith (HOK/MID, $558K)

• Minutes have been Smith’s issue so far. But with Keary out this week with a concussion, Sandon Smith has moved into the halves and Connor Watson onto the bench
• It’s possible that Brandon Smith sees some more minutes this week if Watson is used as a middle forward rather than a bench hooker
• If you’ve got more pressing issues to deal with, there’s no harm in giving Cheese another week

Cameron McInnes (MID, $688k)

• After getting just 40 and 48 minutes in Rounds 1 and 2, McInnes is worth holding for now
• Briton Nikora is suspended for 2 games, which has seen Williams move to the back row, with Billy Burns added to the bench
• This now means there’s one less middle forward on the bench, and potentially more minutes available for Cam McInnes. Definitely worth holding to find out

Zac Hosking  (EDG, $697K)

• After starting the season on fire, Hosking has been benched in favour of captain, Elliot Whitehead
• We expect Hosking to get decent minutes off the bench and continue to rise in price with a breakeven of just 5. Do not sell, Do not buy

Sells

Helium Luki  (EDG, $492K)

• Luki is set to miss 8 weeks with an ankle injury. Sell

Siua Wong (EDG, $475K)

• Wong has been dropped which was unexpected. Although he had been scoring well, he was looking like a 40-45 minute player. Wong looks like an easy sell

Jack De Bellin (MID, $751K)

• JDB’s minutes are a real concern here, playing just 57 and 51 minutes in the first 2 rounds, which has seen his price begin to drop
• In order for JDB to be decent value, you need him playing 65+ mins
• This looks an obvious sell and one to keep an eye on if his minutes to pick up again as he has the potential to a gun scorer with big minutes

Kyle Flanagan (HLF, $371K)

• This isn’t an urgent sell at all as it’s likely he’ll continue to make some cash slowly
• However, it’s not looking great for Flanno, with a 36 with Try and Try save, followed by a 25 with a Try save
• He’s getting barely any kick metres and their fixtures are beginning to get more difficult
• He’s a possible sell to one of the cheapies mentioned above if you don’t have more pressing issues.

Payne Haas (MID, $897k)

• Ruled out for 4-6 weeks, can’t afford to keep that amount of money on the sidelines for that long. Sell

Panthers v Broncos

Thu 21/3, 8pm

Panthers

Fisher-Harris is out with injury this week, with Linday Smith starting. Smith and Henry could potentially see an increase in minutes, but JFH’s injury is too short term to make either of them viable.

Laurie on the bench again, which should see Kenny play 80 minutes or close to it. Kenny could be a good option, averaging 46.3 in games where he plays 70+ mins.

Broncos

Piakura bounced back nicely, scoring 40, which halts his price drops and sets him on an upwards trajectory.

Haas had a slightly down score due to an injury, but is named to start this week – hopefully he’s all good to play. (UPDATE: Haas has been ruled out for 4-6 weeks – Sell!)

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Warriors v Raiders

Fri 22/3, 6pm

Warriors

Good news for Tuaupiki owners, with CNK’s return delayed for at least another 2-3 weeks.

Tohu Harris only scored 36 last week, but played lower mins as a result of a HIA – expect him to bounce back.

Raiders

Zac Hosking is a shock omission from the Raiders starting side, with Elliott Whitehead pushing him to the bench. Hosking’s BE is only 5, so is still definitely a hold for at least this week.

Fogarty, Smithies, Rapana, Strange and Levi all continue to score well and make money for their owners. Cotric also comes back into the side for Kris.

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Roosters v Rabbitohs

Fri 22/3, 8pm

Roosters

Siua Wong has been dropped completely in disappointing news for owners, with Nat Butcher promoted to the starting side and Angus Crichton coming onto the bench. Terrell May has moved back to the bench, with JWH starting.

Connor Watson is also a new face on the bench, with Sandon Smith starting at 6 due to Keary’s absence. Watson’s presence on the bench could potentially mean lower minutes for May.

Rabbitohs

Jack Wighton comes into the side at centre for his first game for the club – should get the CTR position in the Round 7 DPP updates. Ilias dropped for Hawkins, whilst Murray goes back to lock with Host coming onto the edge.

Hopefully no one jumped on Duncan, who for now looks set to be relegated to a low min bench role. Tatola ‘bounced’ back with a 40, but still hard to see much upside going forward.

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Bulldogs v Titans

Sat 23/3, 3pm

Bulldogs

Curran and Mann continue to shine, but both games so far Bulldogs have had injuries, with Addo-Carr going off at HT in Rd 1 and Faamausili after 15 seconds in Rd 2. This has given Curran and Mann inflated minutes – if no injuries were to occur it’s hard to see them playing anything close to what they’re currently getting.

Salmon, Hutchison and Hughes have been slow burners so far, but a game against the Titans presents a good opportunity for some solid scores.

Wouldn’t panic with Kiraz either, scored 25 but would’ve scored 45 without demerits (including 7 MT’s). 

Titans

No signs of Campbell or Fifita yet, with Kini and Haas getting another week. Not too much else fantasy relevant at the Titans currently.

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Dragons v Cowboys

Sat 23/3, 5:30 pm

Dragons

Jacob Liddle is out, with Jesse Marschke starting, but Liddle’s absence is likely too short term to make Marshcke an option.

Leilua has come into the starting side, but doesn’t appear to have much value at this stage.

Moses Suli appears to be a dud for anyone who jumped on.

Flanagan is still a hold with a BE of 23, though he needs a decent score this week.

Cowboys

Luki is out for the next 6-8 weeks, with Finefeuiaki getting the start. Jack Gosiewski is on the bench and will take mins off him, so he doesn’t look like a slam dunk pick, but still a good option all things considered.

Cotter saw increased game time, scoring 67 in 66 mins – long may it continue.

McIntyre was looking like a potential option after Rd 1, but a 10 pointer in 16 mins has put that well and truly to bed.

West Tigers v Sharks

Sat 16/3, 7.35 pm

West Tigers

Lachlan Galvin maintains the 6 jersey, with Sezer overtaking Sullivan at halfback. Galvin looks like a great option, scoring 43 on debut – pretty much all through base.

Koroisau played the full 80 in Round 2, scoring a try on his way to 58 in good signs for owners.

Anyone who jumped on Seyfarth must be in a world of pain. Samuela Fainu saw big mins, but don’t expect it to continue as Bateman played centre after To’a went off injured, with Fainu playing on the edge.

Sharks

Nikora is out, with Jack Williams surprisingly replacing him at second row, and Billy Burns coming onto the interchange.

This could potentially be good for McInnes, with one fewer middle on the bench.

Eels v Sea Eagles

Sun 24/3, 4.05pm

Eels

Big news here with Brendan Hands dropping off the bench, meaning Joey Lussick looks set for a 80 min role. Has scores of 44 and 61 in the opening 2 weeks, with his price already moving quickly upwards.

The removal of Hands and the addition of Moretti likely spells bad news for the minutes of the middle forwards however, with the likes of Hopgood potentially seeing a decrease.

Sea Eagles

Talau is out of the team after 1 week – you can’t say we didn’t warn you 😉

Burbo continues to make good money, even after spending some time at centre due to Talau’s injury. Schuster did not impress in NSW Cup over the weekend, so Burbo’s spot is looking very safe at this stage.

Knights v Storm

Sun 24/3, 6.15 pm

Knights

Jackson Hastings has been (harshly) dropped, with Cogger replacing him. Cogger is quite expensive at $571k as a result of some big scores last year at Penrith, so he’s not an option currently.

Jayden Brailey makes his long awaited return off the bench – hopefully he can drop some cash over the next few weeks, and then get a starting role in the not too distant future.

Elliott had a monster score in Round 2, but did score 2 tries + inflated mins from Hetherington injury and extra time.

Storm

Munster remains out, with Hughes now joining him on the sidelines, meaning Storm will line up with Pezet and Wishart in the halves.

Papenhuyzen was electric against the Warriors, scoring 81 and setting up some nice price rises in weeks to come.

Grant has been relatively quiet to start the season, but remains the best HOK in the game. Chan looks set for a nice increase in price after scoring 35.

Team Recaps

Kyle – Baby Face Leota

RD2 Score – 800

Overall Rank – 13,853

General Thoughts

A real up and down Round. Some great scores from guys like Hosking, Papi and Cotter, an unfortunate injury to Luki, and some underwhelming scores from guys like Ponga, Kiraz, Cleary, Tupouniua, Murray, Smith, Hutch and Flanno.

I’m concerned about the lack of minutes for Tupouniua and Smith, as well as the poor scoring on my bench.

Trade Thoughts

After making 0 trades last round, I wish I could make 4 this round. There’s plenty of guys I’d be considering to trade out if I could, but the main guys on the chopping block are Luki, Tupouniua, Smith, and Flanagan.

I’m happy to hold Murray, Ponga, Kiraz after poor scores in losses. Murray unfortunately played the majority of last week’s game on the edge, but looks to be back at lock this week.

Initial trade thoughts are Luki and Flanagan to J.Lussick and Galvin. Lussick looks to be getting the 80min Hooker role which puts him at great value, whilst Galvin looked great on debut at such a cheap price.

If I could do another trade I’d probably do Tupouniua to Finefeuiaki, but will have to wait a week on that.

Alessandro – NRL Fantasy Scout

RD 2 Score – 772

Overall Rank – 42,645

General Thoughts

A fairly average round for me with 772 – were some shining lights like Cotter, Koroisau, Papenhuyzen, Fogarty and Strange, but also quite a few disappointing scores.

Not hitting panic stations just yet though, and am prepared to give everyone another week to prove themselves. Unfortunate having Luki in my scoring 17, but not much I could do about that.

At least my loop with Strange worked out well. Not having Hosking hurt my rank quite a bit, but now in hindsight it looks like a masterstroke not starting with him.

Trade Thoughts

Trades this week for me are pretty straight forward in terms of who I want to buy – not so much the selling part though. Will most likely be selling Haas and Luki, and using Niu as a looper. Most likely replacements will be Galvin and Lussick, though nothing is locked in.

Flanagan, Hutchison and Tupouniua are on their last legs – will give them all another week or two to prove themselves.

Finefeuiaki is also someone I want to buy, but happy to wait a week as I feel like Galvin and Lussick are more urgent, in addition to the fact I want to see how Gosiewski affects his mins.  

With Haas’ injury, will look to target a gun MID probably next round, will wait and see how the likes of Yeo, Carrigan, Hopgood, Murray etc go this week.

Always post my team and trades to my story before the Round starts, so if you want to see what I do every week check out my page – @NRL Fantasy Scout on Instagram.

 

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