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 4 & key notes from all 16 teams playing this week.

Buys/Ones to Watch/Holds/Sells

Buys

Dylan Brown (HLF, $665k)

• Brown looks a clear buy with Moses injured
• After scoring 61 last round and his price bottoming out, he should be a gun scorer and make 100k+ before Moses returns

Blaize Talagi (CTR, $301K)

• Talagi looks to have the 6 jersey until Moses returns from injury
• After scoring 34 points vs the Tigers without much attacking stats, it looks like he’ll have no trouble averaging 30+
• Given he can play CTR over the likes of Burbo or Strange, he looks a solid buy with plenty of cash to be made

Clint Gutherson (WFB, $586k)

• Gutherson could arguably be an even bigger beneficiary of Moses’ injury than Dylan Brown, after scoring a very impressive 65 on the weekend
• Gutho was involved in everything against the Tigers – goal kicking, tries, try assists and even general play kicking. If that is a sign of things to come, he looks near must have

Kai Pearce – Paul (EDG, $585k)

• KPP looks to have made that edge spot his own, locking down an 80 minute role and looking solid
• Priced at 41.5, KPP looks like he could average 50+ if he’s consistently getting 80 mins on the edge
• This season he has averaged 53.5 points per 80 mins and is yet to record a try or assist. He looks like a great buy and a potential keeper on the edge.

Follow @NRLFantasyScout on Instagram!

Ones to Watch

Jayden Campbell (WFB, $453k)

• Campbell is priced at just 32 points, yet averages 45+ when playing at fullback over the last 2 seasons. He scored 27 points in his return game from injury last week
• If you desperately need a WFB, he’s a decent buy, but if you can afford to wait, we recommend you do so
• Titans look like a struggling side at the moment, so it’s worth watching a few games from Campbell to see if he’s able to put out decent scores after returning from injury

Angus Crichton (EDG, $437k)

• This is an exciting one. Gus has been a fantasy gun for many seasons on the edge and has finally got the starting spot back in the Roosters side
• Given that Tupouniua is on the bench, it’s worth giving this at least a week to get an idea of how many minutes Gus will get
• If he gets an 80 minute role, he’s an absolute must-have and would likely average 55+. Definitely one to watch

Shawn Blore (EDG, $518K)

• Shawn Blore has maintained the starting edge role, with Joe Chan nowhere to be seen
• Blore averages 46 when playing 70+ mins in the backrow, priced at 37 this gives him close to 10 points of value
• He did only score 35 in Round 3 against the Knights though, so continue to monitor

Josh Curran (MID/EDG, $586K)

• Curran appears to have won Jacob Preston’s vacant backrow spot
• With Preston set for a 6 week stint on the sideline as a result of a fractured jaw, Curran could present some nice value
• When playing 60 or more minutes on the edge, Curran averages 53.5. If he could continue that sort of past scoring, he would be a great buy

Join Wicky’s NRL Fantasy League!

Holds

Lachlan Galvin (HLF, $405K)

• Galvin faces a 2-week suspension, but is a hold for sure
• After rising in price by 70k this week, he’ll only continue to rise and is looking like a solid fantasy scorer. Do not sell

Jaeman Salmon (EDG/MID, $361K)

• After putting up his lowest score of the year with 21, you may be looking to sell. But Salmon was forced to spend time at centre due to other injuries last round
• Now with Preston out, Curran is set to start on the edge, which may see Salmon pick up some more minutes in the middle
• Whether this is the case or not, Salmon still has plenty of cash to make before he’s a sell

Kulikefu Finefeuiaki (EDG, $358K)

• Finefeuiaki scored just 26 points last round, but he played 67 minutes which is promising
• He may have a few sub 30 games but we expect him to grab another try or two before Luki returns from injury. He should continue to rise in price

Joey Lussick (HOK $525K)

• Lussick was a popular buy a few weeks back and hasn’t delivered. After scores of 28 and 22 in the last 2 weeks, he’s approaching sell territory
• He played just 60 mins last round with Hands on the bench, but should go back to an 80 minute role this week with no bench hooker
• Most fantasy teams have other issues to deal with, so it’s worth holding Lussick for now to see if he can turn it around

Sam Hughes (MID $278K)

• Hughes scored a dismal 8 in Round 4, which hurt even more as a lot of people had him in their scoring 17
• Despite this score, Hughes has now managed to get a starting role, which presents the opportunity for some extra minutes
• Even if he were to get just 30 mins, with his PPM of 1 he should be able to score 30, which would kick start some price rises

Want to chat about the NRL with 3,800+ like-minded sports fans? Come join Wicky’s free Discord community!

Sells

Sitili Tupouniua (MID/EDG, $416K)

• Sitili has been dropped to the bench in favour of Crichton this week. Last week he escaped with 32 points including a try
• It’s time to sell if you haven’t already before he starts to put out sub-20 point scores and lose cash

Brandon Smith (HOK/MID, $585K)

• Smith is another that escaped with a try last week. He was able to put up 49 points which is a solid score at his price, but the worry here is his minutes
• He looks to have a 50 minute role, which just isn’t enough at this price. It looks inevitable he’ll put out some scores in the 30’s and begin to drop in price soon
• He’s not an urgent sell as he’s capable of scoring around 40 points and can find the try line, but he’s a sell when you get a chance to do so

Zac Hosking (EDG, $745k)

• Unfortunately Hosking was ruled out with a Cat-1 HIA last round which resulted in a low score and him being ruled out this week
• With Whitehead preferred to him when fit, it looks like this may be the peak price for Hosking and the end of his high scoring spree. Look to cash out and spend elsewhere

Morgan Smithies (EDG/MID, $563K)

• The return of Corey Horsburgh has appeared to kill Smithies fantasy prospects, with Smithies dropping down to a season low 56 minutes last week
• Not an urgent sell but there are much better options elsewhere. 

Joe Chan (EDG, $295K)

• Chan has not been named, with Shawn Blore appearing to have overtaken him in the second row rankings. Simple sell

Team Recaps

Kyle – Baby Face Leota

RD 4 Score – 769

Overall Rank – 299

General Thoughts

 Another decent round continuing to climb the ranks. Very happy with May who I traded in, but a little frustrated with Turbo who I also traded in over Gutho/Campbell.

Still an okay score and good to not have to worry about the WFB position for a while. I ended up keeping Piakura who I’ll likely hold until he returns from injury.

A few guys who are on or near the chopping block are: Hosking, Tupouniua, B.Smith and Lussick.

I’m pretty happy with where I sit rank-wise and feel I’m in a decent position to push toward the top 100 over the next couple rounds.

Trade Thoughts

Fairly simple trades this week as opposed to last week (for the moment at least). It looks like Hosking’s time is up as he’s out with the Cat.1 HIA, along with Tupouniua who’s been benched this week.

Brandon Smith is fortunately scoring well enough for now, but I’ll look to move him on soon due to the lack of minutes. Lussick is another I’ll monitor over the next week or so.

My trades will most likely be Hosking and Tupouniua to Dylan Brown and Kai Pearce-Paul. This gives me 2 guys who should both score well and make plenty of cash, as well as strengthen some weaker positions in my side at the moment.

Alessandro – NRL Fantasy Scout

RD 4 Score – 752

Overall Rank – 3565

General Thoughts

Solid round for my team, scoring 752, and moving up a further 3,000 odd ranks to take me inside the top 5k for the first time this season.

Super happy with the players I bought, in Gutho and May. Can’t believe Gutho went so under the radar, was only 0.9% owned last week despite having an insane average without Moses.

Fogarty captain worked out well, with him continuing to rack up a mountain of base stats. Usual suspects in Hughes, Salmon, Tupouniua, Burbo and Lussick with disappointing scores. All of them are pretty much borderline sells at this stage for me.

Hopefully I can continue to rise – I am yet to have a week where I’ve fallen in ranks!

Trade Thoughts

My trade ins are fairly locked this week – will almost certainly be the 2 Parra halves Dylan Brown and Blaize Talagi.

Am looking at getting in KPP as well as a gun MID or EDG in the near future, but not my priority this week.

Trade outs though are not as straight forward – Tupouniua, Hughes, Burbo, Lussick, Niu, Piakura and Chan all on my sell radar.

Currently leaning towards Tupouniua and Chan, but could honestly be a combination of any of the players listed. 

I 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.

 

If you want to follow more of our NRL analysis throughout the season or any of our other work at Wicky, please reach out via email or on social media.