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

Buys/Ones to Watch/Holds/Sells

Buys

Angus Crichton (EDG, $477K)

• Crichton scored 59 in Round 5 and 61 in Round 6
• After concerns on his minutes, we saw Nat Butcher was the man subbed off for Tupouniua last week which is a good sign for Angus
• There is A LOT of value here if he continues to play 80 mins

Kayal Iro (CTR, $318K)

• Iro scored 40 points almost solely in base stats last round which is great signs for his scoring
• He is also yet to record a missed tackle. At such a cheap price and a low breakeven, Iro looks close to must-have
• The only issue is if he’ll hold the spot with Talakai lurking on the bench, but things are looking positive for now. Buying Iro looks well worth the risk

Kieran Foran (HLF, $394K)

• Tanah Boyd being dropped has seen Foran take on a bigger and better role for this Titans side. He scored 70 points last week and is set to rise in cash
• When partnered with Boyd, Foran averages just 95 kick metres per game. Last week, partnered with Brimson, Foran kicked for 662 metres
• We wouldn’t expect numbers like that, but a 400 KM average certainly seems realistic. That would be a 10-point increase in his fantasy scoring
• Add to this the increased touches he’ll get + possibility of more TA’s, there looks to be solid value here
• There is some risk though, with Foran’s injury history and the chance of Boyd/Weaver being recalled into the side/Brimson moving out of the halves

Corey Waddell (MID/EDG, $425K)

• Waddell has the starting edge spot with Burbo out for the next 3 weeks. It looks like he’ll get 80 minutes on the edge
• He averages 48 pts when playing 70+ mins on the edge (2023-2024 stats), so should see around $100-125k of price rises over the next 3-4 weeks
• With Burbo only out for 3 weeks, it’s now or never for Waddell and you cannot afford a bad score with such a short timeframe
• There is a slight chance he can even hold the spot when Burbo returns also

Tom Chester (WFB/CTR, $377K)

• Chester has just been given the WFB/CTR DPP, which is very handy, especially over the Origin period
• He’s been given the centre spot with Laybutt out for the season. He should be able to average at least 35 points which would see him make about 100k
• However, it’s his DPP and availability in Round 13 and 14 which is most valuable.

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Ones to Watch

Chevy Stewart (WFB, $239K)

• Stewart was solid without being spectacular on debut, scoring 26
• 26 in 90 mins is a bit disappointing to be honest, but hard to read into whether that’s how he’ll score going forward
• Albert Hopoate is still not back, and there is a concern Stewart could lose his spot when he returns. Would continue to monitor at this stage

AJ Brimson (HLF/WFB, $479k)

• Brimson looks to be the Titans #6 going forward, with Foran moving to halfback and Boyd not in the picture
• He scored 46 on the weekend, though he did move to fullback after Campbell’s injury
• Has a career average of 42 at five-eighth, which probably is just not enough to make him worthwhile, but one to keep an eye on if he can get up to that 45-50 sort of range

David Fifta (EDG, $807k)

• Despite the Titans woes, Fifita has impressed, showing more involvement than perhaps he usually does
• He has played 55, 80 and 67 mins so far, yet is still averaging 55
• This is also good in terms of his price, as it’s slowly coming down. Hopefully he continues to drop over the coming weeks, and then we can pick him up for a nice discount

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Holds

Cameron Murray (MID, $753K)

• Murray was forced off due to a failed HIA last week. Fortunately, Souths are on the bye this week so there’s no real impact to fantasy teams
• With games against Melbourne and Penrith straight after the bye, he should lift his scoring and be a reliable option up until the Origin period
• However, if you need the funds elsewhere, it’s not a crazy move to sell.

Api Koroisau (HOK, $676K)

• Koroisau has now returned 3 consecutive scores under 45, with many owners maybe thinking of selling
• In our opinion, there isn’t really a reason to panic just yet. Round 4, he had 7 missed tackles, cut those out and he hits 50
• Round 5, he played only 65 mins, plus he was in major doubt for the game and was clearly injured
• Round 6, Tigers were just pretty terrible
• Now with Galvin and Bateman back, Tigers look like a much better team, and should improve
• Wait and see how he goes in the next couple games, and then reassess

Brandon Smith (HOK/MID, $605K)

• Brandon Smith benefited from Dockar-Clay being on the bench last week, playing bigger minutes than usual
• He also scored a try, giving him a score of 65. His BE is now fairly low, so can be held another week
• Beware that Sam Walker is lurking in the reserves however, when he returns Connor Watson will go back to #14, likely taking more significant minutes off the Cheese

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Sells

Drew Hutchison (HLF, $450K)

• Hutcho is starting to lose cash and has a bye in 2 weeks time. Definitely a sell either this week or next

Ben Trbojevic (EDG/CTR, $362K)

• It’s time to sell Burbo. After making $112K, his time is up as he’s picked up a hamstring injury and will be out for 3 weeks

Jayden Campbell (WFB, $494K)

• Campbell picked up the goal kicking last round but also pickled up a knee injury which will see him out for a month
• Look to sell and use the cash elsewhere, then consider buying back in Round 14 after their bye if he looks good

Blaize Talagi (CTR, $324K)

• Picked on the bench this week, however that actually is bad news for Fantasy
• It’s hard to see him playing many minutes, and it’s very realistic that he scores in the single digits. Sell before he starts dropping cash.

Danny Levi (HOK, $383K)

• Levi looks to be at the end of the road in terms of his money making, recording a -$1k loss last round
• His BE is 28 now, which is still achievable, but it’s hard to see him making much more money. Not urgent, but is probably a sell

Team Recaps

Kyle – Baby Face Leota

RD 6 Score – 906

Overall Rank – 408

General Thoughts

Although a good score, a frustrating week after trading out B. Smith and Kiraz (65 & 55) for Hynes (C) and Iro.

Hynes was underwhelming but I still think these trades will turn out well long term.

The rank has been pretty stable the last couple weeks, but the team is coming together nicely.

Will start to look toward Origin planning and hopefully ease up on trades in a week or two.

Trade Thoughts

Initial thoughts are to trade out B. Trbojevic and Hutchison. I have just enough cash to grab A. Crichton and Foran which I like the look of at the moment.

I think I’ll hold Murray for the time being and look to offload him closer to Origin.

Only issue is no WFB/CTR cover, but there looks to be a few cheap options around and I’ll look to grab one probably next week.

Alessandro – NRL Fantasy Scout

RD 6 Score – 940

Overall Rank – 6399

General Thoughts

Really good round, scoring 940 and moving up 8k ranks.

Fogarty captain was great. Bought KPP for Tupouniua which couldn’t have turned out much better.

Only real poor scores were Hutchison and Levi, but everyone else’s score was serviceable.

Will look to break into the top 5k in the coming weeks.

Trade Thoughts

Lots of options I can go with this week. I like the look of pretty much all the buys listed in this article, so my main issue is choosing who to prioritise.

Think I’m leaning towards Crichton, Iro and Waddell at this stage, and then just getting Chester next week.

Probably gonna give Foran a miss due to the injury risk + the uncertainty surrounding who will be his halves partner going forward, but if those factors weren’t an issue I do really like him as well.

I have a similar conundrum in terms of who to sell as well, with Hutchison, Levi, Burbo and Talagi all needing to go.

Not sure who I’m going to pick yet. Really didn’t want to have to use 3 trades this week but I think I have to. 

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.

 

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