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

Buys/Ones to Watch/Holds/Sells

Buys

Reece Walsh (WFB, $614K)

• Walsh has dropped quite a bit of cash in recent weeks, as a result of his 4 minute game in Round 3
• His BE is now 44, and coming off the back of a score of 73, his price now looks like it’s heading back up
• Many people will be looking for a Ponga replacement, and he shapes as an ideal candidate

Nathan Cleary (HLF, $940K)

• Cleary is making his long awaited return from injury, after missing 4 rounds with a hamstring injury
• Panthers are versing the Cowboys this week, which is a juicy matchup. Cleary does have a BE of 78 though, so it is fine to wait a week in the hopes he comes down a little in price
• There is also some concern that he may not do as much kicking due to the hamstring injury, but still he’s someone you want in your team sooner rather than later 

Nicho Hynes (HLF, $925K)

• Hynes is probably the clear best buy in the game right now, especially after his halves partner Braydon Trindall has been stood down for an off-field incident
• There is no timeframe currently on how long Trindall will be out for, but you would imagine it would be at least a few weeks
• Hynes’ average without Trindall is much higher than his average with Trindall, so there looks to be a lot of upside for Nicho
• Playing alongside Atkinson, you would think he has an even bigger playmaking role in terms of kick metres, receipts etc. At this stage Hynes looks close to must have

Payne Haas (MID, $897K)

• Haas, like Cleary, is also back from an extended lay off. Similarly to Cleary, Haas’ BE is quite high (69) so there isn’t really any rush
• There is also a chance that he sees reduced mins as he builds back up match fitness, especially in games where Broncos are winning comfortably
• Versing the Tigers this week, there’s a good chance of that happening. Good buy but not urgent

Brendan Piakura (EDG, $361K)

• Many people would’ve held Piakura, but we’re including him for those who maybe sold, as he still has a lot value in him
• Should hopefully average low 40’s, which would see him rise 100-150k in the next 4-5 weeks

Kayal Iro (CTR, $366K)

• Iro looks to have made that centre spot his own. If you don’t have him yet, this may be the last chance before his price gets too high

Tom Chester (WFB/CTR, $405K)

• Chester’s score of 35 last week was perhaps his most impressive, due to the fact that the Cowboys got absolutely destroyed by the Sharks
• Has been super consistent thus far, and looks set to make steady cash for the foreseeable future. He also provides great cover for the upcoming Origin bye rounds

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Ones to Watch

Samuela Fainu (MID/EDG, $435K) / John Bateman (EDG, $626K)

• Fainu has been named as the starting edge, with Bateman moving to lock
• We think this could potentially bode really well for both of their prospects, though for now its best to wait and see on their mins
• We’re projecting around 60 mins for both, which probably is enough to make them value still, but the safe play is to watch for now

Kaeo Weekes (HLF/WFB, $252K)

• Weekes has won the halfback jersey, following Fogarty’s bicep injury. At $252k, Weekes really doesn’t have to do too much to be a worthwhile pick
• If he can just pick up some of Fogarty’s kick metres, and get through his tackles, we think 30-35 would be a reasonable average for him
• At that avg he would make $100k over the next month or so. Safe play is to wait and see how he goes this week however, especially in terms of how him and Strange split the playmaking
• Round 10 bye is a consideration as well

Briton Nikora (EDG, $602K)

• Nikora has had a pretty quiet start to the season thus far, averaging just 37.3
• As a result, he has lost $120k on his starting price, with his price probably close to bottoming out
• Just one to keep an eye out if he starts turning around his scores, especially given he averaged 52.5 ppg last season

Jayden Brailey (HOK, $462K)

• Brailey has been on our radar for a while, and last weekend he finally played 80 mins for the first time this season
• This was as a result of a few injuries, but it is still promising signs. He has dropped a lot of money also, sitting now at $462k which is very appealing for a player of his calibre
• Wait and see however if 80 min is the new norm for him, or if it was just a once-off. 

Daniel Atkinson (HLF/WFB, $239K)

• Atkinson is the new 6 at the Sharks, replacing Trindall. Don’t have much first grade data on him other than a few small minute bench appearances, which we can’t really read into much
• In terms of NSW Cup data, he’s averaging 40.2 ppg so far in 2024
• If he can translate that into first grade that would be great, but it’s hard to see him getting an average that high when he won’t have much base playing alongside Hynes
• Trindall’s time frame is also unknown, so best to wait and see for now.

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Holds

Joey Lussick (HOK, $527K)

• Lussick has been a frustrating watch over recent weeks. He’s shown signs of good scoring but seems to be halted by demerits
• He should be able to at least hold his value and is an okay hold until a better hooker option presents itself. He’ll be a handy asset come round 13
• He also interestingly scores better when Hands is on the bench – whether that will continue however is anyone’s guess.

Clint Gutherson (WFB, $537K)

• Guntherson has been underwhelming in recent weeks. It’s been reported he’s dealing with a knee injury which is a concern
• Usually this would be a sign to sell, however it’s also been reported Gutherson will likely move into the halves very soon
• This would likely see his fantasy scoring improve with a rise of tackles and kick metres
• Assuming most teams have to deal with Ponga and/or Fogarty this week, it’s worth holding onto Gutho for now to see where he lines up next round

Api Koroisau (HOK, $644K)

• Api has had a couple down weeks and has begun to lose cash, but we recommend holding
• Api will relish off the back of attacking stats when Tigers win games. Although they face a tough Broncos team this week, their following 4 fixtures are fairly kind
• With not a lot of options at hooker currently, Api looks like a hold up until Origin

Morgan Smithies (EDG/MID, $613K)

• Smithies was down on minutes last week which impacted his fantasy scoring. Although not ideal, he’s not an urgent sell
• Give him another week and sort out more pressing issues this week. If his minutes are down again this week, sell before the bye

Sells

Jamal Fogarty (HLF, $750K)

• Fogarty is out long term with a Bicep injury. Look to sell and use the cash elsewhere

Kalyn Ponga (WFB, $757K)

• Ponga is also out long term, potentially for the season with a Foot injury. Look to use his cash elsewhere

Cameron McInnes (MID, $719K)

• McInnes was a beneficiary of the big injury list the Sharks were hit with for the last few weeks
• However, they are now back at full strength which likely sees McInnes’ minutes drop down from 60-65 to 50-55
• He’s started to lose cash and it’s likely this will continue. Again, it’s okay to wait a week to deal with other issues, but he’ll need to be sold soon

Kyle Flanagan (HLF, $438K)

• Flanagan has done his job, making just over $100K with the boost of a couple of tries
• But after a 13 on the weekend, he’ll start dropping cash fast. Look to sell this week if you can

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Team Recaps

Kyle – Baby Face Leota

RD 7 Score – 798

Overall Rank – 288

General Thoughts

Pretty happy with the team this week, apart from the injury blows to Fogarty and Ponga. I ended up trading in Crichton, Chester and Waddell, who all impressed.

I was happy to see Hynes bounce back after a down score last week too. Hopefully I can continue to rise the ranks and push toward the top 100 as we approach the Origin period.

Trade Thoughts

The only urgent trades are Fog and Ponga. I’ve got exactly $0 in the bank, so will likely go to one gun and one cheapie.

I’m considering one of Cleary, SJ, Tohu or J.Hughes as a gun to trade in. Cleary is obviously the best scorer, but the others would have me setup well for the byes.

If I choose to use another trade I’ll probably look to move Ponga to one of Weekes or Atkinson (however I’d like to wait a week if possible).

Alessandro – NRL Fantasy Scout

RD 6 Score – 672

Overall Rank – 13632

General Thoughts

Really poor week where not much went right. All the Eels guys (Lussick, Brown and Gutho) were massively disappointing. Brown was nearly an absolute disaster as captain, his try right at the death rescued his score.

May lost minutes again. Fogarty and Ponga picked up serious injuries. Koroisau was average, and Flanagan scored terribly.

All the guys I bought however went pretty well, in Waddell, Crichton and Iro. Have been carrying quite a bit of money in the bank for a while, as well as being cautious and saving trades where possible.

From now on, I think I’m going to start going aggressive with my trades, as I really need to start rising ranks.

Trade Thoughts

Fogarty, Ponga, Flanagan and Burbo all the obvious trade outs from my team, with Lussick, Koroisau, May and Gutho all in consideration as well.

In terms of buys am looking at Hynes, Cleary, Haas, Chester, Fainu, Bateman and Weekes.

Lots of different options I can go with, not sure what direction I’ll go in yet. Ideally was going to go Fog, Ponga and Flanagan to Cleary, Hynes and Chester, but am 13k short 🙁

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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