Sunday afternoon kicks off with a beauty between Raiders and Sea Eagles before two teams under pressure in the Sharks and Bulldogs wrap up Round 6.
Canberra Raiders v Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles @ Campbelltown Stadium
First Try-Scorer: Nick Cotric – $10, Curtis Sironen – $26
Despite the Sea Eagles coming into this one with a few injuries, the two sides match up fairly close in their attack. It leaves the try-scoring options as a bit of a lottery.
Nick Cotric ($10 – Neds) has bagged a try in each of his last three games and demands consideration here. Ignore the “George Williams needs to step up” gear going around. He never went backwards. The English half has taken over the Raiders right side, and Cotric is a set to benefit. Just as he did last week.
Curtis Sironen ($26 – TopSport) returns this week to give Daly Cherry-Evans another elite option in attack. Few run lines as hard and well-timed as Sironen. With Tom Trbojevic fit and firing and forcing the defensive line into making tough decisions on sweeping shifts, Cherry-Evans has the skills to expose them. Turn out, and the ball goes to a flying Sironen.
Draftstars Suggested Plays: Taniela Paseka ($9,830), Jake Trbojevic ($14,500)
Taniela Paseka was asked to start at prop last week and repayed the faith for Draftstars players with a surprise 41 points. He had only managed 45 points combined in his previous two efforts. Named to start again on Sunday with Marty Taupau out, our predictive model projects the 120kg man-mountain to score 42 points. At $9,830, Paseka is a must-play in this one.
Perhaps another to see an increase in production with Taupau on the sidelines, Jake Trbojevic is an excellent option here. He’s managed 59.9 and 57.2 points over the last two weeks and is projected to split the two this week with 58 points. A workhorse that will be tasked with keeping a lid on an impressive Raiders middle, Trbojevic will be busy on Sunday afternoon.
DFS Fade: Tom Trbojevic ($13,330)
Both the Raiders and Sea Eagles showed a willingness to get into the grind and be patient through the middle of the field last week. Expecting much of the same in this one, Tom Trbojevic may see limited opportunities in attack. Likewise, kick return metres will be at a premium. Typically a wildly popular selection, consider fading Tommy Turbo in this one.
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks v Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs @ Bankwest Stadium
First Try-Scorers: Briton Nikora – $23, Reimis Smith – $18
Who really knows might happen in this one?
The Sharks backed up an impressive Round 4 win with a horror loss to the Dragons in Round 5. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs didn’t turn up to play the Roosters last week until 20 minutes had ticked off the clock. Neither the Sharks nor Bulldogs have shown any consistency at all this season.
One thing we can rely on: Briton Nikora ($23 – BetEasy) flying towards a gap. An excellent hole-runner that broke the line 11 times in 24 matches throughout the 2019 season, Nikora is yet to record one in 2020. With what we saw out of Lachlan Lewis and the Bulldogs right edge defence last week, there is a good chance Nikora ends the line break drought and goes through to score on Sunday.
For the Bulldogs, they’ve lacked a scoring punch all year. Reimis Smith ($18 – SportsBet) is somebody that can change that. Smith is an option in the air and on the ground. With Kieran Foran coming into some form, he’s going to threaten down the Bulldogs right edge.
Draftstars Suggested Plays: Reimis Smith ($7,000), Jack Williams ($10,170)
We’ve already touched on Reimis Smith’s ability to dominate in attack this week. While our predictive model only projects him to score 27 points in this one, he presents as a value play at the $7,000 minimum price. Smith played in the Bulldogs’ Round 4 win over the Dragons to finish with a try, two tackle breaks and 157 running metres for 41.95 Draftstars points. He will comfortably clear the 27-point projection if the Bulldogs can fire in attack.
Meanwhile, Jack Williams will be out to perform the defensive work through the middle for the Sharks. He’s scored 37.7 and 36.5 points in his last two matches and is projected to score 44 points in this one. Despite being a relatively high-ownership player this season, Williams is worth playing in this one given the middle-of-the-field focus both teams will carry into the match.
DFS Fade: William Kennedy ($9,800)
William Kennedy has been a consistent DFS performer in scoring 30+ points every game this season. He’s scored 37.5 and 35.8 points in the last fortnight. However, our predictive model projects him to score just 31 points this week. At $9,800, it’s time to start fading the Sharks fullback.