Fantasy Preview Round 15

Well there was some massive scores last week. How’d everyone go? I had a few players let me down and finished on 954. Was hoping to crack 1000 but Sione Mata’utai, Jason Taumalolo went well below average, but I still won my h2h so that’s the main thing.

Bit harder this week with only the four games and no Origin players, but there’s a few talking points out of the team lists, so let’s go through them!

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Gold Coast Titans

Sam Burgess has been absolutely fire this season even though his side hasn’t been doing too well. He has a five round average of 66.2 and a price tag of 573k. His break even is 53 so expect him to be a lot closer to 600k this time next week. He is a genuine captaincy option against an injury smashed Titans side. Angus Crichton has got to be a keeper. Unfortunately I had no confidence in Michael Maguire as he seems to hate giving his rookies big minutes so I avoided him, but now I look like a fool after he has gone up 317k (and still rising). Another genuine captaincy option this week if you don’t have Surgess. Adam Reynolds has been somewhat quiet and is a risky trade, but is a proven gun and has a lot of upside if he can stay healthy and Souths start to hit some form. Cody Walker has been average since his move to fullback and is probably worth trading out if you have him. No other major fantasy relevant players in the Rabbitohs this year, but Surgess and Crichton are almost must have.

Ah, the Gold Coast Titans. Possibily the most frustrating team to support, and they are back to being smashed by injuries, with Kane Elgey and Karl Lawnton out injured, and Jarryd Hayne, Nathan Peats and Jarrod Wallace out on Origin duty. Chris McQueen has been named at 5/8, however Jamal Fogarty is now on the Titans roster and has been named on an extended bench. The mail I’m getting is that Fogarty will play, and is a decent cash out option at 138k. Kevin Proctor returns from his club suspension, but there is many better options in the forwards. Same can be said about Ryan James, who simply isn’t in the form he was last year.

Melbourne Storm vs North Queensland Cowboys

Both teams have been smashed by Origin, and as such there is a lot of new faces. This means some extra responsibilities for Storm player Cameron Munster, who has been in hot form already with a 49.4 five round average. Expect him to take on some extra work with Cronk, Smith and Slater out. Tohu Harris joins cheapie Curtis Scott in the centres. Harris should be a lot cheaper in a few weeks, but definitely not worth the trade this week. Ryley Jacks joins Munster in the halves, and exciting rookie Brandon Smith joins the bench, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he started at Hooker. Might be a good pick up if you need to cash someone out, although I expect he will only be playing when Cameron Smith is off on Origin duty.

Lots of firepower out for the Cowboys, with Ray Thompson and Kyle Laybutt named to start in the halves with Thurston and Morgan in QLD camp. I would expect Lachlan Coote to take on some playmaking duties, but there are also some much better options at WFB. Jason Taumalolo is coming off his worst score of the season, although I suspect he played a reduced role to give Coen Hess some more time to impress the QLD selectors. He is another great captaincy option this week. If you’re like me and picked up Ben Hampton a few months ago, it’s best to upgrade or cash him out now, because he seems incapable of getting any big scores.

Cronulla Sharks vs West Tigers

With Fifita, Graham, Maloney and Bird in NSW camp, expect big things from Paul Gallen. He has a five round average of 64 and is still going up in price. If you haven’t got him yet, you will want to pick him up coming into finals. Jayden Brailey has probably peaked, but Daniel Mortimer is on the bench and may steal minutes off him, and James Segeyaro can’t be too far away either. Not too much else to report for the Sharks, but Gallen should be a priority for all of us who don’t already have him.

The Tigers lose Aaron Woods and James Tedesco, so it’s hard to see how they will be able to compete with the Sharks, even if they are understrength. Tuimoala Lolohea has been surprisingly good since coming to the Tigers, with a 54 and a 41 in his last two games, although he did scored a try last week which inflated his score a little. At this stage of the season you should only be trading in guns and cashing out your cash cows. Lolohea is a mid range scorer at best so should be avoided, especially with Brooks due back soon. Elijah Taylor is another mid ranger that should be avoided, and while David Nofoaluma can go big, his scores are too inconsistent to take the risk.

Parramatta Eels vs Saint George Illawarra Dragons

Parramatta looked pretty bad against the Cowboys last week, but they are still settling in with their new combinations. Corey Norman has returned from injury and could be a good pick up in the halves, but the jury is still out over his combination with Mitch Moses. Nathan Brown, Manu Ma’u and Clint Gutherson all look like good options, especially for overall players, but all Eels and Rabbitohs players will miss two more h2h rounds due to their bye schedule.

Cameron Mcinnes has been a revelation at the Dragons this season. He’s played 80 minutes in almost all of his games and is the only other hooker worth looking at other than Cameron Smith. The ideal combination is to have Mcinnes and Smith, as that also covers you for Smith being out for the round 19 bye. Mcinnes has a season average of 57.1, which will be very valuable points coming into finals. Jack De Belin is coming off a massive 70 last week, and it would have been a lot more considering he was on 49 at half time. He is on an extended bench for Origin, but unless there is a major injury to the Blues team, expect him to play big minutes again this week. Paul Vaughan started the year strong, but his form has dipped slightly and he now has a five round average of 50, which is still pretty damn good. There are definitely better options in the forwards, but at 478k he is a cut price keeper. Gareth Widdop is another left field option, with a 46.4 average and the added bonus of kicking goals. He’s only owned by 3.3% of teams so could be a great point of difference at 435k if you’re in the market for a half.

That’s it from me this week guys, catch ya’s next week!