Lots of disappointments this weekend, but thought it might cheer people up to see some of the great opportunities coming up. The downside - 2 trades per week and lots of great options out there to try to work out the best of, and catch them before they escape you.
Falling gun watch:
Andrew Fifita - Unless knee gets a lot better, it looks like his days as a big minute forward may be over, with 39 minutes each of the last 2 weeks, and scores of 27 and 49. If we see a big improvement in minutes, worth considering, but still a big risk to take.
Mitchell - Scores of 10 and 14 so far. Going to be good value as a center at some point, when he likely switches there for Burns.
Haas - Will drop back below the $1M mark this week after a 52. Surprisingly quiet when playing 80 minutes. With a strong supporting cast in Carrigan and Flegler taking the lead this week, he was able to sit back a bit to get through the 80.
Cook - 2 uninspiring performances from a recent number 1 captain choice, confirming pre-season talk that Bennett doesn't like him running so much, which kills a lot of his value. 44 and 45 points, sinking like a stone, if we get signals that the shackles are coming off at some point, could be great value, but for now not worth the risk of trying to catch a falling knife.
Turbo - With uncertainty over the look of the Manly forward pack entering round 1, it was hard to pick him. Even though Jurbo and AFB were named, he came through with a shocking 17 points round 1. This set up a round 2 BE of 67, which despite playing a blinder, he fell short of with a 58 (pre-updates), where many of his huge plays didn't show for much on the fantasy score board. If he remains injury free, he is already great value at around $640k and unlikely to go much lower than that for a while now.
Teddy - Started with a lower score by his standards of 30, which left him with a BE of 80, so a following score which was decent at 51, still sees him losing significant value this round. Should be a good pick up at some point, especially when the Roosters start putting some decent team performances together.
Other noteable mentions:
Croft - Not quite gun level, but going to be seriously undervalued when he returns and that 7 score will see him have a high BE coming back.
Catch them on their way up:
Lolo - Has been damaging and playing huge minutes. With Maguire back, surprised he played so many minutes this week. Will it last?
Cleary - Expected to dominate the halves with Maloney no longer there and in the first 2 games has proven that theory to be correct with scores of 68 and 75, Captain territory. Huge kicking meters (average 463 first 2 games) and most of the attack going through him as well. Big base stats each week including goal kicking and big upside on his day, like we saw with a 120 score at the end of last season.
David Fifita - 80 minute role locked down, looks dangerous any time he is in space, with speed, step, fend, size, he has it all. Scores of 76 and 58, consistent high scores in 80 minutes are looking sustainable, the same as he finished last season.
Koro - 2 great performances, well above his price point, after sharing the hooker duties last season. Must have if you dont have him already.
Yeo - Named to start at lock just before round 1, then switched back to his more familiar 2RF position the following week, before playing most of the game at lock anyway! Has resulted in 2 x 80 minute blinders, lots of tackles and big scores of 78 and 59, the only question really is which position he will play in each week, great value at lock, no real value at 2RF.
Great value mid-range players with uncertain futures:
Flegler - What happens when each of Offa, Glenn, TPJ and Lodge come back and what does it do to his minutes? 2 great scores and a game made for fantasy, with a devastating step and fend, but a lot of uncertainty over his future role. Not so cheap after this week.
Horsey - Keeps scoring at high PPM in big minutes as starting lock. Uncertainty over his role when Sutton, then Bateman return, potentially pushing Tapine back to starting lock. Possibly gets to retain starting prop ahead of Lui however. Should have better JS/minutes than Flegler.
Likely low priced, (near) gun performance players:
Grant - Absolutely gunned it in reserves. As an 80 minute hooker he will outperform 90% of the other starting hookers in the comp. Must have if starting.
Magoulias - Showed what he is capable of in 48 minutes today, scoring 52. Provides a spark that Williams doesn't. Should be starting lock this week.
Stephen Crichton - In very limited minutes, has scored 2 tries and set the Panthers alight. This season's Papenhuyzen. If I was the coach, would play him ahead of either Dedwards or Whare (who is averaging 11 points so far). Disclaimer - Crichton is in my team already.
Walters - 50 last week, looks great, will be disappointed that the Trade deal went through. Lots for Madge to ponder the next few weeks on who plays where and who misses out.
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