2016 NRL.com Fantasy thread part 4

I've been so busy at work the last couple of days it's been crazy. You could say I've been working the house down. My latest draft:

Smith, Lichaa
Surgess, Woods, McGuire (nuffie)
Cartwright, Harris, Rochow, Tapine (nuffie*2)
DCE, Hastings, Taylor (J-Nik)
Hurrell, Auva'a (Benry, MCK)
Ferguson, Mansour, Mann (Gutherson, nuffie)

Lastest draft

lichaa granville
fifita douglas trbojevic nuffie
surgess taupau lam rochow mck nuffie
dce foran hastings taylor
gutherson avua nuffie nuffie
mansour gordon copely nuffie nuffie

Fair bit of love for Surgess and I'm not saying that is unfounded (that would just be silly) but I for one will not be starting with him this year. I just think that even with training etc it may take him a few weeks to get back into the swing.

His BE is 55 and while that is by no means out of his grasp, I'll be hoping for a few early low scores from him and pick him up a bit later on for a bit less.

Mearcat085 wrote:Fair bit of love for Surgess and I'm not saying that is unfounded (that would just be silly) but I for one will not be starting with him this year. I just think that even with training etc it may take him a few weeks to get back into the swing.

His BE is 55 and while that is by no means out of his grasp, I'll be hoping for a few early low scores from him and pick him up a bit later on for a bit less.

He's in my team not because I think he'll explode out of the blocks but due to his high ownership so tactically I think it's worth having him.

Put together another draft side. Thoughts?
Segeyaro Granville
Woods Bromwich Trbojevic (Welch)
Surgess AhMau Rochow McQueen (Bhana Chrichton)
DCE Jrey Hastings (Taylor)
Copley Auvaa (MCK Henry)
Mansour Mann Gordon (Gutherson Anderson)
Maybe a bit light on 2RF

White Lightning wrote:

He's in my team not because I think he'll explode out of the blocks but due to his high ownership so tactically I think it's worth having him.

This. Sometimes it is better to go with the common pick than with the POD. Don't make ground but you don't lose ground. And he is such highly priced that he can easily be upgraded or downgraded to this season's Frizell early on in order to get some cash and improve elsewhere

Beast From The Big East wrote:

The whole squad is pretty unimpressive. Newcastle and the Tigers may have competition for the spoon this year.

no way Newcastle get the spoon this year mate, think they will be pushing towards 10-12 at least

Welshy87 wrote:

no way Newcastle get the spoon this year mate, think they will be pushing towards 10-12 at least

that high you think. The squad as a whole doesn't look bad on paper but you can say the same about a lot of teams. If the Knights get to 10th which 6 do you have below them?

SoylentGreen wrote:

Mine are Douglas & Trbojevic, Parker & Taupau, and DCE - they're the ones that have been in pretty much every version of my side to date, and I don't see that changing.

I keep coming back to Smith, Bromwich, Graham, Merrin, DCE, Croker.

Welshy87 wrote:

no way Newcastle get the spoon this year mate, think they will be pushing towards 10-12 at least

The only teams I see finishing below the Knights are Titans and the Tigers. No way do they make the top 10.

Bren wrote:
Didn't you hear? Taia has been training the house down.

big raps

Bren wrote:

The only teams I see finishing below the Knights are Titans and the Tigers. No way do they make the top 10.

Same. There are a few sides who you would predict will be on that bubble around the 8 who could all have terrible seasons and on paper the Knights aren't too bad but just a lack of consistency and big time players means I can't see them anywhere but 13th or worse

Bren wrote:

The only teams I see finishing below the Knights are Titans and the Tigers. No way do they make the top 10.

Only because they lost McManus.

Goondalf wrote:Put together another draft side. Thoughts?
Segeyaro Granville
Woods Bromwich Trbojevic (Welch)
Surgess AhMau Rochow McQueen (Bhana Chrichton)
DCE Jrey Hastings (Taylor)
Copley Auvaa (MCK Henry)
Mansour Mann Gordon (Gutherson Anderson)
Maybe a bit light on 2RF

Solid picks, have upside if play 80 or close to. However, I view as risky. Have gone Smith Lichaa.
Love Bromwich, also got Trbojevic, got Graham over Woods purely because of byes. Same same.
Question mark on surges for me ( but then again ive gone Merrin), AhMau - im weary of the mid ranger. Even though Merrin has gone they have got more cattle in their front row this year.
Have got Rochow. Good pick. Not a fan of McQueen, think you can do better here. I would even prefer Grevsmuhl as long as he gets the starting gig. How much money have you got spare? Suaso Sue?
Good halves although JRey is risky imo.
Light centres but given centres are all inconsistent, worth the punt.
Like Mansour and Gordon, have them in my team, not a fan of Mann. Just reminds me of everyone last year thinking J Wighton will improve massively.

Beast From The Big East wrote:

that high you think. The squad as a whole doesn't look bad on paper but you can say the same about a lot of teams. If the Knights get to 10th which 6 do you have below them?

Call it a hunch, but there are always a team or 2 that surprise and i just think the knights will be one of them this year

call it 12 with 16.Titans 15.Tigers 14.Dragons 13.Rabs 12.Knights

Beast From The Big East wrote:

This. Sometimes it is better to go with the common pick than with the POD. Don't make ground but you don't lose ground. And he is such highly priced that he can easily be upgraded or downgraded to this season's Frizell early on in order to get some cash and improve elsewhere

This goes against what we were posting earlier. I have Surgess because of my research but if like WL said he doesn't think he will preform but is keeping him because of high % of ownership he is reducing his chance of winning overal. If you have him thinking he will fail but think it's ok because 50% of teams have him it's just wrong, straight up by getting the right guy you are well in front of half the comp.

Welshy87 wrote:

Call it a hunch, but there are always a team or 2 that surprise and i just think the knights will be one of them this year

call it 12 with 16.Titans 15.Tigers 14.Dragons 13.Rabs 12.Knights

You really think the bunnies will finish 13th? I mean I agree that they might well be in for another lacklustre year, but I would still be surprised if they didn't at least sneak into the 8, let alone that low down. Neither my long studies of the game, nor my extreme bias (SSTID motherfucker!) will allow me to see this happening.

Pookus McFly wrote:

You really think the bunnies will finish 13th? I mean I agree that they might well be in for another lacklustre year, but I would still be surprised if they didn't at least sneak into the 8, let alone that low down. Neither my long studies of the game, nor my extreme bias (SSTID motherfucker!) will allow me to see this happening.

just my pick for a down year with the Dragons mate and needed two teams to put below the knights

Can see the Dragons slipping, no Merrin and can see a fairly large decline for Benji this year

I concur with Welshy. They have a solid side this year. The key is Mullen staying fit. He's been injured for the majority of the past two seasons. Last fully fit season he had, Newcastle surprised everyone and made the prelim final - one game shy of a GF against the Bunnies. I think Hodkinson and Mullen are a very well balanced halves combo. Right foot, left foot with two excellent options either side of the ruck (possibly the best kicking duo in the league now). Both excellent defenders for halves. Hodkinson will bring that control, calmness and direction which will allow Mullen to go to the line more with his pace and strength and play a bit more ad lib. Mullo has bulked up quite a bit, and aside from partying with Todd Carney in Spain, looks like he's had a good pre season!

1 Mamo
2 Uate
3 Gagai
4 Sione
5 Chanel
6 Mullen
7 Hodkinson
8 Snowden
9 Levi
10 Korbin
11 Rochow
12 Tariq
13 Jeremy Smith

14 Tapine
15 Stockwell
16 Paea/Pauli
17 Randell

Shanbon wrote:

This goes against what we were posting earlier. I have Surgess because of my research but if like WL said he doesn't think he will preform but is keeping him because of high % of ownership he is reducing his chance of winning overal. If you have him thinking he will fail but think it's ok because 50% of teams have him it's just wrong, straight up by getting the right guy you are well in front of half the comp.

Agree with that logic. But at the same time there are only so many positions you want to gamble on with PODs. If you gamble with a lot and they work then great. You have found a few guys who have performed better than the expected consistent season long players early on in the piece. Gamble on too many and if they fail then you are well and truly behind the 8 ball. Call it a defensive move but limiting exposure by going for the big guns with high ownership means that if they go as planned you score well and if they struggle early then everyone else suffers and you can shift them around much easier. You can lose the season with your initial picks and first few weeks but you definitely can't win it