NRL Fantasy 2023 Part 1 - Just open up already

Camo123 wrote:

With Cleary having an early bye gun MID are probably best captain options (unless you somehow have Cleary + Hynes and a deep squad) so you at least get value out of captaining in R3

In my head everyone should own DFifi as an R3 captain option, or BSmith would do well.

Haas is no guaranteed C option given crap shoulders/parents. Murray too pricey.... Reuben's back on the sandwich menu.

There will be some early season hernias with u lot getting into it so early...

I love a Reuben sandwich. Unheralded.

L-Jimmy wrote:

In my head everyone should own DFifi as an R3 captain option, or BSmith would do well.

Haas is no guaranteed C option given crap shoulders/parents. Murray too pricey.... Reuben's back on the sandwich menu.

I think Murray is underpriced, plays big mins against the top teams and Rabbits probably have the toughest start in the comp. Would definitely be a C option for me.

Genderbender wrote:

I think Murray is underpriced, plays big mins against the top teams and Rabbits probably have the toughest start in the comp. Would definitely be a C option for me.

If Demetriou has a brain he won't let Murray play 70mins at full pelt from the start of the year. Avoid.

L-Jimmy wrote:

If Demetriou has a brain he won't let Murray play 70mins at full pelt from the start of the year. Avoid.

A win in rounds 1,3,5 are worth the same in rounds 21,23,25. I think the coach will be going for a win, that’s what smart coaches do, he rests his players against the lesser sides and when they’ve got the win in the bag. He’s also the captain, pretty sure his mins were the highest of his career last year even with a few decent head knocks.

Thing with Cotter is though look at the Cows easy draw first 10-12 rounds. He could be doing less tackling and might get some early showers when they’re well ahead?

L-Jimmy wrote:

If Demetriou has a brain he won't let Murray play 70mins at full pelt from the start of the year. Avoid.

Host will be back off the bench which pushes Jai to middle mid game. In close games though I don’t think Murray will be off the field too long.

Rabbits21 wrote:Thing with Cotter is though look at the Cows easy draw first 10-12 rounds. He could be doing less tackling and might get some early showers when they’re well ahead?

Pretty sure that luxury goes to LoLo, good point though it’s possible. The little terrier does so much while he’s on though might be enough in whatever time he’s given.

Genderbender wrote:

Pretty sure that luxury goes to LoLo, good point though it’s possible. The little terrier does so much while he’s on though might be enough in whatever time he’s given.

He avg 55.7 first half of last year in 61mins before getting injured. I think he’s priced at 52.

Aardvark Ratnick wrote:He maybe not be in with a show but throw Shaquai Mitchell into ya black book, lost a stack of weight and may force his way onto the bench through sheer talent alone.

I see the pack being this:

Tatola
Cook
Sele/Tom
Keaon
Arrow
Murray

Ta’affe
Tom/Sele
Host
Havili

Host will come onto edge mid game pushing Jai to middle.

But for middles after that Moale or DSF would be picked next. We would need 2-3 injuries for Shaq to come in. I don’t see Shaq getting more than about 20-25mins either when he does play.

DSF or Moale are more likely at some point to be slow burn cash cows.

NRLFF Fantasy Draft Leagues are now open for registration;

https://www.nrlfantasyfanatics.com/t2069-nrlff-2023-fantasy-draft-league

Being the bye planning pest that I am, I decided to have a quick look and write it down in a way that made the most sense to me:

- Big bye rounds still exist rd 13, 16, and 19 (so origin players as well as the bye teams will miss those rounds).

Team bye rounds below:

Dragons: 1, 16 (pre origin), 20
Manly: 2, 14, 19 (pre-origin)
Panthers: 3, 13 (pre origin), 19 (pre origin)
Roosters: 4, 13 (pre origin), 19 (pre origin)
Titans: 5, 13 (pre origin), 16 (pre origin)
Sharks: 6, 13 (pre origin), 17
Tigers: 7, 13 (pre origin), 17
Raiders: 8, 16 (pre origin), 20
Storm: 9, 13 (pre origin), 19 (pre origin)
Knights: 10, 14, 19 (pre origin)
Dolphins: 11, 16 (pre origin), 21
Warriors: 12, 16 (pre origin), 22
Dogs: 13 (pre origin), 17, 23
Eels: 14, 18, 27
Cowboys: 15, 19 (pre origin), 24
Broncos: 16 (pre origin), 19 (pre origin), 25
Rabbits: 16 (pre origin), 20, 26

My takeaways:

Non-origin Eels players play all the origin bye rounds
Origin players from Storm, Broncos, Titans, Roosters, Panthers will only miss 1 more round due to origin relative to their non-origin players (assuming they don't get rested)
Titans are the first team to finish their byes (rd 16) and will be good purchases for the run home
Eels, Cowboys, Broncos and Rabbits players don't have any byes until the second half of the season, so should be good players to start with.

I'm considering Hynes over Cleary

No origin, better byes, and has a very good scoring base. Only a touch more expensive.

Partly depends on how well the Panthers are going to do this year. Do they have another year of dominance in them? Want to get in on those prime Cleary junk time points

Cotter was one of my favourite players to watch last season (non-Fantasy reasons)

But given good byes he will be tempting. There's a few other guys about $100k cheaper that are also tempting too though

mattnz wrote:


I wanted to do that as well, but Roosters have the bye in round 3, so you need some HOK cover.

Surely given the parameters of the game this year, you can afford to go without cover for a week if it means that you pick the right players?

The Dolphin Conspiracies wrote:


Surely given the parameters of the game this year, you can afford to go without cover for a week if it means that you pick the right players?

Depends whether you think playing with some fraction of fewer players than other teams would disadvantage you.

I can (genuinely) see the argument that it wouldn't, but suspect it actually would.

As a result I'll be trying to put 17 on the park each week.

Burning trades to ensure you secure the 15 points of an average questionable CTR or a low minute MID to make sure you have 17 players every week is going to be the downfall of some coaches this year...
A patient long term perspective will be extra important

Do we like Gagai at Fullback if Ponga is in the Halves?

The Dolphin Conspiracies wrote:


Surely given the parameters of the game this year, you can afford to go without cover for a week if it means that you pick the right players?

I suspect that people will have to play with less than 17 at various (non-origin) times this year. All it takes is an injury and a bye to coincide at the wrong time, even if you theoretically have cover.

Hooker is still a pretty key position though, so I think you'd want cover for it, even if you ignore byes.
Losing BSmith and playing with 16 will likely be a lot worse for your score than losing Averillo