NRL Fantasy 2023 Part 42 - Did Someone Say Aubussson :heart:

MF wrote:

After seeing how dominant he was last game teams will start rushing him in defence

With his size and ability to free his arms, does that just mean more Offloads then?

GarethEllisismyDad wrote:

Rough plan is hosking to Hopgood that week

Unless Hopgood goes god mode til then and is unattainable

Hopgood should easily outscore Hosking and is a straight swap this week, why tempt fate?

GreenSchist wrote:
Lol 2.5 game sample size.

I agree tho that he is going to be integral to the Storms success so should get as many minutes as he can handle.

He is our most important forward and it's not even close, we lose so much when he isn't on the field.

He's pretty much nailed on for at least 50 minutes, but I think he more likely gets 55-60 given that he's attacking on the edge.

Hmm forgot Hopgood has dual edge

Bethany_B wrote:

He is our most important forward and it's not even close, we lose so much when he isn't on the field.

He's pretty much nailed on for at least 50 minutes, but I think he more likely gets 55-60 given that he's attacking on the edge.

The ANZAC match against the Wahs was pretty telling. Completely changed the game when he came on.

I’m planning to bring him into my team for Rd 16 (if his price doesn’t skyrocket).

WT Winfield wrote:

Alamoti to Talau?

Double Tiger Cow

Na can’t do it. Too gross

Hopgood's tempting but BA plays the silliest buggers with his forward pack and minutes. Could get 40 one week and 60 the next

Think I'll sit on Eels forwards until just before R13 and see who's best. With Jurbo injured too that opens up an Origin spot, maybe Matto sneaks back in, who knows

GreenSchist wrote:
The ANZAC match against the Wahs was pretty telling. Completely changed the game when he came on.

Yeah pretty much, you saw how much he swung the momentum.

I think the team is better off with him starting like he is this week and getting two 30 minute stints, that way he can play 60 mins but has 30 mins (10 mins either side of half time + the break itself) to rest.

GreenSchist wrote:
The ANZAC match against the Wahs was pretty telling. Completely changed the game when he came on.

I’m planning to bring him into my team for Rd 16 (if his price doesn’t skyrocket).

NAS was changing the Bulldogs game too, even more than the Warriors game, then he got injured and Storm lost.

Shady2K wrote:Hopgood's tempting but BA plays the silliest buggers with his forward pack and minutes. Could get 40 one week and 60 the next

Think I'll sit on Eels forwards until just before R13 and see who's best. With Jurbo injured too that opens up an Origin spot, maybe Matto sneaks back in, who knows

Yeah totally, I already have Matto so wasn't too interested in Hopgood but forgot he had edge dual. If I was to get him it would be at rd13 itself after seeing what happens with Matto origin wise.

Shady2K wrote:Hopgood's tempting but BA plays the silliest buggers with his forward pack and minutes. Could get 40 one week and 60 the next

Think I'll sit on Eels forwards until just before R13 and see who's best. With Jurbo injured too that opens up an Origin spot, maybe Matto sneaks back in, who knows

Hopgood hasn't played less than 52 minutes in games he wasn't sin binned, and was playing off the bench with RCG, Paulo and Matterson in that game. Worst case scenario.

Has played 55-80 minutes each week as starting lock.

mattnz wrote:

Hopgood should easily outscore Hosking and is a straight swap this week, why tempt fate?

Thanks for this Matt. Not sure I agree that Hoppy will easily outscore Hosking but his low BE means that he could soon increase in price to the point where he’s just out of my budgeted plans.

Making the trade this week instead of Luke/Sele to Tatola, which can wait a week or two.
No point waiting on a trade when I already know I’m making it.

GreenSchist wrote:
With his size and ability to free his arms, does that just mean more Offloads then?

Probably results in more tackle breaks as he pushes away people at will but less metres and line breaks

MF wrote:

Probably results in more tackle breaks as he pushes away people at will but less metres and line breaks

Yeah rushing up on him won't do much when he can just fend off players at will and flick an offload out the back.

mattnz wrote:

Hopgood should easily outscore Hosking and is a straight swap this week, why tempt fate?

Got Curran mcinnes and HSS as trade outs, parra minutes etc still not set in stone

mattnz wrote:

Hopgood hasn't played less than 52 minutes in games he wasn't sin binned, and was playing off the bench with RCG, Paulo and Matterson in that game. Worst case scenario.

Has played 55-80 minutes each week as starting lock.

You're just tempting fate

You'll be disappointed when Carty and Matto move to the starting side, and Davey and Hopgood to the bench

Bethany_B wrote:

Yeah rushing up on him won't do much when he can just fend off players at will and flick an offload out the back.

Teams will start to be more and more aware of him attacking on an edge though and plan for shutting it down. I realise that sometimes they still wont be able to stop him due to his pure size and strength but we saw that Talakai's dominance had a shelf life last year. Just something to keep in mind.

BCT05 wrote:

Teams will start to be more and more aware of him attacking on an edge though and plan for shutting it down. I realise that sometimes they still wont be able to stop him due to his pure size and strength but we saw that Talakai's dominance had a shelf life last year. Just something to keep in mind.

Yeah that's fair enough, I'm not saying NAS will be a keeper all season, but I think he'll go on a run these next few games at least.

GarethEllisismyDad wrote:

Got Curran mcinnes and HSS as trade outs, parra minutes etc still not set in stone

While not set in stone, I struggle to see how you can tackle the Origin byes without at least one Eels forward. Matto a bit of a risk due to possible Origin selection and Hopgood has dual coverage.

There are other options but I’m choosing Hopgood more for his flexibility and suitability over the next 8 weeks, more so than whether I think he’s the best forward option.

Bethany_B wrote:

Yeah rushing up on him won't do much when he can just fend off players at will and flick an offload out the back.

Yeah but it does work as players aren’t focused on fantasy their goal is to stop him