White Lightning wrote:Further on the 2fr options value buys:
K-Brom - vying for Proctor's spot
Glenn - imo will start in 2nd row
Hess - could start if Taumalolo to frf rotation, Lowe to lock, Hess to edge else off bench
Arrow - imo will come off bench but could see more minutes
Pangai-Junior - same as Arrow
J. Kennedy - from the Raiders. L. Brown out of favour & very good chance to start on edge
Capewell - could start on wing if Holmes to f/b else off bench
Butcher/Liam Knight - could grab bench spot
Stimson - could grab bench spot or even start in Proctor's spot
S. Mata'utia - dual dpp & expect 80 minute edge 2fr
These are the following guns I'm looking at:
Surgess, Cartwright, B. Thompson, Cordner, T. Harris, Buhrer, Barnett
I like where you're going with this, but I'm finding second row really hard this year. My thoughts:
Broncos - You nailed the two most interesting guys (Arrow & Pangai Jnr), but if McGuire gets a run at lock then I'd add Ofahengaue into the mix (at prop). Make no doubt about it though Pangai Jnr is the best up and comer at the Broncos. I've read some people talking about Glenn, even if he starts at second row - don't, just don't...
Raiders - I'm not excited about any of the Raiders. They have some good DT scorers, but they're all priced at about their max. It's a shame Tapine went to the Raiders, if he played 80 minutes at the knights, he'd be one of the first guys picked in my team.
Bulldogs - I honestly don't know why Des doesn't play Tolman for 80 minutes at lock and just play Klemmer and Graham at prop. It's not like you get much more than grind from Tolman, but I doubt that will happen, so I'm not excited about any Dogs - I expect them to line up similar to the way they did last year meaning there's not much value and people with a memory longer than 12 months will hesitate about Grahams starting price.
Sharks - I'd be surprised if the sharks don't run with a utility on the bench, which changes nothing because they ran Beale off the bench for a good number of games last year. Nothing changes much here, Gallen could be worth a look given that he won't play origin, but he doesn't tend to play many more than 15 games a year. They've signed Williams which doesn't help anybody and makes it a real log jam, making it unlikely that you'll find any value here.
Titans - You'd imagine Proctor will play 80 minutes at the Titans, meaning you could expect another 3-4 points a game from him, which probably puts him into the upper echelon of second rowers. Paasi played lock last year when Bird was out, so you'd imagine he will get first crack at lock this year, he may be worth a gamble depending on who else is around. Taia or McQueen will be the guy who misses out.
Sea Eagles - Same as last year, lots of unknowns and for the people who get it right, then there's money to be made and trades to be saved. I think you might be on the right track with kennedy, I'm thinking it may be something like: Myles, Koroisau, Tapau, Sironen, Kennedy, Trbojovic. Res - Lussick, Fonua-Blake, Perrett, Brown. Lane has massive attitude problems and Lawrence spent all last year trying to get into Barretts good books. I think Sironen and Kennedy are both decent value picks regardless of Barretts round 1 team list (which I expect to change again in the first 3 weeks anyway).
Storm - Lots seem to like Harris, apart from a game or two out of position, I don't think there's too much upside, but he's a 40-50 ppg player so that puts him in the top tier, but you are paying for it, there's better/more consistent guns imo. Sounds like its either NAS or KBrom to take Proctors 70 minutes which will make one of them must haves in my opinion.
Knights - Lots of talk about Buhrer, I find it hard to get too excited about a guy with bum knees who's played about 10 games in the last 2 1/2 years. I'm a bit more exited about Mata'utia and whoever gets the nod at lock. I'd really like it to be Bhana but we'll have to wait and see.
Cowboys - I think Hess will play a huge part in replacing Tamou and Hannant, I just don't know if he'll make a tonne of money. I'd be surprised if Kaufusi isn't the guy to replace Tamou (Green keeps talking about body types in which Tamou and kafusi are pretty similar) which makes him gold, albeit at prop.
Eels - No rookies, a few decent buys and no real guns make the Eels a no go at second row imo.
Panthers - Surely Carty goes back to 2nd row. JFH and Carty are the best back rowers at the club, so no doubt Yeo will get picked again. You can happily run with Merrin and Carty from the get go. I don't see any upside from the Panthers 2nd rowers.
Souths - Rochow throws a spanner into the works - Rochow, Sutton and Turner will get the bulk of the 2nd row minutes with Sam playing his usual 70-80 minutes at lock. I'll be running with Sam again and plenty other will be as well. If Cook comes off the bench then I'd be surprised if Crighton gets a look in unless its at centre.
Dragons - Absolutely chock full of second rowers which means I won't be touching any of them.
Roosters - I think the roosters will go well this year, having said that the only players that I'm interested in are Pearce and Mitchell.
Tigers - I think Taylor plays 80 minutes of hooker free football, which means that he's probably under priced by 5-6 points. He will be the Tigers 2nd rower in my team. I also think Marsters in daylights better than Aloiai, Lovett, Edwards and friends so I expect him to be in the 17 somewhere.
Warriors - Who's going to be different and pick Thompson from the start? Me neither, Mannering it is. Not much changes in the back row over the ditch making it a boring position for the Warriors.
I didn't mean to write that much - congrats to anybody who reads it!
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