2017 NRL.com Fantasy Rate My Team Thread

Random wrote:

HOK: C. King could be a risk but he helps set up the team elsewhere. Even under 80 minutes he doesn't look like he is going to make the jump to Keeper status but could certainly end up making $100k+ throughout the year. It just may take him halfway through the year and may not warrant being a solid scorer in your 17. However with the lack of cashcows at the moment having a slow burning CC isn't necessarily a bad option as long as you fill out the rest of your 17.

FRF: How many minutes is J. Wallace going to get. Last season when he played more than 40 minutes (Discounting the game he scored a try) he averaged a PPM of 0.75ppm. This means he will need 40 minutes on average to keep up his current price tag. However 60 minutes will see him push around 45 points a game, which is a decent upgrade. My problem is I don't see him getting 60 minutes. The Titans have 3 backrowers capable of playing a large amount of minutes. (Though Pulu will earn himself a spot in the 2RF rotation.) He will have Ryan James starting alongside him. The person he is replacing averaged 40 minutes last season (Luke Douglas). I think at best he averages 50 minutes and outside of scoring tries it should bump his score by around 7 points. It makes it a hard pick to justify for mine. Although if you think he will average 60 minutes then he is definitely a solid buy. Also the Titans have confirmed they are in talks with Grevmuhl who could impact on the likelihood of Wallace playing more than 40 minutes. I know everyone is expecting big things from Fonua-Blake. Lussicks injury helps but they still have Lawrence, Myles, Trbojevic and potentially Taupau to help take up minutes in the Front Row. Though if he gets 40-50 minutes he is golden, and he definitely looks like a great pick. It comes down to where he is named come TLT. If he is starting he is worth the punt, if he is on the bench he may not get enough minutes to improve on his current price tag. P. Kaufusi is difficult to say how he will work, he is one of the Cowboys forward pack that could pick up more minutes. Along with Hess, Hoare, Asiate and Spina are all guys who could benefit. However it is a real toss up as to which one will be making you cash to warrant picking up.

2RF: Kevin Proctor was averaging 70 minutes last season. If Kenny Bromwich can transition from 40 minutes to 70 minutes that would be a sizable jump and enough for him to push into gun status. However that is almost double his playing time last season. I am not saying he can't do it, just that it is a leap of faith with a stacked backrow. Although for safety sake if he jumped to 55 minutes. Which is still a decent size bump to depend on he would improve his scores by around 10 points on average. Which wouldn’t push him to a true gun status, but would be a viable long-term keeper who will make you cash to make the trade up easier. He also shouldn’t lose cash. So you are hoping for a lot if you want him to be a gun, but he looks alright to be a mid-tier guy who you can make some money and be traded up. Just don’t expect 50 points games. Elijah Taylor is another player that because of his utility to an extent it can hurt him. As long as the Tigers this year run with a Hooker and Utility that isn’t named Elijah Taylor then he should certainly continue his run of form. Last season in games where he played 60 minutes or more while starting in the lock position he averaged 51 points. (This doesn’t account for when he moved to Hooker during the match.) While he is priced at 42 points currently. He also posted up three 60 points or more games in around 70 minute performances. Not saying he reaches those levels consistently but 50 point average is not out of the question and pushes him to a keeper status at the very least and a decent chunk of coin to be made. Not really sold on Klemmer, he could pick up enough minutes to average 60 minutes this season but that would only really increase his average of 5 points a game. If there was a way you could see him getting guaranteed 80 minutes he would become a must pick. But for mine he is a Mid-Tier/Low level Gun who won't improve that much to warrant being picked up for his current price tag.

HLF: I wouldn't grab Daly Cherry-Evans at this stage. We haven't seen what sort of impact Green will have on him. (He had a negative impact on Cronk of about 5 points a game from his average before Green showed up.) Last season Daly Cherry-Evans had around 4 points less than he had in previous seasons. So he is underpriced incredibly slightly. Not enough to warrant making him a pick or enough to give him any incredible sort of upside. I am not saying he is a bad pick, he would be capable of those massive scoring games where he hits 70+ points. There just doesn’t seem to be any value in him for the duration of a season, and possibly a negative impact with Blake Green being there. Even if there isn’t the negative impact, it comes down to his price and looking at HLF’s capable of scoring 50-55 points. There are others that are cheaper and others with more potential upside, or without a negative of a new half partner joining them who could take up some minutes. Lamb is iffy to be betting on. Hodkinson by all accounts had an incredibly poor season last year, if he returns to form or takes over more of the kicking it could impact against Lambs scores. With that said he does like to kick and he does that a lot so his base stats are through the roof making him a very solid kick. Mullen could also end up back in the team so may want to have a backup option in case.

CTR:

WFB:

Overall: Firstly I didn't do a write up on guys in WFB/CTR as they are pretty stock standard. I highlighted problems I have personally with a few of your guys, but there isn't much of an issue with the your team as a whole and you have a few decent reserve options like Elgey and such in case other people under perform. I am actually following suit at the moment with running Smith/Fifita straight out of the gate which will hopefully give me a leg up on people. So it is definitely a worthy investment. I don't think I like the idea of downgrading Holmes or Fifita at this stage, but swapping Klemmer around for someone else would be nice. Though I don't think there are many options cheaper than him.

Dananz wrote:

Thanks Random! It's an honour to have your critique. I'm pretty set on going with two guns in the halves, but have been considering dropping one for Thurston to generate a little cash, so that might be DCE out. I guess one of the questions around Green is will he have a greater influence than Foran did? DCE managed to go pretty well when Foran was occasionally pulling the strings, so there's a chance that Green could also liberate DCE somewhat, as well as stealing his KM. I'll have to have a careful think about Wallace and see if I can find any cheaper bargains to take his place. I figure McGuire is going to end up in my team somehow if he gets DPP for round one.

rhinoceroo wrote:Non-Smith team

McInnes (King)
Klemmer, JWH, Gurgess, AFB (Tevatano)
Surgess (c), Taupau, Hess, SMat, (Stimpton, Simkins)
SJ, Cartwright, Maloney, Elgey
Idris, DWalker (Kelly, Scott)
RTS, Hayne, Gutherson (RJennings, Drew)

30k left. TLT dependant for the ressies

TheSpiritOfRiverPhoenix wrote:
Thanks for the write up, much appreciated. Have been on a mission the last couple of days so haven't been able to post.

While I was writing this I talked myself out of Fifita and downgraded to Graham. No Origin, ok byes and another 60k in the piggy bank doesn't sound too bad on paper.

So latest tinker leaves me with this

C.Smith(C) King
J.Graham(V) J.McGuire, J.Wallace (R), AFB(R)
Surgess, ET , KBrom. SMat (R), Hess(R) Stimson
Norman, Lamb Elgey, Hingano
J.Idris,B.Kelly,C.Scott, Olive
Hayne,RTS,Holmes,Phythian,R.Jennings

I like J.McGuire with Graham in the front row so long as McGuire gets named at lock, if he gets increased minutes and Fifita has low scoring game or to and gets behind in the B/E should be possible to upgrade from McGuire after Origin. Your point on Wallace  and AFB is taken so will wait to TLT before anything is 100%. Looking for reports on Gurgess to possibly take out Wallace.This setup also allows for C.King to chill on the bench and if he turns out to be a slow burn with IDG taking up minutes and tackles so be it. Hopefully he looks something like currency and can be gone after byes. Jayden Brailey is someone I am also looking at, Flanno didn't sound to happy with Morts after the trial match and Seggy doesn't look like done deal yet.

I know 2RW looks light but if ET and Kbrom, Smat and Hess hit their minute marks it should be a starting point for trading up. If not could be in trouble haha but again will wait to see what TLT and reporting closer to RD1 has to say about minutes, starting etc.

Have gone cold on DCE and brought in Norman, possibly change for ARey. A few guys have posted about what Green did to Cronks fantasy scores at the storm and sounded like he was busy in the trial match.

Centres are very light but with Matai seemingly gone for the Eagles Kelly could potentially get a shot. I think Centres is best option for dirty cheap rookies and I am intend on taking advantage of this.

Holmes sounds like he is touch and go for RD1 after the trial match against the Broncs. You would think that Bird would cover for him but then who knows what happens after Holmes is fit again. Makes me think French coming of the back of a what should be decent eels attack is the safe play here. Even if hes not a ball playing genius he should still go wellish fantasy wise with the tries coming out of that eels attack.

Random wrote:

You ran better than me last year, you should give me advice.

HOK: Well considering for the most part people with C. Smith have one of these two guys beside him. Having both of them should mean things are certainly still okay.

FRF: I am not sold on Klemmer and think you could achieve as much with cheaper cost guys. However the only cheaper guy in the FRF that I can think of, off the top of my head that you don't own would be D. Saifiti. However Klemmer shouldn't regress in scoring and may score a little higher so he isn't a problem pick up. I know everyone is expecting big things from Fonua-Blake. Lussicks injury helps but they still have Lawrence, Myles, Trbojevic and potentially Taupau to help take up minutes in the Front Row. Though if he gets 40-50 minutes he is golden, and he definitely looks like a great pick. It comes down to where he is named come TLT. If he is starting he is worth the punt, if he is on the bench he may not get enough minutes to improve on his current price tag.

2RF: Well I splayed out my thoughts on Hess already and you replied to that so there isn't much detail to go into here.

HLF: Strong starting HLF positions at the moment which is good. Cartwright is probably less of a PoD than you think he might be. However he scored well last season in a packed 2RF at the Panthers and should be able to do so again this season. I don't necessarily like stacking a 3rd HLF in your starting 17. However if you don't think any of the other Rookies are named than Maloney is certainly one with potential cash gains.

CTR: How do you rate Walker scoring this year? If he averages around 40 points he becomes a borderline keeper and makes as much cash as someone like Whare is expected to make. Which makes him a really nice pick up due to his PoD status and ability to maybe jag a massive score here and there. As well as possibility of saving a trade. He looks to be a decent pick up as long as he hits that 40 point average. You could also consider guys like Milne or Hurrell who could deliver the same sort of potential as well.

WFB: Gutherson is going to rely heavily on those attacking stats, and we aren't entirely sure how Corey Norman will play into those stats. That makes him a risky pick for mine, and considering you have guys like Holmes and French available. They may be less risky options. (More so Holmes as French looks like he will heavily rely on his attacking stats.) However if you want to run with the potential upside that Gutherson brings and understand that risk or don't like the alternatives then he should be a fine pick.

Overall: Strong team through and through. The only change I would consider would be Maloney out for a rookie and Hess to a more established gun. However you are already weighing up Hess and alternatives so that may not even be necessary. Do you think your 17 without Smith will average more than a 17 with him?

Random wrote:

HOK: C. King is a risk, but you are right it affords a lot of leeway. Especially when a lot of teams would only be starting with two of Smith/Fifita/S. Burgess for the most part and then having T. Trbojevic as a PoD is certainly helpful. Especially if you don't have faith in Holmes as he would be most peoples 3rd WFB.


FRF:McGuire has shown he can score like a high tier gun with several 60+ scores throughout last season. Someone did a massive write up regarding the Broncos defence last season and showed that McGuire was already slotting in close to the ruck in defence. (Where Parker would in previous years.) I also don't see his minutes jumping up to 80 minutes, and continue to play around 60 minutes. Personally I think he will always have solid scores 40+ point scores but he won’t hit those 60 point scores consistently enough to make him a high-tier gun. He will probably average around 50-55 points. Which is more than what he is valued at, but not the returns to warrant all the hype he has had in the pre-season. (If he gets DPP status he is of a little more value.) But if you are looking for a mid-tier to make you money I think there are better options. Hoare is in the same position as guys like P. Kaufusi, B. B. Spina, J. Asiata as they are all cheap options that could end up on the Cowboys bench. It is just a coin flip as to which one will benefit the most from more minutes in the Cowboys pack.

2RF: I personally don't like Hess due to his price. I just don't know how much I see his minutes increasing this year. He could get consistent minutes, but his scores from last season are all boosted by tries. In 8 games he scored a try in 4 of them. Not saying he can't keep that strike rate, but he just looks too risky for his price tag of $267k. He could end up making you cash, but it could take him half the season to get there. I would look for another mid-tier guy hoping to make the leap or look for a cheaper player elsewhere. In a way considering you already have Hoare you are hedging your bets, but I don't see both men being capable of picking up enough minutes to improve their prices too much with the rest of the Cowboys pack there and Hess is just too much of an investment to stay stagnant.

HLF: Brock Lamb is a big omission as if he is starting considering his run last year, he will have a high percentage of ownership among serious players and may not be someone you necessarily want to be missing out on. With that said Norman and Taylor could have big years after decent runs last year. Which could elevate one or both of them into a GUN status this year.

CTR: Little risky running with a straight up Rookie in your 17, but you have the ability to swap them around easily if one of your other Rookies fire for the start of the season. However if they all pump out poor scores it could hurt.

WFB: T. Trbojevic will be a decent PoD as I already mentioned. The only concerns i have are him not necessarily being a consistent gun. He should score over 30 every week and average around the 45 mark. However you may be able to get that from guys like French, Holmes, and Mann if FB who are quite a fair bit cheaper. Just food for thought, not a necessary change needed but could give some cash flow if you want to upgrade elsewhere.

Overall: Strong side with nothing glaringly wrong with it. Some PoD picks in there that should go decently well. I wouldn't mind seeing Hess changed really but that isn't necessary if you think Hess and Hoare can both improve decently while in that Cowboys pack.

Random wrote:

HOK: Strong pair, possibly the strongest starting pair you can have.

FRF: Other than monitoring G. Burgess injury you have 3 mid-tier guys who all have potential to improve this year either due to developing role/minutes, or returning to form.

2RF: Klemmer should nail down a 60 minute role in the Lock position but that only equates to a 5 point jump. Which while not insignificant is quite a lot considering his $426 000 price tag. You don't have the cash to swap him to a straight up gun either. Personally I like the look of Elijah Taylor more than Klemmer, but if you aren't a fan of that I can't see any real options worth looking at besides going for some much cheaper guys. K. Bromwich should hopefully see a bump in minutes which will equate to a bump in price, I am gradually liking the pick more and more. However I don't think it is a must have pick. I like Joseph Tapine and if he could get decent and consistent minutes he could easily average 40-45 points or more week in, week out. The only issue is they have a stacked 2RF unit with Sia, Papalii and Whitehead there.

HLF: SJ, I am of the belief you can pick up cheaper later, and it is usually better to sit on Warriors players to see how they are performing first.

CTR: I would rather see S. Mata'Utia up in your 2RF, especially for this team. There is a lot of value around WFB/CTR's as well with Pythian, R. Jennings, Uate, Scott, Olive and a few other names being tossed around.

WFB: Stock standard.

Overall: Personally I think you should shift Sione up to the 2RF (Either Tapine or Klemmer replaced) and replace him with a cheap starting rookie and start with Idris. (You can swap them around if Idris is poor.) Then you have the money to pump up the other one. Unless you feel fairly confident in those two guys. Because other than that, and my own personal bias with SJ there isn't anything wrong with your squad.

Random wrote:

A major difference is is Blake Green is a little better fantasy wise and does more general kicking than organisational skills than Foran does. However that may not translate over to Manly who may require organisational skills.

It is looking like a safe bet that McGuire gets DPP status, so you might as well run with him.

I don't like the idea of starting with a NPR plyer to start the year with. Especially someone like Slater who is so up in the air about his injury. (Like I said it would be nice for the Storm to get him back so he can play 300 games.) but if that opportunity slips by he may not play at all. So without being named week 1 he is a risk. Oh and do you want to play a Knights FB in your starting 17 after Feeney last year?

Random wrote:

Nope looks well rounded. I hope Sironen isn't a trap this year since he has been hyped up and talked himself up somewhat leading into the season. However he should play decent minutes and he really can't do worse. So should at the very least break even throughout the year. (Except for the trade cost.)

Honestly there isn't a whole lot to dislike about this side. Why Holmes over French?