2018 NRL.com Fantasy Thread Part 5

danseels1985 wrote:Option A: Run with Croft and Cartwright in the halves and have Cook plus Evans on the bench

Option B: Run with Croft and Watson in the halves and have Cartwright in the reserves and have  Evans as a emergency

The other bench players are Lichaa,NAS and RFM in both scenarios

I like B, but if Cook was garunteed 80, that's a different story.

Fortitude wrote:I don't understand everyone's gripe about the prizes being crap.

Even if there weren't prizes, id still play.

Id sooner there be no prizes and money go into better development of the platform. (I'm not holding hope that the App is going to blow us away).

Around this time last year there was a ladder prediction thread? did that go anywhere? is it happening again?

I see it like this. Shitty prizes = more people move over to supercoach. Less fantasy users = less effort/$$$ for development from nrl.

I dont want to end up at supercoach.

Been said before but it truly amazes me the lack of effort the nrl put into making fantasy be the best thing out there.

Anyone interested in joining our 2018 Ladder Predictor comp, head over to

https://www.nrlfantasyfanatics.com/t614-2018-ladder-predictor#169252

and let's see who knows their stuff !

danseels1985 wrote:Option A: Run with Croft and Cartwright in the halves and have Cook plus Evans on the bench

Option B: Run with Croft and Watson in the halves and have Cartwright in the reserves and have  Evans as a emergency

The other bench players are Lichaa,NAS and RFM in both scenarios

I would go option (b) but I would downgrade Evans to a 228/212k & use the extra money on an upgrade. You have NAS as a frf cover due to his dpp so you don't need Evans. I know you are trying to be sensible in having a good 18th man in Evans to cover all contingencies but I assume you have Croker & a Raiders hooker in your emergencies so they will be adequate emergencies.

Fair enough,thanks for that. Should I definitely go Lodge over Evans in my FRF then?

danseels1985 wrote:Fair enough,thanks for that. Should I definitely go Lodge over Evans in my FRF then?

Probably. But who really knows at this stage.

[quote="danseels1985"]Fair enough,thanks for that. Should I definitely go Lodge over Evans in my FRF then? [/quote

Lodge for me. He's a beast & will outscore Evans by 10-15 points.

my tv broke wrote:

I see it like this. Shitty prizes = more people move over to supercoach. Less fantasy users = less effort/$$$ for development from nrl.

I dont want to end up at supercoach.

Been said before but it truly amazes me the lack of effort the nrl put into making fantasy be the best thing out there.

The lack of marketing foresight that goes into this should be deadset astonishing....but along with the lack of emphasis on drawing crowds, I'd actually be more surprised if I saw some effort/thought than the standard lack thereof.

FFS how much $$ would even need to go into making this a more attractive season long marketing exercise??

There isn't a lot of other reasons why I'll turn on the telly on a Saturday night to tune into a bloody Newcastle vs Titans borefest.

First-time poster (long-time lurker).

I’m a big fan of the forum.  There’s plenty of good analysis and people who know their stuff.  And the debate is respectful, a rarity these days.

It’s great to see blokes willing to share advice without shitting on each other (cough Renegades).  That said, I’d appreciate any thoughts on my draft team.  I thought it a good way to introduce myself and start a conversation

Also I’m keen to join a Fanatics league if you could recommend one.  I have a couple of top 250 finishes, so I can hold my own.  That said, last year was an absolute shocker - I finished 11,678 .

C. Smith (C)
J. Bromwich
M. Lodge
N. Brown (V)
T. Harris
C. Murray
B. Croft
B. Cartwright
M. Aubusson
T. Milne
J. Tedesco
K. Ponga
P. Hiku

D. Cook
R. Faitala-Mariner
L. Latu
C. Garvey/S. Havili

L. Croker
V. Kikau
R. Kennar
S. Katoa

$36k free.

Cook is a potential swap for Lichaa depending on final team lists.  I’m nervous about having Aubusson (Black Widow) but he seems a good bet provided there are no early injuries.  Cartwright is in the halves as I think Croker’s scoring will disappoint a lot of teams this year.

I’m the least convinced by Latu but he balances out the team.  I am interested if anyone thinks he could be a liability.

Thanks guys.

On Lodge. I remember when he was at Wests a couple of years ago, he started & in his first spell was on 40 odd points. He is the kind of player that is built for fantasy. He gets plenty of run metres because he runs hard & direct, he gets tb's/offloads due to running hard & he is busy in defense. But I expect Bennett to ease him into the season due to not playing for a while so I expect him to start off at 35-40 minutes but once he's match fit I think he'll get 45-50 minutes.

If I run with a back 3 of Teddy Ponga and Katoa with Kennar as back up I could turn RFM into Brown. Is that a move that you would make? This is how the team would look:

Smith
Bromwich Lodge
Brown Harris Murray
Croft Watson
Milne Hiku
Tedesco Ponga Katoa

Lichaa
NAS
Arrow
Cartwright

Croker
Garvey
Leilua
Kennar

Taggers wrote:First-time poster (long-time lurker).

I’m a big fan of the forum.  There’s plenty of good analysis and people who know their stuff.  And the debate is respectful, a rarity these days.

It’s great to see blokes willing to share advice without shitting on each other (cough Renegades).  That said, I’d appreciate any thoughts on my draft team.  I thought it a good way to introduce myself and start a conversation

Also I’m keen to join a Fanatics league if you could recommend one.  I have a couple of top 250 finishes, so I can hold my own.  That said, last year was an absolute shocker - I finished 11,678   .

C. Smith (C)
J. Bromwich
M. Lodge
N. Brown (V)
T. Harris
C. Murray
B. Croft
B. Cartwright
M. Aubusson
T. Milne
J. Tedesco
K. Ponga
P. Hiku

D. Cook
R. Faitala-Mariner
L. Latu
C. Garvey/S. Havili

L. Croker
V. Kikau
R. Kennar
S. Katoa

$36k free.

Cook is a potential swap for Lichaa depending on final team lists.  I’m nervous about having Aubusson (Black Widow) but he seems a good bet provided there are no early injuries.  Cartwright is in the halves as I think Croker’s scoring will disappoint a lot of teams this year.

I’m the least convinced by Latu but he balances out the team.  I am interested if anyone thinks he could be a liability.

Thanks guys.

Welcome aboard mate. That's a very good team. I agree on Latu but he should go ok while Wallace is out for 2 games. Maybe switch to Evans if Evans starts because when Wallace returns after his 2 game suspension then Latu could be on the bench.
There is a registration thread in the fantasy section where you can register & then you'll be entered into a fanatics league. You will get a pm from who ever is running your league with your league code.

Taggers wrote:First-time poster (long-time lurker).

I’m a big fan of the forum.  There’s plenty of good analysis and people who know their stuff.  And the debate is respectful, a rarity these days.

It’s great to see blokes willing to share advice without shitting on each other (cough Renegades).  That said, I’d appreciate any thoughts on my draft team.  I thought it a good way to introduce myself and start a conversation

Also I’m keen to join a Fanatics league if you could recommend one.  I have a couple of top 250 finishes, so I can hold my own.  That said, last year was an absolute shocker - I finished 11,678   .

C. Smith (C)
J. Bromwich
M. Lodge
N. Brown (V)
T. Harris
C. Murray
B. Croft
B. Cartwright
M. Aubusson
T. Milne
J. Tedesco
K. Ponga
P. Hiku

D. Cook
R. Faitala-Mariner
L. Latu
C. Garvey/S. Havili

L. Croker
V. Kikau
R. Kennar
S. Katoa

$36k free.

Cook is a potential swap for Lichaa depending on final team lists.  I’m nervous about having Aubusson (Black Widow) but he seems a good bet provided there are no early injuries.  Cartwright is in the halves as I think Croker’s scoring will disappoint a lot of teams this year.

I’m the least convinced by Latu but he balances out the team.  I am interested if anyone thinks he could be a liability.

Thanks guys.

Welcome Taggers

We have a league registration thread.
https://www.nrlfantasyfanatics.com/t610-2018-nrl-fantasy-leagues-registration-thread
It's a bit of a shambles at the moment as the new fantasy system has wiped everyone's history, and nobody knows there ranking, but after a disappointing 2016, NRLFF leagues performed very strongly last year, and we hope to b dominate the rankings again this year.

As for your team, it is full of players that have been discussed a lot in the past few weeks, and if you are wrong in your selections you will be joining many other coaches.
Personally I feel Latu is going to be a trap, I think I'd probably prefer Kane Evans at that price, and Evans doesn't excite me much either.

White Lightning wrote:On Lodge. I remember when he was at Wests a couple of years ago, he started & in his first spell was on 40 odd points. He is the kind of player that is built for fantasy. He gets plenty of run metres because he runs hard & direct, he gets tb's/offloads due to running hard & he is busy in defense. But I expect Bennett to ease him into the season due to not playing for a while so I expect him to start off at 35-40 minutes but once he's match fit I think he'll get 45-50 minutes.

I've heard Bennett say that Lodge is super fit and capable of playing big minutes - again, that doesn't mean he *will* play big minutes, but I don't see lack of NRL game time being a major concern.

danseels1985 wrote:If I run with a back 3 of Teddy Ponga and Katoa with Kennar as back up I could turn RFM into Brown. Is that a move that you would make? This is how the team would look:

Smith
Bromwich Lodge
Brown Harris Murray
Croft Watson
Milne Hiku
Tedesco Ponga Katoa

Lichaa
NAS
Arrow
Cartwright

Croker
Garvey
Leilua
Kennar

I think RFM is a player you want in your team.
Personally, I would rather change Harris to Brown and keep RFM. I think Harris will suffer from leaving-melbourne-for-a-poor-club-itis and not hit the heights some people are expecting of him. Could easily be wrong though so do what youu are comfortable with.

Also, I don't think NAS will deliver the points some are hoping he will. To me he is priced a little too awkwardly for the points he'll give. Not quite good enough to be a gun, but a bit too expensive for a cheapie filler, and not quite underpriced enough to give good value. His DPP status makes him still a little tempting, but ideally I will be trading up for a better gun or down to someone cheaper if someone appears.

danseels1985 wrote:If I run with a back 3 of Teddy Ponga and Katoa with Kennar as back up I could turn RFM into Brown. Is that a move that you would make? This is how the team would look:

Smith
Bromwich Lodge
Brown Harris Murray
Croft Watson
Milne Hiku
Tedesco Ponga Katoa

Lichaa
NAS
Arrow
Cartwright

Croker
Garvey
Leilua
Kennar

Yep that looks good but it's a fine balancing act in the argument of going light at the back & stacking your pack & vice versa. We all have different opinions on this & it's all a trade off.

Taggers wrote:First-time poster (long-time lurker).

I’m a big fan of the forum.  There’s plenty of good analysis and people who know their stuff.  And the debate is respectful, a rarity these days.

It’s great to see blokes willing to share advice without shitting on each other (cough Renegades).  That said, I’d appreciate any thoughts on my draft team.  I thought it a good way to introduce myself and start a conversation

Also I’m keen to join a Fanatics league if you could recommend one.  I have a couple of top 250 finishes, so I can hold my own.  That said, last year was an absolute shocker - I finished 11,678   .

C. Smith (C)
J. Bromwich
M. Lodge
N. Brown (V)
T. Harris
C. Murray
B. Croft
B. Cartwright
M. Aubusson
T. Milne
J. Tedesco
K. Ponga
P. Hiku

D. Cook
R. Faitala-Mariner
L. Latu
C. Garvey/S. Havili

L. Croker
V. Kikau
R. Kennar
S. Katoa

$36k free.

Cook is a potential swap for Lichaa depending on final team lists.  I’m nervous about having Aubusson (Black Widow) but he seems a good bet provided there are no early injuries.  Cartwright is in the halves as I think Croker’s scoring will disappoint a lot of teams this year.

I’m the least convinced by Latu but he balances out the team.  I am interested if anyone thinks he could be a liability.

Thanks guys.

Welcome mate.

Probably better picks than Latu like the others have mentioned.

Also be wary of the Farah factor with Cook.

Otherwise good team.

wolfking wrote:

I like B, but if Cook was garunteed 80, that's a different story.

I think the best case guarantee you can get for Cook is 60-70 minutes. Even if he keeps Farah in reserve grade , DOueihi or someone will be on the bench. He might still play some 80 mminute games, but iif you want a "guarantee" before selecting him, I just don't thinkj it will happen.

Cook only needs 60 minutes to provide good value, and anything on top of that will just be a nice bonus, so he is sticking around in my team drafts until I get better evidence otherwise.

SoylentGreen wrote:

I've heard Bennett say that Lodge is super fit and capable of playing big minutes - again, that doesn't mean he *will* play big minutes, but I don't see lack of NRL game time being a major concern.

Also, everyone has a lack of game time in round 1

Taggers wrote:First-time poster (long-time lurker).

I’m a big fan of the forum.  There’s plenty of good analysis and people who know their stuff.  And the debate is respectful, a rarity these days.

It’s great to see blokes willing to share advice without shitting on each other (cough Renegades).  That said, I’d appreciate any thoughts on my draft team.  I thought it a good way to introduce myself and start a conversation

Also I’m keen to join a Fanatics league if you could recommend one.  I have a couple of top 250 finishes, so I can hold my own.  That said, last year was an absolute shocker - I finished 11,678   .

C. Smith (C)
J. Bromwich
M. Lodge
N. Brown (V)
T. Harris
C. Murray
B. Croft
B. Cartwright
M. Aubusson
T. Milne
J. Tedesco
K. Ponga
P. Hiku

D. Cook
R. Faitala-Mariner
L. Latu
C. Garvey/S. Havili

L. Croker
V. Kikau
R. Kennar
S. Katoa

$36k free.

Cook is a potential swap for Lichaa depending on final team lists.  I’m nervous about having Aubusson (Black Widow) but he seems a good bet provided there are no early injuries.  Cartwright is in the halves as I think Croker’s scoring will disappoint a lot of teams this year.

I’m the least convinced by Latu but he balances out the team.  I am interested if anyone thinks he could be a liability.

Thanks guys.

Welcome!

Im not convinced with Crokers scoring ability either but Carty is also an unkown for me. I read an article that return to preseason out of shape. I dont know how many minutes he plays in the middle. If he starts slow the only other option you have in the halves is Croker. Id prefer to have Carty on the bench