2019 NRL.com Fantasy thread part 2

Mighty Fishes wrote:I thought I heard Will Smith getting the number 1 and gutho and Moses in the halves?

Haven't heard that. All the Eels supporters think it will be Dylan Brown or as I prefer, Drown.

From Seibold:

Matt Lodge, Joe Ofahengaue and Tevita Pangai jnr are the favourites to fill the starting three middle forward positions with the two middles on the bench set to be a showdown between Payne Haas, Shaun Fensom, Sam Tagataese, Patrick Mago and two highly rated props yet to play in the NRL in Patrick Carrigan and Thomas Flegler.

Test forward Matt Gillett will hold down one of the back-row starting positions. The other will be a race between Alex Glenn, David Fifita and Jaydn Su'A with one of that trio a likely candidate for a bench role.

Also states the 14 will be between staggs and kahu

Good for Macca

StormTrooper96 wrote:From Seibold:

Matt Lodge, Joe Ofahengaue and Tevita Pangai jnr are the favourites to fill the starting three middle forward positions with the two middles on the bench set to be a showdown between Payne Haas, Shaun Fensom, Sam Tagataese, Patrick Mago and two highly rated props yet to play in the NRL in Patrick Carrigan and Thomas Flegler.

Test forward Matt Gillett will hold down one of the back-row starting positions. The other will be a race between Alex Glenn, David Fifita and Jaydn Su'A with one of that trio a likely candidate for a bench role.

Also states the 14 will be between staggs and kahu

hadn't really considered it, but Kahu would be a pretty handy utility, can pretty much plug into the backline at any spot in an emergency.

also all but confirms Bird will be starting centre considering the two other likely options are fighting for a bench role.

Mighty Fishes wrote:I thought I heard Will Smith getting the number 1 and gutho and Moses in the halves?

some eels insider on nrlsctalk said there would be a 4 forward bench & Mahoney 80 min hooker. He also said both Takairangi & French would start the season in ISP & that Salmon was training at ctr. So your comment seems to make sense mate.

Good to see a bit of action in the threads of late, looking forward to getting back on board! Highlight of this thread so far for me was @my_tv_broke and his analogy of trial team with "ah, trial teams. My favourite time of the year. Love the completely misleading assumptions we make about those team lists."

This gave me a laugh.

Also, at a stretch for team names, KikauInuHaas has some double entendre that I like.

The Raiders opening draw is very nice & picking a couple of Raiders could be the go. Hodgson could be a good hooker choice especially since the Raiders play the first bye. With Wighton training at 6 it could also mean Hodgson takes on more of a play making role & stays on the field for 80 mins. He's also a very attacking hooker so the early draw will suit his playing style.
Based on the above statements on the Broncos then McCullough could be in for 80 mins. The Broncos have a very tough opening draw so that suits McCullough who will make 50 tackles a game. However the Broncos have a bye in round 12.
Based on the fact that Hodgson is 52k cheaper & he plays the first bye I might start with Hodgson as my main hooker.

White Lightning wrote:The Raiders opening draw is very nice & picking a couple of Raiders could be the go. Hodgson could be a good hooker choice especially since the Raiders play the first bye. With Wighton training at 6 it could also mean Hodgson takes on more of a play making role & stays on the field for 80 mins. He's also a very attacking hooker so the early draw will suit his playing style.
Based on the above statements on the Broncos then McCullough could be in for 80 mins. The Broncos have a very tough opening draw so that suits McCullough who will make 50 tackles a game. However the Broncos have a bye in round 12.
Based on the fact that Hodgson is 52k cheaper & he plays the first bye I might start with Hodgson as my main hooker.

I was also liking the looks of Hodgson but the return from injury still has me slightly concerned. The upside is that he was able to return last year and get a few games in and should be punching out a full preseason so one would think that he'll be good to go.

@Welshy and @Random, anyone running a NRL draft this year?

Verbal Kint wrote:Any trials that we fancy 'sending' a few of us along to?

Pre season piss up research....

I normally make it along to the Roosters game at Central Coast Stadium. Dates haven't been released yet but will likely be in attendance

White Lightning wrote:The Raiders opening draw is very nice & picking a couple of Raiders could be the go. Hodgson could be a good hooker choice especially since the Raiders play the first bye. With Wighton training at 6 it could also mean Hodgson takes on more of a play making role & stays on the field for 80 mins. He's also a very attacking hooker so the early draw will suit his playing style.
Based on the above statements on the Broncos then McCullough could be in for 80 mins. The Broncos have a very tough opening draw so that suits McCullough who will make 50 tackles a game. However the Broncos have a bye in round 12.
Based on the fact that Hodgson is 52k cheaper & he plays the first bye I might start with Hodgson as my main hooker.

I'm liking the look of whoever starts at 7 if Wighton is the 6. Although Hodgson will take some kick metres we can assume the halfback will do the majority of kicking

White Lightning wrote:
Based on the above statements on the Broncos then McCullough could be in for 80 mins. The Broncos have a very tough opening draw so that suits McCullough who will make 50 tackles a game. However the Broncos have a bye in round 12.

Surely McCullough will play 80 because that's what he always does. It's pretty much only injury that will stop him.

I had a brief look at Hodgson earlier and my initial opinion was that there isn't much upside. He played 80 minutes every week except his comeback game, and his scores weren't good enough to warrant fantasy selection. So you'd need to see significant lift in on field performance to make him worth it

multiple.scoregasms wrote:

I'm liking the look of whoever starts at 7 if Wighton is the 6. Although Hodgson will take some kick metres we can assume the halfback will do the majority of kicking

No chance am I interested in either Williams or Sezer for that matter. I get what you are saying regarding the kick meters but that on it's own (and it will be basically on it's own if Wighton lines up at 6) is not enough for me with other options out there in the halves position.

Milchy wrote:

Surely McCullough will play 80 because that's what he always does. It's pretty much only injury that will stop him.

I had a brief look at Hodgson earlier and my initial opinion was that there isn't much upside. He played 80 minutes every week except his comeback game, and his scores weren't good enough to warrant fantasy selection. So you'd need to see significant lift in on field performance to make him worth it

A little tough to judge his value based on a return from injury sample though. Lacking match fitness, mental fortitude (though not really a question for that bloke) still questionable following an injury of that magnitude. I think you'll definitely see a lift in the on field performance though I will say, I don't know that it will be enough of an increase for me to take him over the likes of Macca or Friend etc.

surmo13 wrote:also all but confirms Bird will be starting centre considering the two other likely options are fighting for a bench role.

Bird at left centre is 110% confirmed.

Verbal Kint wrote:Any trials that we fancy 'sending' a few of us along to?

Pre season piss up research....

Obviously more to be announced, but current list:

Friday February 15
Indigenous All Stars v Maori All Stars: 5.20pm women's game; 8pm men's game at AAMI Park

Eels v Raiders: 5.30pm at St Marys Leagues Stadium

Saturday February 16
Broncos v Souths Logan: 6pm at Father Ranger Oval, Warwick

Sunday February 17
Wigan Warriors v Sydney Roosters: Monday, February 18, 6am AEDT, DW Stadium, Wigan

Friday February 22
Storm v Warriors: 7.30pm at Kardinia Park, Geelong

Saturday February 23
Titans v Cowboys: 5pm at Sunshine Coast Stadium

Rabbitohs v Panthers: at Redfern Oval

Raiders v Bulldogs: 5.30pm at Bega Recreation Ground

Dragons v Knights: 6.30pm at Jubilee Stadium

Broncos v Wynnum Seagulls: 7pm at Kougari Oval, Wynnum

Sea Eagles v Sharks: 7:30pm at Lottoland

Saturday March 2
Warriors v Wests Tigers: 5pm (3pm AEDT) at Northland Events Centre, Whangarei, NZ

Knights v Sharks: 5.30pm at Maitland No. 1 Sportsground

Titans v Broncos: 6:30pm at Cbus Super Stadium

Cowboys v Storm: 7pm at Mackay

Panthers v Eels: 7pm at Panthers Stadium

Sea Eagles v Roosters: 7pm Central Coast Stadium

Dragons v Rabbitohs Charity Shield: 7.30pm at Glen Willow Stadium, Mudgee

Mearcats wrote:@Welshy and @Random, anyone running a NRL draft this year?

Yes mate there is a pretty fresh thread in fantasy section we stated a few discussions in early this week/last week mate! Get in there

Mearcats wrote:

A little tough to judge his value based on a return from injury sample though. Lacking match fitness, mental fortitude (though not really a question for that bloke) still questionable following an injury of that magnitude. I think you'll definitely see a lift in the on field performance though I will say, I don't know that it will be enough of an increase for me to take him over the likes of Macca or Friend etc.  

Hodgson's best scores were in the month after his return. So on that basis you'd want him returning from injury all the time.

Hey guys, Fotuaika was a kid who was really impressive last year when he got the minutes - any chance his minutes step up enough to make him an option this year? What are your thoughts on how the middle rotation works for the Titans this year? Cheers.

Rippin and Tearin wrote:Hey guys, Fotuaika was a kid who was really impressive last year when he got the minutes - any chance his minutes step up enough to make him an option this year? What are your thoughts on how the middle rotation works for the Titans this year? Cheers.

He does cost 403k & he'll come off the bench. I think he's a wait & see at best. 403k for a bench frf seems too much to pay when he'll only get 20-30 mins at best in a stacked Titans pack.