2019 NRL.com Fantasy thread part 2

Alfie wrote:That looks the go for sure. I don't think Slade will be ready for round 1 though. Should slot straight in mid season

Yeah. Lucky to play again really after what, 4 knee reco's now? I had to put him in the frame though as he was superb in 2018 before being injured.

Levi is just not good enough IMO. Hooker is the main weakness for Newcastle.

Hopefully they get Seggy then and Mann plays limited minutes

Any interest in predicted forward rotational minutes this year?

Thought I'd get some discussion going.

PLAYER OF INTEREST - DYLAN NAPA



2015 Avg: 39.2 in 50.5 minutes
2016 Avg: 44.0 in 56.8 minutes
2017 Avg: 30.4 in 41.3 minutes
2018 Avg: 24.1 in 42.2 minutes
Priced at 24.1.
Predicted avg: 37.5

Big Papa has never really set the world on fire fantasy wise, but he had a pretty well perfect record last year, unblemished by success. That makes him start really cheap this year. A distracted off season won't be helping matters either. And if he get's suspended as a result of the NRL crack down, this article might be a waste of time. I mean really though, it seems pretty convenient for the Rorters that these videos only came to light once he becomes a Bulldog. Did they release the videos themselves? I digress.

His minutes have been down, but more alarmingly his work rate is down also. From 0.77ppm down to 0.57. His offloads for the last four seasons have gone 11, 11, 7, 5. His form in real life has been rather lacklustre at times as well.

Napa is priced cheap enough that you could hold him on your bench as a cash cow and provide cover at FRF. This would mean you don't need to take the risk on the PPM kings like Haas and Vete who might just not get the minutes. Napa at the Bulldogs will be one of the leaders in that pack and should see a return to 50+ minutes. He would be keen to impress a new coach, particularly one who is an ex prop. Can he get both his minutes and work rate up? Will Pay let him use the offload? I think if he's allowed to start the year, you could do a lot worse than have big Papa on your bench. Thoughts?

Alfie wrote:Any interest in predicted forward rotational minutes this year?

Definitely. It gets conversations going.

Sweet, here's a take on the Broncos minutes first of all

8. Lodge 45
9. FAC 80
10. TPJ 50
11. Su'a 70
12. Gillett 80
13. Ofahengaue 55
14. Fensom 35
15. Fifita 35
16. Haas 30
17. Staggs 0 (Edit: Back Rotation as a Utility)

Ofahengaue should have a lot of upside if he starts at lock. Averaged 56.5 from 5 games starting there last year. FAC is a well established gun who was largely affected by injury last year. It wouldn't be out of the question to see him average upwards of 55. If TPJ can shake his rep of being an impact player he could like Ofa see some big point increases. Gilllett if he plays 80 should make a decent amount of cash given he's priced at 38 and averaged 47.75 in four games where he played 80minutes. Finally, I personally think there is a chance that Fifita starts over Su'a in which case he could be a great cash cow.

Raiders Rotation (Possibly)

8. Sutton 40
9. Hodgson 80
10. Soliola 40
11. Tapine 80
12. Whitehead 80
13. Papalii 60
14. Havili 20
15. L Bateman 30
16. J Bateman 20
17. Guler 30

I haven't got stats on Sutton but 511k seems a bit risky and he wasn't in the top 50 for any stat categories at the very least. Tapine could provide value but his base stats lack consistency. I don't see Whitehead going back to keeper levels this year or making enough money to be worth it. Emre Guler is on my watchlist as he did play around 30 minutes in games where he came off the bench. Also, I could see him eventually snagging a spot of Soliola. I would only consider John Bateman if he started as well but he'll find it hard unless Papalii moves to the front row

Alfie wrote:Sweet, here's a take on the Broncos minutes first of all

8. Lodge 50
9. Macca 80
10. TPJ 45
11. Su'a 80
12. Gillett 80
13. Ofahengaue 55
14. Glenn 30
15. Fifita 30
16. Haas 20
17. Staggs 10

Pretty good effort. I think the argument could be made that the bench sees a few more minutes. Does Gillett play 80 from the start or do they ease him back in? Likewise Will Su'a play 80 every week? Also Seibold has said he wants two props on the bench, does Glen count or do they give one of the other blokes a go. Seems a shame one of those second rowers playing reserve grade.

Touché, Gillett probably won't play 80 to begin with but eventually he will. Seibold had both Sutton and Crichton playing 80 last year. Su'a played 80 when he started but that could change to accompany Fifita who might even start. Glenn could be the one to make way for Fensom probably?

I'm not sure where TPJ and Haas get their minutes from. You could argue Lodge plays less minutes but I think Ofa should play around 55.

Alfie wrote:I'm not sure where TPJ and Haas get their minutes from. You could argue Lodge plays less minutes but I think Ofa should play around 55.

I'd be happy for Offa to get McGuires 65 minutes but I don't know where they come from either. I'm trying to remember, who got the real crappy minutes? Bench forwards wasn't it? There wasn't a utility I'm forgetting?

I’m pretty sure Bennett ran with staggs on the bench for a fair chunk where he didn’t see a minute. Haas was getting 10 minutes at a time

Seibold ran Douehi for about 10 minutes, so Alfie's probably on the money there. Lodge averaged 47 which could come down to 45 leaving another five minutes for someone. But Haas certainly looks risky.

Staggs minutes off the bench: 20,21,27,9,0,27,0,21

From what I can gather, Kotoni Staggs main use will be to cover backline injuries. Most weeks he might not even get any forward minutes at all

PLAYER OF INTEREST - BRAD ABBEY



2017 Avg: 19.8 in four games
2018 Avg: 12.8 in nine games
Priced Avg: 16
Predicted Avg 16

I mean that's a pretty decent sample size isn't it? I expect it will go just like this profile pic. How does someone score -6 in 80 minutes at fullback? I owned him in 2017 when I could have had Ponga. Ughh.

But he's cheap and if playing fullback he will be plenty popular. Could the Raiders come out firing this year? Could Abbey start finally putting up some decent scores? Maybe, but I wouldn't put money on it

This one is very open to interpretation

8. Tolman 55
9. Lichaa 55
10. Big Papi 45
11. Jackson 80
12. RFM 80
13. Martin 55
14. Elliot 25
15. CHN 25
16. Sue/Fualalo 30
17. JMK 25

Tolman and Napa are probably the only players of interest unless CHN starts in the 2RF. Tolman is getting a bit of hype but I don't think he'll be a keeper this year. You could argue he'd make good money as a mid ranger though given he's priced under 40. Napa had a terrible year last year due to missed tackles and a reduced work rate. He's averaged more than 40 in years previous though and appears a low risk cash cow to have this season.

Milchy wrote:
From what I can gather, Kotoni Staggs main use will be to cover backline injuries. Most weeks he might not even get any forward minutes at all

True true, looked back and there was only one game when he took minutes off the forwards and it was only 9 minutes. I guess that 10 minutes would go to Haas so he'd play around 30.

8. Fifita 50
9. Brailey 80
10. Prior 45
11. Capewell 80
12. Bukuya 60
13. Gallen 50
14. Sorensen 20
15. Seumanufagai 20
16. Woods 45
17. Williams 30

Fifita will likely be a gun this year and with Lewis retired, Graham out and Gallen closing in on retirement, he should get a lot more receipts this year which would see more metres and more points. Add to the fact he carried a knee injury for much of the second half of the season which he hardly gave time to heal. Whoever fills the vacant 2RF spots between Bukuya, Capewell and Sorensen should see a drastic increase and provide a good amount of cash. Unless Brailey 2.0 or Paulo get a go on the bench, Jayden could play 80 and make decent cash. Otherwise stay away from his inconsistency.

Just throwing it out there, Brailey averaged 47.67 in three games where he played 70 or more though he did score in one game. If Blayke doesn't get a bench spot he's priced at 33.4