Lone Scout's NRL Fantasy Q&A: Round 12

A week out from the first bye round of the season, NRL Fantasy coaches have plenty of questions about the latest cash cows, dual position updates, Connor Watson, Shaun Johnson, Mahe Fonua and more.

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Here are my answers.

Mahe Fonua: when will he be changed to DPP available in CTR? He has played a game in centre and is now named to start at centre.
From William Fielding

The next batch of dual position player updates will kick in next week, after round 12. (The first batch came after round six, the next will be after round 18.) Fonua will this week play only his second game at centre for the season, but he has won the spot on merit – he's not replacing an injured player – and looks like staying in the Tigers' centres indefinitely so he's set to become a dual position WFB/CTR next week.

Will Yeo get dual position when the next round of updates roll around?
From Craig Melody

Isaah Yeo has played three games at centre for the Panthers this season, filling in for injuries, and now that he's back in the second row he doesn't look set to return to the backline unless there are more injuries at Penrith. At this stage he won't get DPP next week.

Who will get DPP status next week?
From Daniel Nucifora

At this stage Mahe Fonua (CTR, WFB), Isaiah Papali'I (2RF, FRF), Michael Morgan (WFB, HLF) and Victor Radley (2RF, HOK) are on track for DPP updates. If you've got a convincing argument for more players, hit me up on Twitter.

Prepping for round 13, JFH to Watson? I've got cover and I think Watson will still make decent money. JFH may not go well against Dragons and then has the bye. Also Kennar to Fonua pending his DPP tag next week?
From Cam O'Dwyer

Connor Watson has been in great Fantasy form, averaging 55 in the past month, and he's making money fast. His scoring has been much stronger when playing alongside inexperienced halfback like Brock Lamb or Jack Cogger rather than Mitchell Pearce, so the potential for more big scores in the short term is there. The problem is, at $554,000 he'll need to keep scoring close to 50 points a game to make $150,000 in price increases (by comparison, Jamayne Isaako has earned $228,000 this year, Rhyse Martin has made $215,000 in three weeks, and Viliame Kikau has made $444,000 in price rises).

It's a lot to ask of a running five-eighth playing for a bottom-eight club, especially considering the Knights have games against the Sharks, Roosters and Storm in the next month. I won't be grabbing him so only pick him up if you're happy to take the risk.

At $200,000 cheaper, with dual position status looming and the ability to be at least a handy 18th man and at best a keeper in the centre, Mahe Fonua is a safer option and a good trade for Kennar.

Best cash cows going forward? What do I do with SJ?
From Callum Wisbey

It's not a great week for cash cows, with AJ Brimson probably the best bet aside from Fonua. That's why you've got to snap up the obvious cows quickly when they do arrive (like Rhyse Martin a couple of weeks back). Don't worry if you're short on cash though, more will pop up during the Origin period.

Shaun Johnson said last week he expected to return from his ankle injury after the round 13 bye, so he's a hold for now if he's still in your side. He is still the No.1 Fantasy half in the game when fit.

Who should I cash Rein out to? Doueihi, Olive, Brimson or someone else I've missed?
From James Kapaniris

I reckon Brimson, or Fonua if you could do with the extra depth at WFB/CTR.

What to do with Lamb?
From Chiranth KrishnaKumar

There's no rush to sell him just yet but the concern is that if he misses a month he may not play many games (if any) before Mitchell Pearce returns from injury at halfback for the Knights. You could hold him until then and hope he plays enough games to earn some price bumps, but if you could do with an extra scorer or faster cash then he's a sell.

Trade Kikau or Fisher-Harris out this week? Kikau has the higher break even but can we expect him to score better than Fisher-Harris off the bench?
From James Flynn

This is a tough question that I'm struggling with in my own team this week. The smart move is probably to sell Kikau – he's got a higher break even (50 v 40), costs more so gives you more spending power ($672K v $625k) and is now coming off the bench while Fisher-Harris is Penrith's starting lock. Fisher-Harris is also the more reliable scorer, with just one score below 40 since round 2.

The flipside is we've seen Kikau smash out three 60s this season, including 63 in just 36 minutes off the bench in round 1, so we know he's capable of making the most of limited game time. That makes him a tempting player to keep, but I'd still probably recommend keeping the less explosive but more reliable JFH.

Is Terepo from the Eels a keeper?
From Jordan Shaw

No, with Nathan Brown due to return from injury at lock in the next few weeks Terepo's time a high-scoring No.13 will probably be shortlived.

Is Jeremy Marshall-King a sell or hold for now? I need to upgrade Havilli to Cook and need cash, so is it time to trade him out for either Brimson/TMM or Hodgkinson. Who's got the best option to grow in cash but also hold their position?
From Kieran Waters

Coming off a score of 44 and with a break-even of 25, there's no urgent need to sell Marshall-King after his first 80-minute performance since moving to hooker. If you're still keen to sell, Brimson is probably the best bet although don't be surprised if he regularly scores in the low 20s due to a lack of base stats.