Lone Scout's NRL Fantasy Q&A: Round 8

With Ryan Papenhuyzen still out, James Tedesco in doubt, a new rookie fullback on the scene and a few Fantasy superstars now looking affordable, it's another key week for NRL Fantasy trades.

This week's big questions

What is the go with RTS and Walsh? Will they really play the big money man RTS on the wing for the rest of the season or will Walsh spend time in the halves? Either way, is Walsh worth buying?

From Mark Konkers

This question came in before Reece Walsh was named at five-eighth in Tuesday's team lists, which answered the first part of the question. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is named at fullback this week, and he and Walsh may split their time between fullback, five-eighth, and defending on the wing like they did last week.

The upshot is the Warriors are clearly keen to give Walsh some game time this season, and after scoring 45 first up against the Storm he is set to make some quick cash if he can stick around for another five or six matches.

Chanel Harris-Tavita was set to return to the halves around round 13, although that could be much sooner with coach Nathan Brown quoted on Wednesday saying "we've got Chanel hopefully coming back in the next week or so". When Harris-Tavita is back, Walsh's job security will look very sketchy. 

Brown is still keen to give Walsh game time after praising his impact on the team's attack against Melbourne, so in the long run he could be worth picking up as a cash cow and WFB depth even if he finds himself in and out of the Warriors 17 from week to week.

What happened to Sean O'Sullivan last week? Injured or just dropped?

From Joseph Cahyo Wongsohardjo

Dropped. Unless something changes he looks like a sell, although at least a straight swap for Walsh frees up a lot of cash.

When is a good time to bring in Haas, will he drop more in price?

From Kyro Wiki-Ewart

If he matches last week's score he'll pretty much hold his price, but he could get a little cheaper if he produces a couple more scores around 50. Still, it's never a bad time to pick up one of the best Fantasy scorers in the business – and one of the few Broncos guaranteed to not get dropped this year.

Thoughts on CHN? Break even of 8, at $333k. Looks like good value.

From Lote Fakatava

Corey Harawira-Naera does look good value, and if he keeps his starting spot ahead of Hudson Young he'll be an excellent cash cow. He was in a lot of teams in the pre-season for good reason, and last week's 49 points in 80 minutes were encouraging.

Beware that Ricky Stuart has made some big changes to his forward pack in the past few weeks so there's no guarantee he doesn't get dropped for Young going forward, but if you're happy to take that risk he's one of the better cash cow options out there.

I need to trade James Roberts out. Who should I get out of CHN, Walsh, or Hampton. If Teddy is out I will need Walsh or Hampton for WFB cover as well.

From Jeremy Brauer

OK let's break down the pros and cons for these guys because they all have slightly different advantages.

• Corey Harawira-Naera – $333k EDG, definite cash cow if he keeps an edge spot at the Raiders ahead of Hudson Young. That's no guarantee though with Ricky Stuart changing his team frequently.
• Reece Walsh – $254k WFB, cash cow if he keeps a spot in the Warriors backline, which looks likely in the short term considering they've been happy to drop Sean O'Sullivan and move Roger Tuivasa-Sheck last week. Frees up the most cash and covers for Tedesco.
• Ben Hampton – $392k, CTR/WFB, still making money but closer to reaching peak price than the others, also costs more. Scoring consistently above 45 as a halfback. Only real competition is an (unlikely) mid-season move for Tom Dearden or Chad Townsend, or an (unlikely) decision to bench him for the Knights-bound Jake Clifford. The most reliable scorer but most expensive option, probably now more of a keeper centre than a genuine cash cow.

If you want a scoring centre, get Hampton. If you want good scores for your 17, get Hampton or Harawira-Naera. If you want to free up the most money, get Walsh.

Trade Hudson Young for Cam Murray or Tevita Pangai Junior?

From Matt Riki

Tevita Pangai jnr has played two games on an edge this season for scores of 65 and 81, and although both were boosted by tries he still has scored around 40 in base stats in those games with the ability to bust tackles and produce offloads and scoring chances. I'm not certain he's a keeper just yet but as a dual-position forward at under $700k he'd get my nod ahead of Cameron Murray right now.

Do you reckon Gamble is worth a ... punt?

From Phillip Parsons

A rookie half at the Broncos is probably the kind of player with the worst job security in the NRL right now, going by Kevin Walters' tendency to drop his halves at any point. I'd be waiting at least a week to see how he goes before considering trading Tyson Gamble in.

Is it time to trade Teddy?

From Dane Evans

No, I wouldn't. He's been named to play this week and even though he could be a late withdrawal, he's still traditionally the best WFB in Fantasy and should be among the elite few fullbacks in the game this year despite a relatively quiet last few weeks.

If you keep him all year the fact that his price is falling doesn't matter.

The one argument for selling would be if you're playing for overall points and Tedesco gets ruled out this week and you're planning on selling him now and picking him up at a discount later.

If he's out this week he'll miss at least round 8, 13 and 17 due to Origin duty, with the chance of being rested in round 14 or 18 days after Origin matches.

You could then pick him up, presumably even cheaper than he is now, but that would cost you two trades – and in a year when injuries are already taking a big toll on our trade totals, I'm not sure if that's a price worth spending.

Crichton or Papali'i?

From Zack Edwardson

At this point, I prefer Angus Crichton. Isaiah Papali'i has been sensational for the Eels this season but his scores have been boosted by a David Fifita-esque tryscoring run, and he's still a fairly high chance of moving back to the bench with Ryan Matterson returning from his head knock.

Crichton meanwhile is a rock-solid 60+ scorer and should stay that way for the rest of the season.

Is Turbo a must have?

From Charlie Camus

No. He's obviously been great in his two games back from a hamstring injury, but his injury history and the fact he can struggle to produce keeper-level scores in games when he doesn't score or set up tries puts him behind the likes of Ryan Papenhuyzen, Kalyn Ponga, James Tedesco and possibly even Brian To'o in the pecking order of Fantasy WFBs.

A lack of tackle busts means his ceiling isn't as high as those guys, and like any fullback he is capable of scoring around 30 in quiet games.

He will be an excellent moneymaker for those who have got him though, and is capable of producing good 60+ scores in Manly wins.

Is now a good time to bring in Moses given he has dropped in price and will play right through? Can straight swap with either Townsend or Turpin, which one?

From Nate Nathan

Good trade, and I'd probably sell Townsend first.

How would you rank POD CTRs for the run home? Assuming everyone has Bird and/or Peachey? I'm going to roll the dice on Ramien or Rapana.

From Dom Griffin

Ben Hampton is now actually the most-owned centre, well ahead of Bird and Peachey. Among players in less than 10 per cent of teams I like Jesse Ramien ($533k), Tom Opacic ($478k), Bradman Best ($584k), Jordan Rapana ($542k) and Campbell Graham ($499k), roughly in that order.

But any time you can lock in a 40-point scorer for less than $400k (like Hampton) or a lock available at centre (like Peachey) it's a good move.

 

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