NRL Fantasy teams analysis: Round 16 – Cleary gone

Roosters: Sam Walker returns at halfback, with Joey Manu going back to centre and Joseph Suaalii out of the side. Sam Verrills is named to start at hooker with Adam Keighran on the bench, Sitili Tupouniua (foot) returns to the pack, Fletcher Baker drops to the bench and Ben Thomas drops out.

Angus Crichton (84 last round) is a captaincy option after playing just 41 minutes off the bench in Origin II, while Tedesco's performance in that Blues win would have been worth 77 Fantasy points – just three points behind his best score of the season.

Storm: Jesse Bromwich and Kenny Bromwich return to the pack in place of Nelson Asofa-Solomona (suspension) and Tom Eisenhuth (elbow), Christian Welch starts with Tui Kamikamica to come off the bench, and Aaron Booth replaces Harry Grant (hamstring) on the interchange.

Nicho Hynes (50) is expected to hold the fullback spot for the next few weeks with Ryan Papenhuyzen targeting a return in round 18. Jahrome Hughes (82) is in sensational form at the moment.

Warriors v Dragons, Friday 6.00pm at Central Coast Stadium

Warriors: Reece Walsh (hamstring) is replaced at fullback by Roger Tuivasa-Sheck while new recruits Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Chad Townsend are straight into the backline.

Euan Aitken and Josh Curran are in isolation and will both miss two matches after being on a flight with a COVID-positive crew member. Wayde Egan returns from a head knock, bumping Jazz Tevaga to the bench and Taniela Otukolo out of the side.

Tohu Harris (76) is a safe captaincy option in the absence of Nathan Cleary.

Dragons: Matt Dufty returns at fullback in place of Tyrell Sloan and Jack Bird is back in the centres, with Gerard Beale shifting to the wing to cover the suspended Mikaele Ravalawa.

Josh Kerr moves to the second row and Paul Vaughan starts at prop, with Josh McGuire and Tyrell Fuimaono returning on the bench and Adam Clune dropping out.

Bird (54) had been scoring well in the second row while Ben Hunt (80) and Andrew McCullough (65) both had big games in the round 15 win over Canberra.

Panthers v Eels, Friday 7.55pm at BlueBet Stadium

Panthers: Time to pick a new Fantasy captain with Nathan Cleary out with the shoulder injury he suffered in Origin II. At the time of writing the Panthers had not ruled out the prospect of surgery and a lengthy layoff. Matt Burton moves to halfback and Tyrone May lines up in the centres.

Dylan Edwards is also out, with Charlie Staines starting at fullback and Brent Naden on the wing.

Viliame Kikau is back from a hamstring injury, with Liam Martin shifting to the bench.

Eels: Maika Sivo replaces Sean Russell on the wing and Oregon Kaufusi and Bryce Cartwright replace Keegan Hipgrave and Nathaniel Roache (knee) on the bench. Reed Mahoney could return after next week's bye.

Isaiah Papali'i (73) and Mitch Moses (87) were both in good touch in round 15 while Clint Gutherson (55) has also been in excellent form.

Bulldogs v Sea Eagles, Saturday 3.00pm at Bankwest Stadium

Bulldogs: Aaron Schoupp, Brandon Wakeham, Dylan Napa, Sione Katoa and Corey Waddell are out after visiting a COVID-19 hotspot, with Falakiko Manu and Kyle Flanagan getting starts in the backline.

Jackson Topine replaces Adam Elliott (cheekbone) in the back row, while Bailey Biondi-Odo, Joe Stimson and Chris Patolo join the bench.

Flanagan's presence could eat into the kick metres of Jake Averillo, who has averaged a stunning 74 points from his past three games.

Sea Eagles: No changes, with Jake Trbojevic (hip) and Josh Schuster (calf) still another week away after being left out of the 21. Schuster's continued absence is frustrating for those who have held him.

Tom Trbojevic (94) just keeps getting better and is now the second-most owned and sixth-most expensive player in the game

Raiders v Titans, Saturday 5.30pm at GIO Stadium

Raiders: Jarrod Croker returns for his first appearance since round 7, at the expense of Matthew Timoko. Ryan Sutton is named to start at lock but has been switched to the bench before kick-off in recent weeks.

Corey Harawira-Naerea (58 last round) continues to look like a cut-price keeper this season while Bailey Simonsson (34) came back down to earth a bit after his 66-point game at fullback a week earlier.

Titans: AJ Brimson and Corey Thompson are back from injuries, replacing Jayden Campbell and Greg Marzhew, and Kevin Proctor returns from suspension in place of Sam Stone.

Beau Fermor and Sam Lisone replace Jai Whitbread and Mitch Rein on the interchange.

David Fifita (three-game average: 66) is a potential captaincy option while Tyrone Peachey (53) and Fifita's Maroons teammate Tino Fa'asuamaleaui (55) both scored well against Manly a fortnight ago.

Knights v Cowboys, Saturday 7.35pm at McDonald Jones Stadium

Knights: Kalyn Ponga is named to make his long-awaited return, shifting Kurt Mann to centre and Brodie Jones to the bench. Jack Johns drops out of the 17.

Connor Watson and Jayden Brailey have been scoring closer to 40 than 50 recently, although there is some chance a week off and a near full-strength team could spark a return to the kind of scoring both produced at the start of the season.

Daniel Saifiti ($616k) is coming off a score of 65 and a three-game average of 62, while Mitch Barnett (65) scored well in a return to an edge role last round.

Cowboys: No changes. Jason Taumalolo scored 51 last round after poor scores of 29 and 39 and is getting very cheap at $618k.

Broncos v Sharks, Sunday 2.00pm at Suncorp Stadium

Broncos: Tevita Pangai jnr has copped a three-match ban for a crusher tackle after being told he was free to leave the club at the end of the season and is a probable sell with the Broncos also having a bye next round.

There is yet another new Broncos halves pairing with Brodie Croft returning alongside Tyson Gamble this week and Karmichael Hunt dropping out.

Kevin Walters has made plenty of other changes with Kotoni Staggs returning at centre, Jesse Arthars shifting to the bench, Jamayne Isaako and Corey Oates replacing Xavier Coates and Selwyn Cobbo on the wings, Tom Flegler replacing  Pangai in the starting pack and Keenan Palasia replacing John Asiata (neck) on the interchange.

Payne Haas's price has just about bottomed out after dropping by $304k this year, with his 58 last round his best score since round 9. Matt Lodge has a three-game average of 61.7 after scoring 79 last round and is a cut-price option at just under $600k.

Sharks: Unchanged. Shaun Johnson is averaging 62 in his last three games and is getting plenty of kick metres in the halves alongside Matt Moylan, with 40 points coming from kicks and goals alone last round.  

Jesse Ramien is also in good form with a three-game average of 57.

Wests Tigers v Rabbitohs, Sunday 4.05pm at Leichhardt Oval

Wests Tigers: Adam Doueihi returns in place of Tommy Talau in the centres, Alex Seyfarth starts at lock, Joe Ofahengaue moves to the interchange and Tom Mikaele replaces Tom Amone on the bench.

Daine Laurie is coming off scores of 21 and 25 and is a sell unless you're short on WFB options. Luciano Leilua has also had a couple of troubling scores against the Eels and Storm recently (34 and 28) but still has an average above 50 and is a hold.  

Rabbitohs: Hame Sele starts at prop for Tevita Tatola, Jai Arrow remains in the second row with Cameron Murray at lock and Benji Marshall and Liam Knight join the bench with Blake Taaffe dropping out.

Adam Reynolds' chances of a NSW call-up next week have improved with Nathan Cleary in doubt for Origin III, meaning he could miss round 17 along with Latrell Mitchell, Damien Cook, Dane Gagai, Murray and Arrow. Gagai has only played two NRL games in the last month but those have been for scores of 87 (with a hat-trick) and 84 (with a try and 255 metres).