NRL 2021: NRL Fantasy, Winners & Losers, Round 21

Author: Lone Scout NRL Fantasy guru
Timestamp: Mon 9 Aug 2021, 04:55 AM

Round 21 was a tough, tough week for NRL Fantasy coaches on a number of fronts but there were still some good scores to be found by coaches who were able to walk the tightrope between the injuries and absentees.

Winners

For probably the first time since Nathan Cleary hurt his shoulder in Origin II, Matt Burton really showed what he's capable of with a five-star effort against the Roosters.

Burton racked up 106 points with two stunning individual tries to go with a big haul of run and kick metres and no doubt swung plenty of head-to-head match-ups.

Luciano Leilua was a surprise entrant as the week's second-highest scorer, with an early try and 11 busts in his 92 against Canterbury.

Josh Mansour (87) cashed in in a big win over the Eels, James Tedesco (85) did everything he could in a loss to the Panthers, while Josh Curran (83) outscored Euan Aitken (64) in a power-packed Warriors second row performance.

Luke Brooks (77), Cam Munster and Jack De Belin (both 73), Victor Radley (72) and Cam Murray (70) round out the 70-plus scores in a tough scoring week.

Get Caught Up: Round 21 must-see moments

Joey Manu (64) continued his hot streak despite shifting to the wing, Jack Bird (61) enjoyed the extra room at fullback with 13 busts, and while Tom Trbojevic (61) scored less than half of his previous week's monster total he did better against the Storm than some expected.

That 61 was actually the best score among the regular captaincy options, with David Fifita (60 off the bench), Payne Haas (57), Angus Crichton (56), Isaiah Papali'i (55) and Daly Cherry-Evans (53) serviceable but unspectacular.

Losers

Anyone who put all their eggs in the Nathan Cleary basket were left disappointed as the Panthers took a conservative approach to his injury return.

Injuries and suspensions bit hard with Crichton facing a 3-4 week ban and Reed Mahoney (44) out for the season amongst a host of less Fantasy-relevant pending suspensions.

Crichton banned three weeks over crusher

Sam Walker (19) struggled against the Panthers, likewise Clint Gutherson (23) against Souths while Corey Harawira-Naera (25) got just 23 minutes after being pushed into the middle rotation.

Connor Watson (28) is in a real scoring slump, a shift to the edge didn't help Jason Taumalolo (37) with his side starved of ball and Jahrome Hughes (42) was very quiet in the win over Manly.

Melbourne's two-fullback rotation is also bad news for the scores of both former guns with Ryan Papenhuyzen (23) and Nicho Hynes (24) both shedding fast cash.