A golden point thriller to open the 2023 Telstra Premiership season set the stage for some huge Fantasy scores, while a number of big guns stood up in a tight slate of games which saw just one winning margin of more than 12 points.
A couple of high-profile flops and a confirmed injury layoff for a Fantasy favourite will leave owners with plenty to ponder this week though, with the temptation there to reach straight for trades.
Round 1 Winners
A stunning three-try showing from Daly Cherry-Evans saw him top the round with 93 points, with his haul including 12 points from metres gained, 10 from kick metres and 21 from tackles.
The next three best scorers all came from the season-opener between the Eels and Storm, with busy shifts from J'maine Hopgood and Josh King seeing them hit 83 and 77 respectively, while the scorer of the golden point match-winning try from that game, Harry Grant, followed closely with a 76, just ahead of fellow HOK Reece Robson (74).
Harry Grant steals it
A try in the Dolphins' debut win over the Roosters helped Mark Nicholls to 74, while his teammate on the wing, Jamayne Isaako, scored two and kicked four goals en route to a score of 69.
The 3.6 percent of teams who had Lachlan Ilias were rewarded with his breakout Fantasy performance which ended in 71 points, and he wasn't the only South Sydney player who performed well either, with Damien Cook (68), Cam Murray and Campbell Graham (both 66) finishing in the top 20 for the round.
Those who took a punt on Bryce Cartwright at $250k will be laughing after he scored 57 in a busy night in the back row, while South Sydney duo Michael Chee Kam and Shaquai Mitchell were the other basement-priced players who starred, both scoring 48.
Round 1 Losers
Knights utility Phoenix Crossland became the first, and so far only, player to register a minus in 2023, finishing with -5 after being sin-binned in a 14-minute showing off the bench in the loss to the Warriors.
Crossland binned
Over 40 percent of teams have Titans wing Alofiana Khan-Pereira, but he failed to replicate his brilliant Pre-season Challenge form and finished with a donut, while Josh Curran, who was a good Fantasy player last year, scored just three off the bench for the Warriors.
Failed head injury assessments hurt a couple of usually reliable Fantasy scorers, with Tevita Tatola (one point) playing just a minute before being forced from the field and Tyson Frizell restricted to 12 points after copping a knock early in Wellington.
The big-money let downs were headed up by Apisai Koroisau and Selwyn Cobbo (both 15), while $718k HLF Matt Burton managed just 16 in the Bulldogs' heavy loss to the Sea Eagles.
Even though he bravely returned the field to help the Storm and hit 44 points, Cameron Munster looks set to miss the next few games with a compound fracture of his finger, while popular WFB Xavier Coates will also likely miss games after suffering a sprain to a SC joint.
Round 1 Team of the Week
1. Latrell Mitchell (WFB) — 61 points
2. Jamayne Isaako (WFB) — 69 points
3. Campbell Graham (CTR) — 66 points
4. Connelly Lemuelu (EDG, CTR) — 64 points
5. Reuben Garrick (WFB) — 59 points
6. Lachlan Ilias (HLF) — 71 points
7. Daly Cherry-Evans (HLF) — 93 points
8. Mark Nicholls (MID) — 74 points
9. Harry Grant (HOK) — 76 points
10. Junior Paulo (MID) — 73 points
11. Keaon Koloamatangi (EDG) — 63 points
12. J'maine Hopgood (EDG, MID) — 83 points
13. Josh King (MID) — 77 points
14. Reece Robson (HOK) — 74 points
15. Reed Mahoney (HOK) — 71 points
16. Tohu Harris (MID) — 70 points
17. Damien Cook (HOK) — 68 points