NRL Fantasy: Early bargains to grab

When the player price list for the 2024 NRL Fantasy season landed earlier this month a few names jumped straight off the page as being underpriced. 

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Whether it be due to a positional switch, brighter fortunes at a new club or a bunch of other factors, there are some excellent prospects available at under $450k to start the year.

Here's my pick of the bunch for now. 

Early NRL Fantasy bargains to grab

Brendan Piakura: EDG, $399,000

A cash cow that didn't quite meet expectations last season in 13 appearances – after playing just one NRL game in each of the previous two years – the off-season departure of Kurt Capewell makes Piakura a likely starter in the second row in 2024 and close to a Fantasy must-have. He will get plenty of opportunities for line breaks and tries as part of this lethal Brisbane side and if he can clean up a few demerits – headed up by his missed tackle rate which was way too high last season – the 24-year-old could easily become a 40-point scorer. He might not reach keeper status, but Piakura should make plenty of cash throughout the year and be a handy edge option through the early rounds, with the Broncos not having their first bye until Round 13.

Paul Alamoti: CTR, $407,000

In his rookie season in 2023 Alamoti showed glimpses of being an excellent cash cow and, for a brief period, even potential as a CTR keeper, but in the end disappointed and finished with a season average of just 29.5. But that was as part of the second-worst attacking team in the comp in the Bulldogs, where scoring opportunities for the 19-year-old were hard to come by. At the Panthers that definitely won't be the case and there's every reason to think he will produce more good than bad on the Fantasy front in 2024, provided he emerges as the man to take the centre spot previously owned by Stephen Crichton. 

Ethan Strange: CTR, $250,000

At this stage the race for the vacant No.6 jersey at the Raiders is set to be contested by Ethan Strange and off-season recruit Kaeo Weekes. If it's Strange who gets the nod to play in the halves then he's an automatic pickup due to being listed as a CTR and his genuine potential as a good Fantasy scorer. Powerfully built and a keen runner, the 19-year-old would have averaged just over 30 points per game in reserve grade last year, which given he is almost basement price, would be enough for him to make some cash in 2024. There's also the possibility that he's at least a short-term keeper in the notoriously tricky CTR spot. He needs to be among your rookie collection. 

Spencer Leniu: MID, $395,000

He's been a below par Fantasy MID so far in his career and only last year got above the 25-point per game mark (instead averaging 28). But Leniu looks to me like a player who could have a big uptick in 2024. He wants to be a starting prop for starters, which means he's getting himself ready to play bigger minutes, and he's set for a more prominent role anyway given the Roosters don't possess the middle quality of the Panthers, where the 23-year-old is coming from. He's a tackle breaker with attacking potential whose floor is a little lower than most mid-range MIDs, but whose ceiling is higher. I don't see him being a keeper, but a serviceable money maker through the opening three months? Absolutely..  

Josh Schuster: EDG/HLF, $408,000

I know what you're thinking.... but hear me out. Yes, Josh Schuster was a Fantasy flop last year and yes, we've had him circled as a potential gun for three years now. But the attempt to make him an NRL five-eighth – which didn't work on the field and led to some poor Fantasy scores – is over now with the arrival of Luke Brooks and a move back to the pack looms. Schuster has a good chance of being a starting back-rower for the Sea Eagles in 2024 and the last time he did that consistently across a season he was a 47-point per game average player in Fantasy. There are plenty of question marks still, but his price has plummeted and he's worth a punt.