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It's NRL Fantasy Draft season and the crew at NRL.com have come together to share their tips and tactics for assembling the very best squad while up against the clock.
Whether you're a seasoned Classic player or totally new to NRL Fantasy, the Draft version of the game gives coaches a chance to show their skill in a live draft situation, with no salary cap to get in the way of building your dream team.
While there are different squad formats league commissioners can set for their Draft competition, in this case we've gone with six starting players who will score (1x WFB, 1x CTR, 1x HLF, 1x MID, 1x HOK and 1x EDG), along with six bench players who won't score unless promoted into the starting side.
We also opted for a live snake draft, with picks going in reverse order each round, so the coach who picked first overall then picked last at the end of the second round, for the sake of parity and fairness.
Head to the NRL Fantasy Draft section on the Fantasy website or app to start your own Draft league or enter one of the public leagues looking for players. More information on the Draft version of the game can be found here.
2024 NRL.com Fantasy mock draft
Round 1
1: Nathan Cleary (HLF) - Team Long
2: Nicho Hynes (HLF) - Team Leak
3: Payne Haas (MID) - Team Wells
4: Harry Grant (HOK) - Team Lapthorne
5: Isaah Yeo (MID) - Team Grzadka
6: J'maine Hopgood (MID, EDG) - Team Rosser
7: Daly Cherry-Evans (HLF) - Team Dimopoulos
8: Mitchell Moses (HLF) - Team Molinaroli
The three top scoring players by average last year account for the first three picks, with the taking of Harry Grant fourth reflects the small size of the elite HOK pool this year. Given their value in Fantasy and how few of them can be relied on to produce consistent elite scores, it's little surprise half of the first round picks were used on HLFs.
Round 2
9: Cameron Murray (MID) - Team Molinaroli
10: Patrick Carrigan (MID) - Team Dimopoulos
11: Kalyn Ponga (WFB) - Team Rosser
12: Shaun Johnson (HLF) - Team Grzadka
13: Cameron Munster (HLF) - Team Lapthorne
14: Ben Hunt (HLF) - Team Wells
15: Tohu Harris (MID) - Team Leak
16: Damien Cook (HOK) - Team Long
Some aggressive moves saw Cameron Murray and Patrick Carrigan taken early, with a view that they'll take leaps in 2024 after ranking eighth and ninth among MIDs by average points last year. Kalyn Ponga became the first WFB off the board at 11, well above his average draft position. Another three HLFs were grabbed in this round, including Shaun Johnson who right now is the fourth most popular captaincy choice among Draft teams.
Round 3
17: David Fifita (EDG) - Team Long
18: Reece Robson (HOK) - Team Leak
19: Api Koroisau (HOK) - Team Wells
20: Tom Trbojevic (WFB) - Team Lapthorne
21: Izack Tago (CTR) - Team Grzadka
22: Addin Fonua-Blake (MID) - Team Rosser
23: Jacob Preston (EDG) - Team Dimopoulos
24: Latrell Mitchell (WFB) - Team Molinaroli
The 17th pick is worth taking note of for your own draft, because it shows how Fantasy coaches can be overly cautious about players carrying injuries and how that tendency can be taken advantage of. David Fifita is a steal here given he was the seventh best Fantasy player by average last year. With the CTR position there are only a few elite options, so you can either opt to grab one of them early – as Team Grzadka has here with Izack Tago – or leave it until much later and hope you strike gold with a smokie.
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Top ranked WFB: Latrell Mitchell
Round 4
25: Haumole Olakau'atu (EDG) - Team Molinaroli
26: Herbie Farnworth (CTR) - Team Dimopoulos
27: Jahrome Hughes (HLF) - Team Rosser
28: John Bateman (EDG) - Team Grzadka
29: Reuben Garrick (CTR, WFB) - Team Lapthorne
30: Nat Butcher (MID, EDG) - Team Wells
31: James Tedesco (WFB) - Team Leak
32: Dane Gagai (CTR) - Team Long
A blitz on CTRs and EDG players this round. Players with dual position status are always valuable, especially in Draft if they mean you can plug a gap and avoid having to bring in an inferior scorer from the free agent pool. James Tedesco would have had a higher average draft position in past years, but his taking at 31 reflects a poor season by his standards in 2023, which saw him average under 50 points per game for the first time in a decade.
Round 5
33: Tino Fa'asuamaleaui (MID) - Team Long
34: Greg Marzhew (WFB) - Team Leak
35: Reece Walsh (WFB) - Team Wells
36: Joseph Tapine (MID) - Team Lapthorne
37: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (WFB) - Team Grzadka
38: Joseph Manu (CTR, WFB) - Team Rosser
39: Scott Drinkwater (WFB) - Team Dimopoulos
40: Valentine Holmes (CTR) - Team Molinaroli
With their high-value positions now sorted, draftees jumped on WFB and CTR candidates this round. Provided he is named at centre for the Warriors in Round 1, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck will gain dual position status and become an even more valuable pick up. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui became the eighth MID taken, despite ranking fifth in his position last year by average.
Round 6
41: Brandon Smith (HOK, MID) - Team Molinaroli
42: Jack de Belin (MID) - Team Dimopoulos
43: Briton Nikora (EDG) - Team Rosser
44: Euan Aitken (EDG, CTR) - Team Grzadka
45: Dylan Brown (HLF) - Team Lapthorne
46: Adam Reynolds (HLF) - Team Wells
47: Beau Fermor (EDG) - Team Leak
48: Clint Gutherson (WFB) - Team Long
By this point the remaining position our draftees had to fill may have been void of any elite options, so most decided to instead just take the best player available and strengthen their bench. Jack de Belin at pick 42 looks like a steal after he ranked fourth among all MIDs last season with a 57.7 point per game average.
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Top ranked HOK: Brandon Smith
Snapshot of the final six rounds
It's a good idea to use different sort functions to order your player list once you get through the first half of your draft, as there'll be some hidden gems who didn't average well last year but have great current prospects, for example Broncos EDG Brendan Piakura who went undrafted in this league. There were some late round steals too, with last year's top try-scorer Jamayne Isaako, who ranked fifth among WFBs in Fantasy, still there to be taken at pick 83. Corey Horsburgh, who has elite MID potential also fell to pick 54.
Final squads
A strong backline with Scott Drinkwater and Herbie Farnworth likely to be in the top five for their position in 2023. Taking Daly Cherry-Evans at pick seven was a big call given it's unclear how the presence of Luke Brooks at Manly will impact his scores compared to last year. With Patrick Carrigan and Jack de Belin on the books, this side is well covered in terms of top-tier MIDS.
Some astute picks on the bench, going for players like Euan Aitken, Josh Curran and Ryan Papenhuyzen, who weren't great Fantasy players last year but have real upside in 2024. Isaah Yeo is a strong captaincy option, but the absence of a second HLF makes this squad vulnerable if Shaun Johnson runs into injury trouble.
Getting elite players at HOK and WFB is a big win, but taking Reuben Garrick, who moves to the centres this year, with the 29th pick was a big call while there was a stack of good talent still on the board. Bryce Cartwright looked good in the Pre-Season Challenge and all signs point towards the 'Carty Party' rocking on in 2024.
It's a very strong backline with Fantasy's best player from last year, Nicho Hynes, a set and forget captaincy choice and Kotoni Staggs and James Tedesco likely to excel in good teams this season. There are some high-risk picks here too, with EDG Beau Fermor coming off ACL surgery and Tohu Harris battling injuries through most of last year.
A good draft means the potential downside of having the No.1 overall pick, which in a snake format means you don't have your second pick until the very end of Round 2, was overcome here. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui at pick 33 was good, while Damien Cook and David Fifita give this side solid captaincy picks for when Cleary is out.
Made the most of the cards he was dealt in getting the last pick by adding top-tier positional options Mitchell Moses and Cameron Murray with consecutive selections. Brandon Smith is a risk at HOK, but Tanah Boyd means there's a reliable mid 40s scorer there to lean on if 'The Cheese' fails to impress. Interestingly, a third of this squad are the first-choice goalkickers for their respective clubs.
High risk selections with his first two picks, taking J'maine Hopgood – who is a great Fantasy scorer but has lots of middle forward competition at the Eels – and reaching to get Kalyn Ponga at 11 when there was a chance to grab an elite player at a higher value position than WFB. Plenty of cover with three DPP players picked, while Corey Horsburgh was a good get at 54.
Pulled off arguably the steal off the draft by getting Jamayne Issako at 83, giving this side a great backup option for Reece Walsh. While Nat Butcher at pick 30 seemed good at the time, when the Roosters named their team after this draft he was included on the bench, which makes him a stay away. Good depth across the interchange thanks to some clever selections.