It's a minor miracle if you are an NRL Fantasy coach who isn't wrestling with at least one player facing multiple weeks out injured heading into Round 4.
A staggering 104,949 teams owned hamstrung HLF Nathan Cleary at the start of this week, equating to a touch under 55 percent of teams, while 85,381 – or 44.4 percent of all teams – had Broncos EDG cheapie Brendan Piakura, who is out with an ankle injury.
And that's before we get to Mitchell Moses and Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, who are both definite sells this week with Moses potentially out for two months and Tino's season over.
With the ultimate question being who to punt and who to keep this week, we've broken it down to try and help Fantasy coaches make the best decision on the three most popular injured stars.
Who to hold and who to sell this week
Nathan Cleary
Expected to miss somewhere between 2-4 weeks, Cleary is out of Round 4 and it's safe to assume Penrith probably won't try and rush him back in Round 5. The premiers then have a bye in Round 6, meaning the earliest he's likely to return is Round 7.
NRL Fantasy focus: Nathan Cleary
Unless you were planning to trade him out while they had the bye and then back in the following week, it means Cleary could end up only missing two games you weren't already expecting and planning for, which while still not ideal, isn't the end of the world. If you're playing for overall points and struggling then he's probably a sell, because the cash you'll free up could help you upgrade two spots this week and jump up the rankings. But at the same time you're almost certainly going to want Cleary back as soon as he's fit and he's going to probably feature in your best 17 come the end of the season.
Unless you're really battling or haven't used any trades yet, it makes more sense to take the temporary pain and avoid burning two trades on a keeper. Hold.
Reece Walsh
It now looks like Walsh has avoided needing surgery on the nasty facial fracture he suffered in Round 3, which should reduce the number of weeks he'll be sidelined for.
The $659k WFB will still be out of action for multiple games though and when he returns he'll have a break even of 71 due to only scoring two points before he was hurt against Penrith. Once he returns, if he retains his spot in the Queensland side for Origin then you'll be seeing very little of Walsh with a green dot for the next few months due to rep selection and Broncos byes.
Right now there are lots of good WFBs around for the same price who'll be far more available. Sell.
What to do with Reece Walsh?
Brendan Piakura
There was so much hope for Piakura as a cash cow, or potentially even a cut-price keeper, but through no fault of his own it just hasn't happened. A Round 1 failed HIA was followed by this week's ankle injury that will keep him out for up to four weeks according to the club.
But as frustrating as it's been, he's still a player you're going to want once he gets going and plays regular footy and he's still a likely money maker who will be a useful EDG cover player over Origin too. y
At $361k Piakura also isn't worth enough to warrant burning a trade in order to free up cash. Hold.
What to do with Brendan Piakura?