Injuries have been a constant theme for Fantasy coaches in 2024, but nothing so far can match the carnage that came in Round 10.
Tom Trbojevic broke down with 12 to go, Nathan Cleary was gone after 39 minutes and Nicho Hynes didn't even make it onto the field, meaning scores were down across the weekend.
But there were some big performers nonetheless, while a handful of players emerged as trade targets this week as we all look to replace injured stars in our Fantasy squad.
NRL Fantasy by the numbers: Round 10
Captaincy chaos
It's reasonably rare that your vice captain actually gets called into double-points action, but in Round 10 a third of all Fantasy coaches had to go to their second option following the dramatic late withdrawal of Nicho Hynes due to a calf concern.
Impacted coaches were further burned at that point, with the round's second-most popular VC choice, Shaun Johnson, suffering an injury which contributed to him scoring just 25, while others ended up with Nathan Cleary's 39 from Friday night (which was a decent score considering he didn't play beyond half-time due to his hamstring).
Cleary suffers recurrence of hamstring injury
Payne Haas was the most popular VC pick over the weekend and those who had him selected, and also had Hynes as captain, were rewarded with 66 points that was achieved in just 62 minutes on the field.
A winning EDG
It hasn't always been the easiest position to pick players in, and in previous years even the more high-level EDG options have tended to be a bit inconsistent. But right now there is some outstanding EDG talent in the Fantasy pool.
Led by Isaiah Papali'i and Luke Garner's 81-point efforts, players with EDG designation accounted for nine of the top 20 scores in Round 10, while Angus Crichton, David Fifita and Jeremiah Nanai are all top 10 players on form right now too, based on their past three scores.
David Fifita Try
Many of these players are available at good prices still, with Nanai, who has a last-three average of 62.7, currently listed at $654k and Garner (60.7 L3 average) at $562k.
Round 10 Fantasy Team of the Week
1. Daniel Atkinson (HLF/WFB) – 62 points
2. Dominic Young (WFB) – 84 points
3. Bradman Best (CTR) – 99 points
4. Euan Aitken (EDG/CTR) – 61 points
5. Tyran Wishart (HLF/WFB) – 65 points
6. Jayden Sullivan (HLF) – 68 points
7. Dylan Brown (HLF) – 77 points
8. Payne Haas (MID) – 66 points
9. Damien Cook (HOK) – 57 points
10. Addin Fonua-Blake (MID) – 62 points
11. Isaiah Papali'i (EDG) – 81 points
12. Luke Garner (EDG) – 81 points
13. Isaah Yeo (MID) – 61 points
14. Angus Crichton (EDG) – 78 points
15. David Fifita (EDG) – 74 points
16. Jaydn Su'A (EDG) – 66 points
17. Luke Brooks (HLF) – 65 points
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