Biggest Fantasy surprises so far

You can do all of the pre-season research you like, but each year in NRL Fantasy there's guaranteed to be a bunch of players whose performances catch you completely by surprise, for better or worse.  

In 2024 injuries have played a big part, with relatively unfancied players ending up playing prominent roles, while on the downside some players just haven't kicked on in the fashion we predicted they would during the off-season. 

The nice surprises

Kaeo Weekes (HLF/WFB, $571k)

There was plenty of pre-season hype surrounding Weekes due to the vacancy in the halves at the Raiders, which he ended up missing out on, but nobody could have predicted the rapid rise he'd have following a long-term injury to Jamal Fogarty. 

A <20-point player by average through the first two seasons of his NRL career, Weekes has had an injection of base stats alongside Ethan Strange in the halves (averaging 25 points per game from tackles and 14.4 from kick metres) and is topping it off with a strong running game that's also bringing some dynamic attacking metrics into play. 

Across five games so far he's averaged 56.4 points, gone up in value by $319k and become the second-most owned player in the game. 

Angus Crichton (EDG, $855k)

Forget about the idea of him rediscovering the heights of his Fantasy powers from years gone by, for the first fortnight of the season it didn't even look like Crichton would play regular NRL footy in 2024, with Siua Wong and Sitili Tupouniua getting the jump on him. 

But after a couple of decent performances off the bench, Crichton returned to the starting side in Round 5 and hasn't looked back since, with his incredible resurgence leading to an Origin recall and in Fantasy seeing him average 66.2 point per game across his eight appearances as a run-on back-rower. 

Given his elite scores and the fact that he was available for less than $600k for the first few weeks of that purple patch, it's surprising that Crichton only sits in 21 percent of teams right now, even with his selection for the Blues which is a negative in Fantasy. 

Kayal Iro (CTR, $530k)

After not getting a look in at NRL level last season despite the Sharks having plenty of injuries in the backline at different times, the prospect of Iro nailing down a permanent spot in 2024 seemed slim. 

But the repurposing of Siosifa Talakai as a full-time forward opened a door for the Cook Island Test player in Round 4 and he took it with both hands, with his form in Fantasy making him a solid tier two keeper CTR for some coaches and a prolific cash cow for others. 

With over 100 running metres in every game so far, Iro has had solid base stats which have meant his scores have been pretty consistent, with a season high of 53 and a low of 26. 

The not so nice surprises

Stephen Crichton (CTR, $463k)

Crichton's move to the Bulldogs – and an incorrect assumption that he'd play fullback – meant there was plenty of Fantasy excitement around the premiership-winner through the pre-season, and even now he's owned by around seven percent of teams. 

But his Fantasy form at the Bulldogs has been uninspiring, with just two scores over 40 all year and a per game average of 31.5 which has him on track for his worst season since his rookie campaign back in 2019. 

A substantial drop off in tries has been greatly to blame, with just four to his name right now compared to the 15 he racked up in 2023 with the Panthers, while his try assists are significantly down as well now he's not feeding such a prolific backline. 

Brendan Piakura (EDG, $367k)

The departure of Kurt Capewell last year set Piakura up with the chance to be a cut-price keeper at EDG, but so far he hasn't got anywhere near that level and he's actually lost money ahead of Round 14. 

It started in unfortunate fashion with an early HIA that left him on 0 for Round 1, while another injury kept him of Rounds 4-7, but even when he's been healthy Piakura has shown a low floor, with two scores under 25. All up he's lost $32k on his starting price for the year. 

Admittedly he has improved of late, with back-to-back scores of 36 and 38, but he's scored tries in both of those games, so that can't be relied on longer term. 

Greg Marzhew (WFB, $469k)

Marzhew was a breakout star in Fantasy last year, with his 22-try season for the Knights and his ability to rack up big numbers of tackle busts and run metres helping him to a season average of 52.4.

With Dom Young leaving over the off-season there was thought that more of the attack would go Marzhew's way in 2024, but to date that just hasn't been the case and he's got over the line just twice in a side which has struggled in attack without the injured Kalyn Ponga. 

He's averaging just 31.1 through nine games so far and doesn't have a single score over 50, with three under 30.