Ranking the HLF replacements for Cleary

An injury last week for Nathan Cleary which will keep him out of the remainder of the regular season, and with it the rest of the NRL Fantasy season, was terrible news for the third of all coaches who own him.

If you've got trades left then he's an immediate sell given his $923k price tag, and the good thing is you'll have your pick of the bunch among the other HLFs available right now, with all of them coming much cheaper than the Prince of Penrith. 

Here we're breaking down the top four contenders to replace him in your side, which will depend somewhat on the number of trades you're sitting on and the other needs in your team. 

Ranking the HLF replacements for Cleary

4. Braydon Trindall (HLF, $582k)

The riskiest buy among the options here, but given he's at least $141k cheaper than anyone else on this list Trindall is also a great buy if you're eyeing up multiple trades and want to free up some cash.

Prior to getting injured in Round 22 he'd averaged 65 across two games without Nicho Hynes in the side and he was on track to score in the mid to high 40s when he left the field with 10 to play in Round 22. It's worth noting though that he's scored tries in five-straight games, which probably won't be sustainable.

Trindall likely has the lowest floor out of these options, but if getting him instead of a more expensive HLF means you can make upgrades elsewhere then he might be your man. 

3. Jahrome Hughes (HLF, $723k)

Having well and truly dismissed suggestions he could drop out of the elite tier when Cameron Munster returned to the halves last month, Jahrome Hughes is now the highest averaging player in his position who is available this week. 

But that doesn't mean he's the best player to trade in for Cleary, and for a couple of reasons he's third on my list. 

The first of those is that his team have all but got the minor premiership wrapped up, meaning there's a very good chance Craig Bellamy opts to sit some of his starters in Round 27.

Hughes would almost certainly be among the players rested if that was the case, while his 54.4 projected average over the next two games – which come against teams fighting for their finals lives – is less inspiring than the outlook for other HLF options discussed here.

2. Matt Burton (HLF, $743k)

Handling goalkicking for a Bulldogs side that are able to rack up points this year is another string to Burton's bow in Fantasy, typically gifting him an extra 8-12 points.

His floor is a little lower than others, but his path to hitting high 60s or low 70s is also easier. 

The Bulldogs have a potentially favourable match-up against the Warriors this week but then finish the year with consecutive games against top eight sides the Sea Eagles and Cowboys, albeit with both of those coming at Accor Stadium where Burton has an L3 average of 60.3.

1. Daly Cherry-Evans (HLF, $774k)

After an extremely slow opening half of the season in Fantasy, in which he scored under 50 in seven out of 13 games, the long-time big gun has come good post-Origin and is finally stacking up some big scores.

The fact that he's playing the Wests Tigers this week – who he's averaged 74 against in his past three meetings with them – is a big bonus, while he also has favourable match-ups to come against the Bulldogs (L3 average of 88.6) and Sharks (L3 average of 66). 

His team are playing well but are unlikely to get into a spot in which they have nothing to gain or lose come Round 27, so there's no concern around him being rested and right now 'DCE' is positioned to keep registering the type of dynamic stats that should take his scores above 60.