NRL Fantasy Q&A: Round 6

A huge chunk of Fantasy coaches are seeking a replacement for Jamie Humphreys this week, while all of a sudden there's a legitimate question around who the best captaincy pick is for Round 6.

• NRL Late Mail: Round 6
• NRL Fantasy teams analysis: Round 6

We're here to answer your burning NRL Fantasy questions ahead of Round 6 of the NRL Telstra Premiership season. 

NRL Fantasy Q&A: Round 6

Is Humphreys a definite sell now? If so, who for?

You never like to dump a keeper – which is exactly what Humphreys has shown himself to be – but five weeks is too long to have $634k of value sitting there with an injured sticker on it.

If it was someone like a Payne Haas or Terrell May that you know you'd want back in your team eventually then it'd be an even tougher call, but the reality at HLF is that you can find a player who is close to a like-for-like replacement long term.

For about the same price you can get someone like Jake Clifford, Fletcher Sharpe or Isaiya Katoa who are all averaging over 50 points this year. 

Should I be nervous captaining Haas after last week?

Nope.

Last week Payne Haas played only 51 minutes, which is his second-lowest shift of the year, having averaged 65 minutes between Rounds 2-4, but there were some clear factors associated with that reduced role.

The first is that the Broncos had the game all but won by the hour mark, so there was no need for Haas to be risked. Secondly, it's likely that Michael Maguire had always planned to try and keep Haas on the bench for a longer stint in Round 5 after such a busy start to the year.

Could that happen again if they start to blow out the 16th placed Roosters this Friday? Sure. But Haas has given us only one reason to slightly doubt him in 2025 and four reasons to believe he is a gift straight from the Fantasy gods.

Is Ryley Smith a good trade in now he's starting?

Plenty of Fantasy coaches have PTSD connected to Eels HOKs from recent years, with a long line of cheap prospects who promised much but delivered little.

I worry Ryley Smith is the latest example of that.

Even if he is starting – or commanding over an hour on the field from the bench as he did last week – there's no clear road to consistent scores over 40.

Sometimes more is less for a player like him anyway. He's a smaller, energetic type, not dissimilar to former Parra hooker Reed Mahoney, and towards the back end of those longer stints you start to see missed tackles and errors creep in.

Not to mention the fact that J'maine Hopgood (via Charlie Guymer) seems to be contending for minutes at dummy half right now, while Joey Lussick and Brendan Hands also remain on the books, leaving plenty of competition for that spot. 

Best option out of Couchman, Wong and Cant?

With Dylan Lucas expected back in Round 8 or 9, the ship has sailed in terms of Thomas Cant being a valuable pickup.

That leaves it between Wong and Couchman, with both of them being solid buys in my opinion.

At $589k Wong is $59k cheaper than his Dragons counterpart, but if you have the extra money then Couchman is the better bet.

His work ethic and excellent set of base stats mean Couchman is going to have a higher floor and be more consistent on a week-to-week basis, and in four games this year he's failed to score at least a point per minute just once (a 44 from 48 minutes).

You're getting a PPM beast who also has dual status as an EDG and MID. He's a great trade in this week.