Round 2, although nowhere near the extent, has seen another crop of stars fall victim to injury or suspension, with fantasy favourites Nathan Peats, Corey Oates, Billy Slater and Josh Dugan either in doubt or unavailable for the near future.
Peats will miss between two and six weeks due to injury. Oates, who has been a monster to start the season, won’t be back for at least a month. Dugan will race the clock for next week.
Shaun Fensom’s concussion in the early minutes hurt a lot of coaches across all platforms although he is set to return next weekend. Aiden Tolman suffered a similar fate but will also be available for round three.
James Tedesco was the star of the round, destroying sides who don’t own him in literally every form of fantasy football.
In the Zero Tackle #1 Ultimate League competition, I was on the wrong end of a Tedesco score of 118, which ended my winning streak at one. Luckily in the #4 edition of UL, I had the Tigers superstar at the back.
With prices set to change on SuperCoach after this weekend, it might be worth buying Tedesco now, as he is set for a price rice on the back of two huge scores. He’s a genuine star and even when he’s having an off day, he’ll still score well.
Moses Mbye was another game winner both on the field and in the fantasy realms. At only $273,400 on SuperCoach, his price is likely to rise after this weekend, although I don’t know if he can record a third massive score in a row.
Aaron Gray, Byrson Goodwin and Sam Burgess also topped the 100 point mark, although surely Gray and Goodwin can’t keep those scores up against more difficult opposition in the coming weeks. If you don’t already have Sam Burgess in your side, then I don’t know what to tell you.
Josh Papalii topped 100 after scoring two tries. He won’t go in for a double each week but even when he doesn’t, his base stats are strong.
Will Chambers and Blake Green were also centurions for round two. Chambers is a fantasy favourite and in many sides, although Blake Green is one of the more underrated players and should be looked at.
Monday Night’s game saw Kevin Naiqama and Marty Taupau join Tedesco in topping 100. Kev has started the season in amazing form, as have the Tigers, while Taupau needs to be looked at if he can match his efforts against the Sharks.
Ethan Lowe topped the scoring in his game for the second week in a row. He is playing like a man possessed thus far in 2016 and has been a weapon for my Ultimate League side.
Andrew Fifita, who was an obvious replacement for Paul Gallen after last week’s injury scored only 54 in SuperCoach. Fifita is usually a player who scores 60+, although his discipline has vastly improved in 2016 and he is someone who I certainly am not selling.
Former supercoach legend Elijah Taylor only scored 16 after coming off the bench. Unless he starts, I’d be selling him. At $313,900, there are far better run on players available.
Andrew McCullough scored 29, the lowest non injury affected score I can remember the Broncos number nine recording. He is losing too many minutes, buy an 80 minute hooker.
Shaun Johnson has a reputation of a rocks or diamonds player in this format, and his 29 will frustrate owners. He’s not a player you want if you’re looking for consistent 50’s but he can win you games on his own when he goes large. I’m holding him for one more week at least.
I’d be staying away from any of the Knights back seven until their form picks up. Jaelen Feeney, at fullback, was a must have in round one, but if he doesn’t score huge in round three, he won’t see any price rice, let alone the big one we expected.
Michael Morgan’s 16 is a shock, as he’s usually far more consistent than that. If you have him, hold off on wasting a trade after one bad game. Semi Radradra and Michael Jennings recorded sub 30 scores. Semi is overpriced and I couldn’t afford him, but he’ll score plenty of tries in the coming weeks.
Ben Barba is involving himself just enough to hold a spot in my SuperCoach side, however at under $185,000 score of around 40 should mean he is a money earner. Josh Dugan is set to move back to fullback, however make sure he is playing there before you trade him in.
Luke Douglas and David Shillington both scored 28. I wouldn’t go near either until the prop rotation is sorted out and we are sure who will start week to week.
Almost must haves Nathan Green and Manaia Cherrington aren’t going to lead to the price increased expected. I wouldn’t waste a trade on either just yet but neither is worth keeping unless they go huge in round three. The Manly hookers are taking too much time off each other.
1. If you have Ben Matulino, if he is rubbed out for a month, he must be traded out. At almost $390,000 a straight swap for Bodene Thompson, Alex Glenn or Matt Gillett would be easy and safe. Bryce Cartwright has had a slow start to the season but showed some signs in attack on Thursday night. He needs to play 80 minutes, but if named on the run on this weekend, could be in for a big score.
2. Andrew McCullough ($373,900) to Paul Carter ($164,400) will free up major cash to spend elsewhere and should lead to a price increase. Carter playing back row for the Bunnies means he should be consistently around 40-60 each week. Craig Garvey ($134,500) is a temporary option but looks as though he’ll play 80 for the next month. Could be a money spinner. After the month, if McCullough finds form, could be a straight swap back, whilst pocketing some cash.