The Fantasy King: Round 4
By Mick Adams
After a month of injuries, suspensions and general upheaval, the fantasy scene returned to some kind of normality in Round 4. Bad news for owners of Nathan Smith and Jharal Yow Yeh, but most fantasy players should have emerged from the weekend relatively unscathed, and with a decent score at last. It was a weekend when the cream rose – Gallen, Smith and Cronk broke 100 (as did Jarrod Croker and Gareth Ellis) and there were plenty of 80-plus scores elsewhere.
That being said, this week I thought I’d focus on some cheaper players who can score you some points and get you some coin for the Parker/Fensom fund.
MONEY SPINNERS
Mitch Rein
Disappointing in rounds 1 and 2, the highly rated young Dragons hooker has been on fire the last couple of weeks, playing a significant role in the Dragons’ wins against Wests and Manly. After two sizeable scores, he has made a significant price jump from his opening market figure, but is still quite cheap. The bonus is that with injuries to Nathan Fien and Cameron King, it looks like he will be playing big minutes over the next few rounds.
Bronson Harrison
Was disappointing in the first few rounds, but in the first Fensom-less Raiders game he demonstrated he’s up to the task of taking on some of his lock forward’s workload. He let nobody down with a 75, and will have ample opportunities to put on some points in the next month or so. I’m not sure that he’s capable of scores like this every week, and 75 is probably at or near his upper limit, but he’s cheap enough that 50s and 60s are all he needs to increase in value.
Boyd Cordner
I must admit, my natural aversion to Roosters players has meant he has gone under my radar so far, but he is dirt cheap given the numbers he has posted in his three games this year. His round 4 score was slightly inflated by his try and the vast amount of tackling the Roosters were forced to do against the red hot Storm, but again, at the price he is definitely worth putting in to generate some revenue. He jumped nearly 30k in his first price rise, and barring disaster is due for a similar increase this week.
THE TOO HARD BASKET
There are some players who you just can’t get a read on- you don’t pick them up and they put on a ton, trade them in a week later and they burn you with a 30. It’s a frustrating game, fantasy, but remember – sometimes you’ve just got to take the punt.
Michael Jennings
In his four games so far, he has two scores in the 80s and two in the 30s. Which is more likely next week? I haven’t got a clue. But take his latest score with a grain of salt, as it was against a Parramatta team that produced one of the worst performances I have ever seen. So far from first grade quality it’s not funny. Jennings and his wing partner Uaisele were lining up for tries against the hapless Eels, which was reflected in their fantasy scores.
Shaun Johnson
Regular readers will know that I am most definitely off the Thurston bandwagon (another poor showing on Saturday night just quietly) and Shaun Johnson is where I landed. He is one of the most exciting young players in the competition, and will only get better. Like any young gun though he can be erratic, a fact reflected in his yo-yoing fantasy scores. He pulled a 94 this weekend, and I’m really hoping he can keep it up, without much expectation. If you want to trade him in, just keep in mind that he will not give you scores like this every week. Wonderful talent though.
ONE WEEK WONDERS?
Terry Campese
He deserves a break, doesn’t he? Had a great game against the Tigers, and looks like he is getting close to the playing level that saw him make his Origin debut. He was only a point off a ton, and will be on many players’ watch lists as a result. For mine though he represents too much of a risk at the price, and I would be avoiding for now.
Matt Srama
I’m actually quite confident that the Titans hooker doesn’t belong on this list, and with a 73 on the weekend he seems primed to turn his season around after a sluggish start. He was sensational last year, and started this year quite pricey as a result. Poor showings in his first few games saw his value plummet, and he is now available at a fairly manageable price. In his favour is the injury to Scott Prince. Srama is a creative player, and with Prince gone he may be asked to shoulder some of the playmaking burden.
Ignore the Panthers result
Abysmal doesn’t even begin to describe how bad the Eels were on Friday night, and there are probably some NSW Cup teams who would have taken them to the sword. They made the Panthers look like superstars, which is no mean feat. Anyone looking to trade in some backs should not be fooled by the scores posted by the likes of Jennings, Uaisele and Luke Walsh. The latter’s highest score before the 74 he collected in the Friday massacre was a meagre 26.
This applies to the Storm game too, albeit to a much lesser extent. Cameron Smith will always get a big score, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk usually will. It is players such as Gareth Widdop you should not get carried away with. As good as Melbourne are, they will not be putting forty points on teams every week, so exercise due caution with a player who relies predominantly on attacking stats for his fantasy points. The Storm are up against the Knights this weekend, and while Melbourne should win comfortably, the Knights are unlikely to be as porous in defence as the Roosters were in the second half.
