Let’s take a look at those players you should be investing in, holding or letting go, as well as some of the better captaincy options for Round 12.
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Buy
Rob Lui | HLF | $159,900
With Johnathan Thurston in the Queensland squad, Rob Lui gets his chance to lead the team around the park on Sunday afternoon. Lui has a break-even of -17 going into his fourth game of the season, and has taken on a bigger defensive workload since returning against the Roosters in Round 10. With Bowen missing as well, Lui will need to take full control, including the kicking game, which could mean great value for Dream Team coaches this week.
Bronson Harrison | 2RF | $246,500
A former must-have for Dream Team coaches, Harrison has fought his way into the starting 13 at the Dragons in the past month. A strong player with good footwork and a noted offload, he scored 64 and played 73 minutes against the Panthers last week, despite being beaten 19-0. While maintaining his starting spot, he’ll keep producing solid scores in excess of 40 each week, which will be very handy during the Origin period.
Hold
George Burgess | FRF | $379,000
The youngest (well, at least equal youngest) of the Burgess boys has been dropped back to the bench this week, with Dave Tyrrell starting at prop. While it is a bit of a blow, George has produced his best scores of the year from the bench, including 65, 67 and 68. Barring injury, this boy is a season-long keeper, and will be particularly useful over the next six weeks with plenty of big-scoring forwards missing.
Ryan James | FRF/2RF | $255,000
The Titans have their whole starting back-row missing this week, and in all likelihood will do for most of the Origin period, so James becomes a very good prospect. As a dual position player, he can fill in holes should you have players missing in either the front row or second row. Hasn’t got a great bye schedule for head-to-head players, however he has good growth potential in coming weeks especially if he’s going to receive extended minutes.
Sell
Mitch Rein | HOK | $311,100
Last year was touted as a great back-up option for Smith and Farah, but injury and the emergence of Cameron King at St George Illawarra have significantly hampered his scoring. Returned from injury off the bench last week, but only saw 32 minutes of action and scored 7. He might have his starting spot back this week, but coach Steve Price looks like a fan of the dual hooker role shared with King, and this isn’t great for Rein’s numbers.
Chris Sandow | HLF | $282,500
The Eels might not be playing this week, but it’s definitely time to sell up on Chris Sandow and get a safer option for the Origin period. He started off the season on fire, but a -4 against the Roosters brought that to a grinding halt, and he hasn’t been the same DT player since. 4 against the Titans last week was probably the final straw. Will still produce big numbers from nowhere on occasion, but not consistent enough to warrant the risk and there are certainly some better (and cheaper) options on the market.
Round 12 Captains - players to consider
Adam Reynolds| HLF | $412,500
James Graham | FRF | $388,500
Aidan Sezer | HLF | $376,100
Andrew McCullough | HOK | $356,600
Ben Barba | WFB | $260,700
Wildcard: George Burgess | 2RF | $379,000
