NRL Fantasy by the numbers: Round 8

Nicho Hynes is the toast of the NRL Fantasy world right now following his brilliant 124-point effort on Sunday, which meant the weekend ended on a massive high for the almost 68,000 coaches who own him.

While it still left him well short of previous efforts such as Tom Trbojevic’s 150 in 2021 and a 144 from Nathan Cleary, it will take some beating this season.

This week we look over Nicho’s current purple patch and his prospects for this coming weekend, while examining a point of difference at EDG and the players set to skyrocket in value after Round 9.

NRL Fantasy by the numbers: Round 8

Fifita’s firing, but nobody’s buying

Not playing his first game of the season until Round 4 has meant David Fifita has existed somewhat under the radar so far on the Fantasy front, but it’s still incredible that only 1.5 percent of teams currently own a player who sits third in terms of average points over his last three appearances (67). The powerhouse EDG wasn’t impacted by coming off the bench last week and finished up with 91 points. At $822k he’s still undervalued, but that won’t be the case for long given his break even is 39. He won’t remain a point of difference player in the truest sense of the term as Fantasy coaches start to click on, but at this stage it’s looking like plenty of teams won’t have Fifita for a fair chunk of the season, which presents you with a great opportunity to bring him in as a difference maker.

Big risers

A couple of players coaches will have had their eyes on in recent weeks are set for big jumps in price after Round 9, and for some it's a case of now or never if you want to trade them in. Based on projections, EDG Angus Crichton stands to go up $61k after playing the Broncos, which will then reset his break even at 7 and pave the way for another $20k-plus rise the following week. Nicho Hynes is set to be the game’s only $1m player after Round 9, meaning he’s already too much for anyone not prepared to make multiple trades in order to free up cash for him. Cash cows Trai Fuller (projected $55k rise), David Armstrong (projected $46k rise) and Kayal Iro (projected $42k rise) are also set to be big movers after this weekend.

More Hynes heroics to come yet?

Nicho Hynes is the hottest player in Fantasy right now and data suggests the fire could keep burning bright for at least another week yet. Hynes is projected to be the highest scoring player in Fantasy in Round 9 against a Dragons side he has experienced great success against in the past. The Sharks HLF has consecutive scores of 94 and 98 against St George Illawarra and is playing on home soil at PointsBet where he has been excellent of late, with scores of 89, 76 and 77 in his last three games there. Hynes is projected to hit 80 this week and will be a hugely popular captaincy pick. 

Round 8 Fantasy Team of the Week 

1. Trai Fuller (WFB) – 68 points
2. Brian To'o (WFB) – 77 points
3. Jesse Ramien (CTR) – 82 points
4. Reuben Garrick (CTR, WFB) – 83 points 
5. Jamayne Isaako (WFB) – 67 points
6. Cameron Munster (HLF) – 91 points
7. Nicho Hynes (HLF) – 124 points
8. Addin Fonua-Blake (MID) – 70 points
9. Tanah Boyd (HOK, HLF) – 68 points
10. Cameron Murray (MID) – 70 points
11. David Fifita (EDG) – 91 points
12. Angus Crichton (EDG) – 86 points
13. Connor Watson (MID) – 75 points
14. Sam Walker (HLF) – 90 points
15. Jaydn Su'A (EDG) – 72 points
16. Jeremiah Nanai (EDG) – 71 points
17. Euan Aitken (EDG, CTR) – 69 points