It was a huge round of scoring for a lot of Fantasy stars, but the toughest part of the NRL Fantasy season now begins with the start of the bye rounds.
Fantasy guns go big
It was a monster round of scoring for a lot of NRL Fantasy teams on the weekend, with a host of popular buys going big in the final round before the bye period arrives. Among them were Andrew Fifita's 77, Jesse Bromwich's 68, Trent Merrin's 63, Nathan Peats's 65, Shaun Johnson's 75, Johnathan Thurston's 84, Tyson Frizell's 69, Iosia Soliola’s 74 and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's 85 – one team had all those players and finished with a whopping 1093 points in Round 10.
Meanwhile Michael Morgan scored a hat-trick in the Cowboys' win over Brisbane – he now has six tries in his past three games – for 88 points to top the round.
Our Round 10 #NRLFantasy Standout is @nthqldcowboys five-eighth @michaelmorgan00! What a season he is having! #NRL pic.twitter.com/Prpr9cVZ2L
— NRL (@NRL) May 18, 2015
The bye rounds are here
But don't expect to see such big scores in Round 11. For one thing, only three of the players mentioned above will actually play this weekend – with half the NRL clubs plus all State of Origin players sitting out the round. That means getting a full team of 17 on the field is going to be very tough – if not impossible for most Fantasy squads.
To help you put your team together you are allowed to use three of your trades this week. But do you need to?
Now's the time you really need to decide whether your priority is to win your head-to-head league against your mates, or climb the overall points ladder. For overall, you want a decent collection of players for all three major bye rounds (Round 11, 14 and 17). That means stocking up on Rabbitohs, Tigers, Eels, Bulldogs and Cowboys who won't play Origin.
But for head-to-head, where most leagues take a break this week (meaning you won't be matched up against an opponent) now is a good time to sit tight, hold your trades, and not worry about your weekly score. Better to keep trades up your sleeve for the crucial finals series at the end of the Fantasy season.
Get your Fantasy fix with State of Origin I
Don't worry, even if you're not in the running for a big score this week in NRL Fantasy there is still Origin Fantasy to get started on. Both teams for Game One are officially named today, and from tomorrow you'll be able to select your six-man Fantasy side for the first game of the series via Fantasy's Match Day section. $500 cash is up for grabs for the winners of each of the three State of Origin mini-games, while another $500 plus two Category 1 tickets to this year's NRL Grand Final will go to the overall winner of State of Origin Fantasy.
Cash cow watch
Rabbitohs winger Aaron Gray grabbed another try and four tackle breaks for his second straight score of 41 – plus a $27,000 price rise – and he's still reasonably cheap at $168,000 and with a break even of -4. Cowboys prop Ben Spina has the same price and a break even of 2 this week.
The two cheapies to really cash in on the weekend won't be in action in Round 11 – Manly's Blake Leary has jumped $76,000 in value in two weeks after scores of 63 and 57, while Lachlan Burr hit 61 on the weekend for a $35,000 price rise playing 80 minutes at lock in place of the suspended Greg Bird.
Follow the Lone Scout on Facebook or Twitter and read more Fantasy hints and tips here.
