Which players have made the perfect start to the 2015 NRL Fantasy season, and the big name captain who could be in the firing line this week.
Check your Round 2 Fantasy scores and make your trades now
When sticking with proven performers pays off...
The knives were out for a few Round 1 NRL Fantasy flops last week, with Fantasy coaches tempted into making knee-jerk trades for the likes of Corey Parker and Josh Jackson – despite Parker being one of Fantasy's greatest ever players and Jackson appearing to be a cut-price keeper this season. In Round 2, those who stuck with that duo were rewarded for their faith: Parker was the Broncos' top Fantasy scorer on Friday night with 64 points, while Jackson bounced back from a week-one 20 to score 46 in Round 2. It just goes to show that you shouldn't trade out the keepers...
...And when it doesn't
...Unless the keeper in question is Robbie Farah. The Wests Tigers captain is owned by more than 20 per cent of teams and started the season as the most expensive player in NRL Fantasy, after scoring more points per game than any other player in 2014. A few traded him out last week for Panthers superstar-in-the-making James Segeyaro, and a lot more will this week after Farah was given a rest early in the second half against the Dragons – leading to a relatively poor score of 37. More worryingly still, Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor says his captain will continue to spend some time on the bench. "There are two reasons: keeping him fresh and have him playing his footy at the back end of the year, and getting his replacement ready for when he's not there," Taylor said after Monday night's game. Farah's bench time – and the fact he'll miss at least five games due to byes and Origin duty in the middle of the season – suddenly makes him a genuine trade-out option this week.
In saying all that, he's still well and truly capable of scoring 60 points in 70 minutes most weeks, and could easily do a Parker and bounce back with a big score against South Sydney on Sunday.
B-Moz the real deal?
He's scored three tries already, new Bulldogs fullback Brett Morris has made a grand start to life at a new club and a new position as the highest-scoring player in Fantasy in the first fortnight of the season with returns of 78 and 63. The tries are handy, but more encouragingly for Fantasy coaches he's also notched 350 metres, five line breaks and a whopping 19 tackle breaks across those two games. Can he keep it up? Other big names on track to make the step up to Fantasy superstar status this year include Adam Reynolds (averaging 69.5 so far), Segeyaro (67), Jarrod Mullen (61.5) and Aaron Woods (61). George Burgess was also at his monstrous best for Souths this weekend with 75 points, while Daly Cherry-Evans (76) showed no sign of being distracted by his decision to sign with the Titans in leading Manly to victory over Melbourne.
Cash cow of the year? The other Raider
All the pre-season hype in Fantasy circles revolved around Canberra halfback Mitch Cornish, and with good reason – at $164,000, the Raiders' young first-choice halfback looked great value. But new recruit and former Super League star Sia Soliola cost just $22,000 more at the start of the year, and he's not only making quick cash but also proving to be a potential keeper with 111 points in two games making him Canberra's top Fantasy scorer so far in 2015. He's already risen $59,000 in value and with a break even of -14 is certain to take another big jump in value next week. He's got a few more prices rises to go so it's not too late to snap him up in the second row or in the centres if he's not in your squad already.
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