Lone Scout: Dream Team Grand Final Preview

Grand Final time! No turning back, one more game for all the marbles, chocolates or whatever it is you’ve been playing for all year! <br><br>The past few weeks of Dream Team are always tough. Liam Fulton, Beau Scott and Anthony Minichiello were just some late pull-outs that caused concern last weekend and then Glenn Stewart backs up his 70-plus with a 28 and a four-week suspension! <br><br>Petero Civoniceva is another in the doghouse after being sent off. It has put all sorts of pressure on those sides still alive in their leagues – and for the handful of you who are in the hunt for the car, the big names keep dropping. <br><br>Several players are in doubt with injuries, others may be rested as results happen over the weekend – basically it is going to be survival of the fittest. Put it this way, if you are relying on a heap of Dragons to get you home it will be a very nervous wait, as Wayne Bennett could rest up to six first-string players should he so desire, now the minor premiership is wrapped up. Beau Scott is supposed to play this week… but he was named the past two weeks also.<br><br>In terms of big-scoring second-rowers, outside the obvious Nathan Hindmarsh, Paul Gallen and Corey Parker, the pickings are now slim. If you do have a trade left, you are left to pick up Ashley Harrison, Matt Hilder, Gareth Ellis, Sam Burgess, Anthony Laffranchi, Trent Waterhouse, Luke Douglas, Andrew Ryan, Shaun Fensom, Chris Heighington or Simon Mannering. <br><br>I reckon the picks of the bunch are probably the last three in Fensom, Heighington or Mannering. Fensom is due to start for the Raiders in a must-win game against the Broncos; Heighington is trying to help the Wests Tigers to a second-place finish; and Mannering will be in a close-fought match with the Eels, as the Warriors push for the top four and the Eels try to farewell Nathan Cayless in style. <br><br>Harrison is another fair option, but his team-mate Laffranchi will spend some time at prop and on the bench when Greg Bird plays so he might not be the best. Hilder is likely to be on the end of a Melbourne ambush, Ellis has niggling injury and might not play, Burgess might be playing for nothing by the time he plays, Waterhouse has an ‘easier’ match against the Sharks, and Douglas plays for the Sharks in a game which might not live up to being too brutal. Maybe Bronson Harrison is another who could be added to the list of possibles, as his Raiders need a big effort from him to make the finals.<br><br>As a sidenote, it will be interesting to see if our retiring players get big Dream Team scores this week in their final hit-out. Parramatta captain Nathan Cayless, Sharks skipper Trent Barrett and winger Luke Covell, Bulldogs halfback Brett Kimmorley and Cowboys outside back Ty Williams will all be out for big send-offs and might be dark horses for a big number. <br><br>After we highlighted the 10 top teams going for the car last week I can tell you 'The Mighty Lions' have remained in top spot but 'THEG@ME' has moved up from third to second, pushing the 'Dalby Desperados' to third. The gap between top spot and 10th is just 284 points but the winner is most likely to come from the top four. Just 137 points separate first from fourth and 46 points separate top spot from the nearest challenger. It will seriously come down to the wire here and trying to sleep this weekend might be near impossible for coach ‘Henry’ and coach ‘Rochelle’.<br><br>As far as the battle for MVPs goes, it looks like Robbie Farah will hold on to score the most points this year. He comes into the final round 42 points ahead of Nathan Hindmarsh and 56 ahead of Paul Gallen. <br><br>The honour for the best average each week is set to be between Corey Parker’s current 56.45 and Cameron Smith’s 54.58.<br><br>In terms of best in position, Todd Carney is going to take out best fullback, Mitch Aubusson looks set to hold off Jarryd Hayne for best centre/winger, Terry Campese should stay ahead of Jamie Soward to be the best half, Hindmarsh and Gallen will fight out the second row spot, Luke Douglas will try to overtake Luke Bailey this final weekend to be the number one prop and of course Farah will be the best hooker.<br><br>Sam Burgess will be honoured as the most popular player, Liam Fulton appears to be set to hold on as the most improved in terms of value, gaining a whopping $168,200 over the year (closely followed by Trent Hodkinson and Burgess) while the biggest form drop this season looks likely to go to Chris Bailey – although another big game this round could put him ahead of Broderick Wright, Blake Green and Daniel Mortimer.<br><br>Well, it’s been another awesome year. I want to thank everyone for their input on Facebook during the year, your viewership on our Dream Team videos and most importantly for playing NRL Dreamteam. <br><br>I hope you found my advice and injury mail of at least some assistance throughout the season... even if I threw the odd curve ball (we all have bad days at the office!).<br><br>More importantly though, I hope you managed to have a bit of fun, chat with other fantasy addicts and enjoy our beloved game from a fresh perspective.<br><br>If you are battling for a grand final victory this weekend, good luck – unless it’s against me!<br><br>Catch you all on Facebook!<br>