The Gold Coast Titans aren't a team blessed with many big Fantasy scorers based on previous seasons, but their rookie recruit could prove to be one of 2016's best bargains.
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Cash cow
Ashley Taylor: The departure of Aidan Sezer and Kane Elgey's season-ending ACL injury means there is a halves spot up for grabs alongside Tyrone Roberts – and Taylor will be the man to fill it. The talented young former Bronco was the NYC Player of the Year last season and looms as a must-have cash cow at the lowly price of $134,000.
Wild cards
Zeb Taia: The former Newcastle Knights forward has been plying his trade in the Super League for the past few seasons – and he's been impressive, earning a spot in the Super League Dream Team last year alongside Roosters recruit Joe Burgess and fellow ex-NRL player Adam Cuthbertson. He returns to the NRL this season with the Titans, where he's likely to start in the back row. Taia was an 80-minute player in his first stint in the NRL and he can make an impact in attack – leading Catalans' try-scorers list last season with a dozen tries. But with an awkward $358,000 price and a break even of around 40 he's hardly a bargain at the start of the new season.
Agnatius Paasi: The forward improved greatly over the course of last season, starting with a handful of cameos off the bench in the first half of the year before finishing with three straight 80-minute performances. His last two games of the season netted him impressive scores of 57 and 50 – well above his new break even of about 30. But minutes will be hard to come by in a pack that has been bolstered by several new recruits.
Nathan Friend: The Titans have recruited a veteran hooker from the Warriors, who is likely to share the dummy-half role with Daniel Mortimer this season. Friend's real chance to shine through will be if the Titans run without a bench hooker. At the Warriors last year Friend averaged 50 minutes a game but played the full 80 five times – scoring close to 60 points a game in those matches. His $341,000 price is based on last year's season average of 38 points a game, so he'd be great value if he gets big minutes.
2016 NRL Fantasy prices
David Shillington ($392,000)
Luke Douglas ($378,000)
Daniel Mortimer ($370,000)
Zeb Taia ($358,000)
Ryan James ($349,000)
Greg Bird ($346,000)
Nathan Friend ($341,000)
Tyrone Roberts ($313,000)
Chris McQueen ($306,000)
Kierran Moseley ($274,000)
Nene Macdonald ($272,000)
Agnatius Paasi ($267,000)
Lachlan Burr ($267,000)
Kane Elgey ($266,000)
Eddy Pettybourne ($252,000)
Josh Hoffman ($245,000)
William Zillman ($238,000)
Ryan Simpkins ($236,000)
David Mead ($206,000)
Anthony Don ($205,000)
Matt Robinson ($191,000)
Nathaniel Peteru ($178,000)
Ashley Taylor ($134,000)
David Hala ($134,000)
Leva Li ($134,000)
Matt Srama ($134,000)
Jeff Lynch ($130,000)
