Jarryd Hayne is back, the captaincy conundrum is as tricky as ever and the NRL head-to-head league finals are here.
Here are the Lone Scout's answers to this week's big questions.
Is Hayne worth a buy?
From James Hannan
Not yet, I think. Certainly snap him up if you're playing in a Draft league (and if nobody else in your league has got him yet) but for Classic Fantasy I'd wait and see how he goes this weekend – assuming he plays. With the Titans already playing well they don't necessarily need to get the full 80 minutes out of him right away, and it's unlikely he could handle a full game of NRL based on the limited stints he's played recently in other codes.
At $380,000 Hayne needs to score about 45 to hold his value so I'd be waiting at least a week before snapping him up – unless you're desperate for a point-of-difference buy now.
Who to have as captain this week? Smith, Fifita, De Belin, Mannering?
From Tony Martin
I like Jack De Belin and Simon Mannering as captaincy options this week. Both are playing big minutes at lock for their teams and tend to get through a mountain of tackles, so they should be relied on to score at least in the 50s and potentially in the 70s (as they did last week). Andrew Fifita is coming off an 83 but also a short turnaround from a golden-point game so might not get through his usual workload, while Cameron Smith could be rested if the Storm are thrashing the Rabbitohs in the second half on Saturday night.
How does the Fantasy finals work? Is it same as the NRL or knockout?
From Nathan Sheaff
The same as the NRL, the top four play off against each other (with the winners earning a week off and the losers getting a second chance) while teams in positions five to eight are playing sudden death.
Hey Lone Scout. We have a classic H2H comp with the lads at work, been a while since we had full 16 teams. I remember the last 16 team comp I was in had a top eight and bottom eight, trying to keep the lower teams motivated. Is this the case, or is it just the top eight?
From Selwyn Lui
Yep that's still the case – so while the top eight teams in a league play out the finals, the teams ranked 9th through to 16th also play out a "plate" finals series.
Do I sell Sio Siua Taukeiaho as his five-game average is around 45? I can get Bromwich, Tolman, Cordner, Buhrer, Whitehead, Harris, Parker or Cartwright. Worth it? And if so who for? Only have 2 trades left.
From John Mitchell
The two trades remaining is the tricky thing for you, but generally I'd say yes, Taukeiaho is a trade. Jamie Buhrer is actually in great form at the moment with a recent average in the 60s and at just $438,000 is great value. He'd be my trade target, but if you're playing for head-to-head and are on track to win your finals match-up this week you're probably better off keeping those trades up your sleeve.
I've got four trades left. Do I hold for injuries or upgrade to the best possible players?
From Rory Corrigan
It depends on your situation, but I think trade if you have any weaknesses in your squad. I'll be down to three trades after this week but have a strong squad with back-ups for every position, so those last few trades are purely to cover any injuries to my key players.
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