NRL Fantasy winners & losers: Round 4
The Bulldogs left edge had a field day, Andrew Fifita lifted for an injury-hit pack and Kalyn Ponga proved he should never have been moved from fullback.
Here are the big talking points from round 4.
Winners
A foot injury to Aaron Woods was bad news for the Sharks but good news for Andrew Fifita owners, with the big prop getting through 73 minutes with six busts and seven offloads for 81, the top score of the week.
It wasn't enough for the Sharks as Eels Mitch Moses (80), Blake Ferguson (58), Marata Niukore (56) and Reed Mahoney (52) continued their strong starts to the season – the latter with his first 80-minute game of the year with no utility selected.
Kalyn Ponga (61) returned to fullback with dramatic effect, leaving Fantasy coaches and Knights fans to wonder why he wasn't there from round one. He set up both his side's tries and ran for just under 200 metres with five busts and looks a juicy buy for this week.
The Bulldogs left edge ran amok against the Storm with rookie winger Jayden Okunbor (67) piling on a massive 290 metres and scoring his maiden try while his centre partner Kerrod Holland (75) produced the sort of form we saw in the final two months of 2018, with a try, five busts and 164 metres. Aiden Tolman (59) benefited from some injuries in the pack.
John Bateman (52) and Briton Nikora (52) continued to pile on points as back-rowers available at CTR, Damien Cook (70) and Cameron Murray (64) benefited from a golden-point finish against Manly, Angus Crichton (62) has officially levelled out after scoring a try in a big effort against Brisbane while elite WFBs James Tedesco (62) and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (66) were both excellent in their respective teams' big wins.
Sharks young-gun Bronson Xerri (35) will be a popular purchase this week after a confident start to his NRL career, with at least four or five more games until he has to contend with Matt Moylan's return. Cheapie of the week however was another young debutant in Warriors half Chanel Harris-Tavita (56) who busted five tackles and kicked five goals.
Get caught up: Round 4
Losers
Manly enjoyed a much-needed win over the previously unbeaten Rabbitohs but there was horror news for fullback Tom Trbojevic (35), who was on track for another huge score before re-injuring his hamstring just after half-time. He is set to miss another two months or so.
His teammate, popular cheapie Corey Waddell (5), was concussed early in his spell while another popular cheapie, winger Reuben Garrick (15) just couldn't find his mojo after back-to-back 30-plus scores.
Those who skippered Cameron Smith (43) endured seven missed tackles in a rare off day Fantasy-wise while gun half Nathan Cleary (34) hardly kicked at all in general play despite a match-winning conversion and field goal.
After two great scores including tries, Bulldogs prop Dylan Napa (5) rolled his ankle early on and could miss some game time.
Luke Garner (29) and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (30) have been reliable top-17 options but experienced quieter games while it is now consecutive worrying scores for Shaun Lane (27) owners.
Plenty of people were forced to rush in Bryce Cartwright (29) after losing two cash cow halves but despite getting another 80 minutes he managed barely half the score he got in round three.
Tyson Frizell's return was bad news for Jacob Host (24), with the young Dragons second-rower taken off inside 50 minutes despite a broken arm to Korbin Sims.
A horror night for the Broncos against the Roosters translated to Fantasy, with Corey Oates producing a whopping six errors and four missed tackles to finish on -2. His teammate Jack Bird (32) has been one of the best cash cows of 2019 and while 32 isn't a disaster, he dropped the ball over the line in a 10-point turnaround and finished with 16 demerits in what was a potentially great score gone begging.
