NRL Fantasy teams analysis: Round 11

With just one round before the Origin period kicks in, it's another crucial trade week for NRL Fantasy coaches.

This week there is good news for one cash cow and bad news for a couple of others.

Round 11 team news

Eels v Panthers, Thursday 7.50pm at Bankwests Stadium

Eels: Maika Sivo is back from suspension and Blake Ferguson has moved to the centres with Brad Takairangi going back to the bench. Daniel Alvaro is also benched with Tim Mannah starting up front, and David Gower joins the interchange with Tepai Moeroa (concussion) and Oregon Kaufusi out of the 17. Reed Mahoney bounced back from a low-scoring 60-minute stint last week against Melbourne to make 59 tackles in 80 minutes against the Cowboys, and is firming as a keeper. Mitch Moses also has a 50-point average this year, although his 56 on Saturday followed three straight scores in the 30s. Maika Sivo could be a handy player to hold for next week's bye round, and is a decent chance of crossing the tryline against a struggling Penrith side.

Panthers: Josh Mansour returns on the wing in place of Dallin Watene-Zelezniak while Jarome Luai starts for the suspended James Maloney. Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Frank Winterstein return to the pack, with cheapie Liam Martin and Tim Grant benched and Kaide Ellis out of the side. Nathan Cleary had no real attacking stats and just the one goal last week and still scored 45, so is looking tempting as a cut price keeper… although for him to get back to a 55+ average the Panthers probably need to turn their horror form around.  

Sea Eagles v Titans, Friday 6pm at Lottoland

Sea Eagles: Manly's top 17 is unchanged. Martin Taupau continues to score better than a point a minute, but he's playing around 45 minutes a game which makes him only a borderline keeper – definitely a hold considering Manly plays next round, but perhaps not a buy. Cade Cust is very cheap but Daly Cherry-Evans is likely to return in his place in the next few weeks.

Titans: Moeaki Fotuaika starts up front and Shannon Boyd and Keegan Hipgrave return on the bench with Jack Stockwell and Max King dropping to the reserves. Bryce Cartwright now has a break even above his average (38 v 37) so is a probable sell unless you want to keep him for bye round cover. Tyrone Peachey took minutes off him as a bench second-rower. Mitch Rein is set to pass $200k in price rises next week, and looms as a very handy Round 12 scorer.

Knights v Roosters, Friday 7.55pm at McDonald Jones Stadium

Knights: Connor Watson is named at five-eighth with Kurt Mann set to return to the bench, after the pair swapped roles last week. In their last three games Kalyn Ponga is averaging 68.7 and Mitchell Pearce is averaging 66, making both of them terrific recent buys who should keep scoring above 50 for the rest of the season. David Klemmer is finally coming off a mediocre score (35), after making a season-low 18 tackles in Newcastle's big win over the Dragons.

Roosters: Daniel Tupou and Boyd Cordner return, with Mitchell Aubusson moving to the bench and Ryan Hall and Lindsay Collins dropping to the reserves. Siosiua Taukeiaho suffered a groin injury last week but has been named to play, while Angus Crichton hit season-highs for tackles and tackle breaks in a 70-point performance. James Tedesco is hitting form after scores of 81 and 58 in the past fortnight.

Raiders v Cowboys, Saturday 3pm at GIO Stadium

Raiders: Joseph Tapine returns on the bench in place of Sebastian Kris, meaning cheapie Hudson Young retains his starting spot in the second row. Nick Cotric scored 55 after starting in the centres last week and could be on track to become a dual-position player after round 12 if he stays there.

Cowboys: Gideon Gela-Mosby replaces Ben Hampton (biceps) on the wing, while Josh McGuire could return after being included in the reserves. Jason Taumalolo played 80 minutes for the first time this season on Saturday for 76 points, but his game time is likely to go back to usual when McGuire returns to the Cowboys forward pack.

Warriors v Broncos, Saturday 7.30pm (5.30pm AEST) at Mt Smart Stadium

Warriors: Bunty Afoa starts for the suspended Agnatius Paasi and Adam Blair returns on the bench. Lachlan Burr's price has peaked and he's facing another possible price drop this week, while Patrick Herbert has a break even of -6 after scoring 60 in the win over Penrith (although his price has already risen by $129k this year).

Broncos: No changes. Payne Haas is averaging 64 points a game this year, after scoring a season-high 81 against the reigning premiers on Friday night. He's not only a must-have but also a captaincy option. Oddly both Anthony Milford (36) and Tom Dearden (20) had season-low scores in last week's win over the Roosters.

Rabbitohs v Wests Tigers, Saturday 7.35pm at ANZ Stadium

Rabbitohs: No changes for the Rabbitohs, with Ethan Lowe again named in the centres and Dean Britt on the bench. Sam Burgess gave away five penalties and had five missed tackles on the way to a season-low score of 28 against Canberra last week – he's a hold if you want his round 12 score for overall points but is otherwise a trade (he hasn't passed 50 since round 2 and needed tries to get above 40 points in round 8 and 9). Cameron Murray and Adam Reynolds are both strong chances of joining Damien Cook and Dane Gagai on Origin duty next week.

Wests Tigers: Mahe Fonua is out, with Robert Jennings shifting to the wing and Paul Momirovski joining the backline. Robbie Farah's minutes look pretty safe despite the presence of Jacob Liddle on the bench, with the No.9 playing the entire game in two of the last three rounds and only getting a rest during the blowout win over Penrith (Liddle's minutes in those games: 18, 18, 0). Alex Twal and Ryan Matterson are producing keeper-level scores just above 50.

Bulldogs v Storm, Sunday 2pm at Belmore Sports Ground

Bulldogs: Jayden Okunbor played one of his better games last week but it set to miss at least a month with a foot injury and is a sell, with Christian Crichton replacing him on the wing. Aiden Tolman continues to get huge game time for a prop and is worth keeping at this rate, and even produced a couple of rare tackle breaks last week on the way to 64. 

Storm: New cash cow Ryan Papenhuyzen's string of monster scores may be over already after he was named on the bench with Jahrome Hughes returning from a head knock at fullback. Christian Welch (knee) drops out of the side. Papenhuyzen's break even may be -35 after scores of 69 and 71, which both featured long-range tries, but he averaged a measly 11.5 from his first four games after getting very limited minutes off the bench. Cameron Smith's 43 last round was just the second sub-50 score of the season, and he has five scores above 60 and two above 70 to his name in 2019.

Dragons v Sharks, Sunday 4.05pm at WIN Stadium

Dragons: Paul McGregor has reshuffled his back five again, with Zac Lomax now getting the fullback job, Euan Atiken starting at centre and Matt Dufty and Mikaela Ravalawa out of the 17. Reece Robson and Korbin Sims join the interchange with Josh Kerr dropping out. The reshuffle is good news for Lomax, who lost goal-kicking duties to Jai Field last week and presumably won't be subbed or shifted to the wing this weekend. Ben Hunt has averaged 56.7 in his past three and at $716k is a sneaky halves option, albeit one who is pretty certain to play Origin for Queensland. Cameron McInnes is a cheaper alternative to Cameron Smith at $788k but now has a bench hooker to contend with. 

Sharks: Matt Moylan is a chance of returning after being included in the reserves, which could have implications for cash cows Bronson Xerri or Kyle Flanagan, but at this stage Cronulla are unchanged. Braden Hamlin-Uele is Cronulla's form Fantasy player, averaging just under 48 in his last three games. Kyle Flanagan has been a strong cash cow and should keep rising in value until Shaun Johnson returns.