NRL Fantasy teams analysis: Round 16

It's the second and final bye round of the year but there are still a handful of Fantasy superstars in action in a crucial week for the overall points race.

This week's team news

Dragons v Storm, Thursday 7.50pm at WIN Stadium

Dragons: Tim Lafai returns at centre for Lachlan Maranta, Jai Field and Darren Nicholls are the new halves with Corey Norman and Ben Hunt on Origin duty, Korbin Sims and Jeremy Latimore start at prop and Blake Lawrie is at lock with Paul Vaughan, Tariq Sims and Tyson Frizell named by the Blues. Josh Kerr, Patrick Kaufusi and Mitchell Allgood join the bench. Cameron McInnes is a great captaincy option this week and a quality buy for overall points – his break even is still high at 78 so if you're playing head-to-head you should be able to get him at a discount later. Take out his injury-affected 9 in round 14 and McInnes is averaging just under 62 points a game this year.  

Storm: Melbourne have been hit hard by Origin with Josh Addo-Carr, Cameron Munster, Will Chambers, Felise Kaufusi, Christian Welch and Dale Finucane out. Still, Ryan Papenhuyzen returns to the bench with Jahrome Hughes returning from a back issue, debutant Billy Walters into the side at five-eighth, Solomone Kata and Sandor Early joining the back five and Joe Stimson and Brandon Smith into the starting pack. Albert Vete and Tino Faasuamaleaui join the bench. Cameron Smith has a 60-point average and is a great captaincy option, particularly considering Munster isn't around to share the playmaking responsibilities.

Wests Tigers v Roosters, Friday 7.55pm at Bankwest Stadium

Wests Tigers: Paul Momirovski replaces Queensland's Moses Mbye in the centres and Josh Aloiai's return bumps Oliver Clark out of the side. Alex Twal and Ryan Matterson are standout options in the forwards with averages in the 50s, with Twal also providing dual-position flexibility. Robbie Farah is only a hold if you're playing for overall points – he only played 41 minutes last round for 27 points and his price is still falling fast.

Roosters: Blues James Tedesco and Boyd Cordner are out but Luke Keary is back, with Joey Manu at fullback, Ryan Hall on the wing, Zane Tetevano in the starting pack and Matt Ikuvalu shifted to the bench. Angus Crichton is coming off scores of 58 and 55, the latter coming from just 43 minutes off the bench, but he now appears to be stuck in the middle rotation and is again named on the interchange. Siosiua Taukeiaho is out with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (hamstring) returning. 

Knights v Warriors, Saturday 7.35pm at McDonald Jones Stadium

Knights: Kalyn Ponga (calf), Edrick Lee (broken arm), Tim Glasby and Daniel Safifi (both Origin) are all out but Mitchell Pearce and David Klemmer are still available – pending Nathan Cleary's fitness and Tariq Sims's result at the judiciary on Tuesday night. Danny Levi returns at hooker but Connor Watson keeps a starting spot at fullback with Kurt Mann switching to centre and Hymel Hunt on the wing. James Gavet and Jacob Saifiti are the new front row pairing with Klemmer named at lock.

Warriors: Issac Luke and Lachlan Burr return to the side via the bench in place of Nathaniel Roache (season-ending ACL) and Leivaha Pulu. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has hit a purple patch of form with scores of 70 and 64, while Jazz Tevaga scored 81 in 73 minutes as a starting lock last week. Tevaga is still cheap at $527k and he holds onto the No.13 jersey despite the return of Burr, with Adam Blair remaining in the second row in place of Tohu Harris (knee, round 21).

Sharks v Broncos, Sunday 4.05pm at PointsBet Stadium

Sharks: Aaron Woods and Kurt Capewell are into the starting pack with Wade Graham on NSW duty and Jack Williams moving to the bench. Kyle Flanagan is the new bench utility. Shaun Johnson is great value at $563k and he scored 69 (with a try) last week, with his price having dropped by $210k this season. He's not a sure thing though, with half his scores this year being under 40 points (his other four scores are 61, 56, 55 and 69).

Broncos: With Corey Oates, Matt Gillett, David Fifita and Joe Ofahengaue on Maroons duty and Richie Kennar (shoulder) and Anthony Milford (knee) injured, Darius Boyd returns to fullback, Herbie Farnworth and Xavier Coates debut on the wings, Jake Turpin is at five-eighth, Alex Glenn is in the back row and Tom Flegler is at lock. Rhys Kennedy and James Segeyaro join the bench. Payne Haas's snubbing by NSW is a big boost to Fantasy coaches and a potential captaincy option. There are fears Milford will miss at least a month and possibly the rest of the season, and following his switch to fullback there's no guarantee he'll return as a 50-point player even if he is back soon. Could be a good week to sell, particularly if you're playing for overall points.