The NRL Fantasy value buys and all player prices for the Wests Tigers in 2020.
Luciano Leilua
Second-rower, $503,000
The term "enigmatic" gets thrown around a bit in rugby league circles but for Leilua it seems to fit the bill.
The new Tigers recruit may not be the most dedicated trainer in the NRL but he's a huge talent capable of producing monster Fantasy scores if given the game time.
Case in point – at the end of the 2018 season Leilua had three 80-minute games for the Dragons and produced scores of 60, 83 and 55 in those matches (the 83 included a try, seven tackle busts and three offloads).
And yet he averaged 30 points that season and just under 35 last year, due to the fact his game time was mostly limited to stints off the bench.
If that's the case again at the Tigers he's no sure thing to be a Fantasy success, but if he can earn a starting spot Leilua could become a cut-price 50-point player.
Five key match-ups of the Wests Tigers' 2020 draw
Tommy Talau
Centre, $246,000
A teenage speedster who scored four tries in nine games for Wests in the Canterbury Cup last season, Talau could get his chance in the top grade after making a single NRL appearance in 2018.
That game only produced 15 Fantasy points (and included -16 in demerits due to five missed tackles and three errors) but it means he starts the new season very cheap and could be a starter after the departure of Esan Marsters to the Cowboys.
Talau's best chance of a start in the centres will be an injury to Moses Mbye or if the versatile Mbye is used elsewhere in the line-up (perhaps at hooker).
But if he's wearing the No.3 or No.4 on his back in round one expect to see Talau in plenty of Fantasy squads.
Paul Momirovski
Centre, $602,000
Momirovski is one of only a handful of centres available this year who scored more than 40 Fantasy points a game last season – Latrell Mitchell, Jack Bird, Will Hopoate and Bronson Xerri are the others. He has the potential to score even better in 2020.
That's because he made the majority of his 2018 appearances on the wing or at fullback, averaging 33 in those games, while he scored a superb 50 points a game at centre. He also took on the goal-kicking midway through the year.
He's capable of going big without relying on tries (see his tryless 57 against Newcastle in round 23) and having a monster game (96 against the Dragons in round 24). He could be a savvy keeper option at the start of the season.
Or, if a reported swap deal between Momirovski and Melbourne's Harry Grant goes through...
Harry Grant
Hooker, $246,000
The 21-year-old hooker is set to arrive from Melbourne at a time when the Tigers are short on dummy-half options, with Robbie Farah's long-term successor Jacob Liddle sidelined for at least the first half of the season. Grant only has two NRL appearances to his name – he scored six points in as many minutes of game time last year – but at Intrust Super Cup level he's been a standout, with performances worth 68 points per game in 2019 and 55 the year before. That record does include 14 tries for the Sunshine Coast Falcons last season – a huge number for a hooker – plus 21 try assists and 40 tackles per game. As a bench player he'd be an interesting Fantasy option; as a starter he'd be a must-have.
How the Perth NRL Nines will work
Wests Tigers starting prices in 2020
| Luke Brooks | $747,000 | HLF |
| Luke Garner | $685,000 | 2RF |
| Alex Twal | $683,000 | FRF |
| David Nofoaluma | $682,000 | WFB |
| Matthew Eisenhuth | $621,000 | FRF, 2RF |
| Paul Momirovski | $602,000 | CTR |
| Benji Marshall | $572,000 | HLF |
| Josh Aloiai | $563,000 | 2RF |
| Elijah Taylor | $523,000 | HOK, 2RF |
| Chris Lawrence | $515,000 | 2RF |
| Corey Thompson | $513,000 | WFB |
| Moses Mbye | $508,000 | CTR, WFB |
| Luciano Leilua | $503,000 | 2RF |
| Michael Chee-Kam | $431,000 | 2RF, CTR |
| Russell Packer | $407,000 | FRF |
| Thomas Mikaele | $384,000 | FRF |
| Robert Jennings | $383,000 | WFB, CTR |
| Oliver Clark | $361,000 | FRF |
| Chris McQueen | $328,000 | 2RF |
| Jacob Liddle | $320,000 | HOK |
| Zane Musgrove | $246,000 | FRF |
| Tommy Talau | $246,000 | CTR |
| Billy Walters | $246,000 | HLF |
| Jake Simpkin | $228,000 | HOK |
| Alex Seyfarth | $228,000 | 2RF |
| Dylan Smith | $228,000 | WFB |
| Sam McIntyre | $228,000 | 2RF, CTR |
