NRL Fantasy teams analysis: Round 13

It's another week of carnage with a host of surprise outs in this week's team lists, overshadowing some big transfer news and big news on the Fantasy front with the final round of dual-position updates for 2020 kicking in.

Players such as Tommy Talau (CTR/WFB), Cameron McInnes (HOK/2RF), Ben Hunt (HLF/HOK), Tesi Niu (CTR/WFB), Jack Murchie (FRF/2RF), Luke Thompson (FRF/2RF) and Herbie Farnworth (WFB/CTR) will be available in a second position as of Wednesday morning.

Round 13 team news

Dragons v Roosters, Thursday 7.50pm at WIN Stadium

Dragons: Adam Clune returns at halfback and Corey Norman is out of the 17, with Ben Hunt moving to five-eighth and Cameron McInnes remaining at hooker. Trent Merrin replaces Jacob Host on the bench.

It had to happen eventually but it took 12 rounds for Zac Lomax (15) to post a bad score this year, but he's still a definite hold as the most reliable centre option of the season so far. Hunt (67) and McInnes (54) are both slightly more valuable now as dual-position players, while Tyson Frizell (61, $714k) is a point of difference option in the second row with a three-game average of 60.

Roosters: Kyle Flanagan is a surprise out, with Lachlan Lam starting at halfback. Josh Morris returns, pushing Sitili Tupouniua to the back row and Nat Butcher to the bench. Drew Hutchison replaces Daniel Fifita on the interchange.

James Tedesco (50) again was good but not great in a week when many people picked him as their captain, but still averages just under 65 which is sensational for a fullback. Joey Manu (64, $565k) now averages more than 40 for the season and is a decent option at centre. 

Sea Eagles v Warriors, Friday 6pm at Lottoland

Sea Eagles: Tevita Funa replaces Brad Parker (head knock) at centre and Cade Cust returns at five-eighth for Dylan Walker (foot).

Daly Cherry-Evans (87) has a five-game average of 76 after adding two more try assists and a try save on the weekend. Jake Trbojevic (76 with a try) had his best game of the season against Penrith while it seems Marty Taupau (47) can be relied on for at least 45 points each week but only has two scores above 60 this year.

Warriors: Chanel Harris-Tavita replaces Blake Green who was released by the club on Tuesday. Last week's win over the Tigers resulted in good scores for Tohu Harris (73), Jazz Tevaga (62), Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (52) and Karl Lawton (51), while Eliesa Katoa (59) continues to score well for those who still have him.

Rabbitohs v Broncos, Friday 7.55pm at ANZ Stadium

Rabbitohs: Adam Reynolds has been named despite leaving the field early with a shoulder injury last week, with Souths naming an unchanged 17.

Cody Walker (84) was brilliant with Reynolds on the sidelines last week and Alex Johnston (78) grabbed a hat-trick, while Damien Cook (49) had his lowest score since round two and Latrell Mitchell (45) bounced back after a run of quiet games. Bailey Sironen (48) is proving great value in the second row.

Broncos: David Fifita is back in the starting side, bumping Joe Ofahengaue to the bench, while Anthony Milford (hamstring) is out with Brodie Croft joining Tom Dearden in the halves. Ethan Bullemor drops out of the 17.

Kotoni Staggs (88) had two tries, three line breaks and eight tackle breaks in a terrific performance against the Sharks last week and now has the best average of all centres in Fantasy (ahead of Bradman Best and Zac Lomax), while Payne Haas (72) and Pat Carrigan (66) continue to excel in the middle. Tevita Pangai jnr (71) now has four scores of 60 or better in his past five games.

Storm v Bulldogs, Saturday 3pm at Sunshine Coast Stadium

Storm: In yet another sign of how strange 2020 has been, Cameron Smith is injured, while Ryan Papenhuyzen (rested) surprisingly joins him on the sidelines this week with Nicho Hynes to start at fullback.

Smith's shoulder injury is set to keep him on the sidelines for two or three weeks, with Brandon Smith moving to hooker. Justin Olam replaces the injured Marion Seve (ear cut) at centre with Ryley Jacks and Albert Vete joining the bench.

Papenhuyzen (62) was enjoying his best run of scores of the year, while Tino Faasuamaleaui (86) is living up to the hype and Cameron Munster (57) could be a handy point-of-difference option in the halves in the run home.

Bulldogs: Ofahiki Ogden starts at prop and Sione Katoa at hooker with Aiden Tolman and Jeremy Marshall-King benched. Reimis Smith replaces Jack Cogger on the interchange.

Luke Thompson ($560k) now has back-to-back scores of 53 and is a very interesting prospect as a potential cut-price keeper – now available in the front or second row. Raymond Faitala-Mariner (56) has now scored tries in his last three games, and four of his past five, while a terrific finish from Jake Averillo (41) helped him to his second good score of the season.

Knights v Wests Tigers, Saturday 5.30pm at McDonald Jones Stadium

Knights: A real shake-up here with the signing of experienced five-eighth Blake Green, who starts in the halves which pushes Kurt Mann to hooker and Chris Randall out of the 17 altogether. It's bad news for those who traded in Randall last week and potentially for Mitchell Pearce owners as well, with Green a chance of taking kick metres off the No.7.

Meanwhile Bradman Best (ankle) and Tautau Moga are out, with Star Toa debuting on the wing and Gehamat Shibasaki at centre. Brodie Jones replaces the suspended Pasami Saulo on the bench. Pearce and Kalyn Ponga (both 55) continue to produce strong scores while forwards Aidan Guerra (64) and Mitch Barnett (56) were the team's best Fantasy contributors in Sunday's loss to Melbourne.

Wests Tigers: The Tigers have made a raft of changes after last week's loss to the Warriors, and the biggest outs are Fantasy stars Harry Grant (knee) and Alex Twal (ribs). Both are huge surprises, with Grant in practically every competitive Fantasy team at this stage and Twal just back from injury.

Joey Leilua and Tommy Talau start in the centres, AJ Kepaoa is on the wing, Moses Mbye moves to hooker, Luke Brooks replaces Billy Walters in the halves, and Russell Packer, Sam McIntyre and Matt Eisenhuth are in the starting pack. Chris Lawrence and Walters shift to the bench. McIntyre (61) grabbed a try last week but also had a busy 47 minutes via the bench, and while he starts this week even when he goes back to the bench he looks a fairly reliable 30+ scorer available in the centres at $333k.

Panthers v Raiders, Saturday 7.35pm at Panthers Stadium

Panthers: Malakai Watene-Zelezniak replaces Charlie Staines (hamstring) on the wing. Nathan Cleary (105) racked up his second ton of the season to go past Payne Haas as the best scorer of the year, averaging 73.8 points a game. Api Koroisau (66) also made an excellent early return from injury against his old club Manly, while Isaah Yeo (62) and Jarome Luai (50) continue their good form.

Raiders: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad returns at fullback with Jordan Rapana returning to the wing and Semi Valemei (knee) out of the side.

Tom Starling (52) is exceeding expectations as a mid-season cash cow and looks a pretty safe bench scorer, while Josh Papalii (63) is producing close to 60 points per game this season. Hudson Young (58) had a season-high 151 metres in 46 minutes at lock against the Cowboys.

Titans v Cowboys, Sunday 2pm at Cbus Super Stadium

Titans: Sam Lisone replaces Sam Stone on the bench. Moeaki Fotuaika (50) is on the up after a couple of quiet weeks but he's gone a month without scoring 60, having hit that mark three times in the previous four rounds.

Jamal Fogarty (44) continues to be a handy contributor while Tyrone Peachey (55) has emerged as a keeper option in the centres after scores of 54, 40, 62 and 55 as a bench forward.

Cowboys: It's good news for Cowboys fans with skipper Michael Morgan returning in the halves but bad news for Reece Robson owners with rival dummy-half Jake Granville named on the bench. Elsewhere Tom Opacic replaces Murray Taulagi in the backline, Josh McGuire returns from suspension at prop, Mitch Dunn starts in the back row and Jake Clifford, Shane Wright, Gavin Cooper and John Asiata drop out.

Jason Taumalolo (88) produced his best score of the year against Canberra, with his second try of the season, while Robson (75) grabbed another big score in 80 minutes last week. In terms of Fantasy scores, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (10) is producing more rocks than diamonds at the back in his rookie season.

Sharks v Eels, Sunday 4.05pm at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium

Sharks: Josh Dugan and Jesse Ramien return in the centres and Matt Moylan is back in the halves, while Siosifa Talakai replaces Briton Nikora in the second row. Jackson Ferris is suspended.

Last week's win over the Broncos didn't translate to big Fantasy scores for Cronulla's most popular buys, with cash cows Toby Rudolf and Blayke Brailey failing to reach 40 points and Shaun Johnson finishing on a decent but not spectacular 48. Braden Hamlin-Uele (71) was their surprise top scorer, with new starting half Braydon Trindall (13) dropping in price.

Eels: Still no sign of Ryan Matterson, because it's just that kind of week. Ray Stone replaces Brad Takairangi on the bench. Mitch Moses (67) has scored tries in his two games back from injury but props Junior Paulo (75) and Reagan Campbell-Gillard (59) have been Parramatta's best scorers recently. Clint Gutherson (48) continues to impress at fullback.