Lone Scout's NRL Fantasy Q&A: Round 15

Payne Haas is suspended, we're all low on trades and there are only two weeks before the head-to-head Fantasy league finals begin.

It means it's yet another massive round for NRL Fantasy coaches, with those teams without depth to be tested in the next couple of weeks.

• Round 15 NRL squad announcements
• NRL Casualty Ward

This week's big questions

What do we do with Payne Haas? He's out for 2 weeks and I'm low on trades but trying to win my H2H.

From Matil Jammal

He's a hold for me, because if you'll sell him now it'll either cost you two precious trades or cost you the best captaincy option in Fantasy when he returns in a couple of weeks. Keep in mind most other teams should be holding him as well, so if you're a decent chance of making it into your head-to-head league finals without him I'd be holding.

Only if you're desperate for an edge in the next two rounds – and if you've got plenty of trades left –  should you trade him out.

Who's the best option for captain out of Cleary, DCE, Hunt and Harris? Cleary has the best form but DCE is a man on a mission to get Manly to finals, Harris is a work rate beast and Hunt scores well at hooker.

From Tim Kovea-Vueti

Cleary has the best chance of hitting a massive score but for a captain, I generally want the guy most likely to make 70 points on any given week, regardless of whether he gets attacking stats or not, so I'd go for either Ben Hunt or Tohu Harris.

Still holding Grant currently. Looking to trade him to either Cook, D Fifita or Jazz. I'm a big fan of Jazz as I can pocket some cash to upgrade B Sironen, but was slightly concerned that Jazz only got 38 mins against the Panthers. Thoughts?

From Ben Lewis

As a Jazz Tevaga owner I'm also a little concerned – he's scoring well enough but could be a super scorer if he cut down on errors and earned a few more minutes. The potential is there though so he's still probably my pick of the three players you mentioned at his price.

But in your case I'd probably hang on to Harry Grant at this point, with reports that he's likely to be fit to return as soon as next week.

I have Haas, no FRF cover and 2 trades left. What do I do? I was thinking Randell to Koloamatangi as a short-term cover.

From Byron Gardner

Koloamatangi is coming off a season-high 43 in 48 minutes from what was a fairly high-scoring Rabbitohs v Cowboys game, but keep in mind his previous scores were 26, 34 and 33. He still may be the best FRF at that price range around $300k.

Haas's replacement in the Broncos starting team Rhys Kennedy is another option, at just $273k. He's scored close to a point a minute in very limited game time so far this year, and with Tom Flegler and Matt Lodge both injured he should at least get decent minutes until Haas returns.

Trade Pearce? Last two scores average. I know he has had demerits as well but he is doing my head in.

From Colin Clarke

Yeah, Mitchell Pearce is a tricky one. The argument to hold him is he's still dominating Newcastle's kick metres and he could rack up a few attacking stats with the Knights' fairly soft run home (with games against bottom eight sides the Cowboys, Warriors, Sharks, Dragons and Titans to come).

The argument to sell is he's clearly below the likes of Nathan Cleary, Daly Cherry-Evans, Ben Hunt and Mitchell Moses in terms of the best Fantasy halves. The arrival of Blake Green at Newcastle hasn't really affected Pearce's kicking but it does mean there's an extra playmaker the team can turn to in attack – and if anything it's freed up Kalyn Ponga to provide more tries and assists.

Pearce could still hit 70 points in one or two big Knights wins in the run home but he doesn't seem like a reliable 50+ scorer on a consistent basis. He isn't a must-sell, but if you can make an upgrade without hurting your options elsewhere I'd strongly consider doing it.

Who are the best value for money dual position players to bring in?

From Jonathan Flavell

At this stage of the season, you generally get what you pay for, but if you're after a bargain and don't mind a little risk you could go for James Fisher-Harris ($636k), AJ Brimson ($498k), Luke Thompson ($544k) and Tyrone Peachey ($554k).