NRL Fantasy teams analysis: Round 6

Raiders: Xavier Savage replaces Matt Frawley on the bench while Jarrod Croker and Seb Kris appear in the reserves list. Starling played the full 80 last week (for 54 points) and Savage replacing Frawley is a good sign for his minutes. Brad Schneider is closing in on $200k worth of price rises. It's tough to make a case for owning any Raiders outside Starling and Schneider currently.

Cowboys: Coen Hess returns, with Reuben Cotter going to the bench alongside a recalled Connelly Lemuelu with Jamayne Taunoa-Brown and Griffin Neame out. Even with an 84-minute golden point game there wasn't much to write home about for the Cowboys Fantasy-wise last week. Jason Taumalolo scratched out a 51 with nearly 200 run metres but five missed tackles, Valentine Holmes had one of his 'on' games but isn't a buy, and Jeremiah Nanai had one of his 'off' games with six missed tackles; he can easily get his price moving again if he finds another attacking game but has just about peaked if not.

Rabbitohs: Blake Taaffe takes over from Latrell Mitchell at fullback, and should have the job for eight or so weeks. Hame Sele is added to the bench. Taaffe is an interesting option in Fantasy; his solid work in last year's finals isn't factored into his starting price and he also looks like he'll have goal-kicking duties. Elsewhere, Cam Murray looks near must-have as the second-top scorer through five rounds while Damien Cook is also in the top five after a massive fortnight and is 70 clear of Chris Randall, the second-best hooker. Jai Arrow's price is on the slide after consecutive low-40s scores.

Bulldogs: Chris Patolo replaces Ava Seumanufagai on the bench. Max King has been the cash cow of the year so far with $246k in price rises. Matt Burton is still scraping together serviceable scores but has lost goals to Kyle Flanagan. Tevita Pangai jnr played the full 80 minutes for the first time this year after 69 minutes in round four – although 51 points with a try isn't all that eye-catching.

Panthers: No changes. It was a rare off game for centre duo Stephen Crichton and Izack Tago last week; there's certainly no cause for concern yet although with Crichton coming off a teens score and having lost goals once Nathan Cleary returned there is a case to move him on. Taylan May jumped another $70k but if you don't have him by now you've probably missed the boat. Isaah Yeo got a long rest in round five but hopefully it was just down to the match situation with the Panthers well ahead. Cleary's price is still falling but he should be tempting in a fortnight or so.

Broncos: Payne Haas has copped a one-game ban for his scuffle with Albert Kelly, in a huge blow to Fantasy coaches. Corey Jensen starts at prop with Rhys Kennedy called up on the bench. Haas will only miss one game but coaches will have to find a new captaincy option this week, with Nathan Cleary, Cam Murray, Damien Cook and Nicho Hynes among the best options. Haas's absence could benefit Kobe Hetherington, who produced just 24 points in 41 minutes in his first game taking over from Pat Carrigan. Billy Walters has peaked unless he can find another big attacking game like he had in round one.

Sea Eagles: Tolutau Koula returns from a calf injury at centre in place of Morgan Harper. The $220k young gun is an appealing cash-down this week; he may not score explosively but should have a spot for a month or so until Tom Trbojevic returns but may hold out Harper and Tuipulotu even after that. Daly Cherry-Evans is the fourth-highest scorer in Fantasy and is yet to score below 60 in a game. Andrew Davey has made $80k so far and there's still no sign of Josh Schuster.

Titans: Brian Kelly returns bumping Phil Sami to wing and Corey Thompson out, but Jayden Campbell is still unavailable. Sam Lisone displaces Kevin Proctor on the bench. David Fifita finally came good against the Eels with the sort of solo try we came to expect from him last year. Beau Fermor was quiet in his COVID comeback but is a hold. Erin Clark gave his price rises another boost with 55.

Storm: Tyran Wishart displaces Alec MacDonald on the bench. It's not ideal news for Harry Grant owners, with the Storm No.9 having played 69 minutes last week and 80 the week before but it's a wait-and-see how the minutes pan out for now. Ryan Papenhuyzen's 19 on the weekend was unexpected after his four-try 102 the week before but he's a definite hold. The same can't be said for Brandon Smith after his last-start 14 in 36 minutes while Xavier Coates  has probably just about peaked after one solid score in round four. Josh King has slowed down but is a hold for now.

Sharks: Aiden Tolman returns on the bench in place of Royce Hunt. Siosifa Talakai is still at centre and backed up his round four monster score with a respectable 45 including five busts – but won't have too much space against the Storm edge defence this week. Nicho Hynes is the third-top scorer in Fantasy and a genuine captaincy option this week with Payne Haas out, although again the Storm won't make scoring easy. Dale Finucane has peaked after two good scores to start the year, with Cam McInnes eating into his minutes.

Roosters: Sam Verills finally makes his first appearance of the year with Drew Hutchison dropping out while Siosiua Taukeiaho displaces Daniel Suluka-Fifita on the bench. Nat Butcher has been named despite going off early last week. James Tedesco's scores are officially a worry, with 23 last week and just one 50-plus return in five games. Joey Manu is in hot form with five tries in three games but does rely on tries to score well when playing at centre. Victor Radley backed up his 79 in round four with 53 against the Broncos almost exclusively in base stats.

Warriors: Dallin Watene-Zelezniak replaces the suspended Marcelo Montoya on the wing and  Eliesa Katoa replaces Jack Murchie on the bench. Euan Atiken is the top scoring CTR in Fantasy and has climbed $95k this year, and Josh Curran is the seventh-top scoring player overall. Jesse Arthars has three tries in two games and has jumped $95k in a fortnight. Shaun Johnson has improved a little each game and his value is creeping up slowly.

Dragons: Aaron Woods and Jackson Ford have been dropped, with Josh Kerr starting at prop and Josh McGuire and George Burgess joining the interchange. Talatau Amone is still the most-owned Dragon but should be sold ASAP. The move to five-eighth hasn't really changed Jack Bird's scoring. Mat Feagai was excellent in round five with seven busts and almost 200 metres but is just that bit too expensive to be a compelling buy.

Knights: Dom Young and Jirah Momoisea are out injured. Edrick Lee returns for his first NRL game since 2020 and David Klemmer makes a surprise early return from injury, with Jacob Saifiti moving to the bench. The past few games have been very poor for the Knights, and also poor for the Fantasy scores of just about every Knights player bar Chris Randall and Kurt Mann. Leo Thompson probably has one price rise left unless his scores improve, Kalyn Ponga looks like a sell, and Jake Clifford now has three poor scores after a big opening fortnight. Brodie Jones got 80 minutes last week and should have some price rises ahead of him.

Eels: The Eels' wing curse continues, will Will Penisini the latest centre forces out wide and Marata Niukore making his injury comeback at centre. Oregon Kaufusi starts at prop for the suspended Junior Paulo, Shaun Lane returns in the back row bumping Ryan Matterson to the bench where Hayze Perham makes his first appearance this year in place of Bryce Cartwright. Penisini has just the one good score this year but is ahead of his starting price and it will be interesting to see how he goes on the wing. Dylan Brown has two poor scores against the Titans and three great scores otherwise, while Mitch Moses has had a huge fortnight and tends to enjoy the Easter Monday occasion against his former club. Reed Mahoney is now a sell with Mitch Rein taking his minutes.

Wests Tigers: Coach Michael Maguire has wielded the axe, dropping co-captains Ken Maumalo and Tyrone Peachey along with centre Oliver Gildart and hooker Jacob Liddle. Jackson Hastings returns from suspension and will wear the No.7 jersey moving Luke Brooks to five-eighth. Jock Madden drops to the bench. Daine Laurie is back from COVID with Star To'a retained on the wing, James Roberts returns at centre and Jake Simpkin gets a run at hooker. Kelma Tuilagi shook off a first-half HIA to register a solid season-high 44 last week which should get his price moving and is probably the only Tigers player worth owning at the moment. Jock Madden still has a low break-even this week but will be an urgent sell soon if he stays on the bench.