An up-and-down season for the Cowboys was reflected in the Fantasy scores of their players last year, however they did unearth a handful of cheapies who might be useful again this campaign.
With Peta Hiku having departed the club, Zac Laybutt ($509k) will have a chance to make a centre spot his and is a real prospect after averaging 37 in his rookie campaign, while on the other edge Valentine Holmes will be among the best elite CTR options.
There's also big upside in WFB Semi Valemei, who scored nine tries in as many games last season and averaged 40 Fantasy points. He looks likely to snare a spot in coach Todd Payten's side either on the wing or in the centres.
Valemei's club debut hat-trick
One group of players to stay well clear of at the Cowboys though is their edge contingent. Put simply there are far too many of them, with six genuine back-row options in the squad, meaning it's hard to see any of them getting enough minutes to justify having in your Fantasy team, while their job security will be shaky too given the level of depth behind them.
Cowboys 2024 NRL Fantasy guide
The big gun
Even with a bad start to the year which included copping a three-game suspension and failing to score a try in a run of eight-straight games, Scott Drinkwater finished as a top five WFB in 2023 with a 50 point per game average. While he lacks the base stats of some other big guns and can struggle when his team isn't going well, he's got huge potential for try assists and dynamic attacking plays. At $715k he's a nice option for those not wanting to spill the extra cash for a Latrell Mitchell or Kalyn Ponga.
Scott Drinkwater is having a season
The bargain
Tom Chester (who is set to return from injury in Round 2) isn't going to play fullback while Drinkwater is available, but such is his talent and what he has shown in limited first grade exposure so far, there's a good chance Payten tries to find a spot for him somewhere. A tackle-breaker with a keen eye for the try-line, with three tries in seven NRL games so far, if Chester can get some minutes then he's got cash cow potential at $337k, but he shouldn't be a priority for you to start the year.
Bye round outlook
Round 16, 19 and 25. A huge wait for the first buy means Cowboys players are super useful through the first half of the season, especially between Rounds 13-14 when a heap of other players will be unavailable due to byes or not backing up from Origin I. It'll be hard to carry them after that though, with North Queensland players to miss Round 16 and 19 through byes and potentially also Round 17 and 20 if Origin players are rested or don't back up. Their final bye will impact finals in most head-to-head leagues and is one to be aware of.
2024 full player price list
- Scott Drinkwater: WFB, $715,000
- Reece Robson: HOK, $660,000
- Valentine Holmes: CTR, $637,000
- Luciano Leilua: EDG, $608,000
- Reuben Cotter: MID, $587,000
- Semi Valemei: WFB, $550,000
- Jeremiah Nanai: EDG, $549,000
- Tom Dearden: HLF, $531,000
- Zac Laybutt: CTR, $509,000
- Jordan McLean: MID, $507,000
- Chad Townsend: HLF, $506,000
- Heilum Luki: EDG, $498,000
- Coen Hess: MID/EDG, $487,000
- Kyle Feldt: WFB, $485,000
- Murray Taulagi: WFB, $470,000
- Jason Taumalolo: MID, $468,000
- Jack Gosiewski: EDG, $441,000
- Griffin Neame: MID, $429,000
- Jake Granville: HOK/MID, $356,000
- Tom Chester: WFB, $337,000
- Jamayne Taunoa-Brown: MID, $327,000
- Sam McIntyre: EDG, $303,000
- Robert Derby: WFB, $298,000
- Kulikefu Finefeuiaki: EDG, $272,000
- Thomas Duffy: HLF, $230,000
- D'Jazirhae Pua'Avase: EDG, $230,000
