NRL 2024, NRL Fantasy, New Zealand Warriors, Addin Fonua-Blake, Ali Leiataua, Shaun Johnsoncash cows, best buys, Fantasy guide

Author: Corey Rosser NRL Reporter
Timestamp: Tue 30 Jan 2024, 06:01 AM

Shaun Johnson enjoying his best Fantasy season at age 32 wasn't on many bingo cards last year, but can he do it again in 2024?

The former Kiwi international averaged 63.4 across the season to be a top five Fantasy HLF, almost doubling his effort from the year before. While father time has to eventually catch up with him, given the Warriors have retained all of the key members of their forward pack, the ingredients are all there for him to have another big season and there's value there even if he drops off to be a high 50s scorer.

Mystery hovers over Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's value if he's playing in the centres, but at $619k there's no rush at all to bring him in, while anyone thinking about grabbing Tohu Harris, who averaged 53.5 last year, needs to carefully consider his injury history and the risk that he misses some game time in 2024.

Every Shaun Johnson try assist of the 2023 season

Warriors 2024 NRL Fantasy guide

The big gun

Shaun Johnson has a strong claim to be here, but it's Addin Fonua-Blake who should be the priority Warrior for Fantasy owners this season. A 56-point scorer by average last year, 'AFB' can foot it with the best MIDs in Fantasy and will be the key forward the Warriors base their gameplan around once again. If you don't want to pay the big bucks for Payne Haas or Isaah Yeo, Fonua-Blake is the next best thing at MID. The ball-playing he does in the middle of the field with Tohu Harris and Dylan Walker means he's got plenty of potential for try assists and tries, after getting over the line nine times in 2023.

The ultimate Warrior

The bargain

There's few points of contention in this team right now and it's difficult to see much value on the Fantasy front when everyone is fit. But a player who could go from mid-tier to being a borderline keeper as an EDG is Marata Niukore ($513k). He should have a decent jump in scoring compared to last year's modest 36.9 average, thanks to the arrival of Kurt Capewell at the club which should allow him to play predominantly as a middle forward. There'll he'll be closer to the action and have a better ability to rack up stats on both sides of the ball, with mid 40 scores a real possibility.

Bye round outlook

Round 13, 19 and 27. Just about the worst draw imaginable from a Fantasy perspective. The Warriors sit out two of the three major bye rounds when six other teams are also on byes, before having their last bye in the final round of the regular season when some head-to-head leagues will have grand finals. If you're planning on having multiple Warriors in your squad, you're going to need to plan very carefully to account for their unfavourable bye schedule.