After a fortnight spent grappling with absences through Origin selection, byes or players being rested after rep duty, it's looking like being a more settled week for Fantasy coaches.
Two big name HLFs and a couple of elite WFBs return to the field in Round 15, while some Fantasy-relevant stars who are carrying injury concerns have been named to play for the time being as well.
NRL Fantasy teams analysis: Round 15
Sharks v Dolphins, Thursday at PointsBet Stadium
Sharks: Nicho Hynes returns from a rest last week that was aimed at avoiding another flare up with his ongoing calf injury. His presence means cash cow Daniel Atkinson makes way after climbing a handy $208k in value. There is huge upside in Siosifa Talakai while he is starting in place of Teig Wilton (who is missing indefinitely with a shoulder injury) in the second row, with the CTR available for just $391k this week and coming off a 67 in Round 14.
Dolphins: While plenty of coaches opted to ditch Dolphins players last week ahead of the first of their three byes, there are still some great options in Wayne Bennett's outfit if you have good depth in their positions. Euan Aitken remains the most reliable CTR eligible player in the game, while $678k HOK Jeremy Marshall-King is a decent point of difference option in his position.
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Raiders v Cowboys, Friday at GIO Stadium
Raiders: After a week off with the bye Kaeo Weekes is set for another price jump, with a break even of four that is 52 points lower than his season average. The Raiders play the next four games, which could make the likes of Joseph Tapine (MID, $682k) a popular trade in.
Cowboys: Top-level HOK Reece Robson is back after missing last week with a neck complaint. MID Jason Taumalolo is coming off consecutive scores of 48 and 46 and has been named to start at lock this week. He's not likely to produce keeper scores on a consistent basis, but at just $425k he looks a handy cover option for over the Origin period.
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Rabbitohs v Broncos, Friday at Accor Stadium
Rabbitohs: Latrell Mitchell is now hot on the heels of Dylan Edwards as the top WFB by average score in 2024, with his 99 last week set to make him a popular target. But keep in mind that if he earns a Blues recall then Round 15 will be one of just two NRL games he plays over the next five weeks. Cam Murray returns from injury on the bench but there's no rush to bring him in given he could come into the Origin frame himself. MID Davvy Moale is outperforming his $418k price tag right now and since Ben Hornby took over as interim coach he's become a 40-point player (with the exception of an injury-impacted 10 along the way).
Broncos: Patrick Carrigan dismissed any concerns about his scoring potential backing up from Origin duty with a 68, while fellow elite MID Payne Haas was good too with a 56. Those who held onto Brendan Piakura through his sluggish start to the season are now reaping the rewards, with the $393k EDG averaging 41 over his past three games and finally making some money.
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Wests Tigers v Titans, Saturday at Leichhardt Oval
Wests Tigers: No Lachlan Galvin this week as the rookie gets a rest, which is a significant blow given he sits in over 38 percent of teams. Depending how you are positioned with HLF depth and spare cash, this might be the week you move on from him. The game of musical chairs in the pack continues with Alex Seyfarth, who was a popular trade target last week who duly scored 59, dropped back to the bench. Tallyn Da Silva is named to start at hooker, but with Adam Doueihi included in the reserves, don't be surprised to see a late change that brings him in and moves Api Koroisau back to dummy-half.
Titans: Following a strong return from injury which saw him hit 57 points, Jayden Campbell has retained the five-eighth role and looks a good value pick up provided he remains there once AJ Brimson returns in Round 18. Klese Haas comes off a season-best 68 and is named to start at lock, while Beau Fermor returns to the pack this week after scoring 50 in the centres as injury cover for Phil Sami in Round 14.
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Warriors v Storm, Saturday at Go Media Stadium
Warriors: Shaun Johnson is back which is great news for the Warriors, but it should have Te Maire Martin owners feeling very nervous. Martin has been a revelation over the past three games while SJ was out injured, averaging 61.7 points in that period, but unless there's a fairly drastic change of plan in terms of ball handling responsibilities, it's hard to see him maintaining anywhere near that going forward. Addin Fonua-Blake is the most available elite MID around right now, with no Origin to worry about and just one bye to come between now and the final round of the regular season.
Storm: In Tyran Wishart and Jahrome Hughes the Storm have two of Fantasy's form halves on their roster right now, with the pair scoring 86 and 76 respectively last week. While Wishart is in almost a quarter of all teams, Hughes is a bit of a point of difference who is owned by only eight percent. A season-best 52 against the Knights means WFB Sua Fa'alogo is starting to make some decent money now.
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Eels v Roosters, Saturday at CommBank Stadium
Eels: After a wave of movement to trade him in last week Brendan Hands ended up sharing the hooking job in Round 14 and scored just 33 points. The decision on whether to play a dummy-half for 80 minutes or share the role seems to be a week-to-week tactical preference for interim coach Trent Barrett, so it's hard to get a read on it prior to the final one hour update coming through. Either way, Hands is well worth holding with a -10 break even, but it may be the case that you don't want him in your scoring 17 if Joey Lussick joins the bench. Blaize Talagi gets another run of the wing despite Maika Sivo returning from injury.
Roosters: Connor Watson's return from injury adds another green dot to the elite MID pool this week and with the $780k dynamo named to start at hooker there's good reason to think he'll at least meet his season average in the mid-50s. The return of James Tedesco means Joey Manu reverts to centre.
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Sea Eagles v Dragons, Sunday at 4 Pines Park
Sea Eagles: Popular EDG Haumole Olakau'atu is named to start despite a calf injury which saw him sit out most of last week's loss to Penrith. He'll partner Ben Trbojevic in a very Fantasy relevant back row this week, with Burbo enjoying a mid-season resurgence that has seen him average 47.3 across his past three games. As you'd expect given he scored four tries, Tommy Talau went huge last week, but his scoring relies heavily on tries, so he's always going to be a rocks or diamonds type of Fantasy player.
Dragons: There were plenty of Fantasy standouts for St George Illawarra last week, with five players scoring over 60 points, led by Zac Lomax's stunning 103. The upside of Lomax is as good as any WFB around right now, while HLF Ben Hunt has sneaky POD potential given he sits in less than three percent of teams, but is probably one to avoid until after the Origin series.
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Knights v Panthers, Sunday at McDonald Jones Stadium
Knights: The David Armstrong Fantasy dream looks like it's over for now, with Fletcher Sharpe having surpassed him in the fullback pecking order. While that's really bad news for the 67,000-odd coaches who picked Armstrong up in recent weeks, the good side of it is that Sharpe is now available for just $264k after hitting 50 on debut in Round 14. Popular CTR Bradman Best ($659k) returns from injury.
Panthers: Fantasy's top WFB, Dylan Edwards, is named to return from a quad injury which kept him out of last week's win over the Sea Eagles. $415k HLF Jack Cole has now become a genuine money maker and on the back of a 59 last week he heads into Round 15 with the starting five-eighth job and a break even of -7. MID Liam Henry is on fire right now and boasts a last three game average of 65.3.
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