Lone Scout's NRL Fantasy Q & A: Round 7

Another week and another flock of questions! Keep them coming through to thelonescout@nrl.com.au each week from Sunday to Wednesday, if you missed the cut off check through to see if someone had the same query, or check out the trade tier list at the bottom. 

Q: Scout, I desperately need a cheap middle as I only have 500k to spend? – Mark

A: There isn’t an obvious choice of players worth this trade I’m afraid. If you want a player who has put up a couple of decent scores in recent weeks there are two. Thomas Mikaele has always been a PPM beast but the past two matches he has upped his minutes and as a result his output. There are question marks on whether this week’s bench make-up could see Mikaele revert to type however. Another semi-decent option is Kobe Hetherington who is known to play big minutes but is highly mercurial in his scoring and carries an increased risk with the return of Siosiua Taukeiaho and Nathan Brown via the interchange. If you can get to Max Plath at $518K, he was added the HOK dual position this week and with the Dolphins great bye schedule will be one worth owning at some point. 

Q: With Blayke Brailey on the bye this week who should I think about trading in to cover him and is it time for Isaiah Papali’i to go? – Darcy 

A: HOK position is now one of the toughest roles to fill and will need funds to look at Reece Robson, Apisai Koroisau or Phoenix Crossland who are all scoring well along with the aforementioned Max Plath. With less to spend there isn’t a lot I can recommend as Brandon Smith will need to show more until he is worth a trade. Isaiah Papali’i had a poor game last week but wasn’t the lone ranger in the Panthers outfit. Expect a bounce back given Liam Martin’s injury and Penrith’s desire to make amends for their first loss of the season. Also Papali’i’s dual position is not one worth relinquishing easily. 

Q: Do you think Noah Martin has hit his peak? If so, will it be smart to trade Noah Martin for Ativalu Lisati then trading the injured Jye Gray for Keano Kini? – James 

A: With Noah Martin still named to start and scoring well last week despite the late swap to the bench we have the luxury of being able to wait one more week to have a look. We have already seen the Storm shift Ativalu Lisati’s return date once so we need to wait until Lisati is named one hour before kick-off to make that trade-in. Jye Gray to Keano Kini is an amazing trade, make that one no worries. 

Q: I have Mahoney, Jacob Kiraz and Tui Kamikamica. Are there any trades to make for them? I also have Joe Chan and Isaiah Papali’i, are they going to return to form? – Gus 

A: As stated above, I would look to bring in a top line HOK for Reed Mahoney and you can maximise your funds by looking at Thomas Cant, Jermaine McEwen, Thomas Mikaele and Jesse Arthars who are all getting a decent chance to fill in for key positions. If you need to go even cheaper, depending on your risk appetite, Patrick Herbert has a low break even and has won a starting position over the likes of Luke Laulilii and Jeral Skelton. 

Q: What’s to be done with Mitch Moses (have Sanders and Nathan Cleary) just not scoring? Is Mooney worth a trade down to Radley as a cashout and get a DPP? – Steve (UK) 

A: Tricky with the Eels’ injuries as this is decimating the scores of Mitchell Moses. Moving up slightly to a Lachlan Galvin is a simple and cheap trade off if money is tight, otherwise the obvious trades would be either Adam Doueihi ASAP or Jayden Campbell after the Titans bye.  Newcastle also have a number of injuries but unlike Moses this might help Trey Mooney get a bit more game time and increase his output as a result. 

Q: With Joe Chan, Brian To'o and Anderson underperforming, who do you think would be best to get in for them? – Dan 

A: This week has quite a few cheaper options to look at in Thomas Cant, Jermaine McEwen, Thomas Mikaele, Jesse Arthars and even Patrick Herbert (see below). 

Q: Do you think Patrick Herbert as a 3rd CTR option is a better cheapie than Matt Dufty? What about Thomas Cant? I can bring in Herbie Farnworth alongside 2 of these trades. – Henry 

A: Patrick Herbert is a risky option as he has shaky job security, but there is upside with the Wests Tigers scoring well and Herbert’s negative break even. I couldn’t recommend Herbert if you already own either Joash Papalii or David Fale but if you’ve dodged those misfires then he could be worth the punt. Certainly Herbert is a length ahead of Matt Dufty who carries similar risk with coach Wayne Bennett having other options who could play fullback if Dufty underwhelms. 

Lone Scout’s Trade In, Trade Out Tier List – Round 7 

As most questions relate to trading out players who have potentially peaked. I thought I would highlight my thoughts on these types of trades as I included this within an answer last week. I make “green dot to green dot” trades with this thought in mind “Would you be more frustrated if the player you traded out went well, than you would be if you held the player one more week and they scored poorly?” Ask yourself that question and you will know your answer. 

Tier 1 – Must Trades 

Buys 
Alex Twal 

Sells 
David Fifita 
Moses Leo 
Dylan Lucas 
Jye Gray 

Tier 2 – Recommended Trades 

Buys 
Thomas Cant 
Jermaine McEwen 
Simi Sasagi 
Tallis Duncan 
Jermaine McEwen 
Jesse Arthars 

Sells 
Joe Chan 
Daniel Atkinson 
David Fale 

Teir 3 – Wait a week or luxury 

Buys
Thomas Mikaele 
Max Plath 
Patrick Herbert 
Charlie Guymer  
Brandon Smith 

Sells 
Jacob Kiraz 
Trey Mooney 
Noah Martin 

Good luck this week in another blockbuster weekend of the most unpredictable year of footy yet and keep those questions coming through next week again to thelonescout@nrl.com.au and we’ll include them here in our weekly Q&A.