Lone Scout's NRL Fantasy Q & A: Round 8

Plenty of strong cash value options available to us this week but also a couple of must trade-outs.

As always make sure to check my tier list at the bottom and keep the questions coming to thelonescout@nrl.com.au for next week.

Q: Is it worth trading Payne Haas to Herbie Farnworth? Also I would need an extra $33k cashout, either Reed Mahoney, Thomas Cant or Heamasi Makasini – Riley 

A: Herbie Farnworth will definitely hurt your team further not having him after his huge game last week. Also the Dolphins have great coverage over the bye round period so this is a trade I could get behind. The cashout option I am putting forward is Reed Mahoney to Ben Talty as the other two don’t have a safe target to drop down to due to their value to make the funds needed.

Q: Who do you think is better, Setu Tu or Sialetili Faeamani? – Tom 

A: Obviously Sialetili Faeamani is on bye this week so Setu Tu is the one to keep if you need the green dot. If you ask me however, I’d be holding both for the moment as both have very low break evens. We have seen Sialetili Faeamani needing tries to score well so considering this, if you must move on from one, go with the player who isn’t playing this round. The only downside to Tu is the lesser job security as the Dragons have a new coach this week and Dean Young could make further changes if he doesn’t see a turnaround in performances and results. 

Q: I’ve got $242k to get a cheapie for any position. Also what’s your thoughts on Noah Martin has he peaked? – Steven (UK) 

A: A difficult price point with not much stock available, my advice would be to review the trades to free up a bit more funding, the $367k MID Ben Talty is the cheapest strong trade in pick this week. Youngster Kade Reed lines up at halfback for the Dragons who is at basement $230k, but I am urging coaches to wait a week to see how he goes in a tough Roosters matchup, especially as St George Illawarra have a bye the following round so Reed will be a red dot in Round 9. 

Q: What are your thoughts on straight swaps from Payne Haas to Jackson Ford and Tom Trbojevic to Tolutau Koula then Patrick Herbert to Ben Talty? – Daniel 

A: Great trades for this week as Jackson Ford is still a great point of difference player and will also be fantastic for the bye rounds provided he isn’t a bolter for NSW. If you have at least $95k starting salary, I’ve got Ryan Couchman over Ben Talty if you can manage it and don’t need the MID cover.  

Q: After captaining Alex Twal last week didn’t go well compared to quite a few of the others, who is your suggested captain this week? – Josh 

A: I stay fairly consistent with captaincy to avoid the risk of a low score and losing ground to the pack. I had Nathan Cleary last week and he’ll be my pick again this week as it’s a good match-up against the Knights. Alex Twal does have an improved match-up this week and is a handy Vice Captaincy option since he plays first up so you can lock it in nice and early and helps avoid a “Thomas Cant”-like scenario when players are late withdrawals mid-rounds. 

Q: I have a decent $440k in the bank (440k) and need to catch up ranks. I dodged the urgent so what are your thoughts on moving on Jesse Colquhoun to Xavier Willison with Cam McInnes returning and Heamasi Makasini to James Tedesco or Simi Sasagi? – Bill 

A: Lock in Heamasi Makasini to James Tedesco, especially with Simi Sasagi’s hamstring news. With Cam McInnes listed on the bench, Xavier Willison is a good option to go to from Jesse Colquhoun. The only caveat is Colquhoun should make a little more money this week even if he gets less minutes so you will be selling early. 

Q: For my draft league, which two edges would you recommend playing this week from Ryan Couchman, Noah Martin and Tallis Duncan. And which MID would you suggest out of Ben Talty and Addin Fonua-Blake? – Wade and Meg 

A: I’d have the edges in the same line-up as listed - Ryan Couchman, Noah Martin then Tallis Duncan unless Martin is a late switch to the bench like he has been the past two weeks. For MIDs I have Addin Fonua-Blake getting less minutes this week due to Cameron McInnes returning to the Sharks. Therefore, Ben Talty in a depleted Broncos pack has a slight edge. However, AFB is still probably the better pick due to his more secure history of good Fantasy scores. 

Q: Is it now time to start to upgrade some of my MIDs and EDGs to gun players? I currently have Ryan Couchman, Erin Clark, Trey Mooney, Isaiah Papalii, Joe Chan, Noah Martin and Heilum Luki? – Glen

A: Of this list I would potentially look at a cash down option here with the fantastic options available to us this week. Joe Chan and Trey Mooney are looking like trades next week as both will need a big game for each to meet their break evens and Ativalu Lisati is due back shortly for the Storm which may see Chan revert to the bench. Making these trades early to Xavier Willison at EDG and Joseph Tapine, or with a bit more cash, Jackson Ford, will get your team in a good position heading into the bye rounds.

Q: Should I trade Dane Gagai out to Koula or wait till the bye rounds? – Harry 

A: Both have a similar price and break even however Newcastle don’t hold the greatest schedule over the bye rounds this year so someone like Gagai will likely need to be traded in the next few weeks anyway. If you like Manly’s potential to score points against Parramatta and Penrith’s chances to hold the Knights at bay then I would do it this round, otherwise you can wait a week for one more look at both players. 

Lone Scout’s Trade In, Trade Out Tier List – Round 8 

With the carnage comes opportunity with a big list of value picks for this week after some disastrous late outs catching us last round, if you missed your questions or you just find this useful check through the below to assist with those trade decisions. 

Tier 1 – Must Trades

Buys 
Ryan Couchman 
Herbie Farnworth

Sells 
Payne Haas 
Tom Trbojevic 
Jacob Kiraz 
Thomas Cant 

Tier 2 – Recommended Trades

Buys 
Tolutau Koula 
Xavier Willison 
James Tedesco 
Ben Talty 
Brandon Smith 
Francis Manuleleua 

Sells 
Daniel Atkinson 
David Fale 
Heamasi Makasini 

Tier 3 – Luxury trades or wait a week  

Buys
Freddy Lussick, 
Kade Reed 
Matt Dufty 

Sells 
Jesse Arthars 
Trey Mooney 
Joe Chan 

Anzac Round is the most important round of the year, so make sure you get to a game live and witness the full experience. As for the questions, keep them coming through to thelonescout@nrl.com.au and we’ll answer them here in our weekly Q&A.