NRL Fantasy: Lone Scout's Winners and Losers Round 16

A low scoring Fantasy round for coaches across the board, another week of only 13 scorers and we are now halfway through the Origin-impacted period. 

Some nailbiting results and a couple of upsets highlighted our Round 16 action. 

We take a look at the aftermath of Origin and the impacts the minor bye round had for Fantasy this week while we eye off a return to a 17-man team for Round 17.

Lone Scout's Winners and Losers

Winners

The round kicked off in the Hunter with Newcastle quick to points early on but then took the foot off the pedal. Fletcher Sharpe (54) was to thank for both of Newcastle’s early tries and was looking unstoppable at half-time, however he was exceptionally quiet in the remaining 40 minutes. Sharpe will return to five-eighth this week after Kalyn Ponga’s rest post-Origin. Dylan Brown (77) took charge in Ponga's absence and rewarded patient coaches who held him through two recent byes. The only other notable was Thomas Cant (60) who scored well when allowed the full game on the pitch as a fill-in, however with Jermaine McEwen returning, Cant will likely revert back to playing from the bench so isn’t one to risk into our squads. 

The Dragons went down in a tight encounter and even had a chance to steal it at the death in an encouraging performance. Setu Tu (50) was fending and breaking tackles for fun for those few who held, (or forgot to sell!). Daniel Atkinson (59) was another bouncing back to his early-season form, he has looked good the past few weeks. The new breed forward pack for the Red V in Dylan Egan (66), Hamish Stewart (58), Toby Couchman (52) and Ryan Couchman (77) will likely be keepers to hold on to, having the opportunity and the talent to grace these pages on multiple occasions this year. 

Wests Tigers played host to the Dolphins and came up short in a nip and tuck affair at Campbelltown. Api Koroisau (53) is keeping his name within Blues selectors meetings with his many involvements despite the loss. Terrell May (78) did more than enough to punish any who tried a risky captaincy choice this week, outscoring most other options. Skipper Jarome Luai (60) rolled on after his monstrous score the week before as did outside back Starford To'a (51) who switched back to his regular centre position at half-time. Temporary fill-ins Alex Seyfarth (58) and Tony Sukkar (55) scored well and will see a big cash rise for those who jumped on either of the low break-even back-rowers. The window is quickly closing for both however with rumours of Alex Twal returning soon.  

The Dolphins made it seven in a row with a 14-point win and interim fullback Trai Fuller (72) looked after those who risked the temporary placement but will likely return to the extended ranks once Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow returns from rep duties. Centre Herbie Farnworth (60) and winger Tevita Naufahu (64) both took home a four-pointer. Connelly Lemuelu (59) looks to be back to his early 2026 efforts with another strong day out on the tools. Meanwhile an interesting prospect looks to have risen in Jeremy Marshall-King (61) after recording his second strong score in a row since returning to the starting dummy-half position. With Round 17 a full scorers round, he will now no doubt start to attract coaches as a solution to the upcoming Round 18 HOK conundrum. 

Upset of the round with the Gold Coast taking their biggest scalp to date thanks to a field goal slotted by rookie Zane Harrison (63) in the final minute. Yet again star HLF Jayden Campbell (75) initially worried owners with a quiet start yet came home with a wet sail with some dynamic attack targeting the fatigued defence of the Panthers. With a huge 1.1 points per minute (PPM) stand-in Titans skipper Moeaki Fotuaika (81) topped the Fantasy chart for this clash. Arama Hau (68) went back to his own early 2026 standards with his second-row partner Beau Fermor (52) not too far behind in base points. Kurtis Morrin (52) also earns a mention with his efforts from the pine and added a rare try to his career tally on Saturday evening.  

With the Origin elite left out, the Panthers' next wave had a chance to shine, starting with Lindsay Smith (78) who flourished at the lock forward post. Luke Garner (52) lined up at centre and still scored well as did winger for the day Paul Alamoti (51), who enjoyed another week with the kicking tee. Back-rower Liam Martin (64) made a strong case for a Blues Origin recall as Laurie Daley considers a shake-up.

In just our fourth golden point game of the season, it was the Bulldogs delivering another upset for the weekend with their new-look halves Lachlan Galvin (50) and Stephen Crichton (52) jagging the victory. Crichton slotting a one-pointer just three minutes into extra-time which marked Manly coach Kieran Foran’s second loss since taking the top job. More of the backs got through plenty of work in Jacob Kiraz (53) and Connor Tracey (53), both looking to create second phase at every opportunity. Josh Curran (54) managed a rare feat of hitting the half century in base statistics whilst coming off the pine.  

Manly once again proved ultra-competitive despite going down in this one. The loss came even with skipper and star fullback Tom Trbojevic (54) back on deck from a hamstring injury suffered in Round 7. Haumole Olakau'atu (61) shapes as the EDG to have for the upcoming final major bye round, especially if he is still missing in the Blues 1-19 selection. Outside backs did plenty right for their Fantasy scores in Tolutau Koula (59), Reuben Garrick (53) and Lehi Hopoate (52). Key playmaker Jamal Fogarty (60) again shows his worth and an interesting option at HLF for those short for the bye rounds upcoming. 

The Warriors sent the fans home happy in the inaugural NRL match under the roof at the sensational One NZ Stadium. Boasting four tries was the fullback-turned-winger Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (81) that will feature heavily in the highlight reels given he was also disallowed another four-pointer in the first half. Kicking 5 from 7 attempts, Adam Pompey (61) was able to nail his own good score as was Taine Tuaupiki (57) still holding favour at the back and becoming one “that got away” now we now CNK is preferred on the wing. Te Maire Martin (68) had the pressure of Luke Metcalf sitting on the bench in this one but all it did was make his performance stronger with a magnificent trysaver just one of his many highlights. 

The Cowboys showed they could score some points but unfortunately couldn’t stop them enough to garner the two points. It was a handy Scott Drinkwater (63) intercept which led to a try shortly after that which made sure he provided for his owners. Jaxon Purdue (53) shifted to five-eighth for this one and it aided his positive Fantasy score. It didn’t hurt halves partner Jake Clifford (64) who has moved to the right since Tom Dearden suffered an ankle injury. Braidon Burns (54) has been the underrated winger of the season with another plus-50 score on his return from injury. One to ponder is Jeremiah Nanai (68) who busted the Warriors defence multiple times, he is still looking to gain attention from the Queensland selections but could do better in our fantasy teams post North Queensland’s Round 18 bye. 

The Storm look back on track after disposing of Canberra in front of a home crowd. It was Sualauvi Fa’alogo (83) and Will Warbrick (81) looking to outdo each other that well and truly topped the Fantasy charts during this clash. Cameron Munster (57) was eager to ride the wave. fresh off the Queensland win as captain on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Stefano Utoikamanu (59) is doing some contending of his own, with inclusion for the NSW squad a possibility after another strong showing up front. Moses Leo (49) has hit back strongly after a inauspicious start to the season with a month of great footy seeing some lovely cash rises for any coach who were happy to let bygones be bygones once he returned to the top grade. 

A steaming Hudson Young (70) showed he had put the NSW loss behind him and was eager to continue his hot form. Corey Horsburgh (64) put together another strong showing and is seemingly a great Origin cover option each year he is bypassed by Maroons coach Billy Slater. Speaking of great bye cover trade-ins, Matthew Timoko (69) benefited greatly from Ethan Strange switching back to the left as he received early ball all day and was a handful for stand-in centre Joe Chan.  

It was the Roosters getting on top of Cronulla in the battle at Allianz which closed out the weekend of spectacular football. Mark Nawaqanitawase (65) added two more tries and plenty more footage to his highlights package. With Angus Crichton now sidelined with a foot injury, Nat Butcher (51) stepped up and is back in Fantasy relevance while ever he is holding the starting gig. Naufahu Whyte (54) did well with his limited minutes in the rotation but these wild alterations in minutes means he is draft opinion only. A clean field goal at games end by Daly Cherry-Evans (50) sealed the deal for the Roosters and clearing into the top four for the first time this year. 

Though on the losing end of the bout the Sharks returnees in Blayke Brailey (53) and Nicho Hynes (50) still managed to hit the 50-point milestone even with the pair being eased back from their respective injuries. Briton Nikora (54) is super cheap after a few games off the bench earlier this year but will be one to watch once relieved from his Origin duties. His fellow edge back-rower Teig Wilton (74) is proving a fantastic cash down option at the position and will also be a handy Round 18 pick up with limited EDG Fantasy scorers on offer for both that week and Round 19. 

Losers

Greg Marzhew (21) had one of his quieter nights out as Newcastle had their first win without a try being scored by either winger or a centre this season. After a good showing two weeks back, Valentine Holmes (18) took a massive backstep in Fantasy results this round with a minimal showing that even included two conversions in addition to a try for the ex-Maroon. Damien Cook (27) is another who will see a significant drop in value this week after being the cause of three penalties as well as playing less minutes with Jacob Liddle (25) now fully healthy. 

Wests Tigers needed all hands on deck on Saturday, and despite his strong efforts, it was odd to see Jahream Bula (20) post a low output. Added to the casualty ward this time around for the luckless Wests Tigers were Patrick Herbert (10), who only saw 35 minutes of the clash and left clutching a shoulder, and Jock Madden (14), who failed a HIA. Taylan May (33) was an intriguing option for coaches needing a CTR but it didn’t work out this week. 

Handy dual CTR/WFB Jack Bostock (26) recorded his first “basement” effort this year with a couple of errors and missed tackles impacting his score. Despite winning the start, Oryn Keeley (11) was replaced early and didn’t come back on, Queensland rookie Kulikefu Finefeuiaki (28) subbed him out and now will see some price drops which makes him one to target long term after the Dolphins last bye in Round 21. 

The Titans got a well deserved win but there were still a couple of players who couldn’t provide for their Fantasy coaches. Holders of Cooper Bai (7) hoping the Origin period would generate opportunity for more minutes had their hopes well and truly dashed after he was ruled out with a Category 1 head knock early on. There will be all eyes on Oliver Pascoe (31) after he didn’t come back on for regular dummy half Sam Verrills (28) who returned via the bench this week. The helpful cash cow hooker could be a sell target this week if Verrills remains back on the scene come Team List Tuesday. 

The Panthers had a few deputising this week including Izack Tago (29) taking over from the injured Casey McLean, but it didn’t result in a positive Fantasy score. After a massive game against Wests Tigers last start, Freddy Lussick (25) again dipped in minutes and scoring this week making him a frustrating one to own as you never know when you can trust him. With the return of Mitch Kenny imminent, coaches may need to look at an alternative back up HOK for their line-up.

Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo gambled on a backline reshuffle which helped the side but not necessarily Fantasy owners as Matt Burton (38) was swapped into the centres. Considering playing the entire 83 minutes on offer due to the late reshuffle to the Bulldogs run on side, Bailey Hayward (37) couldn’t convert into a top Fantasy score. Kobe Hetherington (10) played just 11 minutes before being subbed out for a HIA which he failed. Meanwhile Brandon Wakeham (25) went down with a calf injury meaning Jake Simpkin (25) got the majority of time at dummy half.

The Warriors had a great win but a pectoral injury to Jackson Ford (20) took some of the gloss off the victory. Jacob Laban (18) had a low break-even and a great opportunity but couldn’t convert despite playing the full 80 minutes. He may need to go on the “never-again” list. 

With North Queensland recording their seventh loss of the season and another two byes upcoming, successful cash cow Tom Chester (21) may need to be moved on from now after a basement score. The flick back to the pine hurt Thomas Mikaele (33) owners this week and he should also be on notice for any still holding out. A third to put on the potential sell list is Heilum Luki (41) who has plenty of upside but has less base stats than some of his edge contemparies. 

The Storm were victorious at home against a Green Machine outfit that surrendered a 16-point lead. Canberra's captain Joseph Tapine (20) had a rare fall in favour with a dire first half, he was on -3 at half-time with missed tackles causing the main headache. He will be watched closely during the Dragons match this week as he may not be an essential hold through the difficult rounds ahead. 

The Sharks were unable to match it with the Roosters in the final game of Round 16. KL Iro (37) had another frustrating result for his owners but coaches need to be patient and hold through Cronulla’s Round 17 bye. Braydon Trindall (37) drops back to his average after the return of Nicho Hynes as expected. Less obvious was the minutes of Cam McInnes (42) who still scored well but is a big worry for the number of coaches purchasing him through last week. 

Round 16 NRL Fantasy Team of the Week 

1. Sualauvi Faalogo (WFB) – 83 points 
2. Will Warbrick (WFB) – 81 points 
3. Matthew Timoko (CTR) – 69 points 
4. Adam Pompey (CTR) – 61 points 
5. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (WFB) – 81 points 
6. Jayden Campbell (HLF) – 75 points 
7. Dylan Brown (HLF) – 77 points 
8. Terrell May (MID) – 78 points 
9. Jeremy Marshall-King (HOK) – 61 points 
10. Moeaki Fotuaika (MID) – 81 points 
11 Ryan Couchman (MID/EDG) – 77 points 
12. Teig Wilton (EDG) – 74 points 
13. Lindsay Smith (MID) – 78 points 

We are back to 17 players this week but with minimal trades left we will have a tough run until those all-important extra eight trades are granted to us in Round 20.

Be sure to get your questions in to thelonescout@nrl.com.au for my Q&A article dropping each and every Thursday on NRL.com where you can find all of my advice commentary and analysis as well as regular NRL news and updates.