Stylebender lost his team tracker virginity

agree with you or turbo, away at souths is a very difficult fixture, but what Ive liked about him in the last two games is his work rate and involvement,

he doesnt look to me like someone who is scared of his hamstring or of the physicality,

manly will put some points on some teams soon and he will be central to it.

I think you should seriously consider getting Lemuleu in, I dont own him, or have need for him, but hes defintely a huge upgrade on HSS or ITT, wait til TLT and then chose the best 288k player, there will be one I'm sure of it,

Nice write up

Round 5 score:
1029
Overall Rank:
1953

Trades:
1. Matt Doorey to Brendan Hands
2. Isaak Thompson to Connelly Lemuelu

R5 squad:
Grant
Carrigan Haas Hopgood
EKatoa Loiero
Cleary (C) SJ
Alamoti Lemuelu
Walsh Miller Turbo

Cartwright, Preston, Ford, Warbrick
Boyd, Hands, Katoa, HSS

Pros:
- My halves. Captain Cleary & SJ. Doesn't get much better than that. I was having Nicho FOMO but he can wait for now.
- My WFB. You know it's a good week when your WFBs outscores your 3 gun MIDs.
- Harry Grant. My 2023 Dally M Medalist.
- Jacob Preston. Gun.
- Payne Haas. What a fucking gun. Consistent as can be too. Stoked that I started the year with him. (Just gonna copy & paste this each week).

Cons:
- My trades. Hands isn't looking like my best buy of the year. Happy enough with Lemuelu and I do think he's going to be a solid option going forward, however the timing of selling Thompson & Doorey was not ideal.
- Harley Smith-Shields. I never had high hopes for him but dear lord he sucks.

Trade Out Options:
- Harley Smith-Shields. He is my only centre cover so he may end up staying in my team if he's named again. Although I'm not sure his scores are even worth keeping as cover. If there's a decent cheapie on offer, I'll happily let him go and run with no cover.
- Bryce Cartwright & J'maine Hopgood. Who knows how Parra line up on Monday, and what their rotations will be like. Will probably hold them both this week, although one or both may be traded next week.


Trade In Options:
- Brandon Smith. I'm not fully sold on him yet, but he's cheap enough that he's not going to do any worse than what he's priced at, while having decent upside (and a useful DPP).
- Kodi Nikorima. Could potentially be my ticket out of HSS.

Overall a great week for me. Nearly halved my rank for a third week in a row. No injuries or suspensions that I'm aware of, no players on a bye for the next 2 weeks. I'm yet to save a trade so maybe this is the week to do so.

As always, any feedback is much appreciated

Great week and good score mate,

Team looks awesome and set for continued good scores

Decided to hold Hopgood/Carty and wait & see how Parra play things this week (although I understand Paulo returning next week probably changes everything anyway).

I'll be making a single trade this week, HSS to Nikorima. Means I'm saving my first trade of the year! Addict, I know.

I don’t think there are any “cheap” CTRs so I’d have a plan of how you’ll bring in Bird or your choice of gun CTR if Alamoti of Lemuelu were to go down this week or in the following 3.

Something might happen in the next few rounds and a good cheapie may emerge but agree HSS isn’t covering anything.

Hope your high scoring run continues.

Stylebender wrote:Decided to hold Hopgood/Carty and wait & see how Parra play things this week (although I understand Paulo returning next week probably changes everything anyway).

I'll be making a single trade this week, HSS to Nikorima. Means I'm saving my first trade of the year! Addict, I know.

Good move....HSS only value at this point is as a loop enabler.....

Round 6 score:
950
Overall Rank:
1208

Trades:
1. HSS to AKP (from one shit acronym to another)

R6 squad:
Grant
Carrigan Haas Hopgood
EKatoa Loiero
Cleary (C) SJ
Alamoti Lemuelu
Walsh Miller Turbo

Cartwright, Preston, Ford, Boyd
Warbrick, Hands, Katoa, AKP

Pros:
- Captain Cleary. The GOAT is back. He can wear the skipper's armband for the rest of the year.
- Reece Walsh. Had his best score of the year without a try in a LOSS. That's very promising signs.
- Payne Haas. What a fucking gun. Consistent as can be too. Stoked that I started the year with him. (Just gonna copy & paste this each week).

Cons:
- My EMG. Scores of 11, 12, 16 and 29 were not ideal. None of these guys seem very playable, other than maybe Katoa if I'm desperate. Let's hope for some fresh cash cows in the coming weeks.
- Tom Trbojevic. Can't expect too much from him in a game where they got pumped by 50, but his hip injury looked quite concerning. Really don't want to have to trade him so hopefully he's healthy.

Trade Out Options:
- J'maine HopGONE. Thanks for the coin, catch ya later.
- Pat Carrigan. Not a must sell by any means, however with a couple underwhelming performances, origin approaching, and his bye in my H2H grand final (yes, I look ahead), I will seriously consider letting him go in the near future.
- Will Warbrick. Was expecting a little more from Will, but 150k in price rises is nothing to be upset about. Can't see him making more coin considering how little ball he gets, unless he goes on a crazy try-scoring spree.
- Tanah Boyd. Scores are very clearly hurt by playing alongside Sexton. If Foran is back then I'll likely hang on to Boyd at least until after round 9 when Grant has his bye.

Trade In Options:
- Brandon Smith. I'm not fully sold on him yet, but he's cheap enough that he's not going to do any worse than what he's priced at, while having decent upside (and a useful DPP).
- Toby Couchman/Hame Sele. If I sell one of Hopgood/Carrigan then I'll need some mid cover. These two guys look like decent cheap options.
- Cameron McInnes. Could be the beneficiary of a couple of injuries/suspensions to the Sharks pack. I'm not fully sold that Cam will see a big enough increase in minutes to make it worthwhile.
- Ryan Matterson. Looks to be the guy in that Parra pack. Super consistent scorer. SHOULDN'T play origin, although no guarantee.
- Tohu Harris. Big Tohu fan, hated not owning him before his injury. Would ideally like to see him return and put up a decent score before picking him up though.
- Jack Bird. Looks set to be the #1 centre option this year, assuming he keeps his current role. A matter of when not if I pick him up.

Another solid week for my squad, gained 700 odd rankings and again no major injuries or suspensions. Plenty of trade out options over the next couple of weeks, hoping I can make some smart moves to keep the good scores rolling.

As always, any feedback is much appreciated

Very early thoughts are something along the lines of Hopgood, Carrigan & Warbrick out for:

1. Matto, Bird & Couchman. 77k in bank
2. McInnes, Bird & Couchman. 279k in bank
3. Hynes, Cheese & Couchman. 12k in bank

Any thoughts on those options would be great

Stylebender wrote:Very early thoughts are something along the lines of Hopgood, Carrigan & Warbrick out for:

1. Matto, Bird & Couchman. 77k in bank
2. McInnes, Bird & Couchman. 279k in bank
3. Hynes, Cheese & Couchman. 12k in bank

Any thoughts on those options would be great

I like option 1 of these mate, would give you

MID: Haas Matto Ford
CTR: Bird Lemuelu

Then Couchman would be your best pick on the bench. Alamoti in EMG?

Shady2K wrote:

I like option 1 of these mate, would give you

MID: Haas Matto Ford
CTR: Bird Lemuelu

Then Couchman would be your best pick on the bench. Alamoti in EMG?

Yep that’s right. This was my initial plan, then I saw I could get Nicho so that tempted me. This option is probably better for team balance though considering I have 2 gun halves. I also like the idea of having the cash for Loiero to Teddy next week.

Stylebender wrote:

Yep that’s right. This was my initial plan, then I saw I could get Nicho so that tempted me. This option is probably better for team balance though considering I have 2 gun halves. I also like the idea of having the cash for Loiero to Teddy next week.

I'm looking more into Couchman. Not convinced he'll get 50 minutes moving forward. Lawrie had reduced minutes, and JDB obviously building from returning from his calf injury

If Couch gets 30-40 minutes I'm not sure he's worth it. Looking at Sele or Soni Luke as cow alternatives

You’re doing great mate,

On a scale of 1-10 how tempted are you by nicho?

GarethEllisismyDad wrote:You’re doing great mate,

On a scale of 1-10 how tempted are you by nicho?

A solid 8 (Nicho is a 10 though ). If I didn't have Cleary I'd definitely be grabbing him. But as a primarily H2H player, I'm not sure that I NEED two million dollar captaincy options this early in the season.

I agree, you don't NEED Hynes when you have Cleary. I feel like if anyone is bringing in Hynes then they should be captaining him to be honest. The money is better spent elsewhere and in that respect I'm going to agree and say option 1. Depends how risk averse you are though, as McInnes has potential, but with Couchman in the trade too it might not be worth the double risk

Round 7 score:
808
Overall Rank:
926

Trades:
1. J'maine Hopgood to Ryan Matterson
2. Pat Carrigan to Jack Bird
3. Will Warbrick to Toby Couchman

R7 squad:
Grant
Haas Matterson Ford
EKatoa Loiero
Cleary (C) SJ
Bird Lemuelu
Walsh Miller Turbo

Preston, Boyd, Alamoti, Hands
Cartwright, Katoa, Couchman, AKP

Pros:
- Trent Loiero. Was getting ready to sell him but he'll stick around for at least 1 more week. Will happily take the extra price rises after a solid score this week!
- Tanah Boyd. Similar situation with Loiero, I was preparing to sell Boyd soon but without Sexton in the side I'm happy to keep him a while longer. Decent scores and great DPP.
- Jack Bird. So relieving having such a solid scorer in the god awful position that is centre. Stoked with this trade in.
- Payne Haas. What a fucking gun. Consistent as can be too. Stoked that I started the year with him. (Just gonna copy & paste this each week).

Cons:
- Toby Couchman. Overall I've made some good trades this year to improve my scores, however I have made some shockers when it comes to the cheapies. ITT after round 1, AKP after his 64, Hands after his debut, and now Couchman. Yuck.
- Harry Grant. Couple down weeks in a row from Harry but I'm not stressing. Won't be leaving my side all year.
- Eli Katoa. Worst score of the year for Eli, zero attacking stats. I won't be selling him this week with the ANZAC game at home against the Wah's, however he's an option to sell next week with Storm on the bye.

Trade Out Options:
- Bryce Cartwright. If he's playing off the bench again he's a definite sell for me. Luckily Parra play the second game of the round so we can't get fucked over by Brad Arthur again.

Trade In Options:
- Jack De Belin. Really dislike this cunt but can't deny his fantasy scoring ability if he continues to get play huge minutes like this week. I should have just enough cash in the bank to straight swap Carty to JDB, so that's an option. Don't really trust Hook though.
- Tevita Pangai Jr. He's like that toxic ex girlfriend that has fucked me over in the past but I can't stop going back. On the watchlist for sure.
- Brandon Smith. Bottomed out, good DPP. Don’t expect huge scores but he’s solid enough.
- Mo Fotuaika. 3 good scores in a row now. Intriguing option.
- Cameron McInnes. Always a consistently good scorer when he gets the minutes, I'm just not so convinced that he'll get enough minutes once Dale is back.  
- James Tedesco. Slow start for the Chooks & Teddy but I’m convinced he’ll come good.

What I thought was a pretty poor score, turned out to be above average and I gained another 300 odd rankings. My team is going annoyingly well, it's going to hurt when I sacrifice my ranking for the bye rounds (I'm in 3 H2H cash leagues so that takes priority). I've only saved 1 trade thus far, so it'll be nice to save a few more over the coming rounds (definitely just jinxed myself).

As always, any feedback is much appreciated

Round 8 score:
907
Overall Rank:
519

Trades:
1. Bryce Cartwright to Brandon Smith

R8 squad:
Grant
Haas Matterson Ford
EKatoa Loiero
Cleary (C) SJ
Bird Lemuelu
Walsh Miller Turbo

Preston, Boyd, Smith, Katoa
Alamoti, Couchman, AKP, Hands

Pros:
- My centres. Considering it's the worst position in the game, scores of 66 and 48 are fucking great.
- The Cheese. Traded him back in this week as his price was too juicy to ignore. He repaid me with his highest score of the season, let's hope the Cheese doesn't rot second time round.
- Trent Loiero. Two weeks in a row of very good scores means I'll be holding him this week, and instead selling EKatoa who had that unfortunate HIA. Glad I waited a week to decide which one would leave my team.
- Tanah Boyd. God damn! I was expecting Tanah to bounce back with Sexton gone from the team, but wasn't expecting him to be my second highest scorer of the round!
- Harry Grant. Best hooker in the world. Enough said.

Cons:
- My WFB. A high score of 34 from my 3 WFB 'guns' stopped me from going huge this week. Although it's to be expected from such a volatile position. Turbo has to go though.
- Eli Katoa. Unfortunate HIA led Eli to a score of 19 points, and with Storm's bye this week, he's likely going to be departing my team. Which is unfortunate as a Storm fan, as I thought he had keeper potential for a minute there.

Trade Out Options:
- Tom Trbojevic. Briefly thought about swapping him to Teddy last week, and in hindsight, it was the right move to make. Likely making that same trade this week.
- Eli Katoa. As above, he's going to bleed a bit of cash and has the bye this week.
- AKP. If I need to cash someone out to finance a trade, AKP is likely the sacrificial lamb.
- Paul Alamoti. Probably won't sell him just yet, as I'll be a centre short when the Dolphins have their bye in R11.

Trade In Options:
- Jack De Belin. As per last week, I strongly dislike his character, therefore don't really want him in my squad, which is probably silly and I should maybe swallow my pride.
- Hudson Young. Don't love his inconsistency, seems to have the odd 20-30 score in him. But with his ceiling and at that price, he's likely a good buy.
- James Tedesco. Finally broke his try scoring drought and the Roosters attack looked a bit more lively. Don't think I can resist Teddy at that price.
- Joey Manu. One of my favourite players IRL so he'd be a pleasure to watch playing for my fantasy side. If we had any concrete info about him staying at 6 it'd be a no brainer. Think I might take the gamble anyway.
- Mo Fotuaika. 4 good scores in a row now. Intriguing option.
- Bula/Oloapu. If I end up cashing someone out, these are probably my strongest contenders. Wish I had gotten Granville last week, but at over 300k this week it feels a riskier proposition.


Another climb up the ranks, almost inside the top 500 now. Makes me want to make the transition to overall rather than just H2H, but I know if I start trading hard for the byes it'll fuck me come H2H finals. A low numbered ranking is cool and all, but I'd rather the cash in my pocket.

Trades for this week I'm thinking EKatoa, Turbo & AKP to JDB, Manu & Bula.
Will try & grab Teddy next week.

Likely going to have to cop the L this week in both my cash leagues, as I'm up against other top teams while having to play all of Alamoti, AKP, Couchman as well as Hands if Cleary is out.

As always, any feedback is much appreciated

nice write up brother, nothing to add,

great score this week

Round 9 score:
837
Overall Rank:
1015

Trades:
1. Eli Katoa to Jack De Belin
2. Tom Trbojevic to Joey Manu
3. AKP to Jahream Bula

R9 squad:
Grant
Smith JDB Couchman
Ford Preston
Cleary SJ
Bird Lemuelu
Walsh Miller Manu (C)

Alamoti, Katoa, Bula, Hands
Haas Grant Matterson Loiero

Pros:
- My trades. In what was a pretty gross week for my squad, my 3 trade ins all excelled.
- Connolly Lemuelu. I was stoked to see he was starting with Kenny Brom and Felise back in the squad. Then I was ecstatic when he nearly tonned up! Looking like I have the best centre pairing in the game at this stage.
- Although I fielded a terrible looking side, I somehow won my H2H matchups in both of my cash leagues.

Cons:
- $3 million dollars sitting in my EMG wasn't very cool. But like I said above, won my H2H matchups which is all that matters to me.

Trade Out Options:
- Paul Alamoti. Now that I've got Manu (and Bula who would end up coming in when I shift Manu to CTR), Alamoti is no longer useful to me. He's gone this week.
- Toby Couchman. Spud.
- Jacob Preston. I don't think he's an urgent sell, especially considering how dire the edge position is this year. But he's one I'm considering letting go if the right option presents itself.

Trade In Options:
- Tevita Tatola & Heilum Luki. Grouping these two together as they're basically the same guy. I've been waiting for them both to come back from injury, both quite underpriced if they get the roles I'm expecting them to get. Both a little risky on the injury front, which makes me not really want to grab both. I'd love to wait a week on Luki but he's in an awkward position having a low BE.
- David Fifita. Looks to be the clear #1 edge option this year, with an increased base on last year. As a H2H player I'm not too put off the fact he'll play origin.
- Karl Oloapu. Seems to just be a matter of time until he starts in the 6 jersey. I thought he passed the eye test, not expecting huge things but probably the best sub 300k option right now (barring Bula).
Nicho Hynes - Jesus reincarnated.

I have a few trade options this week with a bank of $189k in the bank. Ultimately I want Nicho, it’s just a matter of working out how without completely blowing up my team.

As always, any feedback is much appreciated

I’m not a head to head player, but from what I gather origin doesn’t matter, so Hynes getting picked for origin is not an issue?

If all you opponents are making moves to get Hynes, does that put you at a disadvantage? As in they will outscore you?

GarethEllisismyDad wrote:I’m not a head to head player, but from what I gather origin doesn’t matter, so Hynes getting picked for origin is not an issue?

If all you opponents are making moves to get Hynes, does that put you at a disadvantage? As in they will outscore you?

Correct, origin is no issue.
Hynes is currently more common than Cleary in my leagues. I think I would be the only one to have both Cleary & Hynes if I pull the trigger.