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Super Saturday! The first triple header of the season will see a mixed bag of matches, but all are intriguing in their own way. First up at 3:00pm, the Newcastle Knights travel south to the SCG, where they will face the Sydney Roosters. The Roosters will be looking to shake off a disappointing 2021 campaign, where injury cruelled their hopes of another Premiership. Next, we head to the Sunshine Coast, where the promising St George Illawarra Dragons take on the New Zealand Warriors. The weather looks poor, so this could be a real battle of the forwards. Finally, the Melbourne Storm head to Parramatta to take on the Wests Tigers. Can the Storm continue their amazing round 1 form and push aside a desperate Tigers outfit?

Draftstars has you covered, with a $10,000 contest with $970 first place prize for the early Roosters vs Knights game, a $12,000 contest with $1,046 first prize for the Warriors vs Dragons game, and a massive $20,000 contest in the Storm vs Tigers game, with a first-place prize of $2,184! Added to this there is a massive Saturday night contest, with a prize pool of $15,000 and a first-place prize of $1,133. There are also mini comps for the more conservative player. Don’t forget that there has been a big change to player positions and line-ups this year. You can read more about that in our article summarising the changes here.

Markets

Roosters $1.20 vs Knights $4.50

Warriors $2.00 vs Dragons $1.80

Tigers $4.00 vs Storm $1.25

Team News

The Roosters are almost unrecognisable from the end of last season, with so many injured stars returning and a couple of signings in the off-season. In particular, the returns of Luke Keary, Lindsay Collins and Joey Manu and the signings of Connor Watson and Paul Momirovski, should see the Roosters right back at the sharp end of the Premiership. Young centre Billy Smith comes back in, and everyone will be hoping for the best for the young kid, who’s had an horrendous run of injuries since debuting in first grade.

The Knights meanwhile bid farewell to Mitchell Pearce and Connor Watson, whilst bringing in Adam Clune and Dane Gagai. After losing more than they gained, the Knights will be sweating that Kalyn Ponga re-signs, and that he takes the leap to an elite player in the NRL. Whilst there are flashes, the jury is still out on whether Ponga is worth the money that is being thrown at him.

The Warriors see the return of a favourite son in Shaun Johnson, who appears to be on the downswing of a glittering career. They will be hoping Johnson shows his experience and leads this young squad around the paddock, whilst giving the likes of Reece Walsh, Kodi Nikorima and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak quality service. Watch out for barnstorming rookie centre Viliami Vailea. With size and speed, the Warriors will be hoping they’ve found the next big thing out wide this year.

The Dragons see plenty of changes this year, and the media and fans alike have so far enjoyed what they’ve seen. An exciting group of kids pushing through should see the Dragons improve this season. Hopefully coach Anthony Griffin doesn’t restrict them and let’s the kids play what’s in front of them. With Tyrell Sloan at fullback and Talatau Amone at five eighth, the Dragons should have plenty of points in them. With strike out wide and Ben Hunt pulling the strings, we could have an exciting Fantasy team on our hands. Jayden Su’A is an underrated signing, who looked dangerous for the Broncos last year out wide and should score his fair share of tries.

The Wests Tigers look to be in for another tough season in 2022. A few mid-level recruits will not be enough to turn this team around, however with Tim Sheens once again involved, perhaps the mental side of the game may improve. The signings of Jackson Hastings and Tyrone Peachey should inject some class into the attack, but the long-term injuries to Adam Doueihi, Shawn Blore and Jacob Liddle negates these signings. Rookie backrower Kelma Tuilagi is an exciting prospect, particularly for Fantasy. Look for him to have a breakout year and look dynamic in attack. Stefano Utoikamanu looks like a beast after a cracking 2021, and he will be looking to push towards the elite level props this season.

The Storm have lost several big names in Nicho Hynes, Josh Addo-Carr, Dale Finucane, and a host of role players, but as usual they have recruited intelligently and will not miss a beat. For this game, Cam Munster and Harry Grant are missing, being replaced by Brandon Smith and recruit Nick Meaney. Xavier Coates debuts for the Storm in place of Addo-Carr, and on the end of this backline is a real shot at leading try scorer this season.

Overview

The Roosters are deserving of the heavy favouritism that we see here. They spanked the Knights twice last year, and surely the Roosters have improved with all their stars back. Any fantasy team in this match should be loaded with Roosters players, and an easy Roosters victory looks likely.

The Warriors and Dragons game should be tight. It looks like it’s going to be heavy conditions, leading me to believe this will be a battle in the trenches. Forward packs will do most of the scoring, with a premium on tries. Look to spend your money on forwards who make metres and tackles.

In the final game, the Storm are big favourites, and with Craig Bellamy’s history of having his sides ready to go in Round 1, I see nothing but a Storm victory here. The Tigers will be interesting this season in fantasy, with plenty of weapons who could score large on any given day. Consistency will be their issue. A side heavy with Storm players is the smart option here.

Value Selections

Love It- Daniel Tupou $10,230

Tupou will be relishing in the fact Luke Keary is back. He is a genuine aerial threat and is on the end of possibly the most potent backline in the league. He’s also not averse to some hard work, happy to take dummy half runs and bring the ball back from kicks. The Knights conceded plenty of tries on their right edge last year, and I expect that to continue.

Love It- Sitili Tupouniua $10,560

A double in the Roosters 28-8 round 19 clash against the Knights last season shows Tupouniua enjoys this matchup. A genuine redzone threat, look for Sitili to be pushing up every time we see Tedesco and Keary go to the line. Not a huge worker, he will still get you 20 odd tackles and 8-10 runs per game. Look for his points to come from line breaks, tackle breaks and tries.

Love It- Reimis Smith $11,300 / Xavier Coates $9,000

Whilst I think Coates is crazy value, I’m a little worried about how much the Storm will go left with Munster out. Because of this, if you want to take Coates, perhaps hedge it with Reimis Smith. Smith is a try threat on his own, but he becomes more of a threat with the prediction of the Storm going right side in attack through Jahrome Hughes. Either of these boys, or both, is not a bad option at the prices available.

Hate It- Shaun Johnson $18,160

As outlined above, in wet and heavy conditions I see this as a battle of the forward packs. Whilst Johnson will probably score some decent points through his kicking game, I’m sure they’ll be looking more towards the likes of Kodi Nikorima and Chanel Harris-Tavita to take on the line in attacking situations. Johnson is more of an organiser these days, which doesn’t translate to fantasy points.

Hate It- Lachlan Fitzgibbon $15,040

I expect the Roosters to suffocate the Knights, particularly on the edges. Trent Robinson has come out mid-week criticising the Roosters defence from last season. After seeing the Panthers dominant defence on Thursday night, the Roosters will want to make a statement. If you purchase Fitzgibbon, you want attacking stats. I don’t see it coming, and at $15,000, your money could be invested elsewhere.

Hate It- Lindsay Collins $18,190

Whilst I rate Collins highly, he’s coming back from an ACL injury, and will surely be eased back into action. With Siosiua Taukeiaho coming off the bench and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves demanding big minutes in the middle, Collins cannot be selected at this price. Also, with the likelihood of an easy Roosters win with plenty of scoring, middle forwards will probably miss out on their meat and potato type stats.

Who Knows- Jirah Momoisea (Knights) $9,000 / Oliver Gildart (Tigers) $9,800

A couple of cheap options, who could go either way. Momoisea has big wraps on him, but will he get the minutes to make him worthwhile? With Klemmer likely to play big minutes, it’s possible Momoisea only sees 20-25 minutes, which is probably not enough to consider a purchase.

Gildart is cheap and is guaranteed to start and play 80. But, traditionally anyway, players coming from England to Australia have struggled to adapt. The fact he’s coming up against the Storm makes it even tougher. But, at the price, is still an option.