Daily Fantasy continues on Super Saturday, with two tight matchups on paper, followed by a Blockbuster to complete the second day of the three-day carnival that is Magic Round.

We kick things off with the New Zealand Warriors taking on the South Sydney Rabbitohs. The Warriors are coming off a humiliating loss to the Sharks, after having an extra man for 63 minutes of the contest, and even held a 13 on 11 advantage for 10 minutes, only to lose in dismal fashion 29-10. The Rabbitohs were equally as disappointing, destroyed 32-12 at home by the Broncos. Both teams have struggled to find any consistency this season, however both sides are right in the top 8 battle.

At 5:30pm, the Gold Coast Titans take on the St George Illawarra Dragons in what shapes as a must win for the Titans. At 2-7, they sit 14th on the ladder, and a loss will drop them to as low as last place. The Dragons were winners of 3 straight heading into last week, however they became the latest victims of the Storm juggernaut, going down 42-6. A win for the Dragons will keep them right in the top 8 battle, and this one should be tight.

Finally, the two best teams in the competition go head-to-head, when the Melbourne Storm take on the Penrith Panthers. The Storm will be without Ryan Papenhuyzen, but this doesn’t deter me at all, and I am still very bullish on the Storm. Their attack is on another level, and this game will display the best attack in the NRL, vs the best defence in the NRL. It truly is the irresistible force paradox, with the irresistible force coming up against the immovable object. I can’t wait.

Draftstars has a $5000 Saturday contest with $679 to first place. The single game contests range between $8,0000 and $10,000, with several other contests including the Mini, Micro, and the High Roller on offer. 
 

Team News

The Warriors once again make several changes, after an horrific display against the 12-man Sharks. Marcelo Montoya returns from his 4-game ban for his homophobic slur directed at Kyle Feldt, with Adam Pompey switching to centre and Rocco Berry dropped. Club stalwart Tohu Harris returns from an ACL rupture, dropping Elise Katoa from the 17. The rest of the 17 stays the same, however Euan Aitken (concussion) is in doubt and will need to pass protocols to take his place on the edge.

The Rabbitohs received some horrible news at the start of the week, with lock and Captain Cam Murray (shoulder) ruled out for several weeks. Jai Arrow shifts from the edge to lock, with Jacob Host starting on the edge. Isaiah Tass has been dropped, with Jaxson Paulo his replacement in the centres. Davvy Moale reverts to the bench with the return of Thomas Burgess, whilst recruit Kodi Nikorima is named on the bench.

The changes keep coming, this time at the Titans, with fullback Jayden Campbell named to return at fullback, shifting AJ Brimson to five eighth and Will Smith out of the squad. Both wingers have been dropped, with Corey Thompson and Greg Marzhew making way for Jamayne Isaako and Phillip Sami. Jarrod Wallace returns in the front row, shifting Isaac Liu to an edge and Kevin Proctor out.

The Dragons have opted for a different strategy after their devastating loss last week, with Coach Antony Griffin naming the same 17 as last week.

The Storm have been forced into some changes through injury, with Papenhuyzen replaced at fullback by Tyran Wishart. Reimis Smith will also miss some time, with Marion Seve taking his place in the centres. No other changes are expected.

The Panthers welcome back Scott Sorensen to the bench, with prop Matt Eisenhuth dropping out. No other changes expected.


Odds

Warriors $3.00 vs Rabbitohs $1.39

Titans $2.00 vs Dragons $1.80

Storm $2.15 vs Panthers $1.71


Overview

The loss of Cam Murray will affect the Rabbitohs in several ways, both in attack and defence. He is so dependable through the middle third of the field, and despite Jai Arrow being an Origin rep, he is not Cam Murray. Fortunately for the Rabbitohs, they take on the Warriors, who will surely struggle to remain upbeat after losing 70-10 three weeks ago, and then losing to 12 men last week.

The Titans will be desperate for a win against the Dragons, however Justin Holbrook just continues to make too many changes to his team in my opinion. With such a young spine, they need familiarity to gain confidence, and they just aren’t getting that now. Several changes a week over the past month offers no continuity and the Titans are well and truly in the wooden spoon conversation for mine.

Finally, the Storm and Panthers face off in a potential Grand Final preview. Whilst the loss of Papenhuyzen will no doubt hurt the Storm; they just have so much strike power across the park. With Harry Grant and Cam Munster in career best form, the Panthers will have to be at their absolute best defensively to get home. This one comes down to the wire and could be decided by goal kicking or a ref’s decision. Sit back and enjoy.

 

Love It – Mathew Feagai - $10,180

Not a guaranteed performer, but Feagai is cheap and is on the left-hand side. The Titans right side defence has been awful this year, conceding 21 tries on that side of the field, the equal worst in the competition. If you’re looking for a cheap option in the backline, you could do worse than the Dragons winger, who has hit 50 three times this year despite only two tries.

 

Love It – Tyran Wishart - $9,000

Fullback for the Melbourne Storm for $9,000? Yes please. For the price, there’s not much more you could hope for. He’s no Ryan Papenhuyzen, but he looks likely and passes the eyeball test. Stood in for Pap last week in the second half and didn’t look out of place. Easy pick at the price and has tremendous pedigree.

 

Love It – Taylan May - $17,200

If there is a weakness for the Storm defence, it’s their left edge. Enter Taylan May, who has been a try scoring machine since making his debut in round 3, scoring 10 tries in 7 games. With a floor of 38.7 and a ceiling of 64.2, he is extremely consistent for a winger, and you can pick him and feel confident he won’t tank.

 

Hate It – Josh McGuire - $20,060

Has moved to the edge the last 3 weeks, with his scores being a little up and down. In my opinion, anyone over the $20k price tag needs to be someone you can rely on for 45+, and McGuire just isn’t that. Whilst his minutes have increased on an edge, his work rate has dropped, and sans any attacking stats he just isn’t worth the price.

 

Hate It – Justin Olam - $16,480

Bit of a flier here as this guy can score huge, but I trust the Panthers’ right side defence more than their left. Nathan Cleary, Liam Martin and Stephen Crichton are all superb defenders and work extremely well together. I believe they will be able to shut Olam down for most of the game.

 

Who Knows – Tohu Harris - $14,600

A true work horse, however, is coming back from an ACL rupture and in his first game back it’s hard to know how many minutes he will play. A traditional 80-minute back rower who makes 45 tackles and 15 hit-ups per game, if he can slot back into this form, he is ridiculously under-priced. Could be worth a flier.

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