daily fantasy sports articles

Easter Monday delivers a contest between two vastly different teams regarding ability. The Parramatta Eels will play host to the winless West Tigers, who will be hoping to resurrect their chances of a finals push with a win over the Eels.

The Eels (4-1) currently occupy 4^th place on the ladder, with a win guaranteeing them a top 3 position heading into next week. They have been playing an attractive brand of football, and one that is extremely exciting for us Fantasy players. The Tigers (0-5) are dead last and are still the only team without a win this season. They have been competitive in a couple of early season games, but it has mainly been due to their defensive efforts. Their attack has looked directionless, and the move of Luke Brooks to five eighth is surely a sign that his time at the club is coming to an end.

If Daily Fantasy is your game, Draftstars has you covered on Easter Monday, with 3 contests ranging from a buy-in of 50c, to a $15 entry with a prize pool of $12,000. As ever we will provide insight on the game itself and some players to look out for and consider for your squad.
 

Team News

The Eels have lost Waqa Blake (MCL), with Will Penisini shifting onto the wing. In his place, Marata Niukore comes in at centre. Captain Junior Paulo (suspension) misses this week after tackling too hard last week, with Oregon Kaufusi promoted from the bench to start at prop. Hayze Perham joins the bench in place of Bryce Cartwright, whilst Shaun Lane returns in the back row, pushing Ryan Matterson to the bench.

For the Tigers, there are mass changes after Michael Maguire finally cried enough. Daine Laurie (Covid) has been named to return at fullback, however, will still need to pass all protocols to take his place at the back. Starford To’a has been named on the wing and will revert to fullback if Laurie is ruled out. Oliver Gildart and Ken Maumalo have been dropped, with James Roberts named to return at centre. Jock Madden is pushed to the reserves with the return of Jackson Hastings, who takes the 7 jersey of Luke Brooks, who has been named at five eighth. Jake Simpkin will start at hooker, after Jacob Liddle was dropped by Maguire. The last man axed is Tyrone Peachey, who loses his bench utility role after a string of poor performances.

Odds

Eels $1.07 vs Tigers $9.00

Overview

It will be interesting to see if anything changes at the Tigers after Maguire swung the axe. 4 players, including 2 captains, have been dropped completely, whilst Madden has been benched, in a massive shake up to last weeks squad. I like the move of Hastings to 7 over Brooks, and I believe it is now a matter of time (however long until Adam Douehi returns) until the Tigers career of Brooks is over.

The Eels have been going from strength to strength and appear set for another big win here. On a beautiful Monday afternoon in Parramatta, I think loading your teams with Eels players is the only way to go. They have been the best attacking team in the competition over the first 5 weeks, and whilst I am sure the Tigers will aim up for the first 25-30 minutes, I believe by the end of the game it will be a large margin of victory for the Eels.

Love It – Isaiah Papali’I - $24,380

Coming up against the team that has snagged his signature from next season on, the big man has backed up his breakout 2021 season with another tremendous start to his 2022 campaign. He has been tremendously consistent, with a great floor and a high ceiling for an edge back rower. Playing on the right, will be running at Luke Brooks all day and I see him scoring at least one try today.

Love It – Mitch Moses - $24,240

If you are not convinced on Papali’I, Moses is another guy you can pick in your team and be confident he will produce. A low score of 36.5 is a slight concern, but a high of 91.5 shows his ceiling is higher than Papali’I, so a higher risk, higher reward for the same price. Plays predominantly on the right, so will attack the poor left side Tigers defence, and should get plenty of attacking stats.

Love It – Kelma Tuilagi - $10,400

Has not set the world on fire from a fantasy perspective as yet, but he passes the eye test and has come close to scoring on a handful of occasions for the Tigers. Is a legitimate red zone threat and the Tigers love feeding him the ball on the opponents tryline. Has been carrying a niggle for a few weeks but should be close to full fitness. Do not be surprised if he gets off the nudie run this week, with the Eels’ right-side defence leaking several tries to edge back rowers and centres.

Hate It – Reed Mahoney - $18,810

I mean, one day Mahoney is going to make me look silly for continually putting him in this category, but seriously, how is he still the expensive? I know last year he was superb, but he is not being used in the same way this year, as the ruck has been slowed dramatically and he is not getting out of dummy half and making those half breaks he was last year. An average of 39.7 and a high score of 47.2 is not enough of a return for this outlay.

Hate It – Luciano Leilua - $16,550

Luciano has played well this year in a poor side, but with the Tigers lack of scoring this year he has not been able to get across the line for tries or break the line for line breaks. Not a terrible purchase, as in non-injury effected rounds, he has scores of 49, 48, 46 and 47, so he is very consistent, however for the purchase price I prefer others. Will be attacking the left side defence of the Eels, which has only given up 3 tries all year.
 

Who Knows – Dylan Brown - $21,470

Scores of 26, 60, 89, 84 and 40 show his potential, however he is very inconsistent and does not get many points from kick metres as Mitch Moses is the primary kicker. Is probably the highest risk and highest reward at the price point, so if you cannot afford a Papali’i or Moses in your squad, Brown is capable of the big score, however you should know he could also flop. Given I see most of the Eels attack heading right, he may lack genuine chances to score big points.