It has already been a fantastic return to live sport in Australia with the NRL showcasing their talents in front of a national audience. The pools on Draftstars have also been showcased with plenty of action for fantasy. Sunday’s NRL schedule has two games to round out Week 3. 

 

Draftstars have posted a $10,000 2-game slate along with a $5,000 Panthers v Knights and a $10,000 Sea Eagles v Bulldogs on Sunday evening! A reminder that “Player-Swap” is available for the 2-game slate just in case your player is not selected in the 2nd game. 

 

A reminder if you have not played NRL DFS before or looking to brush up on your fantasy game make sure you check out our helper articles

 

 

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Market Odds

Panthers $1.75 v Knights $2.10

Total Points Line - 43.5

Spread - 2.0

 

Sea Eagles $1.35 v Bulldogs $3.25

Total Points Line - 40.5

Spread - 7.5

 

Weather

 

Sydney - Partly Cloudy, Light Winds and 21 Degrees

Gosford - Partly Cloudy, Light Winds and 21 Degrees

 

Fantasy Plays

 

Interesting little 2-game slate this one with the Panthers and Knights game already missing key personnel for both teams. Nathan Cleary’s Tik Tok dance means he is not playing in this one (I mean if you told me that Cleary is not playing for dancing in his home a year ago…) and Kalyn Ponga is out due to suspension. There is a small chance that Aiden Tolman could play for the Bulldogs if he can overcome a hip issue. 

 

WFB: With no Ponga, Tex Hoy $8,000 will play fullback for the Knights and will also take over the goal-kicking duties. Hoy had a superb Nine’s comp in Perth and was upgraded from a development contract from that performance. Will be taking the salary savings on Hoy. Connor Watson $13,700 is the ultimate utility player. Currently with a DPP of WFB/HOK do not be surprised if entrants roster Watson in the WFB. However, talk from the Knights camp is that Chris Randall might get the start and that will kill the upside of Watson. With the Sea Eagles big favourites look for try scoring potential from Turbo Tom Trbojevic $12,530, Reuben Garrick $8,810 and Jorge Taufua $7,000. Look Taufua has hardly touched it but the previous game against the Roosters wasn’t the best conditions weather wise. Bulldogs players are GPP only. Josh Mansour $8,970 will lead ownership at this low salary and fantasy friendly game. 

 

CTR: Some real salary savers here with Panthers pair Dean Whare and Brent Naden at the minimum $7,000. You can ignore Will Hopoate $11,230 and look towards Moses Suli $8,860 or Dylan Walker $9,290 who is CTR eligible. Walker fantasy output can yo-yo but against this Bulldogs side, Walker will look to Tackle Break and Offload off defenders. It is either Walker or go Panthers cheap.  

 

HALF: Cleary’s replacement Matt Burton $11,000 had an outstanding debut against the Sharks in 2019 and is an exciting talent but that $11K price tag is for the thrill seekers only. Jake Cogger $11,660 replaces Brandon Wakeham but will be up against the experienced halves of Daly Cherry-Evans $16,420 and Dylan Walker. Cherry-Evans was huge against the Roosters in Round 2 nearly kicking the ball 600 meters alone. The high price tags requires some sacrifices elsewhere but is clearly the best fantasy half here. Mitchell Pearce $13,500 will gain ownership on that FPPG of 57.8 and will look to overcome the inexperienced halves of the Panthers.

 

2RF: Sign me up for Jake Trbojevic $14,470! Trobjevic has an elite fantasy floor and has been priced around $1,500 cheaper than we expect. Also under priced are Sione Mata’utia $9,500, Aidan Guerra $8,690 and Herman Ese’ese $9,040. Ese'ese and Guerra gets the start with Barnett and Fitzgibbon out and will easily play big minutes. Mata’utia returns from a knee injury and will play on the edge. If you still have the funds then David Klemmer $15,290 is another high safe option along with James Fisher-Harris $14,990 and Martin Taupau $15,440. All of these options are available with FRF as well. No interest in Bulldogs players (which as you can tell, are starting to become a theme).

 

HOK: If Chris Randell $7,000 gets the start then he is automatic play. If not, you will get 80 minutes out of Apisai Koroisau $15,500 and Jeremy Marshall-King $13,180. If you have gone cheap in the backs and if Connor Watson is starting then he is perfectly fine here as well.   

 

FRF: Haven’t the big boppers been racking up some fantasy points so far! Although there is a clear drop off from the high salary options and the rest in this position. Addin Fonua-Blake $15,290 is a great pivot off Taupau or the other DPP players in this category as he is only FRF eligible. Daniel Saifiti $9,960 will attract a lot of salary saving players with a season FPPG of 46.9. But do note, he only has 40 minutes worth of petrol in his tank and with this lay off do not be surprised if it is barely 35. If you need a real cheap FRF then Moses Leota $7,920 is not the worst off the bench. The dual position availability of many players here will see many 2RF filling these roles.

 

Final Word: It is a slate where you need to pay up in the forwards and skimp on the backs. Luckily there is value in the backline especially for the Sea Eagles. Keep an eye out on teams for the second games and enjoy the games!           

 

 

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