The Queen’s Birthday long weekend continues in Round 4 with a traditional 2-game slate on Sunday in the NRL. The competition’s hot side the Canberra Raiders “host” the Newcastle Knights while the West Tigers travel to Brisbane to take on the Gold Coast Titans at Suncorp Stadium.

Draftstars are offering some nice prize pools, including a huge $15,000 pool for the main slate which includes the 2 games. Also from the Draftstars is the introduction of the 50c Micro contests. Perfect to practice MME (Mass Mulit Entry) but without breaking the bank. 30 entries at $15 is a way to sharpen your MME skills!

 

 

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

Raiders 1.32 v Knights 3.45

Total Over/Under - 39.5

Spread - 7.5

 

Titans 3.30 v Tigers 1.34

Total Over/Under - 42.5

Spread - 8

 

Team News

 

The Raiders only have 1 change so far with Bailey Simonsson returning to the wing with Jordan Rapana going to the interchange bench. Kalyn Ponga returns to fullback after suspension which moves Tex Hoy to the interchange. Connor Watson is out with an ankle injury which means the club debut for Qld State of Origin player Andrew McCullough. We got caught with Herman Ese’ese on the bench last week but for now he is named to start with Tim Glasby back on the pine. 

 

Well where do we start with the Titans! For now, Tyrone Roberts is back at fullback (UPDATE - NOW OUT), Erin Clark starts at dummy half leaving Nathan Peats and Shannon Boyd out of the 21. Very important you check final team lists at 1 hour prior to the game as the Titans tend to throw the team names up and land somewhere. Thankfully for the Tigers they have the same squad from Round 3.

 

 

Fantasy Preview

 

The Knights are at a big quote against the Raiders who played exceptionally well against the Storm. The Knights are buoyed with Mitchell Pearce being named as they are up against a well resourced team. The Titans are up against a strong Tigers team and will be unpopular on this slate. Raiders/Tigers stacks will be very chalky. 

 

WFB: Kalyn Ponga $14,460 only played once against the Raiders in 2019 with a poor fantasy score of 30 points but Ponga was playing in the halves that game. Most expensive player in this position and many will extend to afford him. However my targets are David Nofoaluma $13,660 and Nick Cotric $11,470 who both play very fantasy friendly games. Nofoaluma has scored a try in every game this season and made 17 Tackle Breaks on the season. Cotric has 32 Tackle Breaks already through 3 games and scored a try against the Storm last week. Cotric’s fellow winger Bailey Simonsson $7,700 is way too cheap for his upside and will be chalky. Some easy passes with Titan’s back 3 and to some extent the wingers from the Knights. 

 

CTR: Bradman Best $9,000 had a terrific game against the Panthers scoring a double but he is up against Curtis Scott $9,200 on the left edge. Best is a pass for me. Tyrone Peachey $9,530 also plays a fantasy friendly game but only in winning teams only. Peachey is another one I will pass in cash but has great upside in GPP’s. Jarrod Croker $9,300 does the goal kicking for the Raiders and is the safest play in this position whilst Joey Leilua $9,270 and/or Moses Mbye $8,470 could do some real damage here against the Titans. 

 

HALF: Kurt Mann $11,760 needed to do everything last week when Mitchell Pearce was forced from the field after 5 minutes with a HIA. Pearce is back in the 7 jersey and will take over the general field kicking, Mann is GPP only. Pearce however is very playable at $12,690. The Titans halves pairings are a hard pass while you cannot avoid Raiders duo George Williams $14,270 and Jack Wighton $13,890. Williams was everywhere against the Storm in both attack and defence and won’t be afraid to take on the Knights pack. Wighton is at a small discount to Williams and is another great play if you can afford. Can’t discount the form of Benji Marshall $11,670 especially at his price. If the Tigers rack up a score, Marshall is the team’s goal kicker and has the potential to go 50+. Luke Brooks $15,320 whilst pretty expensive has a huge ceiling against the Titans. Brooks will be very low % play. 

 

2RF: Only a couple of real value plays here with the first being Titan’s Keegan Hipgrave $9,500 who tried his guts out last week against the Cowboys. The extra time on the field has improved his fantasy chances after being a bench player in the past. Many were burnt by Herman Ese’ese $9,040 bench start after kickoff last week. If you can keep your bias under control then he is another at value if he can get the minutes. Josh Aloiai scored a try last week which boosted his fantasy score but is in play again at $12,250 whilst team mates Luke Garner $11,470 and Joey Leilua $13,380 could have some fun against the Titan’s edge defence. Joseph Tapine $11,650 and Elliot Whitehead $10,430 have been solid 80 minutes options for the Raiders and are great for Cash builds. Seems to be a position that you can roster low ownership players easily. 

 

HOK: The injury to Connor Watson has been a blessing with Andrew McCullough $11,000 to make his club debut. With the Knights saviour Chris Randall $10,500 only in the reserves list then we can fire up McCullough in all formats. The remaining starters all have bench hookers named although you can pivot to Harry Grant $11,800 against the Titans here.

 

FRF: So Alex Twal $16,600 is the most expensive player on the slate but his fantasy output reflects this huge price. 63.7 FPPG all through tackles and run meters. If Twal can add breaks or offloads to his game then 70+ is not out of the possibility. Moeaki Fotuaika $12,500 is a bright young star and was one of the Titan’s best against the Cowboys. A 50 meter line break did boost his fantasy score last week (75.4) so do not expect another ceiling score. David Klemmer $15,620 and Josh Papalii $15,150 are safe high floor plays but will cost you the cash here. Dunamis Lui $8,670 is a cheap punt play but capped to 40 minutes per game. 


Final Word: If we trust the market then the pathways to lineups will be through the Raiders and the Tigers, but having options from the Knights and if you are brave enough the Titans can separate yourself from the rest of the field. Good Luck!      

 

 
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