Trade Talk: Keep or Sweep?
Welcome to another edition of Trade Talk.
There’s a lot to think about in NRLCEO land at the moment. You have the first five weeks of stats to pour over to determine where players sit in the pecking order, but as always you can still catch your fellow coaches off guard.
Follow the Doctor’s advice, or you’ll probably get a serious case of man flu while you cry yourself to sleep after losing to the second bottom ranked team yet again.
The Doctor will see you now…
Players to Trade Out
Sam Perrett
Just a week ago I told you to Trade In Perrett with the following:
“Perrett is a dud fullback. He is the worst. He is a very average winger as a finisher. But, put him in the Bulldogs backline, behind their monster pack and outside the highly talented Tim Lafai, and he can be a weapon. He is dual position now and has some value for NRLCEO coaches”.
With the injury to Brett Morris, Sam Perrett is back to playing fullback and disappointing NRLCEO coaches. He does however have four tries in his last four appearances (thanks to playing on the wing) and you might get decent trade value in return from unsuspecting competitors.
Brett Stewart
Manly are a shambles and their backs are all suffering. For the last decade the Manly backline has been the most exciting in the game, but now it has the potency of a mid-strength beer at the cricket. NRLCEO coaches used to seeing Stewart chime-in in a slick movement before deciding whether to score himself or assist someone else having a go will be bitterly disappointed. After averaging better than a Try Assist and Line Break Assist a game last year, Stewart has only one combined through five rounds.
The Manly pack is shithouse, the backline has no depth and despite it only being the halves that are leaving, most of the squad looks to have quit on the season. If you can get a decent return on the Stewart ‘name’, accept it while you can.
Jamie Buhrer
I was as high as anyone on Buhrer coming in to the year, and after a big workhorse and try assist in his first appearance was happy to chirp to anyone who’d listen about my great pick.
But Buhrer has now been shifted to an edge backrower instead of lock and the tackling numbers have plummeted – Dave Taylor has more tackles across the last three rounds!
I’m not sure what Buhrer did to get on Geoff Toovey’s bad side, but unless something changes I would give him up in a heartbeat. I was forced to go as far as outright dropping him in one league this week!
Cooper Cronk
I’m not sure what is happening with Cooper’s sinews, but NRLCEO wise at least he is far from the player he was a couple of years ago.
Through five matches in 2015, Cronk has a total of two try assists. He did the same in the last four rounds last year. It could be a coincidence, but 10 matches is a decent sample size and enough to make me nervous. Is it a temporary blip in a great career, or age finally catching up with one of the great halves of the modern era? For now, I’d rather trade on his ‘name’ and leave the uncertainty to someone else.
Players to Trade In
Jarrad Kennedy
The Raiders might be up and down, but Jarrad Kennedy has been a model of consistency in the back row. Kennedy has four workhorses on the trot (three with over 50 involvements). He is a low-key player that you can plug in as a starter in your back row, and may even be a free-agent in some leagues. If you can get your hands on him before other coaches realise what they have got, I’d highly recommend it!
Dylan Napa
I’ve loved Napa since the offseason and he hasn’t disappointed. Napa has three workhorses in his last four games and should see an expanded role with Guerra injured for six weeks. After that time Guerra and Cordner will also spend time in Origin camps, so look for the hard-hitting ranga to be a consistent scorer for NRLCEO coaches.
Tyson Frizell
Frizell hasn’t missed a workhorse yet and being dual-listed as a FR/BR has great versatility for coaches. He is netting 48 involvements whilst smashing out over 100m per game. The Dragons are performing and Frizell’s numbers should keep him in Coach Mary’s good graces.
I traded Rona and Rein for Gagai and Frizell this past week and am really excited to add a strong, versatile player to my pack who unlike other dual listed FR/BR players won’t be missing time during Origin.
Aiden Tolman
Tolman has some great value over the next couple of weeks as the last prop standing at Canterbury. With Graham, Kasiano and Klemmer suspended I’d rate Tolman a better than even chance of a double workhorse. Tolman also has the advantage of never being in Origin contention, so will be a top prop over the next couple of months.
Ryan
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