Booming Ben Hunt: Where do you place his value?
The Doctor has received a question about Ben Hunt. Given his career-year and strong performances, where do you place his value? Would you trade him for Anthony Milford? Let’s take a closer look.
At the start of the year, Ben Hunt went undrafted in my league. An 8 team league, with 25 roster spots each- Ben Hunt was essentially deemed not to be a top 200 fantasy player! This wasn’t without reason; Ben Hunt scored 22 NRLCEO points in all of 2013 and was ranked #241 in scoring out of all NRL players. 2014 however has been a career year for Hunt and he is now on the verge of an origin debut.
Key Points
- Positions
Ben Hunt has the versatility of being listed as a Halfback/Hooker. I love dual position players (as do most coaches) but Hunt takes it to the next step. Most coaches will look to have backups available at every position to cover for injury, rep selection and byes. Halfback and Hooker are positions where you can only start one player each week. This means most coaches will need to spend at least two roster spots on backups (who ideally don’t play). Hunt gives you the flexibility to free up a roster spot by carrying only one backup.
- Consistent Scoring
The Doctor was shocked to read this, but Ben Hunt has not failed to score in NRLCEO in 2014. After scoring in only 6 rounds last year, Hunt is 13/13 and only twice failed to score at least 3 points. He is averaging 5.46ppg and has seven tries (including two doubles).
- Part time kicker
Coach Anthony Griffin shifting Parker to prop has seen him spend some time on the bench, leaving the Broncos without a frontline goalkicker for 10 or so minutes a game. Hunt has filled in during these times, kicking at least 2 goals in 4 games. He wasn’t slated for the kicking duties at the start of the season, so doesn’t carry any kicker points in NRLCEO. This makes Hunt a handy backup kicker if your main man suffers injuries or a bad matchup.
- Not going to get workhorses
The only downside I can find for Ben Hunt is that if you place him at Hooker, he is unlikely to get you a workhorse, having only one in 2014. At the end of the day though, he is averaging nearly 1.5ppg more than solid rakes like Ballin and Ennis. Whilst I love the dependable scoring from a tackle-pig like Ballin, Hunt has only two games with less than 3 points, and has seven games with 5 or more.
I’ve tried to find a reason not to have Ben Hunt in your squad, but he is performing well above any reasonable expectations. He is a starting quality player in the majority of lineups and at worst his great versatility makes him great value even on your bench.
Trade Value
Now where does this place Hunt’s value in terms of trade? A lot of coaches will have drafted Hunt as merely a backup in 2014. Whilst he has great value as a backup, many coaches may be able to upgrade their starting squad be offering him up. No point having a good player getting half points on your bench if you have a starter registering a duck egg week-in week-out.
Would you prefer Hunt or Milford?
In my NRLCEO squad, I’d much rather Hunt. Milford offers positional versatility, but there are enough Fullback/Wingers out there for me to get that value elsewhere. Hunt averages more points per game and scores more consistently. I’d say Milford offers greater potential for a 10+ point game, but he is a rag-doll easily roughed up and taken out of a game. Milford might provide some boom/bust potential for those down the bottom of scoring charts, but week to week I have no doubt Hunt is a better NRLCEO player.
As an aside; which genius thinks Milford will be good in the halves in 2015? Has anyone seen him try and make a tackle? There cannot be a worse defender in the NRL (yes, including Ayshford!) and his shift to the front line will be great to watch for non-Broncos fans. I tried to find a photo of Milford defending for this article, but even Google has no pictures of Milford tackling!
Where would I place Hunt’s trade value?
I am really pleasantly surprised with Hunt’s performance in 2014. It is such an improvement over 2013 that I still probably don’t give him quite the credit he deserves. Hopefully it also means the Broncos piss off and let Manly retain DCE 😉
If you are looking at trades for forwards, I would place his value right at about Ben Creagh. Creagh also plays dual positions and has solid numbers. Creagh faces the dilemma of being on the wrong end of big scores a lot of the time, but this helps pad his tackle numbers for workhorses. George Burgess is another player with similar value. Whilst I’d feel more comfortable with Gurgess than Hunt as a starter, Hunt’s dual-position versatility makes that a fairly even trade in my book.
In terms of backs, it is more difficult to gauge value. Scoring for backs is heavily dependent on tries, and this can be inconsistent. I’d look towards Ken Sio who has the benefit of playing down the favoured side of Jarryd Hayne (a la Merritt with Inglis in previous years) and has scored consistently in recent weeks. Another trade target could be Steve Matai, who has been outkicking his coverage down Manly’s left edge but doesn’t have the fantasy reputation that can make coaches reluctant to deal a player.
If you’d like to tell me why I’m right or wrong or just have another trade question, hit me up in the comments or on Twitter @aussiepiston
Ryan
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