Late draft round bargains
Seasons are rarely won and lost in the early rounds of your draft. Billy Slater or Brett Stewart? Aaron Woods or Andrew Fifita? Barring unpredictable things such as injury, these choices rarely dictate your season. Either way, each player is great and likely to have scored a similar amount of points come the end of the year.
Where NRLCEO seasons are really made is in the later rounds. Andrew Fifita was a virtual unknown at the start of 2013, but those who drafted him ended up with the best Front Rower in the game. I got him in Round 18 that year. Ben Hunt even went undrafted in my league last year, but those who picked him up late would have been ecstatic with his returns. My later round stashes for this year are primarily forwards who have good per-minute numbers that I expect to see expanded roles in 2015, but you should also look for outside backs who look to get plum gigs in high-scoring backlines such as the Cowboys’ and Bunnies’.
Dale Finucane
Finucane showed impressive numbers when given extended burn in Canterbury and will fill a void in a Melbourne side left by the absence of Ryan Hoffman. Many NRLCEO coaches will be aware of this and Finucane could go early. I’m reluctant to jump early on players changing teams, as you never know how the new coach will shake out the minutes, but if Finucane is left on the board once you get past round 8-10 he is a worthy candidate of a spot.
Kyle Feldt/Matt Wright/Justin O’Neill
The Cowboys outside backs are unsettled at present and I’d keep a keen eye on the trials and any news you can get about who will start on the right-edge. Tate and Rona are gone from last year, leaving the above trio and Tautau Moga likely fighting for the two positions. I hate Tautau Moga. He is an error-prone clutz with poor decision-making and having him anywhere near my side would just irritate me. He’ll probably score 100 points this year now..
The Cowboys right edge can be NRLCEO gold with the inauspicious Ash Graham even topping the tryscoring charts from the position. You won’t regret picking up whoever gets a crack. Feldt is probably the best finisher, but has other flaws which may see another pairing nab the starting spots. O’Neill performed well in the 9’s and seems most likely to get one of the two spots.
I’d take O’Neill any time after round 10 as his dual-positions and near-certainty to start give him value. Keep your ear to the ground for reports on Wright/Feldt in the trials and if either looks to get a spot on the right wing come round 1 snap them up before someone else does.
Tom Symonds
Being a rednut Symonds satisfies my #1 favourite quality of an NRLCEO player: he is easily idenitifiable on the field. This year however Symonds could actually see some NRLCEO value. Manly have lost Anthony Watmough and Glenn Stewart from their backrow and the primary replacements are the coach-killing Feleti Mateo and Qld Cup player Blake Leary. I expect Symonds to trump both these two new recruits for minutes, seeing his involvement numbers increase and him becoming a consistent workhorse threat. Symonds is also a former Roosters backrower and built from the same mould as Corder, Guerra and Aubusson. He runs great lines and its no surprise to see him score ten tries in a season. The only thing preventing Symonds from being a premier NRLCEO player is the glut of average forwards Manly now seem to be brimming with. Look for Symonds to rise above the pack and be an NRLCEO star by years end. Pick him any time after round 10, but don’t feel like a dickhead for jumping on him sooner too. God knows I will probably go off too early on him myself.
Adam Clydesdale
There have been constant murmurs that Kurt Gidley is to shift back to fullback under Rick Stone. With Sione Mata-utai possibly missing the first part of the season this seems ever more likely. As a result Adam Clydesdale should soak up a lot of minutes at hooker and be a worthy draft choice.
I’m still dubious that the Knights leave out one of Sione Mata’utai, Uate, McManus or Gidley when fully fit, so Clydesdale may split time with Gidley once Mata’uati returns. With the uncertainty he should be a backup hooker choice only, but one that is still on the board come the last couple of rounds of a draft.
Dylan Napa
Napa scored the a starting gig regularly over the last month of the 2014 season with the Roosters. It remains to be seen if he will continue to score the minutes needed in 2015 with the return of Martin Kennedy to the tri-colours, but he has only just turned 22 in the offseason. Napa’s career is on the up, his fitness will only be improving and it wouldn’t surprise to see him nab a 50% workhorse rate. He is a true boom or bust option, but playing one of the shallowest postions in the league is a very worthy pickup in the last 3 rounds of a deep draft. He is listed as a Front Rower and is a chance of nabbing a starting spot at lock, meaning he could also be in line for some positional versatility later in the season.
Lachlan Coote
Lachlan Coote is a forgotten man in NRLCEO this year. He has barely played in two seasons due to injury, but had huge wraps on him prior to that. He is expected to slot in at fullback for the Cowboys, shifting 2014 star Michael Morgan to halfback.
Coote has some ball-playing ability and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t rack up plenty of assists slotting into backline movements in the style of Brett Stewart or Billy Slater. Injury concerns remain for someone whose career has been littered with them previously, but as a later rund draft choice Coote has high upside.
Luke Douglas
Douglas may see an increased role in 2015 after the retirement of ‘Goose-Step’ Bailey. Douglas will be there every week and is good for a workhorse at worst every second round. When he has seen more minutes he has been a consistent workhorse performer and with the front-row crop looking thin for NRLCEO this season he is worthy of a starting spot in a lot of teams.
Ben Ridge
Ridge is in contention to score a starting position and increased role in the Titans back row after the retirement of Ash Harrison and the sacking of Paul Carter. Ridge had two workhorses in five appearances in 2014 in an injury plagued season. Looking at the Titans squad this year, my main fear is that he will spend too much time lining up behind the goalposts each game to get enough involvements to be fantasy relevant. As a player that barely anyone has heard about coming off a season limited by injury, I expect Ridge to be available late and will consider taking him from round 18-20 in any league.
***Update*** Ridge has suffered his own injury and may not return prior to Round 8. This makes him an ok pick in deep leagues but can be kept in the free agent list otherwise. If your pack is struggling come round 8, I still maintain he is worth a look.
Ryan
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