Lone Scout's Fantasy Q&A: Round 24

Coaches have a big decision to make at CTR this week with Euan Aitken out and Jack Bird's undesirable positional switch, while it's that time of the year where those with trades left should be targeting players with favourable on-field match-ups in round 24. 

Lone Scout is here with thoughts and advice ahead of the penultimate round of the Telstra Premiership regular season. 

Lone Scout's NRL Fantasy Q&A

Should I trade Aitken out for Cotter and risk not having CTR cover for the rest of the season?

Euan Aitken will miss round 24 for personal reasons, and it’s unclear at this stage if he will return for the Warriors’ final game of the season. At this point of the year you can’t afford to field red dots in your line-up, so your first priority is to try and avoid that. With a last three-game average of 53.7, Cotter has been solid but isn’t a must have who is worth throwing everything at. 

If you need to bring in a centre in order to have 17 playing this week, consider Panthers duo Taylan May ($500k) or Izack Tago ($540k) who could rack up big scores against the Warriors, and are available for less money that Cotter.

Who are the best captain choices for Round 24?

If you have Nicho Hynes then it has to be him against a Bulldogs side who struggled to contain Parramatta last week. The Sharks half has been a Fantasy beast this year and has averaged 81 points across his last three games and 75.2 in his last five, and I can see him having a big game on Saturday.

If you somehow don’t have Hynes in your team, South Sydney hooker Damien Cook is a good shout, while Isaah Yeo is a potential point of difference option. The Penrith lock has averaged 67.3 in his last three matches and takes on a struggling Warriors side, with potential for a few dynamic attacking stats on top of his usual big base numbers. Beware though, if the score blows out he could have his minutes reduced ahead of the finals.

Is AJ Brimson a buy?

I think this is a solid trade. With a last three-game average of 53.7, Brimson’s form is as good as any half around his price in Fantasy right now. His scores have been inflated a bit by tries in his last two games, but given he’s playing Newcastle this week there is no reason to think he isn’t capable of earning some decent attacking stats once again.

Is Angus Crichton expected to provide another massive score this week?

Crichton took full advantage of playing the last-placed Wests Tigers last week and finished with some incredible numbers which helped him to a score of 101 in Fantasy. Those stats included a pair of tries, three line breaks, eight tackle busts and 203 metres gained. But he won’t get those opportunities against an in-form Storm side this week, and his ceiling is probably more around the mid-60s.  

Thoughts on Jack Bird?

If you’d asked me this last week you would have received a very different answer. When he plays lock Jack Bird is an excellent option in Fantasy and in the last two weeks while playing there he has recorded scores of 62 and 81. But with Moses Mbye suspended for the rest of the Dragons’ season, Bird looks set to play out the year in the centres, where he is named this week, and where he struggles to score 30. He is a definite stay away for me.