Lone Scout Fantasy Q&A: Chapter 17

The captaincy crisis made headlines the problems the Fantasy owners faced in Round 17, while there was a decision to be made on some of the traditional keepers facing slumping form and time out.

The Lone Scout is here to answer big questions, including who is captain, whether to get rid of Payne Haas and what to do with Harry Grant, Cameron McInnes and Latrell Mitchell.

Lone Scout Fantasy Q&A: Chapter 17

Was Latrell Mitchell bought? – @t.ewhetukihohepa

A score of 43 in his first game since Round 5, which counts including 10 points from goal kick duty, is promising for Latrell. While I don’t see him becoming a top tier WFB this year, if he can score in his mid 40s more regularly then he’s good value for money at $557k. At a break even of 59, he’s unlikely to go up too much in this round, so you can hold back for now and see how he goes against the Knights.

Five players you should consider for Round 17

What is the ideal trade amount remaining? – @austin_keates

The first point here is to remind owners that trade help is on the way, with all teams getting four additional trades from Round 20, which will be a huge relief to some, including yours. Ideally you want at least four trades at your disposal for the final to cover an injury, or let you make an important upgrade that could be the difference between a win or a loss. Saying that you don’t want to be the richest person in Fantasy’s grave either, sitting on the trading pile, but skipping the finals because you’re too conservative. If you have between 7-11 trades left at this point, then you’re probably in a good place.

Who should I captain for the bye round? – @abbie_equestrian_nz

With other popular captain options Nathan Cleary, Daly Cherry-Evans and Damien Cook already out this week, news of Nicho Hynes’ positive COVID test comes as a blow to many Fantasy owners. The answer to your question may lie up front at Parramatta, with Isaiah Papali’i, Ryan Matterson and even Shaun Lane all looking like good options against a Wests Tigers side struggling at the bottom of the table.

From that group Matterson would be my pick, with a score of 60 and above in five of his last six games in which he played 50 minutes or more, which he should have done as an early lockdown. If you want life to be more dangerous then Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen is a high-ceilinged player, but beware he comes with a lot more risk than the other options discussed.

Melbourne waves almost stole it

What do we do with Payne Haas? – @_seb.y_

It’s been a wild ride for the Haas owner after a series of weeks in which he looked set to be sidelined for the Broncos, only to play through pain from AC joint problems in both shoulders. But ended up stuck with the powerhouse prop and Brisbane now says he will miss at least the next few games. If you’re sitting pretty in your H2H league then you can probably wait two weeks and see what happens with Haas, but otherwise his $676k is too much to hold onto and he’s selling.

Is Xavier Savage selling? – @sethclenshaw

The presence of fellow fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad on the Raiders bench did not have a major impact on Savage last week, with the youngster playing all but the last six minutes. But even so, he will be selling in the next few weeks. If he keeps his early role then he may still have some price hikes left in him but eventually you’ll want a WFB with better job security and bigger base stats for home runs (Savage scored 37 in Round of 16 with try and try saving).

Savage proves the X factor once again

Did Joe Ofahengaue buy? – @baileymichael111

The Wests Tigers locked the ranks in the top five center forwards in Fantasy over the past three weeks with an average of 65.3 and were a good player to bring this week before he jumped in price, with his break even set at 34. He has consistently played more than 60 minutes and get plenty of basic stats from tackles and yardage, so while he won’t be repeating his catch of 84 against the Warriors every game, he looks good to continue to score at least in the high 50s in the long run.

Should I sell Cameron McInnes? – @josh_polky

Having recorded successive scores of 66 and 60 in rounds 12 and 14, McInnes formed as a possible low-cost goalkeeper in the middle about a month ago, but Dale Finucane’s return coincided with his minutes and scores dropping in his last two outings. . He remains a points-per-minute machine and broke 49 in 41-minute stints last week, meaning it was far from disastrous for those who picked him up. He doesn’t have to sell and I’m not going to do anything with him this week considering he’s a valuable green dot on your side. But the owner has to accept that he is now shaping up as someone who will probably average in his mid-40s to low 50s for the rest of the year, rather than that elite mid-score.

Should I hold Harry Grant? – @adam_hedges21

If you’ve kept Grant this long then I’d stick with him, despite the fact that he’s hit a score of over 50 just once in his last five games. Storm rake is still the second best bitch in Fantasy behind Damien Cook, and unless you’re familiar with trading, it’s hard to justify trading players like that. He was part of my team and I supported him getting back into shape in Fantasy after the Origin period was over.

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