In this blog we will have a brief look at the previous and upcoming rounds of the NRL. In round 12, who's performances stood out for the right or wrong reasons and which players made the GDS Squad of the round. With round 13 of GameDay Squad Rugby League not too far away, who should coaches consider starting and which players have positive matchups. Have a read below and gain an edge over your competition. Let us know your thoughts on who we have down below on all of our social channels: twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
GDS Squad of the week for round 12
HOK - Jacob Liddle (Dragons) 73 points
MID - Payne Haas (Broncos) 76 points
MID - Alex Twal (Wests Tigers) 67 points
MID - Naufahu Whyte (Roosters) 67 points
EDG - Keaon Kolomatangi (Rabbitohs) 109 points
EDG - Beau Fermor (Titans) 74 points
HLF - Jarome Luai (Panthers) 96 points
HLF - Lachlan Galvin (Wests Tigers) 83 points
CTR - Herbie Farnworth (Dolphins) 115 points
CTR - Valentine Holmes (Cowboys) 94 points
WNG - Jacob Kiraz (Bulldogs) 86 points
WNG - Mika Sivo (Eels) 79 points
FB - James Tedesco (Roosters) 87 points
BENCH FWD - Jeremiah Nanai (Cowboys) 68 points
BENCH FWD - James Fisher-Harris (Panthers) 64 points
BENCH HLF - Matt Burton (Bulldogs) 83 points
BENCH BACK - Dylan Edwards (Panthers) 87 points
BENCH BACK - Euan Aitken (Dolphins) 80 points
Squad Total 1488 points
How many of these players did you start?
The performance of the week
This award goes to Herbie Farnworth. Don't you hate when you're high on a player one week, only for him to put on a mediocre performance. Then that player goes out the following week and puts on his best performance ever in GDS, well that's Herbie Farnworth for me. He was simply amazing in his performance against the under-strength Warriors and on attack, he had 1 try, 1 try assist, 3 line breaks,13 tackle breaks and 1 offload for 67 points. On top of this he made 14 tackles and ran for 198 metres, this works out to be 34 points through base stats. Herbie is now the 5th ranked centre in GDS with an average of 49 points. Prior to the game against the Warriors, Herbie hadn't done anything special on attack and all his scores were between 31-49 points. This goes to show that he offers coaches a safe floor each week and has the ability to produce a performance like we saw in the weekend. If the centre position wasn't already hard enough to select for, it's even tougher now. Herbie should be considered for selection each week moving forward.
Riser
This award goes to Matt Burton. After a slow start this season by the Bulldogs, Burton was only averaging 34 points over his first three games. Since round four, he has averaged 62 points and we are now starting to see what sort of player he can become at the Bulldogs. This is great news for the coaches that bought low on him last season as they are starting to reap the rewards. At 24 years old, Burton has now been in the first grade for six seasons and his last three have been at the Bulldogs. He showed us what sort of potential he has back at the Panthers in 2021 and for the first time since then, he has become relevant again. If he keeps tracking the way he has been, he will likely better what he did in 2021. With the halves being a bit of a minefield this season, Burton has offered coaches a great deal of consistency since round four and his lowest score since then has been 41 points. He has deservedly been selected in the Blues training camp and unfortunately that makes him unavailable for the Bulldogs this weekend. Looking towards the end of the season, Burton is as good as any half in GDS at the moment and can be seriously considered for selection each week. With him still being relatively young, he is starting to look like a very intriguing option for 2025 and beyond. Especially as it looks like the Bulldogs are starting to move in the right direction.
Faller
This award goes to Stephen Crichton. Critta is one of the many ex Panthers now at the Bulldogs but his performances on the field aren't translating into good GDS scores. The Bulldogs are a much-improved team with him in it and they have been so much better on defence this season. Unfortunately, good NRL players aren't always good scorers in GDS. Critta averages 32 points for the season and only has two scores of 40+ points. This just doesn't cut it from a GDS coaches point of view but it's not all doom and gloom as I believe now is a great time to buy low. Many would have heard the preseason rumours of him becoming the next fullback at the Bulldogs but that wasn't to be this season. This doesn't mean it won't happen in the future but for now, I don't think he is a great starting option.
GDS Team to Beat - Round 13
HOK - Reed Mahoney (Bulldogs) - GDS average of 50 points & positional rank of 2nd
MID - Terrell May (Roosters) - GDS average of 46 points & positional rank of 16th
MID - Jack de Belin (Dragons) - GDS average of 50 points & positional rank of 10th
MID - Max King (Bulldogs) - GDS average of 49 points & positional rank of 13th
EDG - Dylan Lucas (Knights) - GDS average of 49 points & positional rank of 7th
EDG - Nat Butcher (Roosters) - GDS average of 49 points & positional rank of 8th
HLF - Mitchell Moses (Eels) - GDS average of 49 points & positional rank of 15th
HLF - Brad Schneider (Panthers) - GDS average of 54 points & positional rank of 8th
CTR - Joseph Manu (Roosters) - GDS average of 58 points & positional rank of 1st
CTR - Euan Aitken (Dolphins) - GDS average of 565 points & positional rank of 2nd
WNG - Jamayne Isaako (Dolphins) - GDS average of 49 points & positional rank of 5th
WNG - Dominic Young (Roosters) - GDS average of 50 points & positional rank of 4th
FB - James Tedesco (Roosters) - GDS average of 57 points & positional rank of 5th
BENCH FWD - Liam Henry (Panthers) - GDS average of 32 points & positional rank of 50th
BENCH FWD - Elliott Whitehead (Raiders) - GDS average of 44 points & positional rank of 20th
BENCH HLF - Sam Walker (Roosters) - GDS average of 42 points & positional rank of 19th
BENCH BACK - Izack Tago (Panthers) - GDS average of 41 points & positional rank of 14th
BENCH BACK - Kaeo Weekes (Raiders) - GDS average of 53 points & positional rank of 8th
Players with positive matchups
Sam Walker
Sam Walker has been one of my favourite GDS prospects for some time now. This weekend he is up against an under strength Cowboys at home on a Sunday afternoon, what more can we ask for! Don't get me wrong, he is a risky option when you look at his past performances this season, but I believe he will be able to have a good day on attack and should be able to kick 5+ goals. His consistency has been a bit of a concern but over the last five games he has averaged 54 points, this includes a 93-point performance against the Dragons on ANZAC Day. This season the Cowboys defence hasn't been the best and they are allowing an average of 26 points to be scored by the opposition. Up against the red-hot Roosters, I think we will see plenty of points in this game. The Roosters lose some players to Origin duties, but their spine of Teddy, Walker, Keary and Smith remain intact. This is another reason why I believe Walker can perform well this weekend.
Jack de Belin
JDB has had a steady season but has been a bit off the pace compared to his 2023 performances. With the likes of Haas, Yeo, AFB and Hopgood unavailable to GDS coaches this week, I think JDB should be one of the first selected in your squad. The Panthers are the sort of team that like to wear a team down through the middle and I think we will see a lot of work for JDB. Over the last couple of weeks we have seen JDB start at lock. There is no guarantee that this will happen this week as he has been named to start at prop. Even if he doesn't start at lock, I think we will see a 60+ minute performance from him with the bench that the Dragons have named. Nothing is ever certain when it comes to GDS Rugby League but I think JDB is a must start this week.
Izack Tago
It was only a matter of weeks ago when I had Tago as a faller and now, I really like his matchup this week. How quickly things can change in GDS Rugby League!!! The Dragons were woeful in the second half last week and some of this was down to the disruption to their backline after the Jack Bird injury. This week they are without Ben Hunt, Jack Bird, Zac Lomax and Mikaele Ravalawa, that's four changes. Even though the Panthers will be without their Origin players, I think they are going to run rings around this Dragons backline and if this narrative comes to fruition, Tago could have a huge score. I think a lot of coaches might be sleeping on Tago this week due to his inconsistent season and he will likely be considered a POD by many. If this gamble pays off, you might just see yourself near the top of the leader board for this round.
