In this blog we will have a brief look at the previous and upcoming rounds of the NRL. In round 16, who's performances stood out for the right or wrong reasons and which players made the GDS Squad of the round. With round 17 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 16
HOK - Damien Cook (Rabbitohs) 85 points
MID - Terrell May (Roosters) 81 points
MID - Joseph Tapine (Raiders) 76 points
MID - Samuela Fainu (Wests Tigers) 58 points
EDG - Keaon Koloamatangi (Rabbitohs) 68 points
EDG - David Fifita (Titans) 65 points
HLF - Lachlan Galvin (Wests Tigers) 82 points
HLF - Adam Doueihi (Wests Tigers) 76 points
CTR - Euan Aitken (Dolphins) 54 points
CTR - Brian Kelly (Titans) 48 points
WNG - Alofiana Khan-Pereira (Titans) 81 points
WNG - Nick Cotric (Raiders) 73 points
FB - Keano Kini (Titans) 98 points
BENCH FWD - Apisai Koroisau (Wests Tigers) 76 points
BENCH FWD - Chris Randall (Titans) 71 points
BENCH HLF - Jahrome Hughes (Storm) 74 points
BENCH BACK - Jayden Campbell (Titans) 92 points
BENCH BACK - James Tedesco (Roosters) 80 points
Squad Total 1338 points
How many of these players did you start?
The performance of the week
This award goes to Jayden Campbell. Keano Kini does get a honourable mention as he was the top scorer in round 16, he was also the top scorer and was awarded the performance of the week award in round 15. The Titans were unstopped against the Warriors on Saturday and ran out 66-6 victors. Jayden Campbell was outstanding as he put in his best performance of the season. On attack, he had 1 try, 11 goals, 3 try assists, 1 line break, 2 line break assists, 4 tackle breaks and 3 offloads for 84 points. Campbell has had a very GDS fantasy relevant game for some time but is quite often overlooked due to the depth of talent coaches have at the fullback position to select from. With Brimson returning from injury soon, who knows what the Titans backline is going to look like upon his return. I can't see both Campbell and Kini both starting but Des Hasler might just surprise us. With Campbell and Kini both excelling in GDS over the last two rounds, coaches will likely be paying a premium to acquire their cards. I honestly can't see them both keeping up this form as the Titans are a very unpredictable team and I think we may see their value decrease as the season goes on. I would look at acquiring them later in the season if you don't already have them. In the future, both players will likely have positive match ups and be worth starting.
Riser
This award goes to Adam Doueihi. Even though Doueihi is now in his 7th season of first grade, he only has 88 appearances to his name. Most of this is to do with the serious knee injuries he had in 2022 and 2023. Prior to the game against the Raiders, the last time he played was in round 6 last season. I just wanted to highlight his wretched run of injuries before coaches go leaping to trade or buy him. When Doueihi is fit he offers coaches a very GDS fantasy relevant game as he can score tries, break the line, put teammates through holes in the defence and can prove difficult to get to the ground. He is my riser this week because of the performance he put in against the Raiders and his successful return to first grade. However, I'm not going to be rushing to start him in the next few rounds with games against the Roosters, Storm and Sharks coming up. I would like to see him put a few consecutive games together before selecting him and I think he should only be considered as a starter against teams that look to be struggling. Let's hope that he can make it through to the end of the season injury free.
Faller
This award goes to Shaun Johnson. The Warriors have looked out of sorts this season compared to the team we saw make the preliminary finals last season and SJ has really been struggling to perform for GDS coaches in his last few appearances. In his last three games he has had scores of 18 points vs Roosters, 29 points vs Storm and 12 points vs Titans. The Warriors lost all these games and SJ wasn't the goal kicker in any of them. With a tough match against the Broncos at home for round 17, I'll be avoiding him. He is such a quality player and offers coaches some big scores when he's playing well. I wouldn't be trading him away or selling just yet as I still believe he may become relevant in GDS once again this season. Before I consider starting him again, the Warriors will need to turn around their form and he will need to resume the goal kicking duties.
GDS Team to Beat - Round 17
HOK - Jacob Liddle (Dragons) - GDS average of 44 points & positional rank of 7th
MID - Patrick Carrigan (Broncos) - GDS average of 56 points & positional rank of 4th
MID - Payne Haas (Broncos) - GDS average of 65 points & positional rank of 1st
MID - Isaah Yeo (Panthers) - GDS average of 63 points & positional rank of 2nd
EDG - Eliesa Katoa (Storm) - GDS average of 52 points & positional rank of 3rd
EDG - Angus Crichton (Roosters) - GDS average of 51 points & positional rank of 5th
HLF - Nicho Hynes (Sharks) - GDS average of 68 points & positional rank of 2nd
HLF - Jahrome Hughes (Storm) - GDS average of 61 points & positional rank of 3rd
CTR - Dane Gagai (Knights) - GDS average of 55 points & positional rank of 3rd
CTR - Euan Aitken (Dolphins) - GDS average of 57 points & positional rank of 1st
WNG - Dominic Young (Roosters) - GDS average of 49 points & positional rank of 5th
WNG - Brian To'o (Panthers) - GDS average of 57 points & positional rank of 2nd
FB - James Tedesco (Roosters) - GDS average of 59 points & positional rank of 4th
BENCH FWD - Connor Watson (Roosters) - GDS average of 54 points & positional rank of 5th
BENCH FWD - Mitchell Barnett (Warriors) - GDS average of 48 points & positional rank of 11th
BENCH HLF - Sam Walker (Roosters) - GDS average of 43 points & positional rank of 20th
BENCH BACK - Dylan Edwards (Panthers) - GDS average of 69 points & positional rank of 1st
BENCH BACK - Ryan Papenhuyzen (Storm) - GDS average of 47 points & positional rank of 15th
Players with positive matchups
Dane Gagai
With 280 appearances in NRL, Gagai is playing some of the best footy he has ever played in GDS fantasy. He is ranked 5th in the centre rankings with an average of 54 points and he has been extremely consistent. Since round 8, Gagai is averaging 60 points and only has two scores of less than 50 points. This week the Knights are up against the Eels and the Eels allow an average of 50 points to opposing right centres. On four occasions the right centre playing against the Eels has made the squad of the round on four occasions. Going by Gagai's recent form and a positive matchup against the Eels, he should seriously be considered for your starting squad.
Dominic Young
Like many wingers, Dominic Young can be either rocks or diamonds. He averages 49 points for the season, and this includes a score of -17 against the Bulldogs in round 4. Excluding this game, Young would be averaging 56 points and sit 3rd in the winger rankings. Over the Wests Tigers last four matches, right wingers have averaged 80 points against them. Even though the Wests Tigers have had back-to-back wins, I think the Roosters can win this game and win well. Like the Panthers, the Roosters are very good at finding weakness in the oppositions' defence and targeting it. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Young score 60+ points that includes a couple tries, line breaks and tackle breaks.
Jahrome Hughes
Hughes has been one of the inform halves in GDS over the last month. This week he is up against the Raiders, and I believe this is a very good matchup for him. Only last week we saw Lachlan Galvin score 82 points against the Raiders as the Wests Tigers comfortably won 48-24. I'm expecting the Raiders to be a lot better this week, but I still think the Storm can win comfortably. There should be plenty of room for Hughes to run and this can lead to plenty of points through attacking stats. With the halves position being a lottery on who to pick each week, I like to target inform halves that play in a good team and that are up against a team who are allowing plenty of points to be scored against them. Since round 7 the Raiders are allowing an average of 33.6 points to be scored against them. They are also allowing a halves that are currently ranked in the top 10 to average 76 points against them. If you don't already have a card of Hughes in your squad, I would look at acquiring one as soon as possible.
