Will Tapine shine in an inexperienced middle rotation for the Raiders? Can Tevita Pangai-Junior return to his barnstorm best this season? What do we do with Jahreem Bula now that he is the focal point of the Wests Tigers attack? These are some of the questions that will be answered in the round 19 preview of buy, sell and hold. It’s essential to keep in mind that GameDay Squad is a dynasty fantasy football platform and that will be heavily taken into consideration in this article. Let us know your thoughts on who we have included below on all of our socials - twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
BUY!
Jospeh Tapine
Canberra Raiders - Middle-Forward (MID)
With Papali’i out injured and Horsburgh on Origin duties, I’m expecting a big performance from Tapine this week. Last week he scored 80 points in 59 minutes. This season he has averaged 0.96 PPM at prop and this week I’m expecting him to play 60+ minutes this week. With several of the more popular MIDs not playing this week, I believe Tapine will be one of the top three MIDs. The Raiders are on the bye in round 20 and may be back to full strength by round 21. If Ricky Stuart decides to play Tapine for 60+ minutes each week, he may become one of the top MID forwards in GDS again.
Briton Nikora
Cronulla Sharks - Edge-Forward (EDG)
Nikora has been one of the better edge forwards this season and averages 50 points. He runs some fantastic lines off Nicho Hynes and has crossed for 7 tries this season. The Wests Tigers are on deck next, and they allow the most points to right edge forwards. David Fifita is in a tier all by himself at edge forward with Nikora and several others in the second tier. Nikora would be a great depth piece for anyone’s squad, and he could be considered as a starter most weeks. With a favorable draw over the next month, this might be the best time to look at acquiring him if you don’t already have him.
SELL
Tevita Pangai-Junior
Canterbury Bulldogs - Middle-Forward (MID)
TPJ has been a boom or bust play in fantasy terms for a few years and this season he’s been more bust than boom. He has the ability to be a fantasy relevant player but at the Bulldogs, we just haven’t seen it. He is averaging 35 points in base but loses 13 points a game through demerits. His PPM is only 0.61 and this is down on previous seasons. With the Bulldogs struggling on attack, this has really limited TPJ’s attacking potential. His situation may change next season but for this season, he is a clear avoid for me.
Daine Laurie
Wests Tigers - Winger/Fullback (WFB)
Laurie has been a starter in the halves for the last couple of weeks and this has increased his value slightly. There have been rumours of him moving to the halves permanently and he might get his chance with Brooks moving on at the end of the season. It seems that Bula has now made the fullback position his own and I really can’t see any upside for Laurie with him playing in the halves for a struggling Wests Tigers team. When Doueihi returns from injury next season, I really don’t know how Lauire will fit into the starting side. This may be your best chance to sell as he currently has a starting spot.
HOLD...
Jahream Bula
Wests Tigers - Winger/Fullback (WFB)
Bula has been my favorite NRL debutant this season. He has been great on attack and in defence but until Koroisau and Brooks return from injury, Bula isn’t a starting option at WFB in my opinion. At only 21 years old, he has a bright future in front of him and I would be checking out the Transfer Market (TM) to see if there are any deals that can be made. Bula is a fantastic dynasty option, and I would be trying to acquire his card sooner rather than later as I believe his value will only increase when the Wests Tigers spine returns to full strength.
Will Penisini
Parramatta Eels - Centre (CTR)
Another fullback in the origin arena, Tedesco has been somewhat under whelming this season averaging only 45.8 GDS fantasy points per game and Sundays performance displayed again that Teddy may need a little rest from your GDS team for a few weeks. The Roosters still don’t look like the team we expected and for me, Teddy really is struggling for confidence which is impacting his ability. There is a risk in not playing Teddy each week however this is a risk I believe is worth taking with other WFBs performing exceptionally well on a week-to-week basis including Drinkwater, Isaako, CNK, Marzhew, Edwards, Gutherson.