With Finucane out for the season, does McInnes become an elite MID option? Can we start King Gutho again this season? With Holmes sidelined due to suspension, is Gagai now the best centre in GDS? There were so many questions coming out of round 23 and some of them were answered in round 24. So, let's turn our attention firmly back to fantasy footy for a second and identify some risers in form and others who should be falling out of favor with all fantasy coaches in our GameDay Squad Rugby League: Round 24 Review. Let us know your thoughts on who we have down below on all of our social channels: twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
RISERS
Drew Hutchinson – HOK, Sydney Roosters (104 points)
Hutchison produced a career game in fantasy as the Roosters kept their season alive with a win against the Dolphins. In this performance he came away with 2 tries, 2-line breaks,12 tackle breaks and 2 offloads on attack, this came to 68 points. He also produced a handy 49 points in base through tackles, run and kick metres. If you selected Hutchison as POD at hooker this week, you are a mastermind and will likely be sitting near the top of the weekly rankings. Hutchison is a very versatile player that can cover many positions for the Roosters.Over the last two rounds the Roosters have had Hutchison starting in the halves. He has played 80 minutes on both occasions and has scores of 37 and 104. If he continues to start in the halves with a hooker designation in GDS, he could be a very smokey POD option for the remainder of the season. With the Eels up next for the Roosters, he may be worth the risk as the Roosters look full of running and it looks likely that the Eels will be without their key playmaker Mitchell Moses.
Cameron McInnes – MID, Cronulla Sharks (89 points)
McInnes has wound back the clock over the last six weeks and has been one of the inform middle forwards in GDS. Against the Titans this week he was able to showcase his attacking game, and this showed coaches that he can be more than just a tackling machine. In this performance he came away with 1 try, 1 line break, 1 line break assist, 6 tackle breaks and 1offload on attack, this came to 37 points. On top of this he produced 62 points in base through tackles and run metres. Since round 19 he has been the best middle forward in GDS and has averaged 66 points across this 6-game sample. Over this sample he has finished as6th, 4th, 2nd 1st, 14th and 1st ranked MID of the round. That is some run of form! In five of these games Dale Finucane has been unavailable, and this has a lot to do with the increased minutes McInnes has been receiving. With Finucane out for the season, McInnes has rocketed up my rankings and is a great option moving forward.
Dane Gagai – CTR, Newcastle Knights (86 points)
Gagai was in fantastic form as the Knights easily got the win against the Bulldogs 42-6. In this performance he came away with 1 try, 2-line breaks, 12 tackle breaks and 2 offloads on attack, this came to 58 points. On top of this he scored 27 points through base stats, this wasn’t great but to be fair he didn’t have to do much defending and had a season low of 8 tackles. This season Gagai has been one of the best and most consistent centres in GDS. The way the Knights are playing at the moment, he is almost an auto pick for my side every week. With the Bunnies up next, he will have a much tougher test on defence which should increase his base stats. However, on attack I’d be surprised if he made 12 tackle breaks andscored over 50 points through attacking stats. He will still be a great starting option, but I think it’s unlikely that he will have a better performance than he did this week.
FALLERS
Clint Gutherson – WFB, Parramatta Eels (6 points)
King Gutho had a game to forget as the Eels were well beaten by the Broncos 54-10. In this performance he only scored 5 points through attacking stats and lost 22 points through missed tackles, errors, and penalties. This was his worst performance of the season and with Mitchell Moses likely to be sidelined for a while, I just don’t see too much upside for Gutho for the remainder of the season. Gutho doesn’t perform too badly without Moses to befair but with the Eels next two games against the Roosters and Panthers, I won’t be starting him. If you think the Eels can still make the finals, Gutho would be POD play for sure, but I believe their season is done.
Jeremy Marshall-King – HOK, Dolphins (12 points)
JMK only played 45 minutes as the Dolphins went down to the Chooks. He aggravated an ongoing shoulder injury and is likely to miss the remainder of the season. This is the injury he has been dealing with since round 14 and he has missed some games because of it. Earlier in the season, JMK was one of the inform hookers in GDS. Up until round 13 he was averaging a solid 48 points but since then he has only averaged 26 points. With the Dolphinsseason over, I don’t see any avenue for JMK to be a starter in my squad. If he is to play again this season, I believe that there are far better options at hooker. However, if you don’t have JMK in your squad and you are looking to add to your depth for the future, this might be the ideal spot to buy low.
Wayde Egan – HOK, New Zealand Warriors (11 points)
Egan was sent from the field in the 22nd minute for a HIA. Egan was caught in the throat areaby the elbow of Utoikamanu while attempting to make a tackle. He passed the HIA assessment but didn’t return to the field as he was sent to the hospital as a precaution. This isn’t the first time this season he has suffered a head knock. He seems to get himself in awkward positions while attempting to make a tackle. This time it was really no fault of his own but he’s starting to get a bit of a reputation for head knocks. First and foremost, no one likes to see anyone miss time away from the game due to a head knock. As fantasy coaches, Egan is a risky option each week given the recent history of head knocks. When he’s on the field for the full 80-minutes, he can be one of the best hookers in GDS. With the number of head knocks he’s sustained this season and Tevaga on the interchange, Egan would be a risky POD option for coaches when they probably have the likes of Grant or Cook to choose from.