Will Fifita continue his run of consistent performances? Can Drinkwater return to his 2022 form? Can we start Manu at the moment? There were so many questions coming out of round 6 and some of them were answered in round 7. But let's turn our attention 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. Let us know your thoughts on who we have down below on all of our social channels twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
RISERS
Daly Cherry-Evans – HLF, Sea Eagles (95 points)
DCE was superb in the Sea Eagles win over the Storm. He was able to move the Sea Eagles around the field well and was able to pull off a few big plays when his team was under the pump. I honestly didn’t see this performance from DCE coming as the Sea Eagles have been below par for the last few weeks. Against an in-form Storm outfit, I thought he may struggle. In this match he provided 47 points in base and 45 points in attack. The attacking points came via 5 goals, 1 try assist, 1 line break, 6 tackle breaks and 1 offload. His score of 95 was inflated as he was kicking the goals this week and when Garrick returns to the starting team, I doubt DCE will retain the goal kicking. Even without goals, DCE would have still scored 80 points and this is nothing to shake a stick at. With a season average of 68, DCE may be a contender for your starting team moving forward.
David Fifita – EDG, Titans (63 points)
Who is this David Fifita in 2023! Not the one I recognise from previous seasons, that’s for sure. Consistency is the name of his game this season and this a relief for us fantasy coaches. Averaging 58 points with a season low of 50 and season high of 67, what else can we ask for. The answer is tries as he is yet to dot down for one. Against the Broncos he made a season high 36 tackles and ran for 173 metres, that’s 53 points in base right there. Fifita is a handful for any defence and it’s only a matter of time until we see him go for a rampaging run to score a try and rack up 30+ points in one play. With the ceiling Fifita provides and if his new floor is 50 points, I will be starting him every week. If you don’t have his card yet, I would be doing what I could to acquire one.
Jai Arrow – EDG, Rabbitohs (63 points)
Arrow returned from injury in style as he put in a workhorse performance against the Dolphins. He started the game at prop and scored 63 points in 61 minutes. Arrow scored 52 of his points from running metres and tackles, this is excellent for any EDG. If he continues to start at prop with Tatalo out injured, Arrow may become an option as a starting EDG for your side as he tends to score better while playing in the middle. Before giving him a start in my team, I will want another look at where he continues to play and what minutes he will get.
FALLERS
Joseph Suaali’i – WFB, Roosters (17 points)
Suaali’i has moved from WFB into the CTR for 2023 and this hasn’t been a good thing in fantasy terms. He averages only 31 points a game and has only one score of 40+ points for the season. Suaali’i is one of the NRL’s youngest talents and it’s unfortunate for the NRL that he will be moving to rugby union at the end of 2024. As Suaali’i is not playing as a CTR in GDS, he won’t be going near my starting team anytime soon. If he was to move back to the wing and the Roosters start scoring some points, only then would he be a consideration for my team. Even then, I believe there are far better options at WFB.
Scott Drinkwater – WFB, Cowboys (26 points)
Drinkwater featured in this blog for round 2 but that was because of the suspension he received. This time it is because of his and the Cowboys form. He is only averaging 30 points a game for the season, compared to 47 points in 2022. His production is down in important fantasy scoring categories like run metres, line breaks, tackle breaks and offloads. On top of this, his missed tackle count has increased by one a game. I had him ranked inside my top five WFBs to begin this season and he has now moved outside my top ten. He is a quality footballer and I’m not sure if he down on confidence or if the hit he made on Corey Oates really shook him up. Maybe it’s just the form of the Cowboys. Until Drinkwater can put multiple 45+ point games together, he will remain benched for my team.
Joseph Manu – CTR, Roosters (11 points)
Manu was the top ranked CTR last season and I had him ranked as my top CTR pre season. I’m very surprised that he has made my fallers list but here we are. Playing Manu in your team this season is one of the most frustrating things in fantasy. We all know what he can do but with the Roosters performing as they have over the last couple of weeks, I won’t be starting him until the Roosters return to form. At the moment we are seeing a lot of missed tackles, errors and penalties in his game. All of this works out to a whooping 23 points in demerits per game. Manu is such a quality footballer; he may just flick a switch and his demerits halve and he becomes a 45+ point scorer again. Until I see a bit more consistency, I think he will be benched in my team as there are many more in-form CTRs at the moment.