2024 Season In Review
Welcome to our inaugural article of 2025, diving deep into Blindside’s 2024 season.
Join us as we dissect each round, exploring the challenges and triumphs we encountered. Analysing our alignment to the game plan, discussing our trades, round-by-round rank updates. Polished with an A-E rating of our performance.
Let's kick off with a lively review of our past season!
Gameplan - Overall
With 17 teams in the competition, each team experiences 3 byes scattered over the course of the season. This results in one team having a bye each week, except for the State of Origin period where multiple teams have a bye during the same round between rounds 13 & 20. Each team bears a schedule of what we will classify as Soft, Fair & Tough. This categorisation is based on the team's performance in the previous season, as well as the players gained and lost during the off-season. Assessing the season's draw and categorising teams accordingly is crucial. This initial blueprint helps determine which players have an easy, medium, or hard start to the season.
Since the Dolphins joined the league in 2023 the weekly byes, minor byes and major byes have significantly influenced the trajectory of your overall team rankings. Ray Warren like emphasis on the minor and major bye rounds over the State of Origin period. In 2023 we were navigating these changes, while in 2024 the Blindside strategy was to conserve trades early, trade aggressively over the minor/major bye period and trade tactically towards the back end of the season. To execute this plan optimally, it’s paramount to invest time and research into constructing your team during the pre-season (we will go balls deep on this later in the article) to minimise the risk of needing early-round trades. After round 8, we developed a bye planner to target non-origin players over the minor and major bye period, ensuring we had the coverage and performance to rapidly climb the rankings. When the dust settles and the season surges towards finals, it’s vital to preserve trades for the inevitable urgency trades due to player injury or performance decline. Targeting players who have shown consistent high performance throughout the year.
Pre-Season Team Construction
Moving on to the construction of our pre-season team, I’d like to begin by echoing a sentiment from Mark at the NRL Fantasy Amateurs, “The easiest way to save trades is to start with the right players” this is as close to a $1.01 odds as it gets. During the pre-season, you have unlimited trades, presenting a prime opportunity to pair your research with this advantage. It’s vital to explore various combinations to field the most well-rounded team for the kick off in round 1.
I encourage you all to side-step into the Game Theory article released by the NRL Fantasy Amateurs . This article delves into the value of different concepts and their adoption, which will significantly improve your performance.
Looking at our team in the image above, we adhere to well-established guidelines to strategically position key players. This approach helps us solidify key areas of the team and minimise the impact of unpredictable scoring fluctuations.
Rule 1
Buy and Captain a Top-Tier player. In the Blindside scenario, we went with the tried and tested chin, Nathan Cleary. It’s crucial to invest big on this player. You get what you pay for.
Rule 2
Buy and Vice Captain an underpriced premium player. Look for a player that has an historical average of 58-60+ and some potential price appreciation. Our choice was Cameron Murray, commonly mistaken for “calamari” because his fantasy scores are so tasty. He was utilised in a slightly different role for the Rabbitohs in 2023, who had a disappointing season. Anticipating a stronger performance from the Rabbitohs in 2024, Murray fits the criteria we are aiming for. We also locked in Harry Grant because we couldn’t pick one over the other. They’re too damn good.
Rule 3
Buy 5-6 cut-price keepers, such as players returning from injury or those who had an uncharacteristically underwhelming season. Blindside will go on record advising, WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THAT YOU CONSIDER ALLOCATING 1-2 OF THESE SELECTIONS TO HIGH UPSIDE/LOW OWNERSHIP PLAYERS. Commonly referred to as “PODs” or “Point Of Difference” players. This strategy deviates from traditional team selection methods, as PODs are considered high risk/high reward options. However, we advocate for this approach with your cut-price keepers because even if a cut-priced keeper POD underperforms, they still retain significant dollar value in your squad. This acts as a buffer allowing you to pivot early to a better option if your POD choice fails. Significantly mitigating your risk when compared to buying a POD anywhere else in your squad. Why are PODs considered risky? I’m glad you asked, PODs are considered risky because if they underperform, only a few coaches bear the consequences. However, if they excel, you gain a strong high-upside, low-ownership alternative that sets you apart from other coaches. Blindside went with Tommy Turbo, Jacob Kiraz, Ryan Big Papa-nhuyzen, Cameron “Tackle Bot” McInnes, Reuben Cotter & Heilum Luki
Rule 4
Stack your pack with a farm of highly-owned cash cows. A cash cow is a player priced under $450k who is poised for significant price increases. These players are essential if you aim to remain competitive throughout the season. Cash cows come in a vast variety of forms: The Hereford - A rookie priced at $300k or less, getting their first real taste of NRL action. The Brahman - A toiler who has moved to a new club and is expected to take on more responsibility. The Angus - A potential superstar in the making just waiting to fill your squad with value and the coach with pride. Blindside went with Sitili Tupouniua, Brendan Piakura, Siua Wong, Drew Hutchinson, Ethan Strange, Benny Burbo, Kyle Flanagan, Keano Kini, Nick Cotric, Danny Levi, Sam Hughes & “The Atlantic” Jaemon Salmon.
Rule 5
Ensure your bench players provide positional coverage for your starting squad, and include as many dual-position players in your lineup as possible without compromising your team's structure. This is a very overlooked aspect of NRL Fantasy for the casual player and has the potential to derail your gameplan in just one round. It doesn’t matter how much research you do or how confident your are in your team, there’s always events that occur which are completely out of a coaches control. Read that sentence again. Secure players on your bench that play in positions that cover every starting position on the field, that’s Hooker (HOK), Middle (MID), Edge (EDG), Halves (HLF), Centre (CTR) & Winger/Fullback (WFB). I have been a victim of the intrigue to go rogue aswell and trust me when I say, curiosity killed the cat. It only takes an injury, a suspension or a line up adjustment to go from saving trades to spending them. This is why dual-position players are invaluable; they provide coverage for two positions and can be a lifesaver when trouble comes knocking.
Round 1 Review
Overall Rank - 68910
Summary
Round 1 was a challenging start for many competitive fantasy teams, with most struggling to break into the top 70,000. While the Vegas games provided thrilling back-and-forth action, the rest of the round was tarnished by errors, injuries, and lopsided scores. Such occurrences are not uncommon in the opening round, as teams are still finding their rhythm and establishing new combinations. Despite the challenges, we were fortunate in several key areas where other coaches weren’t and because of our positional coverage we were able to save both trades for the week whilst plenty of other coaches had to spend them.
Challenges & Triumphs
When evaluating our players, we encountered a few unfortunate scores, some due to uncontrollable circumstances, while others were possibly a result of flawed analysis. Fortunately, our commitment to Rule 5 prevented us from taking these setbacks in a manner that would force us to stray from our game plan in Round 2. We remained steadfast with our squad, hoping for a stronger performance in the upcoming round.
Grant, Cleary, McInnes, Cotter, Papenhuyzen & Tupouniua all scored at their floor with Tupouniua actually taken off early because of an injury which seen his score stagnate after 43 minutes. The real disappointments were Piakura (failed HIA after 5 minutes), Kini (No attack in a big loss), Kiraz (moved to wing after an injury), Salmon (moved to centre after an injury). Outside of those obvious poor scores, all our cash cows at least passed their breakeven for the week. Turbo, Burbo, Murray, Wong & Luki posted strong scores and there was no urgent trade out candidates for Round 2.
Trades
Although we aren’t making any trades this round, we have our eyes on a few players: Kai Pearce-Paul, Freddy Lussick, Jonah Pezet, Joey Lussick, Jacob Liddle, Tyrell May & Lachlan Galvin.
Wrap Up
Although there were plenty more lows than highs and we are stuck in the rate race of a middle table ranking, our pre-season preparation protected any variation from our gameplan. We were able to use zero trades and gain an upper hand for later in the season.
Available Salary - $54k
Score - 681
Rating - C-
Round 2 Review
Overall Rank - 57381
Summary
Round 2 brought a significant improvement for Blindside, propelling us up the ranks by 11,529 places without utilising any trades. The matches largely unfolded as anticipated, with the exception of the Dolphins vs Dragons game. Overall, the outcomes were favourable for our fantasy prospects, with a hint of challenge. While there were some rebound performances and a few disappointing scores, they haven't deterred us from our strategic approach. We plan to make a couple of trades this week to further strengthen our position.
Challenges & Triumphs
We have some scores that raise our eyebrows, some that have us scratching our head and others that signal a need for change.
Cotter, Strange, Papenhuyzen and Piakura put up bumper scores which will start pushing their price up strongly even if they have a couple of slower games.
Wong, Burbo, Turbo, Levi, Salmon & Hughes didn’t perform as strongly. However, their performance in round 1 against their breakevens still seen them rise in value. We will likely see this continue with some levelling out their prices over the next few rounds. Wong may pose as a trade option if he is dropped for Angus Crichton.
Flanagan, Hutchinson & Murray have stabilised. Murray is a strong hold for the foreseeable future, but Flanagan and Hutchinson may become potential trade-out options in the coming weeks if their scoring doesn’t elevate their value.
Grant, McInnes, Cleary & Kiraz have now posted back-to-back floor scores, which is a significant concern. Cleary and Grant are less worrying, and we will monitor them until their respective byes in Rounds 6 and 4 before considering any potential pivots. However, McInnes and Kiraz face substantial obstacles hindering their ability to score higher. McInnes has been impacted by a four-forward bench rotation, leading to reduced minutes, while Kiraz is affected by negative scoring in a struggling Bulldogs side. With byes in Round 5 and 8 respectively, there is still hope for improvement, but if their performance doesn't improve, we will consider moving them on during their bye rounds.
Cotric & Kini (DNP and bye) are chances to start this week and are holds until they’re pushed back out of the team again.
The big problems are Luki (syndesmosis injury requiring surgery) & Tupouniua (losing value and at risk of losing his role to Angus Crichton).
Trades
Luki is out long term and is a definite trade out this round. Although we could hold Tupouniua/Wong for one more week, we don’t have the spare salary cap aside to make our aggressive trades over origin. Therefore, we are pulling the pin on either Tupouniua or Wong as well and hoping our assessment of their future in the Roosters side is correct. This move will also provide a significant increase to our spare cap in preparation for our pivot to aggressive trading for the origin period. We plan on making 0-1 trade in round 3 with our interest on: Jamal Fogarty, Nicho Hynes, Jayden Campbell, Terrell May, Kai Pearce-Paul, Joseph Tapine, Lachlan Galvin, Jack Cogger, Euan Aitken, Jack De Belin.
Luki > Finefeuiaki
Tupouniua/Wong > Lussick
Wrap Up
A far better week than round 1 and some sighs of relief for our guns. Would love to get more out of the cash cows in the next few weeks and restrict trades to 0 or 1 per round up to round 5. You never know what’s around the corner, but 2 rounds in and the game plan is coming along nicely. 2 trades ahead of the curve.
Available Salary - 214k
Score - 759
Rating - B-
Round 3 Review
Overall Rank - 27067
Summary
Round 3 marked another consecutive success for Blindside, as we climbed another 30,314 positions in rank. Five games followed the trajectory we predicted. However, the Tigers vs Sharks, Eels vs Sea Eagles, and Knights vs Storm matches flipped the script, resulting in some very unpredictable fantasy scores. Overall, the outcomes were highly satisfying from a Blindside perspective, with several players emerging as potential trade-in candidates over the origin period. Despite a few disappointing scores, we can't complain, having scored our highest round total for the year so far. Injuries however is another story and Round 4 is shaping up to be the most chaotic Round in Blindside fantasy history.
Challenges & Triumphs
Grant, Cleary, and Kiraz delivered their highest scores of the season so far. Like many coaches, we captained Cleary and reaped the rewards. Unfortunately, his injury spells trade for Blindside and we will be without Cleary for the foreseeable future. Other notable mentions with strong scores include McInnes, Murray, and Papenhuyzen, all surpassing 50 points. Paying close attention to McInnes, the Sharks lost three forwards in their match against the Tigers, and we anticipate a sharp increase in his minutes until their return. This is likely to result in stronger scoring for McInnes. While we wouldn't advise trading him in so close to his Round 5 bye, coaches who have him can smile at their Point of Difference (POD).
Some of our other players came close to the 50-point mark, such as Tommy Turbo and Kyle Flanagan. Turbo has been just shy of a massive score for the third week in a row. He’s also our captain this week and hoping for a Turbo Ton against the Dragons.
Most of our cash cows exceeded their breakevens and are set for more price rises this week: Flanagan, Hutchinson, Strange, Burbo, Finefeuiaki, Salmon, Levi, Cotric, and Hughes. However, while some players beat their breakevens, not all scored well in Round 3. They'll need a strong performance in their next game to push their prices in the right direction again.
Kini and Cotric are our main concerns heading into Round 4. Kini is unlikely to be named again with the return of Jayden Campbell very likely, and for Cotric, following the Round 2 Ricky Stuart Recipe, we are likely to see him dropped for the return of Seb Kris. We are hopeful that at least one of them will get another shot this week, but it’s unlikely.
Newly traded-in Lussick posted a poor score, but in a non-fantasy-friendly game, there’s no cause for concern. Cotter is a Team List Tuesday (TLT) watch after being taken off the field late in the game due to what looks to be a high ankle sprain. We advise against trading Cotter, as these injuries usually have a very short return-to-play timeframe, and it’s very likely he will be named in Round 4.
Piakura (possibly injured for up to 4 weeks) and Tupouniua aren’t performing ideally, but they also aren’t urgent trade-out candidates, as there are more concerning issues to address in other areas. We will continue to hold them and hope for solid performances in Round 4.
Trades
As predicted, Round 4 is a week from Fantasy hell with 10+ fantasy relevant options sidelined. Some for short periods and others for a substantial length of time. We are sticking with our trade Cleary strategy and with Cotric & Kini both not named, we have chosen Kini to be our second trade. Fortunately for Blindside, we can field 17 with our trades this week. Unfortunately for other coaches, the same cannot be said. This will hopefully lead to a substantial increase in ranks yet again. The decision to move Cleary on has also generated a significant spare cap influx and we will use this cash systematically over the next few rounds targeting no origin plays with a favourable bye schedule. Players of interest for future trade include: Jamal Fogarty, Nicho Hynes, Kalyn Ponga, Terrell May, Kai Pearce-Paul, Joseph Tapine, Jack Cogger, Euan Aitken, Jack De Belin, Taylan May, Pat Carrigan, Hudson Young, Beau Fermor, Api Koroisau, Daly Cherry-Evans, Bradman Best, Shawn Blore, Reuben Garrick, Briton Nikora, Nat Butcher & Stephen Crichton
Kini > Galvin
Cleary > Campbell
Wrap Up
A great week in Round 3. Scoring our highest score so far this season and jumping up significantly in the rankings. We are confident in our position moving forward holding a significant surplus in our spare salary. We are also confident in Round 4 as many teams are struggling to field a full team which will likely result in more rank increase for Blindside again.
Available Salary - $636k
Score - 793
Rating - B-
Round 4 Review
Overall Rank - 37968
Summary
What a yuck week for fantasy footy. With Storm on a bye and several key players targeted by the injury plague, many fantasy teams struggled to field a complete lineup. Most teams getting 17 green dots, but many others not able to field a full side. It was very harsh for Blindside for numerous reasons, but a general summary is we broke tradition, captained Turbo and ate some humble pie. Another lesson learned in 2024 - DO NOT CAPTAIN PLAYERS WEARING JERSEYS 1 - 5 put that on your wall and read it before and after every round.
Challenges & Triumphs
Storm bye meant we had no Grant or Papenhuyzen and due to some Ricky Stuart trickery and the return of Jayden Campbell at the Titans, we were left needing to fill a WFB spot for one of our trades. Which is why you see Campbell in the WFB spot.
Amongst the injury toll was our set & forget captain option of Nathan Cleary who suffered a hamstring strain and was not due back until Round 7 after their bye. So we made the choice to move him on aswell so we didn’t have near $1m of our playing salary sitting on the sidelines laughing at our score.
You might be thinking, that’s rough but not too bad… but then you’ll see we had no Cotric because Ricky Stuart hates all fantasy coaches. As well as Piakura deciding to play ballerina at training and spraining his ankle. Thankfully, we brought in Galvin for some cash generation and could field 17.
Moving through to the playing group of the round - Lussick found himself with shared duties which led to a restricted minute, 22 point performance.
McInnes and Murray scored brilliantly with a highlight on McInness who played 80 minutes amongst an inexperienced forward pack.
Cotter underwhelming and taken off with 5 minutes to go in his game after suffering a high ankle sprain.
Finefeuiaki & Tupouniua doing low level things. Finefeuiaki wasn’t too bad because he still beat his breakeven. However, Tupouniua scored a try in a 60 minute performance and barely beat 30. Goes without saying, he is being traded this week.
Flanagan & Galvin posted respectable scores and made us some money. Galvin was sent to the sin bin and received a 2 match ban for a hip drop tackle which didn’t help us much.
Strange with another great score and making us good value. Burbo had Blindside ready to put a remote through the TV and as a result, he’s on the chopping block for Round 5, now that he’s not making anymore money.
Campbell underwhelming, but half expected in his return to first grade after injury. Kiraz was the victim again of an Addo-Carr mid game HIA and shifted out to the wing where he historically scores less. Then the absolutely terrible decision to chase upside in a player that can score low… Tommy Turbo. Now, as alluded to in our Summary - This is a massive NO for the future and anybody else who thinks to captain a 1-5 player. Fullbacks have typical scoring of high ceiling & low floor. This means your fullback is heavily reliant on attacking stats to post a strong score. Even though the stars seemed aligned with an inform Sea Eagles versing a volatile Dragons team, they weren’t. We paid the price in a big way, sacrificing near 70 points by moving the captaincy off McInnes and onto Turbo. Turbo is now on the Blindside captain ban list and he will never get the captaincy again.
Our bench - Salmon and Hughes severely underwhelming, but not urgent trades. So we will hold at least one more week. Levi has been a try scoring machine and just keeps making Blindside cash. Hutchinson has a couple of rounds left in him as long as he keeps scoring mid to high 30s.
Trades
Burbo needed a 30+ to keep his breakeven under his average and due to the fact he’s slowly losing minutes each game and not very prevalent in attack, we think he’s just about hit his price rise limit. Tupouniua has been held for 4 dates and has basically floated on his starting price. In this Round 4 Roosters vs Panthers game, we noticed the huge spike in Roosters performance when Angus Crichton come onto the field in the last 20 minutes and we are predicting he takes on more minutes and likely swaps roles with Tupouniua which means he’s no longer of value to our squad.
B.Trbojevic > Terrell May
Tupouniua > D.Brown
Wrap Up
A poor week with not much going our way. We lost ranks in a week where we should have made them and it’s time to pull the trigger on some of our spare cap to bring in some cut priced guns not playing origin.
Available Salary - 72k
Score - 645
Rating - D-
Round 5 Review
Overall Rank - 30515
Summary
A far better week for Blindside, although it was a horrible week for injuries again affecting lots of coaches. We were able to jump back 7453 ranks. The round started smoothly with a great back and forth thriller between Storm & Broncos… then come the mayhem in the second game with Roosters & Bulldogs. If you’re following us on Instagram, you would have seen the inundation of story posts related to player injuries. Thankfully, we some how side-stepped the problems and alot of the injuries that occurred will actually serve to benefit our playing group in Round 6.
Challenges & Triumphs
Sharks bye meant we had no McInnes this week. Due to the after shock of the Galvin hip-drop and our decision to hold Piakura, we were also short 2 more players on our emergency. Let’s not forget to mention the real “Weak Gutted Dog” Ricky Stuart, stitched us up again with no Cotric. So we head into Round 5 with only 17 which is enough to push through… but we will consider moving on from Cotric in Round 6.
Moving through to the playing group of the round - Grant put out a bumper score and was actually ripped off 2 try assists which would have seen him score higher. Long story short, we have contacted the NRL Fantasy directly in an attempt to have the try assist ruling updated. Outside of that, we were still very happy with the score.
May and Murray were underwhelming. With May somehow only getting 20 minutes in a game where Roosters could barely keep their side in one piece. This is very concerning to us, but we will watch another week and hope for a back to standard performance for May. Murray is likely to appear in the origin team and with a bye in Round 7, we will hold him until then and move him out for a cut-priced keeper, playing over origin.
Cotter bounced back with a 56 and showed no concerns over the ankle sprain suffered in Round 4.
Finefeuiaki & Salmon scored poorly, but both are holds for Round 6. Finefeuiaki has about 1-2 rounds left before he peaks in value and we look to move him on. Salmon may be the beneficiary of increased game time with all the injuries at the Bulldogs and is a hold until further notice.
Brown was underwhelming as our captain, but scored reasonably well considering the whitewash the Eels found themselves in against the Raiders.
Flanagan will start to plateau this round and it will be between him and Hutchinson as one of our trade outs this week.
Strange with back-to-back strong scores and making some serious profit in a hard to fill centre position. Kiraz with another floor, but it’s part of his game. We will continue to hold at least until the end of the origin period.
Campbell with a massive score, boosted by a try. Turbo with a bounce back to form. Campbell will see his price surge for a few rounds and he is shaping as a huge POD benefit to Blindside.
Papenhuyzen with a floor score, but not something that concerns us. He is a season hold unless we see these string together over a few games.
Our bench - Holding huge turned out to be a great play for Blindside, scoring his highest game of the year and likely to see increased minutes with injuries at the Bulldogs. We will hold a few more rounds at least. Hutchinson hit below what we needed and is a toss up for trade out this week. Levi is a robot, scoring another try to save his score and make us more money. Lussick bounced back without Hands on the bench and he’s a hold until we see more hooker cover in the way.
Trades
We are thinking Hutchinson over Flanagan, but probably both here is the way to go. Hutchinson playing with the Bulldogs who have just sustained tremendous damage to their playing roster, we see them posing even less attacking prowess than they have been which will limit Hutchinson’s scoring ability. Where as Flanagan has a breakeven of 29 and an average of 34. We think Flanno presents more upside as a hold playing in a non-injury impacted side. It’s a risk, but either way we don’t lose much and we’ve gained what we expected from both.
Hutchinson > A.Crichton
Flanagan > Iro
Wrap Up
A better week for Blindside and a lot going our way for the future prospects of our current squad. In the interest of staying aligned to our gameplan, we are looking to make 2 trades again this week which keeps us 2 trades ahead of the curve. We will also start bye planning from Round 7 and only trading when needed for cut-priced, non-origin players to make us money and ranks over the major/minor bye period.
Available Salary - 304k
Score - 751
Rating - C+
Round 6 Review
Overall Rank - 23696
Summary
Blindside has had another fantastic week in Round 6, achieving back-to-back successes by leaping an impressive 6819 ranks. The round kicked off on a high note with top-performing players with fantasy relevance from the Storm and Roosters, contributing significantly to our fantasy points. Our strategic use of POD players paid off, helping us surge ahead in positions where other coaches faced challenges. Despite encountering a few injuries and low-scoring players, we maintained a strong position throughout the week, ultimately achieving our highest score and rank of the year.
Challenges & Triumphs
Panthers had the bye this week and we had no Panthers players after moving on the injured Cleary in Round 4. The only players we had with a red dot was Piakura who is due back in Round 8 and Galvin serving the last week of his suspension. Considering the Tigers were playing the latest game, we strategically used Galvin as our loop to bring in the score of 32 from Hughes. This turned out to be the worst score of the 3 options, but we set an expectation of 30 as our acceptable score expectation and decided to stay with Hughes.
Moving through to the playing group of the round - Grant, McInnes (captain) & Cotter put out an above average score which was great news for us. Murray was scoring strongly until a failed HIA kept him out of the game for the second half. With his bye in Round 7, a high breakeven presumed for Round 8 and likely origin selection he stands as a strong trade out candidate for Round 7.
Crichton once again scored impressively and is shaping up to be a potential cut-priced keeper of the year. Salmon scored well above his average and is set to make us more money over the next few rounds. Brown continues his alternating floor and ceiling performances in the absence of Moses and scored highly for us this round. Partnered in the halves with Strange, who also exceeded expectations and secured us a strong score.
Iro retained his spot in the centres for a second week and achieved another bumper score, pushing his price into the $300k bracket. Kiraz finally had an up game, giving us a big score as well. There are concerns with Kiraz potentially moving to the wing in future rounds, but we aim to hold him all the way through Origin.
Campbell injured his knee and looks likely for a substantial stint on the sidelines, spelling a trade for Blindside. Papenhuyzen and Turbo continue to hit respectable scores but aren’t reaching the heights we expected them to this year. Turbo is a likely sell closer to Origin with his likely selection, but Papenhuyzen will be a season-long hold unless there is a major change to his scoring.
On our bench, May had a massive game and continues to reward coaches who selected him. Lussick, without a hooker on the Eels bench, produced another above-average score. Levi was very underwhelming and is on the chopping block this week as well.
Among our emergencies, Hughes and Finefeuiaki aren’t scoring strongly, but they’re still making money, so we will continue to hold until they plateau in price rises. Flanagan scored great for his last likely value rise of the year, so we will hold him for one more week and then look to pivot him to a cut-priced, non-Origin keeper.
Trades
This week, we're faced with some clear trade contenders. Despite our usual strategy of saving trades until Origin, the current fantasy landscape is presenting numerous challenges. Therefore, we've decided to make our push for non-Origin players earlier than expected. As a result, we'll be using all three trades this round.
Murray, Campbell & Levi are all getting the punt and we are going to dip a little into our spare cap and buy a strong captaincy POD, a high risk low valued POD & a reliable cash cow. All of which don’t play origin. If you’d like to know more about why we picked each of these players, head to our Instagram post “Round 7 - Buys/Sells/Holds” for a more in-depth look in the caption.
Murray > Johnson
Levi > Foran
Campbell > Chester
Wrap Up
A very profitable week for Blindside across the board. With an intentional early pivot to the next phase of our strategy, we will be starting to lock up some cut-priced, non-origin players all the way up until the first major bye in Round 13. Bye planning starts now!!!
Available Salary - 118k
Score - 875
Rating - B+
Round 7 Review
Overall Rank - 22400
Summary
Blindside's performance in Round 7 was steady, resulting in a modest climb of 1296 ranks. Despite not achieving standout scores, some strategic decisions loom as the Origin bye rounds approach. Initially, our strategy was to conserve trades until the Origin period, but the season's developments have forced our hand. To remain faithful to our original plan, we must now execute the next phase: swapping out Origin players for undervalued non-Origin players. It's crucial to limit trades during the Origin period while maintaining our competitive edge.
Challenges & Triumphs
Panthers had the bye this week and we had no Panthers players after moving on the injured Cleary in Round 4. The only players we had with a red dot was Piakura who is due back in Round 8 and Galvin serving the last week of his suspension. Considering the Tigers were playing the latest game, we strategically used Galvin as our loop to bring in the score of 32 from Hughes. This turned out to be the worst score of the 3 options, but we set an expectation of 30 as our acceptable score expectation and decided to stay with Hughes.
Moving through to the playing group of the round - Grant, McInnes (captain) & Cotter put out an above average score which was great news for us. Murray was scoring strongly until a failed HIA kept him out of the game for the second half. With his bye in Round 7, a high breakeven presumed for Round 8 and likely origin selection he stands as a strong trade out candidate for Round 7.
Crichton once again scored impressively and is shaping up to be a potential cut-priced keeper of the year. Salmon scored well above his average and is set to make us more money over the next few rounds. Brown continues his alternating floor and ceiling performances in the absence of Moses and scored highly for us this round. Partnered in the halves with Strange, who also exceeded expectations and secured us a strong score.
Iro retained his spot in the centres for a second week and achieved another bumper score, pushing his price into the $300k bracket. Kiraz finally had an up game, giving us a big score as well. There are concerns with Kiraz potentially moving to the wing in future rounds, but we aim to hold him all the way through Origin.
Campbell injured his knee and looks likely for a substantial stint on the sidelines, spelling a trade for Blindside. Papenhuyzen and Turbo continue to hit respectable scores but aren’t reaching the heights we expected them to this year. Turbo is a likely sell closer to Origin with his likely selection, but Papenhuyzen will be a season-long hold unless there is a major change to his scoring.
On our bench, May had a massive game and continues to reward coaches who selected him. Lussick, without a hooker on the Eels bench, produced another above-average score. Levi was very underwhelming and is on the chopping block this week as well.
Among our emergencies, Hughes and Finefeuiaki aren’t scoring strongly, but they’re still making money, so we will continue to hold until they plateau in price rises. Flanagan scored great for his last likely value rise of the year, so we will hold him for one more week and then look to pivot him to a cut-priced, non-Origin keeper.
Trades
This week, we're faced with some clear trade contenders. Despite our usual strategy of saving trades until Origin, the current fantasy landscape is presenting numerous challenges. Therefore, we've decided to make our push for non-Origin players earlier than expected. As a result, we'll be using all three trades this round.
Murray, Campbell & Levi are all getting the punt and we are going to dip a little into our spare cap and buy a strong captaincy POD, a high risk low valued POD & a reliable cash cow. All of which don’t play origin. If you’d like to know more about why we picked each of these players, head to our Instagram post “Round 7 - Buys/Sells/Holds” for a more in-depth look in the caption.
McInnes > Hynes
Lussick > Weekes
Flanagan > Waddell
Wrap Up
Our first batch of cut-priced keepers has been introduced and we will systematically acquire more up until Round 13. We are expecting a big week in Round 8 with the big C on Hynes and predicting him to be the first fantasy ton of the season.
Available Salary - 159k
Score - 754
Rating - C+
Round 8 Review
Overall Rank -
Summary
Blindside's performance in Round 7 was steady, resulting in a modest climb of 1296 ranks. Despite not achieving standout scores, some strategic decisions loom as the Origin bye rounds approach. Initially, our strategy was to conserve trades until the Origin period, but the season's developments have forced our hand. To remain faithful to our original plan, we must now execute the next phase: swapping out Origin players for undervalued non-Origin players. It's crucial to limit trades during the Origin period while maintaining our competitive edge.
Challenges & Triumphs
Panthers had the bye this week and we had no Panthers players after moving on the injured Cleary in Round 4. The only players we had with a red dot was Piakura who is due back in Round 8 and Galvin serving the last week of his suspension. Considering the Tigers were playing the latest game, we strategically used Galvin as our loop to bring in the score of 32 from Hughes. This turned out to be the worst score of the 3 options, but we set an expectation of 30 as our acceptable score expectation and decided to stay with Hughes.
Moving through to the playing group of the round - Grant, McInnes (captain) & Cotter put out an above average score which was great news for us. Murray was scoring strongly until a failed HIA kept him out of the game for the second half. With his bye in Round 7, a high breakeven presumed for Round 8 and likely origin selection he stands as a strong trade out candidate for Round 7.
Crichton once again scored impressively and is shaping up to be a potential cut-priced keeper of the year. Salmon scored well above his average and is set to make us more money over the next few rounds. Brown continues his alternating floor and ceiling performances in the absence of Moses and scored highly for us this round. Partnered in the halves with Strange, who also exceeded expectations and secured us a strong score.
Iro retained his spot in the centres for a second week and achieved another bumper score, pushing his price into the $300k bracket. Kiraz finally had an up game, giving us a big score as well. There are concerns with Kiraz potentially moving to the wing in future rounds, but we aim to hold him all the way through Origin.
Campbell injured his knee and looks likely for a substantial stint on the sidelines, spelling a trade for Blindside. Papenhuyzen and Turbo continue to hit respectable scores but aren’t reaching the heights we expected them to this year. Turbo is a likely sell closer to Origin with his likely selection, but Papenhuyzen will be a season-long hold unless there is a major change to his scoring.
On our bench, May had a massive game and continues to reward coaches who selected him. Lussick, without a hooker on the Eels bench, produced another above-average score. Levi was very underwhelming and is on the chopping block this week as well.
Among our emergencies, Hughes and Finefeuiaki aren’t scoring strongly, but they’re still making money, so we will continue to hold until they plateau in price rises. Flanagan scored great for his last likely value rise of the year, so we will hold him for one more week and then look to pivot him to a cut-priced, non-Origin keeper.
Trades
This week, we're faced with some clear trade contenders. Despite our usual strategy of saving trades until Origin, the current fantasy landscape is presenting numerous challenges. Therefore, we've decided to make our push for non-Origin players earlier than expected. As a result, we'll be using all three trades this round.
Murray, Campbell & Levi are all getting the punt and we are going to dip a little into our spare cap and buy a strong captaincy POD, a high risk low valued POD & a reliable cash cow. All of which don’t play origin. If you’d like to know more about why we picked each of these players, head to our Instagram post “Round 7 - Buys/Sells/Holds” for a more in-depth look in the caption.
McInnes > Hynes
Lussick > Weekes
Flanagan > Waddell
Wrap Up
Our first batch of cut-priced keepers has been introduced and we will systematically acquire more up until Round 13. We are expecting a big week in Round 8 with the big C on Hynes and predicting him to be the first fantasy ton of the season.
Available Salary - 159k
Score - 754
Rating - C+