Draftstars preview: Saturday NRL fixtures

• FINAL WORD: Round 6 trade and tactical advice
• CHAMPION PODS: Unique players to find you an edge

Draftstars is back for Round 6 of the NRL season and with it comes the chance to back your fantasy knowledge to win some cash.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, you can enter competitions for each game for as little as $2 and win major jackpots.

Let’s take a look into today’s fixtures.

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TITANS v DRAGONS

OVERVIEW

This is one of the tougher Draftstars match ups you’ll find. Points could come from absolutely anywhere, and the result is near impossible to predict with two extremely volatile sides going head-to-head.

As a result I’ll be going on the proven workers that boast attacking upside. The winner of the jackpots will require a stack of luck in picking their attacking players.

GUNS

Cameron McInnes

As mentioned above, it’s a volatile contest in both NRL and Draftstars scoring. McInnes is about the only player you can bank on scoring big so he’s worth forking out almost $20k for. His work rate with the increase in ball in play is enormous and he showed last week he’s a big chance at accruing attacking stats when taking advantage of tiring forwards at the back end of each half.

Jai Arrow

The risk with Arrow is that his body can go at any minute with his lingering injuries that he can’t seem to shake. However at $14,400 he’s undervalued for his enormous work ethic provided he gets through big minutes. If uninjured, there’s no reason to give him a rest in a game Justin Holbrook will be absolutely desperate to win.

STARS TO AVOID

Ben Hunt

There’s aren’t too many big money stars in this game so it’s a hard choice. Ben Hunt at $14,590 is an avoid for me as he’s playing off the bench and adapting to his new role at hooker.

VALUE

Matt Dufty

Dufty has shown recently his ability to exploit weaker defensive opposition with ease, and his speed makes him a real beneficiary of the new rules and quicker ruck. If the Dragons turn up and put a score on the Titans he’ll go big.

Brian Kelly

Kelly is an attacking weapon and breaks a stack of tackles. In what is likely to be an extremely open game he will be a strike option for the Titans. I can see him going big in this one with some quality early ball.

COMBINATION

Cameron McInnes and Tyson Frizell/Tyrell Fuimaono

The Titans have been chopping and changing the defensive edges of Bryce Cartwright and Ash Taylor a bit, so I’m not certain which edge Carty starts on. Regardless, I like McInnes to pick up a hard running back-rower for a crash ball at either man that won’t be stopped.

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TIGERS v COWBOYS

OVERVIEW

Unless Jason Taumalolo runs for 600m, which he may, the Tigers should be good enough to win this one in Sydney. Val Holmes and Michael Morgan are out, so it’s hard to see North Queensland putting on many points. I’ll be going heavy on Tigers attacking players and there’s plenty of value about. Keep a close eye on final teams as changes are expected with the likes of Harry Grant and Luciano Leilua in some doubt.

GUNS

Jason Taumalolo

Taumalolo is $17k and I think that’s almost underpriced to be honest. There’s enough value in this fixture that you can afford to pay big for JT.

Luke Brooks

At $4,300 cheaper there’s some temptation to go Josh Reynolds over halves partner Luke Brooks. However such a large amount of attacking play will come through Brooks who will be the catalyst for a Tigers victory should they fire.

STARS TO AVOID

Luciano Leilua

Lucy looked pretty crook leaving the field injured last week and he’s in plenty of doubt for this clash. If he does take the field you’d be worried he might not finish the contest. Even if fit, he’d be the first to get an early shower if the Tigers take a decent lead.

VALUE

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Adam Doueihi

Both fullbacks are priced at $9k and present value. The Hammer is an attacking weapon that is extremely untapped and raw. Doueihi is looking more impressive as each week passes by and he gains more experience as an NRL level fullback. Look for him to throw the last pass for a couple of tries.

Mitchell Dunn

An 80-minute back-rower at under $8,500, nice…

COMBINATION

Harry Grant and Adam Doueihi

For starters, I think there’s value in both Grant or Reece Robson, both are safe plays at their respective prices. Provided Grant does play, I think his running and creative game is set to explode. He’s getting a feel for the NRL and has been fairly conservative in his early games, but with confidence growing I can see him taking on a larger role in attack. Look for him to split the big Cowboys pack through the middle and find a flying Doueihi in support.

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ROOSTERS v EELS

OVERVIEW

This is set up to be a blockbuster clash at Bankwest Stadium. We’re about to find out just how far ahead of the pack the Roosters are, and whether or not the Eels are genuine title contenders. As impressive as the Eels have been, you’d be a fool not to go with the Tri-colours. I’ll be favouring Roosters players, but not without plenty of value added from the Eels.

GUNS

James Tedesco

Pick or risk being left behind… enough said.

Ryan Matterson

Matterson is another of those players tailor made for Draftstars. He’s playing 80 minutes, gets through a mountain of work and has huge attacking upside. At $14,380 he looks almost underpriced for mine.

STARS TO AVOID

Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown

The Roosters defence will be absolutely fired up for this encounter. If the Eels do spring an upset it’ll be a low-scoring affair. As a result it’s hard to see both Moses and Brown justify their price tags. If you are of the belief they can win, Brown looks a better proposition at over $2k cheaper.

VALUE

Daniel Tupou

Somehow Tupou failed to get in on the scoring last week against the Bulldogs. I’ll be adding him to my squad and waiting for Teddy to hit him with a cut ball for a meat pie or two. Even if he doesn’t score he should get through plenty of work and provide a reasonable score.

COMBINATION

Boyd Corner and James Tedesco/Luke Keary

Angus Crichton is flying along with four tries in the past two weeks and thus sees his price at a well justified $15k. With Latrell Mitchell gone, the Roosters are playing more to the right side than they have in the past, but their left edge remains their stronger side. Cordner is back and firing and I can see him running a trademark line, popping to Tedesco who finds Keary backing up through the middle. Cordner is over $2k cheaper than Crichton and is likely to have less ownership.

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Stat	Points value
Try	8
Try-assist	5
Field goal	5
Linebreak	4
Tackle break	3
Goal	2
Linebreak assist	2
Offload	2
Tackle	1
Run metre gained	0.1
Kick metre gained	0.05
Error	-2
Missed tackle	0.05

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