Spy Talk: Deep dive into fullback, halves, CTW positions

G’day People!&nbsp;



Straight into it this week with some specific player analysis of halfbacks, five-eighths, centres and fullbacks.&nbsp;



The reason being?&nbsp;



We have lost Shaun Johnson and Brian To’o long-term and fullback as we know is the position for points, so the combo at the back could well be the difference between winning everything and not!&nbsp;



Before I get into it just remember that if you can field 17 this week then there is no reason to rush a trade.&nbsp;



You can give it a week or more to eye off candidates and save that trade in case a superstar goes down and you use a late trade on a gun fullback to another gun fullback for example rather than To’o to a solid centre who may not normally make your 17.&nbsp;



Essentially it may pay to wait unless you have a great upgrade to make or are short on troops..



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Halfback &amp; five-eighth </h2>



Nathan Cleary (HFB)&nbsp;



The question is do you wait a few weeks and get him back in if money allows?&nbsp;



As per NRL Physio on this week’s SC Playbook podcast, there is a genuine chance he reinjures his shoulder before season’s end. But he could get through okay!&nbsp;



Does his attack regress a little due to the injury? Ideally we will get a look at him first before making a call. He really could be make or break the season!&nbsp;



Personally I’m tempted to wait on him and get him in given my other halves are Sam Walker, Cody Walker and Adam Doueihi who I am happy with. The key will be if he looks anywhere near himself upon return. If not….



Adam Doueihi (5/8)&nbsp;



A 76.6PPG season average BUT when playing in the number 6 jersey he is averaging 83.2 and his last four scores in that position read 80, 154, 141 and 83. An absolute gun, goal kicks and has a run home against the Warriors, Bulldogs, Cowboys, Sharks, Penrith and Bulldogs. It’s nice to cheer home an underdog as well. Let’s get the Tigers into the 8!



Jahrome Hughes (HFB) 



Season average of 75.7 but nearly 87PPG over the last five weeks. It’s hard to go wrong really. It should be noted however that with Melbourne there is always the chance at an early shower or week off. I am every chance to get Hughes if I opt against Cleary…



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Daly-Cherry Evans (HFB)



He is on fire of late although Manly have had an extremely soft draw! Also very expensive but he is in form and four of the last six games are pretty juicy.&nbsp;



He has a season average of 73.8PPG but a five round average of 114.6! He averaged 55PPG up until Round 12. My guess is he may finish around his season average from here on out but he could really go big in some games! Definitely an option and is still PODish.



Cameron Munster (5/8)



A proven and reliable gun. A few mouths to feed so he seems to have reeled in his ceiling. But as solid as they come with the only real risk being the same as Hughes with resting/early spells. I like it but prefer Doueihi at 5/8 personally.



Sam Walker (HFB) and Connor Watson (5-8)



Both have upside and could be very good and are worth a look if you want to go outside of the box and pass on the above guys. Walker is more of a buy from Round 22 onwards because he has Parra and Melbourne the next two weeks. He scored 114 last week (goal-kicking removed) but Teddy took a lot of attack off him, whilst Watson if he starts at lock and plays 65+ minutes could be anything! A genuine option.&nbsp;



Cody Walker – If you don’t own he is an obvious choice but most do…



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Centres</h2>



Centres are pretty wide open given there are no absolute stands out. It will add plenty of variety to SC which can only be a good thing. I find it hard to split them but here are some thoughts on just a few of the candidates!&nbsp;



Also note that some of the below are quite cheap after injury affected scores so if this is the ticket to a superstar then that may be a reason to pull the trigger…



Reuben Garrick – If not owned he is your man unless you want to anti-POD. Averaging 80+PPG for the year though, goal-kicking, decent base and playing outside Turbo during a good run home! Two out of the next three weeks are semi tough though… May or may not score well before almost certainly flying home! This week is also a danger for non-owners…



Josh Addo-Carr – Averaging 65PPG for the year. If you can sit him in the tougher games and play him against Canberra, Titans and Sharks he could go bananas. He’s also a decent play in the other weeks as required. The big one here is that he has big tons in him which can win H2H finals matches! He did score 14 against Canberra earlier in the year but it was cold and slippery and Melbourne were missing Munster, Hughes, Grant and more!



Dane Gagai – Low ownership and has been very good all year! Playing outside Cody Walker on that deadly left edge and has a decent work rate also. Averaging 67.5PPG for the year. Top option!



Daniel Tupou – Definitely underpriced and will do some damage during H2H finals following a tougher two weeks immediately coming up. Despite that he has an insane base for a winger and with Teddy back he is every chance of scoring regardless of the opposition. As an owner I love that nearly every run is +8m. You can generally bank on 40+ and 70-80+ if he can score even one try and he has multiple in him.



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Corey Thompson – The next two weekends in particular look amazing. In fact the run home in general is really good. I like him! Averaged 76PPG to open the season before getting busted. He has come back a little underwhelming from a scoring perspective with a 43 point average but has been a little unlucky and might be getting close to his best again with the Dogs and Cowboys up next. Good games to finish also. POD and Cheap!



Daine Laurie and David Nofoaluma – Averaging 60 and 58 respectively, Laurie could finish strong with a dream run home whilst Nofoaluma will benefit from his switch back to the right edge and playing outside Doueihi who loves a cut-out ball! I like them both a lot!



Bradman Best – If he looks good outside Ponga this weekend he is hard to pass up with his draw and price. Fitness and health are the main issues here so let’s see how he looks upon return. Also price is only relevant if it helps you get a gun elsewhere otherwise don’t take it into account too much.



So there we see my personal selections but there are plenty more including Jordan Rapana (if he stays at fullback when Simonsson returns) and Valentine Holmes if he can return soon at fullback! As I said it is wide open and I can’t name them all. Take your pick.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fullbacks </h2>



Tommy Turbo – Enough said. Please stay healthy, I want to see you play finals footy! (If you could save a trade for a potential Round 25 rest you might be able to flip him to one of the below for a huge finish!).



Ryan Papenhuyzen – If named at fullback and is goal-kicking he is my number two providing he looks more like himself this weekend or next. That’s a big if so don’t go yet! He averaged 117.4 pre-injury..



Kalyn Ponga – The Knights run home is dead set dream like! If he is healthy this weekend and the sternum isn’t worrying him he may well jump Papi into number two for me. He could well come home the best out of everyone with the only real concern his injury rate this season and lack of goal-kicking. Cheap as chips due to a HIA…



James Tedesco – Teddy is back and given the concerns around the above two he may well be my second fullback for the run home. He is still the heartbeat of the Chooks and looks to be running freely with huge involvement.&nbsp;



The only concern is how much of the point scoring he shares with Sam Walker but they can certainly co-exist and Teddy is likely to get the preference in the attack given who he is which didn’t necessarily happen when Sam started out. That shared role and the Chooks seemingly losing players every week might be a small concern. Close watch v Parra this week.



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Latrell Mitchell – Fit and firing Latrell is terrifying and so good to watch. He could honestly score four or five tries on any given arvo if he decided to, especially when Souths are rolling. He shapes as a decent POD play if the above guys can’t get going for reasons noted. On the flip he does have 50-60 in him on the days he isn’t as keen to run the ball and happy to tip on.&nbsp;



The run home is a little mixed but at least three games he could go huge! My only gripe if I owned would be that when his team is cruising he tends to sit back at times whereas the other guys often get hungry and want to get right into it. Not a concern in terms of real NRL but certainly is for Supercoach.&nbsp;



Clint Gutherson &#8211; He can certainly be a hold for owners if trades are running low. A season average of 82PPG is huge and he is goal-kicking while Moses is out. But be warned his run home is very tough, so whilst he may score solidly I feel his ceiling is quite capped in most games.&nbsp;



It’s hard to see him hitting 120-150 like the above guys, although it is possible and I had a dream he crashed over for a hat-trick last night! As an owner I’ll be looking to sell next week I would say..



Key Notes&nbsp;



Adam Doueihi can easily be your second fullback as well if you can’t get him at 5-8, whilst Hynes is a hold for a least this week until we see what happens with the Melbourne rotation. 



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Sum Up </h2>



I hope that helped. It has certainly given me something to think about and it&#8217;s bloody good to see so many options available! Exciting end to the year ahead… Personally I am going to most likely sit on my trades this week and make a better informed decision next weekend because as we know anything can happen but if you need to move now go for gold.

Spy Talk: Deep dive into fullback, halves, CTW positions

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