NRL $10,000 Sharks v Broncos Line-Up

The NRL season returns for 2016, with reigning premiers Cronulla facing perennial contender Brisbane on Thursday night.

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Here is a team you may consider for the NRL $10k+ Friday competition

Front Row Forward

Andrew Fifita ($19,600)

With a big motor capable of big minutes, there is nothing quite like a rampaging Fifita run to rack up fantasy points. Fifita had a ridiculous 107 tackle breaks in 2016, to put this into context Jason Taumalolo was the second best full time forward and he had 71 tackle breaks. With an average of 63 points per game (second-highest in 2016) there’s good reason to pony up the money to purchase Andrew Fifita. With 14 scores over 60 and seven over 70, Fifita could be considered the most consistently explosive player in the game

Paul Gallen ($17,600)

Gallen is probably entering his last season in a career and it would not be an understatement to call him a fantasy god. In the last 10 years he has never finished with a fantasy average of less than 50, which is remarkable stuff. While he may be into the twilight period of his career he’s hardly slowing down with a league-high 175 run metres per game last season. With 30 tackles per game and the ability to break the defensive line he’s one of fantasy’s elite forwards.

Hooker

Jai Arrow ($7,250)

The Broncos are also continuing the transition from the old guard to the new, and as Corey Parker’s possible replacement, Jai Arrow could be one of the breakout stars of 2017. He has a high work rate and more importantly, Arrow started at lock in Round 19 last season when Parker was rested after Origin III. In that game, Jai Arrow scored 52 in 54 minutes that week, including 49 points in tackles and run metres – without any missed tackles or errors. Considering his price tag, it is safe to say that Jai Arrow has the potential to be a Cash Cow.

Second Row Forward

Alex Glenn ($10,150)

The Second Row Forward has to be picked from the Brisbane Broncos seeing that Cronulla have added Jeremy Latimore in the off-season and will have a front row rotation of Fifita, Prior, Latimore, Tagataese and Heighington. If Fifita continues to play 55 minutes (and he should) then that leaves 105 minutes to be split up between those four players, so it is not worth picking a 2RF from Cronulla. Alex Glenn stated last year that he will be interested in playing at lock. Seeing that he wore the he No. 13 jersey for the Broncos under-20s, Wayne Bennett might put him in.

Corey Oates ($10,200)

Corey Oates can play a number of positions and every time his team is in a tight situation, he’s been able to pull something out for them. Moving to Second Row is only going to help his fantasy points and seeing that Second Row is his preferred position – he should be able to rake up the points here.

Centre

James Roberts ($12,800)

Only 10 centres scored more than 40 points per game in 2016 – so Roberts’ 41.2 points a game puts him in elite company already. But the upside for the speedster is that he actually had a fairly quiet season by his standards. After scoring 16 tries in 24 matches for the Titans in 2015 Roberts scored just nine in 25 for Brisbane last year, so the Broncos will be looking to get the best out of Roberts in Round 1.

Half

Kodi Nikorima ($7,400)

Nikorima saw a big jump in minutes last season but he still wasn’t trusted to start a game, even when Andrew McCullough was injured. With news of Ben Hunt leaving the Broncos in 2018, Wayne Bennett will look to increase Kodi Nikorima’s minutes.

Wing/Fullback

Sosaia Feki ($7,900)

Feki has started all 62 of his games in the last three years but he hasn’t seen out the full 80 in 14 of them. This is by far the highest number of less than 80 minute games by a winger, however the good news is that Cronulla cannot afford that sort of luxury this year and Feki will be playing a full game – thus increasing his points.

Tautau Moga ($5,150)

Tautau “the myth” Moga could debut on Thursday, and in the 16 games he played for the Cowboys he had two scores of more than 35, a 40-point effort against the Panthers in 2015 and an 82 point explosion against the Tigers in 2014. Wayne Bennett likes giving youngsters a go from the very start so Moga should come up trumps here.

The Line Up

FR-F: Andrew Fifita ($19,600)

FR-F: Paul Gallen ($17,600)

HOOK: Jai Arrow ($7,250)

2R-5: Alex Glenn ($10,150)

2R-5: Corey Oates ($10,200)

C: James Roberts ($12,800)

HALF: Kodi Nikorima ($7,400)

W/FB: Sosaia Feki ($7,900)

W/FB: Tautau Moga ($5,150)

Salary Remaining: $1,950