THE HANGOVER: DRAFTSTARS WEEKLY WRAP

With the AFL in the midst of a pre-finals bye (yes, we hate the idea as much as anyone) NRL took centre stage in Australia.

Even the Ashes had a break, with Australia playing a tour match against Derbyshire.

All in all, it was a fairly lean week for sport in Australia in particular. But, Draftstars still found a way to put on an exciting weekend with a heap of cash for the NRL, $6k for EPL Saturday, $1k for NFL preseason and continuing the MLB big 250.

And with one round now left to play in the NRL, the final spot in finals comes down to a matchup between the Tigers and Sharks. The winner will finish eighth. Who will win?

The Sharks could have all but sewn up their spot had they conquered Canberra at the weekend. Instead the fell agonisingly short after leading 12-0 at half time. It came down to an Aidan Sezer field goal with less than two minutes remaining as the Raiders broke Shark hearts.

Standout individual performances were needed in round 24 and standout performances were produced. The Tigers went into their game against the Dragons needing to make up a heap of point difference on the Sharks and knowing only a win would do. Running out 28-point winners was just about as good of a result as they could have hoped for.

The victory was underscored by a mammoth performance from Paul Momirovski who contributed three tries, seven conversions and a cumulative 27 points to the score. He also had 187 run metres and 15 tackles leading him to 96 DS points.

While Momirovski’s performance was the greatest of the round, a 90-point DS output from David Fifita was not far off. He scored a try, had 141 run metres, laid 19 tackles and broke 15 tackles. About half of those 15 came in his match winning run which gave the Broncos ideal field position to bang through a field goal in extra time.

In the EPL, Liverpool maintained their perfect record with a victory over Burnley. City continued to snap at their heels with a thumping victory over Brighton, Arsenal salvaged a point against Tottenham after a 71st minute Aubameyang goal and Chelsea dropped points to Sheffield United.

Draftstars Saturday EPL contest was a cracker as kierscheers came away with a 2.5-point victory and over $750 of prize money.

Sergio Aguero was the top scorer in the contest with 27.9 DS points coming from his two goals. His 14 per cent selection was a result of his enormous $20k pricetag. Jamie Vardy was the pick of the contest. Costing just $13k, Vardy produced 26 DS points from two goals and an assist.

Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham continued a great start to the season, despite his sides indifferent form. He put through both of his sides goals and is the main reason Chelsea salvaged points against Brighton. He scored 24.2 DS points and cost his buyers just under $13k.

The MLB big 250 did not go off as Macca1997 was the top scorer with his 170.45 points falling well short of the 250-point milestone.

Pittsburgh’s Kevin Newman was the top scorer in the contest with 42 DS points. He was only selected by eight per cent of contestants and cost just over $9k. He hit two home runs and helped his side to victory over the Rockies.

Victor Caratini, Cubs catcher, hit two homers of his own, plus a single and snared 35 DS points. The 35 point burst was easily his best of the season and contributed to him being the best value selection in the contest at a price just over $6k.  

The NFL regular season starts this Friday so do not forget to do your research and log a team in the first contest of the year between the Bears and Packers. Do you go with the arguable GOAT, Aaron Rodgers or up and coming superstar, Mitch Trubisky? The Bears defence is a must, but what if Rodgers gets a hold of them? Will Davante Adams dominate from the get go like he did last year?

And a little something to get you excited!

Written by Brin Duggan

By AFL, AFLW, Latest, NFL, NRL