NRL $2,000+ Saturday Line-Up
The action this Saturday kicks off with the struggling Panthers taking on the surging Sea Eagles. After losing by 28 points last week, Penrith will be looking to keep their slim finals hopes alive, but will have to overcome a red-hot Manly team who have won their last five games. Saturday night sees two top-eight teams clash as the full-strength Eels attempt to get a win over a depleted Storm outfit.
Here is a team you may consider for the NRL $2,000+ Saturday competition
Front Row Forward
Nathan Brown ($14,150)
Brown has returned to full fitness and it has resulted in some great production for the Eels. Last week he was instrumental in getting the Eels over the line in a tight game against the Bulldogs, making an incredible 246 metres in attack and laying 43 tackles without a single miss in defence. His toughness has given the Eels pack some respectability and his willingness to continually make runs has led to plenty of attacking options later in sets. Coming up against a depleted Storm team, Brown will be tough to contain through the middle of the park.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona ($9,200)
With Tim Glasby out for Origin, Christian Welch and Jordan McLean already missing through injury and Jesse Bromwich struggling with a back concern, plenty of the workload through the middle will fall on Asofa-Solomona’s shoulders. The young forward has shown plenty in his short career and his massive frame makes him tough to get to ground. He will be asked to do plenty of running in attack, which will result in plenty of metres and Draftstars points.
Hooker
Cameron King ($7,850)
King was solid but unspectacular in his first game for the Eels, as he worked hard on defence and provided service out of dummy-half that was solid, but a little slow. He made 31 tackles and missed zero, but contributed next to nothing in attack as he had one run and did very little ball playing. With another week of training under his belt and coming up against an inexperienced Storm team, King should feel more comfortable contributing in attack while building further on his solid defence last week.
Second Row Forward
Felise Kaufusi ($12,100)
Kaufusi has stepped up beautifully in the absence of Origin stars this season with his damaging edge running causing plenty of issues for opposition teams. He’s scored four tries, assisted on three others and made seven line breaks in the past five weeks. His attacking dominance is undisputed at this stage, but his defence is solid as well and he is averaging 34.3 tackles per game. With all the injuries and Origin players that the Storm have, Kaufusi will be asked to do plenty of ball running and will be given every chance to break through the holes in the Eels’ defence.
Jarrad Kennedy ($6,400)
Kennedy has barely played at first-grade level in the past two seasons and was uninfluential in round two when he came off the bench against the Rabbitohs. However with Manly’s back-row injury crisis, Kennedy has been brought into the starting line-up and will likely be playing significant minutes if not the entire game. When he started in the second-row for the Raiders in 2015, he gained 92.7 metres per game and 37.2 tackles. To get that sort of production out of a guy priced at just over $6k would be phenomenal and would free up plenty of cash to improve your line-up elsewhere.
Centre
Tyrone Peachey ($10,750)
After starting the season in the centres, Peachey has found his home as a utility on the bench where his versatility has seen him play a number of roles from the back-row to the outside backs. Injury has seen him return to the starting line-up this week and should see an increase in his scoring. In the first seven rounds Peachey was a metre-eating, tackle breaking machine, averaging 143 metres and 5.8 tackle breaks. He also scored three tries in this time and made six line breaks, which goes to show how damaging his running game can be when he’s given the chance. The Sea Eagles are depleted on the edge and Peachey will be looking to exploit any miscommunication or errors in defence.
Half
Corey Norman ($12,250)
Norman has been solid since his return from injury, but is yet to showcase the brilliant attacking game that made him one of the hottest players at the start of the season. Coming up against an inexperienced Storm side will be the perfect chance for Norman to impose himself on the game, whether it be his running game or his passing and kicking game. His ability to create for his teammates is unquestionable and he reads the game well enough to know when to go himself. He scores best during wins and considering the depth of talent Melbourne are missing, the Eels are deserved favourites and he will likely be playing a huge role if they do end up winning.
Wing/Fullback
Josh Mansour ($14,600)
Even in the loss to the Rabbitohs last week, Mansour still managed to impact the game by scoring a try and running 101 metres. Unlike normal wingers, Mansour is heavily used by the Panthers as a ball runner which allows him to gain massive metres and break plenty of tackles. Manly’s defence on the flanks is probably their only weakness at the moment and Penrith will be looking to Mansour to exploit that.
Tom Trbojevic ($11,550)
After missing a couple of weeks with an ankle injury, Trbojevic has struggled to find form on his return, but that all changed last week as he dominated the Warriors by scoring two tries and assisting on another. His incredible speed means that he will always gain plenty of metres from his kick returns and it also allows him to become a massive threat to break the line as well. The Panthers have struggled defensively and Trbojevic is the man most likely to take advantage of holes and be involved in plenty of scores.
The Line Up
FR-F: Nathan Brown ($14,150)
FR-F: Nelson Asofa-Solomona ($9,200)
HOOK: Cameron King ($7,850)
2R-F: Felise Kaufusi ($12,100)
2R-F: Jarrad Kennedy ($6,400)
C: Tyrone Peachey ($10,750)
HALF: Corey Norman ($12,250)
W/FB: Josh Mansour ($14,600)
W/FB: Tom Trbojevic ($11,550)
Salary Remaining: $500
NRL SCORING SYSTEM
Try Scored = 8 points
Goal = 2 points
Field Goal = 5 points
Try Assist = 5 points
Line Break = 4 points
Line Break Assist = 2 points
Tackle = 1 point
Tackle Break = 3 points
Missed Tackles = -2 points
Offload = 2 points
Run Metres Gained = 0.1 points
Kick Metres Gained = 0.05 points
Error = -2 points
NRL