Buy, Sell, Hold – Round 18

Now that the bye rounds are finally over and our heads can take a break, we can finally cut down our 25 man squad to our final 19-20 players. 

This week I’ll run through the best buys, sells and holds for the run home including SC finals (Rd 21-24). 

HITS

Latrell Mitchell – BUY (93 points and $5k gain)

MISSES

As it was a bye round it’s too early to tell what the misses are. 

DAVID FIFITA – 2RF – $582,200 – BE 79

RATING: 8/10

A definite POD play for the run home but big bad Dave has got his starting spot back after some time on the sidelines and on the bench. Despite the shocking season for the Titans and Fifita not living up to 2021 expectations, he still averages 65 for the season and only has 1-2 tough matchups for the run home. Against his old team in Brisbane, he averages 80 points so there’s every chance he hits his BE this week. With only 6.3% ownership at this stage he’s a great play for your final team. 

JOSEPH TAPINE – 2RF/FRF – $671,700 – BE 52

RATING: 9/10

The man, the myth, the legend Joe Tapine is here again as a buy and how could anyone argue this. Averaging a sweet 84.4 since round 12 and averaging over 60 points in base to top that off. He’s an absolute must and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of slowing the beast down. 

CAMERON MURRAY – 2RF – $582,700 – BE 58

RATING: 8/10

(NOTE: This one was written before Murray’s HIA in Origin III, so one to consider for next week post-recovery). One to go alongside David Fifita as there is only a $500 difference between them, Murray is a base beast and can get the occasional attacking stat. Before the first bye round, Murray was averaging a cool 75.4 points and South’s need their leader now more than ever with the fight for the 8 and their tough run home. 

HARRY GRANT – HOK – $621,300 – BE 96

FONUA POLE – FRF – $175,400 – BE -32

DELOUISE HOETER – CTW – $188,700 – BE -63

MAX KING – 2RF/FRF – $490,400 – BE 42

RATING: 8/10

Max King has time and time again proven he is a quality 3FRF for the run home or at the very least until Luke Thompson comes back into the rotation (which could be as little as next week). For the time being, Kings 5 round average of 63 points is more than good enough to hold in your squad. 

CODY WALKER – 5/8 – $542,500 – BE 24

RATING: 7/10

A stellar performance from Calker in the round that all owners desperately needed it to be in. With an extremely tough finish to the season, this should be the last round to hold Calker in and then flick to a final team 5/8. 

RYAN MATTERSON – 2RF – $677,600 – BE 109

CAMERON MCINNES – 2RF/HOK – $537,400 – BE 62

EZRA MAM – 5/8/HFB – $397,600 – BE 30

WILL PENISINI – CTW – $455,200 – BE 112

Simply put: TIME TO CASH OUT. If you are one of the 43,000 people that own Penisini then it’s time to sell. 

SUITABLE REPLACEMENTS: Shannon Harris, Delouise Hoeter, Joseph Manu

BEST RUNS FOR SC FINALS

1. SHARKS (Dragons-Tigers-Manly-Bulldogs
2. COWBOYS (Bulldogs-Roosters-Warriors-Souths)
3. DRAGONS (Sharks-Raiders-Titans-Tigers)

There are a couple of targets I’d look at for the run home personally:

Ronaldo Mulitalo – CTW – $584,600 – BE 84

Sione Katoa – CTW – $579,800 – BE 79

Scott Drinkwater – FLB/5/8 – $631,800 – BE 78

Valentine Holmes – CTW/FLB – $595,900 – BE 17