Cheapie ChitChat – R4

Our first price rise is finally here and so many cheapies have delivered the goods. With a few more cheapies also hitting the market, decisions a few tough decisions need to be made. Let’s chat about who has made the cut and who hasn’t.

IZACK TAGO

2RF / CTW – STARTING PRICE $287,900 – OWNERSHIP 67% – AVG 73.7 – RATING 9/10 – VALUE CHANGE $96,200 – BE -28

Punched out a massive 94 to give us owners a nice pay day. Tago is now the 2nd best averaging CTW out of those who have played 3 games so he’ll be a keeper. The issue with Tago is that every one has his and every one should be planning on keeping him so his value is almost irrelevant. It is not too late to get him in but I wouldn’t too long or you’ll be paying a premium for him.

JOSH KING

FRF – STARTING PRICE $255,800 – OWNERSHIP 28% – AVG 59 – RATING 8/10 – VALUE CHANGE $71,100 – BE -32

The better of the two Kings, he scored 85 this week and surprised a lot of coaches who still don’t own him. He won’t always be getting 24 points in one play every week however he is still worth looking at if you don’t already own him. He still has a -32 breakeven and his 85 will stay in his rolling average for the next few weeks so he will still make a stack of cash. If he averages just 50, he will still make us another $150K in next to no time. Kept his starting position which is great news however just watch how his minutes are impacted with Brandon Smith on the bench.

MAX KING

FRF – STARTING PRICE $188,700 – OWNERSHIP 46% – AVG 48 – RATING 7/10 – VALUE CHANGE $62,400 – BE -9

Only scored 38 for us this week playing 10 less minutes however still made us a tidy $62K. His first round 55 has left his rolling average so his growth will start to slow down if he doesn’t get his minutes back and punch out scores of 45+. The injury to Hetherington should free up some time in the middle due as Waddell started at prop with Thompson on the bench. Still worth holding until after the first bye round and again it is not too late to get him in.

LEO THOMPSON

FRF – STARTING PRICE $175,400 – OWNERSHIP 9% – AVG 32.3 – RATING 5/10 – VALUE CHANGE $30,600 – BE -16

He made owners a cool $30k and still has a negative breakeven so worth holding onto for at least the next few weeks anyway. How will his minutes vary with no Barnett out? Brodie Jones is back but unlikely he plays 80 minutes so hopefully Thompson benefits from this. Expect to bank another $100K while we wait and see.

BRAD SCHNEIDER

HFB – STARTING PRICE $188,700 – OWNERSHIP 38% – AVG 62 – RATING 7/10 – EXPECTED INCREASE $70K – BE -64

Punched out a 79 last week and rewarded all those coaches who played him. He looked really good in the second half and he is well on his way to cheapie stardom. Still only 38% owned which is surprising but I expect to see a lot of teams bring him in this week. A massive -64 breakeven means it will be raining cash next week for his owners so start planning on how you’re going to spend it!

KELMA TUILAGI

2RF – STARTING PRICE $253,900 – OWNERSHIP 45% – AVG 39 – RATING 6/10 – EXPECTED INCREASE $30K – BE 3

Named to start so those coaches who held firm with him will be rewarded. Let’s hope he can score 45+ each week so we can generate some quick cash, perhaps $150k+ by the bye rounds.

WILL PENISINI

CTW – STARTING PRICE $255,700 – OWNERSHIP 56% – AVG 39 – RATING 6/10 – VALUE CHANGE $26,500 – BE 20

A disappointing round 3 score of 21 reduced his importance to our teams. No tackle busts or offloads and 10 less tackles hurt his score and perhaps has given an insight into what we may expect to see from him every few weeks. Hold on to him until a new cheapie comes along, we should still see another $70 -$80K in growth over the next 6-7 weeks but I wouldn’t be bringing him in as there are better options.

CHRIS RANDALL

HOK – STARTING PRICE $245,500 – OWNERSHIP 56% – AVG 37 – RATING 3/10 – VALUE CHANGE $24,400 – BE 22

Time to think about moving Randall on as he hasn’t worked out for us. Score a disappointing 27 in 59 minutes and now has a 22 breakeven. Could be worth looking to include Tom Starling into your side as a replacement for him for only $100K more.

ETHAN BULLEMOR

FRF / 2RF – STARTING PRICE $280,000 – OWNERSHIP 47% – AVG 31 – RATING 2/10 – VALUE CHANGE $3,600 – BE 58

He was always going to be a risky cheapie and we now see why (although plenty said this was going to happen). Time to part ways with this cheapie, there’s nothing going to happen here with a breakeven of 58 and benched again. He will lose cash very fast.

TALATAU AMONE

5/8 / CTW – STARTING PRICE $284,400 – OWNERSHIP 42% – AVG 29.7 – RATING 2/10 – VALUE CHANGE -$1,200 – BE 24

Has to go! Hasn’t lived up to the hype and I’ve lost patience with him. Even if you trade in someone like a Taylan May, although similar price, at least he will generate enough cash to justify the trade.

LACHLAN ILIAS

5/8 / HFB – STARTING PRICE $205,200 – OWNERSHIP 58% – AVG 25.3 – RATING 2/10 – VALUE CHANGE $7,900 – BE 20

Looked a little better last week so maybe there’s hope. Worth keeping if you don’t have eyes for another gun HLF / 5/8. Just need a week where he jags some attacking stats, makes a quick $50K then we can offload him and then speak nothing of it.

WILL SMITH

5/8 / HOK – STARTING PRICE $205,100 – OWNERSHIP 11% – AVG 41.3 – RATING 2/10 – VALUE CHANGE $43,600 BE 38

Worth selling this week or next before he starts to leak all his cash.

TAYLAN MAY

CTW – STARTING PRICE $252,500 – OWNERSHIP 5% AVG 106 RATING 6/10

Welcome back to first grade Taylan! 3 tries, 1 try assist and a stack of tackle busts and hit ups, we saw it all this week. Those that brought him in and played him well done. I expect to see him come into a lot of teams as we all fix our back lines. He is only covering for To’o so he will be a short-term cash maker but fingers crossed he pushes Staines out of the side. If you don’t have him then you can afford to watch him for another week but why wait?

JOCK MADDEN

5/8 | HFB – STARTING PRICE $205,100 – OWNERSHIP 1% – AVG 63 – RATING 3/10

Only in as cover for the suspended Jackson Hastings so will probably see one price rise but will then most likely disappear. He scored 63 last week so he may make a bit of cash but he will cost you 2 trades so it better be worth it. I’d watch and see how this pans out for him and if he can score over 50 then it may just be worth bringing him in over the top of Ilias which also helps getting rid of an AE issue.

GRIFFIN NEAME

FRF – STARTING PRICE $250,200 – OWNERSHIP 0% – AVG 49.5 – RATING 2/10

Another FRF that we just can’t fit into our team, if only some of these cheapies didn’t come onto the scene until we were ready to cash out the Kings. Could be an option but is risky as Jamayne Taunoa-Brown is listed on the extended bench.

LINDSAY SMITH

FRF – STARTING PRICE $205,100 – OWNERSHIP 0% – AVG 0 – RATING 1/10

Named on the bench due to injuries to Leota and Fisher-Harris, nice and cheap but job security isn’t great as JFH is named on the extended bench he may not even play.

J’MAINE HOPGOOD

2RF – STARTING PRICE $270,700 – OWNERSHIP 0% – AVG 0 – RATING 1/10

Another Panther who is covering for injuries. He played limited minutes last week and we don’t expect him to get any more this week. Not an option at this stage.