Cheapie ChitChat – Round 8

With coaches fumbling around in their wallets to find enough coin to bring in players like Cleary and Talakai, the cheapie market has gone into overdrive, and not in a good way either. Desperate times have seen desperate decisions being made with perhaps the only saving grace being the return of a few cheapies from earlier in the season. Here’s how cheapie land looks this week, and it’s not pretty. 

TE MAIRE MARTIN FLB | 5/8 $205,100 

I wrote about him last week and I was very keen to see how he went. He didn’t set the world on fire however he passed the eye test. He is still worth watching for another week but if you need the cash and have some tied up in either FLB or 5/8 then he is worth the gamble. He most likely ends up in the halves when Niu returns later in the year anyway so getting him in early may just be a masterstroke.  

CORY PAIX HFB|HOK $237,000 

Slowly building his minutes and produced a very nice score 77 last week against the Bulldogs with a try and couple of linebreaks. Potentially worth a look at if your reserve half or hooker is $400K+ and put the balance towards a brand-new Nathan Cleary. Otherwise, I don’t see how he is relevant. 

WILL SMITH 5/8|HOK $255,000 

Smith has been named at 5/8 this week which will get the 10% of owners a little excited. However, as Lakey covered off in his Teams Analysis, he probably doesn’t run out in that position so he is still an avoid until final teams are announced. Even then I’m not a fan as it will be short lived as Campbell will eventually come back and push him to the bench. Avoid this trade.  

SONI LUKE HOK $175,400 

The succession plan at the Panthers for the hooking position is well underway. If he can avoid injuries then he plays first grade next year when Koroisau departs for the Tigers. You would expect that he plays similar minutes and he could be the starting hooker later in the year if all goes to plan. Randall is still owned by 52% of teams and has made his cash so Luke could be an ideal trade in to free up some cash.  

TOLUTAU KOULA CTW|FLB $239,400 

47% of coaches can now breathe a sigh of relief now Koula has forced his way into the starting side. Still cheap enough to bring in if you resisted the temptation earlier in the season although don’t expect to be able to use him in your starting 17. His match ups aren’t the greatest over the next few weeks however he does give you an extra number for round 13.  

CHRISTIAN TUIPULOTU CTW $223,800 

Played his 3^rd game last week and scored a very nice 55 which gave his owners a nice little pay rise with a few more to come. He is currently owned by 6.3% of coaches who will be sweating on the return of Turbo in round 9. If you are an owner then pray that Dessie dumps Saab which is what I would do as CT is a much harder runner of the ball. Worth avoiding this trade as there are safer options like Suaalii and Koula for not a lot more.  

BEN TRBOJEVIC CTW|2RF $188,700 

Look away, there’s nothing to see here! Burbo being named on what is a pretty ordinary bench is far from SC relevant. Unless of course you already own him, so in this case, you only have yourself to blame. However, I would be surprised to see him drop out of the side with Schuster lurking in the shadows. 

KURT DE LUIS FRF $239,600 

He was dropped out of the side last week to make way for Koula, which in hindsight was a masterstroke from the mad scientist. He has been named again on the bench this week but he is too risky as his job security is nonexistent, perhaps if he was bottom dollar, but he isn’t so watch him from the sidelines and look for better options. 

ISAIAH TASS CTW $175,400 

Bottom dollar cheapies have been few and far between this season with most of them that we have seen have only been in their respective sides for a week or two. Tass is no different so you will be rolling the dice on this trade and hoping for an injury as he has been recalled to cover for Milne who is out for a week due to suspension. He has only played one game so you have nothing to lose by watching him for another week and hoping that he can force his way into the starting 13 next week with a dominant performance against Manly.  

DAVVY MOALE FRF $213,300 

Injuries at the Rabbitohs have helped Moale keep a spot on the bench. He only increased in price by $8K last week so he is still a cheap downgrade option for the likes of Josh King however he is destined to be that 20-point bench player that stinks up your loop hole options should you need it. However, if you’re not worried about a low scoring AE then he could be an option to free up cash. I rate him as a player, but he will struggle to get decent minutes.  

VILIAMI VAILEA CTW $205,100 

53k coaches started with high hopes that VV would give us some nice cheap points to start the year however a leg injury soured that dream and most of us have been waiting for him to return so we can see what is potential will be. He only scored 16 points in his one and only game however he played most of the game on one leg. He now returns and gives us some hope. He is probably a watch for non-owners but if you’re a risk taker then why not join the rest of us. 

TANIELA OTUKOLO HOK $226,800 

I can’t see how he becomes relevant in the SC landscape. Best to avoid while there are options like Soni Luke who is $50K cheaper.  

XAVIER SAVAGE FLB $286,400 

Savage was extremely disappointing last week. He keeps his spot however he scored 7 points in 80 minutes, has a breakeven of 76 and is still playing on the wing…..enough said.  

JOSEPH SUAALII FLB|CTW $259,500 

We saw a different side of Suaalii last week, he really ripped in. He scored 56 which included a try assist, some off loads and a line break assist so his break even of 3 has me really interested. He is only owned by 17% of teams so if he plays each week like last week then he will be a great matchup player to have in your squad. The only downside is that the Roosters are misfiring at the moment but surely this turns around soon and he starts piling on the points.  

HAYZE PERHAM FLB|HFB $255,500 

Played really well last week and scored a decent 61. Has a low breakeven of 10 which includes his first-round score of 12 in it so a 40+ score this week and he could be a decent option for some quick cash. His biggest issue is his job security with Russell due back in a couple of rounds but I like the risk here especially if the Eels keep winning and Russell spends a week or two playing reserve grade to test out his ribs. Suaalii is probably a better option though so you do have options. 

ROYCE HUNT FRF $238,400 

Kept his spot on the bench but failed to make much of an impact when he came on. He dropped $4.6K in value which is a pretty good indication that he is probably a miss at this stage. I expected him to be able to break the line and add some value in attack but seems a little one dimensional.  

TALATAU AMONE 5/8|CTW $213,200 

Those that kept him are hoping that Bird’s injury keeps him on the sidelines for a few weeks so he gets a chance to earn a recall to the starting side. There’s no doubt he has some talent so if he does get a chance to start, he could just be a nice option to play him against the Tigers this week and if you like to gable then at $213K he could just be a nice downgrade option for an underperforming CTW.