LATE MAIL

Well TGIF! Yet another weekend of DT is upon us and boy are there some big ins and outs this week.

Here is the late mail to date, I will continue to update this section throughout the afternoon when more news becomes apparent.

St George vs Melbourne

Wayne Bennett has dropped Luke Priddis and Nick Emmett off his interchange.

The only possible change for the Storm is Ryan Hoffman, who is battling a hamstring injury, Hep Cahill on standby .

Gold Coast vs Cowboys

Gold Coast’s injured duo Mark Minichiello (knee) and Nathan Friend (ankle) trained yesterday, and coach John Cartwright expected both to line up

Cowboys big men Antonio Kaufusi and Matt Scott had come through their medial ligament troubles and will play.

Broncos vs Raiders

AFL Karmichael is expected to shift to halfback for tomorrow’s clash with Canberra.
Josh Hoffman expected to be elevated from the bench to fullback.
Winger Antonio Winterstein did not train yesterday but is not believed to be in doubt, despite a corked thigh. Prop Joel Clinton (groin) will be assessed today.

Canberra are expected to be unchanged.

Penrith Warriors

Penrith forward Frank Pritchard, named on an extended bench, is rated less than a ‘‘50-50’’ prospect of returning from a broken hand.

Warriors are expected to be unchanged.

Knights vs Roosters

Newcastle coach Brian Smith has made significant changes for tomorrow night’s encounter, switching fullback Kurt Gidley into the halves alongside Jarrod Mullen, who has been passed fit after an ankle injury. Shannon McDonnell will play at fullback, with Ben Rogers demoted to the bench.
Steve Simpson requires a clearance to play after a neck injury, with Cory Paterson in line to start if the second-rower is ruled out.

The Roosters are expected to be as named.

Sharks vs The Eels

Cronulla forward Paul "Nut Grabber" Gallen is likely to return from his shoulder injury after completing a full training session yesterday. He will come in at the expense of Tupou who is going to miss again this weekend. Johnny Mannah (rib) is in doubt, with Luke Douglas expected to replace him in the front row and Gallen to slot into the back row. Ian Donnelly trained with the squad yesterday.

The Eels are expected to be as named.

Bulldogs vs Souths

Both the Bulldogs and Souths are expected to be as named for their clash on Sunday.

Wests vs Manly

Keith Galloway (knee) and Chris Heighington (leg) are ‘‘50-50’’ chances of returning for Wests Tigers.

The Sea Eagles are expected to be as named.

Wenins Tips

St George

Titans

Broncos

Penrith

Knights

Eels

Dogs

Manly

All the very best this weekend

Wenin, out!

KinGs Trade Talk Round 21

Potential Trades

Ins

Trent Waterhouse

- Aiight its time to get real serious this week, as we approach the finals most of u chumps are struggling to make it to the top 8 so here is your chance.

- Only a tiny 4.59% of DT’ers have him in their teams, so he would make for a great blockbuster trade. Imagine the look of your opponent with TW in your team
- His value has fallen by $17k over the last few 3 games, don’t expect it fall much further
- Consistent performer don’t expect his value to fall anymore unless he gets injured
- His workload has increased with the injury to the Big Petero, thus the numbers are awesome

- Value $334,000

- Season average 72.73

The Verdict

- Trent Waterhouse is a DT beast, he racks up a tonne of tackles and hitups every week, even the occasional try assist (don’t tell me you didn’t see his try assisting kick out in the wings last week), if you real serious about making the top 8 my advice would be to get him OR even if you just want to send a message to the rest of your league it’s time to get Trent Waterhouse !

Outs

Steve Price

- Steve Price is one of the best Front Row Forwards in the game

- Tireless worker, who consistently racks up 70 odd points a game
- Great value for his current average
- Missed a lot of games this season for various reasons, injury/origin,etc

- Value $309,200

- Last 3 game average 76.33

The Verdict

- No I’m not being a smartass and no I aint taking shots at a Legend – that’s not how I do. I’m simply saying that’s its about to be DreamTeam finals, and you want someone who you know is going to play every game for the remainder of the season cos lets face it most of us DT’ers don’t have many trades left and don’t want to be in a situation where we have to use an auto emergency sub for the finals. Trust me if someone could assure me that Steve Price will play every single game still seasons end then I would be talking about him right now in my Ins section.

Cap Space Booster

Scott Prince

- Last week Scott Prince had a massive game and hit the century point with 110 points
- His 3 game rolling average includes a 26 and 39 point performances
- Generally tends to give more points against week opposition.
- Value $223,400

- Last 3 game average 58.33

The Verdict

- Have trades up your sleeve? Need a cap boost right now? – The answer is Scott Prince, his value should increase by 20-30k over the next couple of weeks, as mentioned above his rolling average has two very poor scores. Throughout the season Scott Prince has scored greater points against weaker opposition, so this week we can expect a few try assists as the Titans battle the Cowboys This week the Titans are playing NQ so we can expect a higher scoring game and a few try assists from Scott Prince.

That’s a wrap for this weeks trade talk, tune in next Friday morning at 1.am
Next Weeks Preview – We talk Anthony Tupou !
Until then peace out !

One.

Don’t forget to post your comments or any trade related questions!

Nick's Captains - Round 21

Top 5 from last week:
1 - Farah (69)
2 - Hindmarsh (81)
3 - Harrison (63)
4 - Laffranchi (63)
5 - Sutton (79)

Nick's Captains is going to be a bit different this week. Every week it seems to be the same blokes that I'm banging on about. So this week's report is going to be split into 2 sections.
Section 1 - Captain's for Pussies; Section 2 - Captain's for Men with balls.

Section 1 - Captain's for Pussies
The analysis will still be as follows:
Mike Litoris(comp rank based on avg) - (3 week avg)(score last time these teams met)

You know these blokes by now. Stats are:
Hindmarsh(3) - (86)(42)
Farah(4) - (80)(40)
Stagg(5) - (77)(74)
Laffaranchi(6) - (66)(69) **suspended**
Hannant(7) - (74)(83)
Waterhouse(8) - (77)(n/a)
Bronson(9) - (63)(n/a)
Fitzgibbon(10) - (93)(45)

Section 2 - Captain's for Men with balls

Scottie Prince - had a massive 110 last week, however this was on the back of a 26 the week before. Against NQ at home - might go big again.
Michael Jennings - on fiar lately, with scores of 84, 33, 105 and 96 in his last 4. Against NZ at home - loves scoring tries in Penrith, and should score well again this week.
John Sutton - can he go big again this week against the Bulldogs??? I don't think so
Kurt Gidley - back this week, playing against the Roosters at home. If there was ever a time to bust out of his DT form slump then this would be the week.
Jarryd Hayne - against the Sharkies this week, Hayne should carve up and score well. He is in a rich vane of form.
Benji - against Manly this week. Don't think he will score so well. This applies for Farah as well (I hope he plays rubbish and drops in value then I can pick him up!!)
Jamie Soward - A Friday night game against Melbourne might not be the best stage for Soward to go large. But if you have the balls, then maybe....

Nick's Captains top 5 for the week

1 - Hindmarsh (can't go past him sorry)
2 - Waterhouse
3 - Hannant
4 - Jarryd Hayne
5 - Michael Jennings (do you have the balls to do it????)

45 votes last week - might crack the 50 this week!!

Player of the Week: Round 20

Sorry about the late post everyone, I blame Splendour recovery for my DT disorganisation, but better late than never so here goes...

As the NRL season creeps ever closer to finals and the inevitable end of the season, DT'ers are putting in place the last minute plans for the pointy end of their season as they jostle for a top 8 league finish to make finals for bragging rights amongst their buddies or newly met random league mates. For all those of us struggling for trades it will be a push right to the finish.

This DT'er is one that has been feeling the pain, having cruised into the top 8 and being afforded the luxury of carrying Paul 'Scrotum Grabber' Gallen for weeks on the bench, it's make or break time to push through a few last blockbuster trades to get the team firing for finals. Hefty competition in the league will accept nothing less.
We've been seeing some massive performances from some centres and backs that are flat out refusing to bow out without a fight and although lacking the absolutely massive performances of the last 2 weeks, this week is impressive nonetheless.

1. Scott Prince
Giving everyone a preview of what they have to look forward to come finals time, the struggling Broncos were delivered defeat at the hands of Prince who has stepped up massively after a few low key games. Coming off the back of 26 & 39 point performances in the last 2 weeks he absolutely exploded this week setting up his teammates 4 times and even running one in himself, finishing up with 14 points, the Broncos never stood a chance.

And the stat tally goes like this..

Tries - 1
Try Assists - 4
Conversions - 5
Tackles - 16
Line Break Assists - 3
Runs - 5

Total points: 110

2. Chase Stanley
The kid can play the game.
At only 20 years old, Chase 'Smokin' Stanley lit up the field on Sunday night against the Warriors, playing in only his 5th first grade game this season he showed everyone what he is capable of and no doubt getting the Storm excited for next season when he switches clubs.

Coming off the back of his last two games, giving an 82 point performance in Round 18 and a 76 point performance in Round 12 the big 100kg centre has dropped a massive 96 points, loves DT!

Tries - 1
Try Assists - 1
Tackles - 25
Offloads - 3
Line Breaks - 2
Runs – 11

Total Points - 95

3. Richard Fa'aoso

This big Tongan native has been a consistent performer over the season for the 1.8% of DT'ers who have him in
their team averaging around 53 points. He obviously decided it might be a good time to poke his head into NRL DT Talk's players of the week and exploded against the Sea Eagles this week dropping 94!


Tries - 1
Try assists - 1
Tackles - 18
Offloads - 3
Line Breaks - 1
Line Break Assists - 1
Runs - 15

Total points - 94


And that's a wrap, good luck in the second last league game of the year!

Tom's Teams Wrap Up - Round 21

Ok time to get a little controversial. I put this to you David Gallop, why would you enforce all teams to announce their teams for the upcoming rounds play on a Tuesday afternoon? I mean come on, now with the addition of Monday Night Football, after travel/downtime and recovery, some teams will not have a chance to even hold one full training session before team selection panels wheel the axe. The issue I have here is that teams are announcing ever enlarged extended benches, players are dropped after one bad game with no chance to prove themselves during the week, players are coasting through training with confidence, there is more time for injury etc. With this, DT’ers around the country are frequently frustrated! When they turn on the TV or head down to the ground to watch a game and see a totally different team line up, how do you think that makes them feel? They think about all the points lost and rue those potential trades that were held off until next week. With this, I implore you Mr Gallop, change Team Lists day to Thursday!!!

Anyway, with that behind us, welcome to Tom’s Team’s for this week, where the ins and outs for this week’s action are posted and discussed. Some of the DT favourites are down on form atm, might be time to look for a replacement. Enjoy.

Melbourne V St George
Two of the league’s best go at it on Friday night in what should be a close one. Melbourne has won 11 of their last 12 Friday night matches. St George has won just one of their last 10 matches against Melbourne, having never beaten the Storm at WIN Jubilee Oval. St George essentially has two days less to prepare for this one, coming back from New Zealand on Monday. Even with their great form, I can sense an upset. This should be a defensive battle, with both lines to be peppered all night.

Melbourne
In – Turner, Inglis, Johnson, Hoffman
Out – Blair, Anderson, Neilson, Cahill

St George
In – Prior, Priddis

Gold Coast V North Queensland
Will Gold Coast finally lose at home this week? One would think not given the Cows terrible road record. As I expected Scotty Prince ran rampard over the Broncos last week, don’t be surprised if he takes the cake against JT this week too. In saying that, JT is a good buy this week, because he has bottomed out price wise, and will look to improve personally for a finals charge to help his team. The Coasties lose Lafranchi this week to suspension, terrible news for DT’ers!!! Serious doubt for all 2nd rowers for GCT, hopefully the young guns will step up and score big. David Meyers would still be my best bet for a mid-range replacement 2RF. Doubts over Minnichello for this one, maybe Daniel Conn to be a late replacement.

Gold Coast
In – Matthews, Graham
Out – Harrison, Laffranchi

North Queensland
In – Watts, Manukafoa


Canberra V Brisbane
Flip a coin with this one. As much as the Broncos need a win, I do not see two home losses in a row on the cards for the Raiders.

Brisbane
In – Carroll, Hunt, Lockyer, Halu
Out – Gorrell, Mcguire, Williams

Canberra
In – Mccrone,Waddell
Out – Buttress, Herbert

Penrith V New Zealand
Penrith will be looking for another strong performance to solidify their top 8 spot. They are good players to have coming into DT finals.

New Zealand
In – Ropati, Tuimavave, Brown
Out – Price, Royal, Ah Van

Penrith
In – Elford, Pritchard

Newcastle V Sydney City
Surely if the Knights are to contend this year they will show some pride in themselves and bounce back this week against the featherless Roosters outfit. Some names come back into the team for Sydney (Fitzgibbon), but it doesn’t matter when your goal line defence is as bad as theirs. Add to the fact that half the team is not switched on, and your result is a Newcastle flogging. Gidley back this week, I promise, points may be up and down as he may play some minutes in the halves.
Newcastle:
In – Gidley, Mullen

Sydney
In – Fitzgibbon, Brown, Hauraki
Out – Kenny-Dowell, Ahern, Symonds

Cronulla V Parramatta
The Eels won last week with a big upset against the Bulldogs, and with half Daniel Mortimer in such good form and Trent Barrett done for the year, expect another Gold and Blue victory.

Cronulla
In – Green, Tupou
Out – Barrett, Norre

Parramatta
No Changes

South Sydney V Canterbury
Another big week for the Rabbits. Need to come out strong and show the league that they are the real deal. Wins against soft opposition has lifted team morale and led by John Sutton, another big game is needed this week. The Bulldogs too need to show some form after last week. This should be a cracker. Big name DT’ers Hickey and Stagg back in the team.

Souths
In – Crocker

Bulldogs
In – Stagg, Hickey
Out – Morrin, Holdsworth

Wests V Manly
How is the form of the mighty Tigers? At home against the Eagles, a chance to show the fans the brand of footy that is propelling them towards the top 8. A crucial game for both teams. Expect big things from inspired leaders Farrah and Marshall.

Wests
In – Collis

Manly
In – Matai, L’estrange

For a full list of teams for the rounds action visit:
http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/teamlists

Thats all for this week, peace.

Chk Chk Boom! Wenins report from the Cross – The high’s and the lows of the DT weekend.

Howdy DTers, not much to report on this weekend, the boys were well behaved and I was in another world at Splendour. The only controversy involved some sleeping pills and energy drinks.....Boring!!

So let us just get on with the highs and the lows of a rather disappointing week of dream team.

Highs

Jamie Simpson

With the news of the passing of a close friend in the back of his head, this steal of the weekend ($156,800) racked up a hat trick of tries, to score a fantastic return of 77 points in Souths win over the hapless Roosters.

Scott Prince and the Titans.

Finally the Titans look set for a finals birth in 2009. Despite a horrid run of injuries again this year Gold Coast continue to make skill stadium a house of pain for opposition teams. Who has been nearly a forgotten man this year, Scott Prince ($223,400) demonstrated why he is one of the elite half backs of the completion on the weekend. He amassed an incredible 110 points for a half, which is not easy to do. Prince had a hand in every single one of the Titans tries and he collected 1 try himself, 16 tackles, 4 try assists, 3 line break assists and 5 hitups throughout.
In order to free up some bank for some upcoming finals blockbuster trades I had to choose between him and Mortimer ($227,300) for a downgrading. I chose to trade Prince out!! Hopefully my choice doesn’t backfire on me in coming weekends..…

The Titans will be tested again this weekend, especially in the forwards, with the loss of a DT favourite Laffranchi ($339,100) to suspension and Ashley Harrison ($273,400) has been ruled out.

Parramatta Eels.

The Eels scored one of the biggest upsets of the year over the weekend, defeating the nearly unstoppable Bulldogs 27-8. Daniel Anderson stated that this victory was the best under his leadership.

My two new DT heroes Daniel Mortimer ($227,300) and Nathan Hindmarsh ($361,300) had large scores again with 70 and 81. The only disappointment for this game was the absence of David Stagg ($321,200) who was a late withdrawal. The Eels were amazing in defence and hold a usually bullish dogs attack to only 8 points. Jamal Idris ($202,400) showed just how good he is at DT, scoring 57 despite the low dogs score. Very happy I brought him in last week, he is a gun!
If the Eels can continue their form over the last two weeks, who knows how far they can go!

Lows of the weekend

The Broncos and their injury problems.

The Broncos have caused some serious DT headaches this year through both Origin commitments and injuries. Already this season we have seen Hodges and Folou miss large chunks of the season. This week was no exception, the Broncos were without Lockyer, Wallace, Carrol and Thaiday. Sam Thaiday is a massive out for DTers as at his great price of $228,900 he was just starting to hit some form. If he can get himself back on the paddock he will be a great pickup come finals time.

Current casualty ward

http://www.nrl.com/telstrapremiership/casualtyward/tabid/10247/default.aspx

I know these updates are a bit useless, but I am struggling to find anything better on the net. If I do, you will be the first to know..

Results from the weekend

Manly 44 - Newcastle 20

Gold Coast 34 - Broncos 18

Bulldogs 8 - Parra 27

NQ 20 - Panthers 28

Melbourne 30 - Sharks 10

Raiders 4 - Tigers 25

NZ 4 - Dragons 29

Souths 40 - Roosters 20

Until next weekend, happy DTing.

Wenin out!