Round four of the NRL season was as entertaining as ever. Amazing considering the calibre of talent sat on the sidelines. On the Fantasy front, the weekend was quite low-scoring, with injuries forcing many to play with a man or two down.
Here’s everything you need to know heading into round five of the NRL Fantasy season.
NRL Fantasy Round 5 preview
When does Round 5 kick off?
Thursday 4 April, 8:00 pm AEST
Fresh from the bye, Melbourne host Brisbane in what promises to be a stellar clash. Craig Bellamy’s are 2-1 from three games this season and will be looking to bounce back from their nailbiting loss to Newcastle a fortnight ago.
Jahrome Hughes will be back on board, with his halves partner Cameron Munster named for his first start of the 2024 NRL season. Fortunately for the Storm, Jonah Pezet’s shown why he’s ready to be a first-grade half. After a horror run with injury, Ryan Papenhuyzen (567k I 43.6%) has also looked more like himself this NRL season.
They’ll clash against a Brisbane side missing Brendan Piakura (361k I 35.9%), Payne Haas (897k I 25.1%) and Reece Walsh (659k I 17.4%), who all remain sidelined for some time through. However, the return of Adam Reynolds is a major boost for Kevin Walters.
In the Broncos’ victorious Queensland derby win over the Cowboys on Good Friday, it was the boot of Reynolds that put them in the game, with his floating bombs wreaking havoc on the Cowboys back three in the wet.
Given the history these sides share, as well as the fact both sides will likely be fighting for Finals footy come the end of the season, this promises to be an electrifying start to round five of the NRL season.
Best buys
Jamal Fogarty (707k I 17.2%)
Cameron Mcinnes (687k I 3.1%)
Terrell May (619k I 24.1%)
Josh Curran (586k I 23.4%)
Best sells
Jacob Preston (697k I 1.8%)
Luke Metcalf (490k I 4.5%)
Team list Tuesday highlights
Melbourne v Brisbane, Thursday 8 pm AEST
A huge in for Melbourne, with superstar five-eighth Cameron Munster named for his first game of 2024. Munster’s deception will give the Melbourne attack an extra edge and could unlock Ryan Papenhuyzen (567k I 43.6%) with more attacking freedom.
NRL Fantasy cheapie, Joe Chan, misses a back row sport through injury, with Shawn Blore taking his spot on the right edge.
It’s bad news for another NRL Fantasy cheapie, with Xavier Willison (311k I 33.9%) dropping out of the Brisbane 17 in place of towering debutant Ben Te Kura. There are no other changes for Brisbane.
Bulldogs v Roosters, Friday 6pm AEST
A massive in for NRL Fantasy fans, with Cameron Ciraldo naming Sam Hughes to start, in place of Liam Knight, who drops to the bench. Blake Wilson is in for Josh Addo-Carr, while Josh Curran (586k I 23.4%) will start in the back row in place of the injured Jacob Preston.
Harrison Edwards will play his first game of 2024, while Kitione Kautoga will make his club debut from the bench.
Trent Robinson continues his theme of never picking the same forward pack twice. Lindsay Collins is back on deck, with Terrell May (669k I 24.1%) dropping to the bench, alongside Sitili Tupouniua, who’s replaced in the starting lineup by Angus Crichton.
Newcastle v St George, Friday 8:00 pm AEST
Jackson Hastings and Jack Cogger will start together in the halves for the struggling Knights. Jayden Brailey will start at hooker, Dane Gagai returns in the centres and Leo Thompson is back from suspension to start at prop.
Jack De Belin starts in front row for the Dragons, but otherwise, it’s as expected for Shane Flanagan’s side.
Rabbitohs v Warriors, Saturday 3:00 pm AEST
After recording their first win of the season, the Rabbitohs make just one change, with Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson coming in for the injured Alex Johnston. Can all the big dogs fire and make it 2-2 for Jason Demetriou’s side?
After impressing at fullback in round four, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (617k I 17.2%) reverts to the centres, with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad returning at fullback. After last week’s outing, will we see more roaming from the former Dally M medallist?
Sea Eagles v Penrith, Saturday 5:00 pm AEST
Despite a couple of quiet outings, Ben Trbojevic (354k I 64.6%) maintains his place in the back row, with Manly unchanged from round four.
Round five has proven a game too early for the injured Nathan Cleary (940k I 33.8%), but not for James Fisher-Harris, who returns at prop. Liam Henry’s (412k I 3.2%) output with JFH should be monitored. If he can maintain his current trends, he could be a real NRL Fantasy must-have.
Dolphins v Wests Tigers, Saturday 7:35 pm AEST
One forced change apiece for Wayne Bennett and Benji Marshall. Bennett will be without the suspended Max Plath, with Ray Stone starting at lock and Kenny Bromwich coming onto the bench. Marshall will be without impressive five-eighth, Lachlan Galvin (405k I 36.8%), also through suspension. Jayden Sullivan starts, with Latu Fainu to make his NRL debut from the bench.
Cowboys v Gold Coast, Sunday 4:05 pm AEST
Todd Payten’s Cowboys are unchanged from their round four defeat to Brisbane. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki maintains his place in the starting side, with Heilum Luki still sidelined.
Des Hasler has wielded the axe following a string of toothless Titans displays. Jojo Fifita and Harley Smith-Shields come onto the wing, although one of those changes was forced. Tanah Boyd manages to keep his role as halfback, while David Fifita will continue his return from injury off the bench.
Raiders v Eels, Sunday 6:15 pm AEST
Ricky’s Raiders will be without Zac Hosking, who’s out with a concussion. Ata Mariota starts in the back row. Despite Corey Horsburgh returning last week, Morgan Smithies (563k I 6.5%) maintains the starting lock role, though his output should be monitored after a mediocre NRL Fantasy score in round four.
Bailey Simonsson is back in the Eels centres, with Morgan Harper making way. Ryan Matterson starts in the second row in place of the injured Bryce Cartwright, while Wiremu Greig comes into the 17. In good news for Joey Lussick (525k I 13.6%) owners, Brendan Hands drops out of the 17 altogether.
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Round 5 preview notes
Understrength Penrith get the job done against the Roosters
No Nathan Cleary (940k I 33.8%), no James Fisher-Harris, and no Scott Sorensen meant all roads pointed to Penrith succumbing to a full-strength Roosters side. That they didn’t shouldn’t have been surprising, such is the strength of the club’s system and style of play.
Brad Schneider steered the ship well at halfback, Dylan Edwards did Dylan Edwards things and Sunia Turuva scored the first hat-trick of his career to guide Penrith to victory. Young prop Liam Henry (378 I 3.2%) continued his impressive start to the season from the bench. In 40 minutes, he ran for 95 metres and 29 tackles without missing one.
For the Roosters, Terrell May’s (619k I 24.1%) claim as one of the competition’s premier forwards strengthens each week. He ran for 150 metres and made 38 tackles without a miss in 55 minutes. Joey Manu (646k I 13.5%) also had a try dubiously disallowed by the bunker for obstruction that could swung the tie in the Roosters’ favour.
South Sydney are finally on the board
Whether it was a good performance from the Rabbitohs matters little. All that matters is that they won their first game of the season. Jack Wighton grabbed a brace and Damien Cook (733k I 7.9%) impressed, while Tom Burgess was arguably the most influential player in the match, with his drive through the middle rewarded with the game’s first try.
Certain calls went against the Bulldogs, that much is true, but the reality is their attack lacked polish and their defence switched off at costly points. They’ll be without Jacob Preston for some time, while Josh Addo-Carr also sustained a HIA before half time which sees him stood down for 11 days.
Reed Mahoney’s effort was Herculean, making 57 tackles in 80 minutes, and both Josh Curran and Kurt Mann continued to impress from. Cameron Ciraldo needs to work out ways to inject Stephen Crichton into the game, with the Bulldogs captain hardly getting any attacking footy. When he did, he set Conor Tracey up for a late try which made the finish nervier than it could’ve been for Jason Demetriou’s side.
Brisbane win a wet and wild QLD derby
Adam Reynolds’ influence over the Brisbane Broncos cannot be understated. His right boot almost singlehandedly put Brisbane in a position to win, and his leadership ensured they managed their lead for the entire 80 minutes.
Without Payne Haas (897k I 25.1%), Patrick Carrigan (773k I 12.5%) stepped up, running for over 200 metres while making 41 tackles. He was supported by starting props Fletcher Baker and Corey Jensen, who ran for over 100 metres apiece. Tristan Sailor also showed why he’s one of the best backup fullbacks in the NRL and could be a strong NRL Fantasy trade option from round five onward.
It’s back to the drawing board for the Cowboys, who suffered their first loss of the season. Reuben Cotter (633k I 29.6%) and Reece Robson (696k I 11.2%) both made over 40 tackles but conceding 38 points will be a major concern for Todd Payten.
Round five is too early to panic for either of these sides. Both look like they’ll be right up there come the end of the season.
Dragons down error-prone Sea Eagles
Many expected Manly to win this won convincingly. That they didn’t was a by-product of their own errors and some Dragons’ resilience defence. Manly made 15 errors and conceded five penalties, which would have been outrageous if the Dragons hadn’t also made 15 errors and conceded four penalties. It was that type of game.
Tom Eisenhuth’s 45 Fantasy points in 46 minutes, courtesy of 132 run metres, 26 tackles and five tackle breaks, place him as a potential bench option moving forward.
For Manly, Haumole Olakau’atu (56.3% I 8.8%) continued his strong start to the season, running for 205 metres, breaking five tackles, making 24 tackles and scoring 62 Fantasy points, although four missed tackles will be a worry for Anthony Seibold.
Can the Warriors afford to play RTS anywhere but fullback?
It felt like 2018 again. A packed home crowd watching Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (613k I 17.2%) carve through defences from fullback, running for 283 metres and breaking seven tackles. One run, in particular, saw RTS leave Mat Croker and Jack Hetherington in the dust before bumping Adam Elliott off like he was nothing. It was vintage RTS and an incredible sign that he’s still got it.
When RTS signed, Warriors coach Andrew Webster stressed that Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad remains the club’s long-term fullback. After that performance, in a 20-12 win over the Knights, there is a case the Warriors’ are more dangerous with RTS at the back and CNK in the centres. If RTS remains at fullback, he will be an NRL Fantasy must; someone who can feature in the centres in the game but who scores fullback points.
Moving into round five of the NRL season, Andrew Webster has a lot to consider, especially with Luke Metcalf suffering a leg fracture against the Knights.
Resilient Cronulla overcome significant deficit to beat Canberra
At 18-0 down, many could be excused for thinking Canberra was about to walk over Cronulla. This season, Canberra have shown their forward dominance is up there with the best in the NRL, while Jamal Fogarty’s (707k I 17.2%) kicking game will always keep them in contests.
But credit where credit’s due, Cronulla clawed their way back to eventually win at home. Even with significant injuries in the forwards, the Sharks matched a Canberra pack led by Joe Tapine and supported by Morgan Smithies (568k I 6.5%) and the returning Corey Horsburgh.
Cameron Mcinnes (687k I 3.1%) was at his best, scoring 70 Fantasy points off the back of 150 metres and 48 tackles. He was joined by starting prop Tom Hazleton and bench forward Jack Williams as the only Sharks forward to run for 100 metres or more. Williams was impressive, with his energy off the bench helping swing momentum in Cronulla’s favour.
When it mattered Cronulla’s outside backs put the icing on the cake. Kayal Iro capped a strong performance with a try, while the rest of the backline did what they always do: score. How Iro is used moving forward is a situation to monitor from a Fantasy perspective, especially considering his cheap price and the lack of reliable cheap centres in the competition.
Sezer seizes the moment against Parramatta
When push came to shove, Aiden Sezer threw his hand up for the Wests Tigers, slotting a flat, speculative field goal at the death to hand his side a 17-16 Easter Monday win over the Mitch Moses-less Eels.
Without Moses, Parramatta were always going to struggle. Not only do they miss his direction and exceptional kicking game, but also his goal-kicking. This was evident on the buzzer when Clint Gutherson missed a penalty kick that would’ve secured the two points for Parramatta.
In the battle of the rookie five-eighths, the Tigers’ Lachlan Galvin (333k I 36.8%) trumped Parramatta’s Blaze Talagi (261k I 10.4%). Despite sin-binning and a subsequent two-week ban from round five on for a hip drop tackle, Galvin was incredibly influential, threatening on each of his seven runs, assisting two tries and just generally being a handful to defend.
Justin Olam (404k I 3.5%) continues to enjoy his time at the Tigers. The former Melbourne centre scored a brace on his way to 43 Fantasy points. At a time when mid-priced centres are hard to come by Olam is certainly worth considering.
For Parramatta, J’Maine Hopgood (834k I 19.9%) starting from the bench failed to stifle his Fantasy output. The young lock scored 70 points in 55 minutes aided by making 30 tackles without a single miss.
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Moving forward, both sides are hard to read. Parramatta will obviously miss Mitch Moses, as any side would, while Bryce Cartwright’s loss is also huge. However, they have enough strike to keep them in games.
For the Tigers, it’s two wins on the trot. Their forward pack has been stellar, with Api Koroisau (676k I 13.4%) at the heart of all they do, although special mention should go to Stefano Utoikamanu (603k I 0.7%), who ran for 120 metres and made 38 tackles in 52 minutes. This season more than ever, Utoikamanu is making strides towards being the dominant front rower everyone in the NRL knows he can be.
