The 2021 NRL season kicks off this Thursday with the reigning premiers, the Melbourne Storm, taking on the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the first match of the season, and we can't wait to see footy back! Once again the crew at Before You Bet will be hard at work, with an extended NRL team bringing you previews, betting tips and analysis for every match of the season.
To get the season underway, Draftstars also have put up a massive prize pool guarantee for Thursday night's match. In fact, it's the largest prizepool in NRL history with $75,000 to be won for just a $15 buy-in. There's potential for a big overlay, so if you've never tried your hand at fantasy NRL, there's no better chance to get involved. There's also high roller and micro stakes events, so there's something for every bankroll.
To help get you started, we've brought in fantasy NRL guru Smatho10 from Daily Fantasy Rankings to give us a few tips on who to select in your DFS lineups this Thursday on Draftstars.
Top 3 Fantasy NRL Picks - Storm vs Rabbitohs
Damien Cook - $16,130
Cook, the Souths Dummy-Half, is the most expensive player on the slate but is well worth the salary considering his durability and high fantasy scoring. Cook played in every match for the Bunnies in 2020 scoring an average of 66 Draftstars points and cracked the elusive 100+ in Round 8 last season. Cook has 80 minute potential with no Hooker cover on the bench, and with new rules from the NRL to speed up the play, Cook is in line for more tackles and more runs from Dummy-Half.
Latrell Mitchell - $10,080
Mitchell is back in the number 1 jersey after a gruesome injury ended his 2020 season on a sour note. Mitchell was just starting to peak in form for the Bunnies with Draftstars scores of 33 / 50 / 20 / 52 / 40 from his last five games. The word from the camp is that Mitchell is fit and raring to go after taking his time to get acquainted in the position last year. At $10,080 he is underpriced for his potential fantasy output.
Josh Addo-Carr - $9,740
The Fox is always a popular Draftstars player with his ceiling ability to score tries and long ones too! However the name alone means he is always a popular play amongst fantasy players. Addo-Carr would always garner 45-50% ownership and can sink lineups if he does not cross the try line. His range of scoring is between 15 Draftstars points all the way up to high 50’s. While that salary for the Fox is alluring, you may get some leverage on the field if you look elsewhere and Addo-Carr has a quiet night.
