Draftstars is holding their $5,000 guaranteed NRL tournament this weekend with the six matches played between Saturday and Sunday involved. We take a look at the matches played and offer our Round 14 team of the week.
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Draftstars NRL Salary Cap: $100,000
Hooker
Isaac Luke ($13,000) New Zealand Warriors
Luke was back to his best last week against the Broncos and was darting out of dummy half, putting his team mates through holes and sniping for gaps himself. He will be playing his 200th NRL game this weekend and will be looking to make it a memorable one as he takes on the struggling Newcastle Knights. This will give him a big opportunity to earn a lot of attacking stats whilst he should be playing 80-minutes with no reserve hooker on the bench.
Alternative option: Matt Parcell ($9,300) Manly Sea Eagles
Due to the injuries suffered by the Sea Eagles against the Raiders last Friday night, there has been a reshuffle in the back line and it will see Parcell play the full 80-minutes. This will increase his base stats dramatically and will score huge for a cheap price as a hooker.
Half
Peter Wallace ($8,700) Penrith Panthers
The Panthers have dropped Jamie Soward and James Segyaro, which means Wallace will play the full match at hooker. He scored well on the weekend picking up 60 points without any attacking stats. This bodes well as he is likely to earn a similar amount of points in base stats whilst he should grab important attacking points as they are facing an injury ravaged Sea Eagles side.
Alternative option: Ashley Taylor ($8,900) Gold Coast Titans
Taylor is quickly becoming a great halfback and it is remarkable considering he is in his rookie season. He has the ability to pick the correct choice on the majority of occasions, which sees the 20-year-old earn plenty of try assists.
Centre
Solomone Kata ($9,350) New Zealand Warriors
The Warriors are facing a Knights outfit that is averaging close to 34-points conceded this season. The Warriors have already thrashed them once this season and if they play similar to what they did last week it could turn into a big score line, which would definitely see Kata cross as he is a try scoring machine.
Waqa Blake ($6,100) Penrith Panthers
Blake is a cheapie at just $6,100 and played a solid match against the Storm last week in awful conditions. He will be looking to maintain his spot in the starting line up and will look to take advantage of the reshuffled back line of the Sea Eagles.
Wing/Fullback
Manu Vatuvei ($8,700) New Zealand Warriors
As we have already stated, we are expecting the Warriors to pile on a lot of points against the struggling Knights. Vatuvei is historically strong against the Knights and has scored plenty of tries against them.
Cameron Munster ($11,550) Melbourne Storm
Billy Slater’s replacement has been solid all season and whilst he has been on the end of many tries scoring just two this year, he has been a base stat machine and is a constant workhorse. It is likely he could add to his points by crossing the white line against the injury ravaged Roosters this weekend.
Front Row Forward
Jared Warea Hargreaves ($11,250) Sydney Roosters
The former New Zealand international made his first start for the Roosters last week since returning from injury and he put in a monster performance in the wet conditions. You can expect him to play at a similar level with key players out and a point to prove against New Zealand teammate and forward Jesse Bromwich.
Pauli Pauli ($5,750) Newcastle Knights
Pauli Pauli has moved into the starting line up for the Knights and he has been a shining light for a struggling team. His strong, dynamic runs are made even more dangerous by his ability to offload. He has been playing 80-minutes in his last two matches and is at a very cheap price.
Second Row Forward
Greg Bird ($10,400) Gold Coast Titans
Bird has been sensational this season for the Titans and can be attributed for a lot of their success. The New South Wales lock is a base stat machine and has the ability to put up big numbers in attack.
Trent Merrin ($14,700) Penrith Panthers
Merrin has been moved to the backrow and will likely play the full 80-minutes against the Injury ravaged Sea Eagles. Merrin is a big body and will be looking to power his way over the smaller pack and make a statement after being left out of the Blues side in game 1.
ALWAYS GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY
