Bargain Basement: James Fisher-Harris owners can rejoice

TRENT Copeland goes through this week’s cheapie options, including James Fisher-Harris, a Dragons 2RF, two cheap CTW options.

Gimme a J! Gimme a F! Gimme a H!

What does it spell? James Fisher-Harris! He has earnt himself a starting spot, plus a huge up-tick in minutes. You little beauty!

We discuss JFH, a Dragons 2RF, two cheap CTW options and plenty more in this week’s Bargain Basement. Here we go …

Freshies

Vai Toutai CTW (Eels, 0.7% owned) — 52 points

Undoubtedly the cheapie of the week for me, with an asterisk! Another try, that’s two in two games for Toutai. At $150k and great bye coverage it seems too good to be true … But! If/when Kieran Foran returns he may drop out of the team altogether, making this a tough call. There isn’t a huge amount of base stats in Toutai’s game, but as we know with outside back cheapies it only takes a couple of tries to kick start huge price rises!

VERDICT: I think if you need a downgrade this week he’s worth the risk if named.

Tyrone Phillips CTW (Bulldogs, 1.1% owned) — 54 points

Phillips has a clear run at the wing spot at the Bulldogs with Will Hopoate missing the next two Sunday games, plus Josh Morris away with Origin duty. He scored an impressive try in this big win over the Tigers but as his debut score of 16 points shows, he is a risky prospect at above basement price — $151k.

VERDICT: I take Toutai every day of the week at the same price. Not for me, but should play round 12 and 18, without being an auto-emergency risk later in the season.

Brock Lamb HFB | 5/8 (Knights, 3% owned) — 32 points

Well, he’s consistent I’ll give him that … 28 followed by 32 in huge losses. The Knights are awful to put it lightly, demolished 62-0 on the weekend by the Sharks which doesn’t bode well for SuperCoach prospects for halves or outside backs! Still, Lamb has a BE of -3, plays round 12 and seems to have his spot locked in for the time being.

VERDICT: Not in the Jackson Hastings mould as a cheapie, but should you be desperate for a halves cheapie … Lamb is your man.

Brock Lamb is your man if you’re desperate for a halves cheapie.

Jack Goiewski 2RF (Rabbits, 0.4% owned) — 27 points

With Michael Oldfield only playing the 35mins in this game, Gosiewski actually saw 45mins himself on debut from the bench. I wouldn’t expect that trend to continue, and 12 tackles to go with 10 points in hit-ups over 8m really isn’t enough for us to consider him.

VERDICT: Whack him on the watchlist but I wouldn’t expect that 0.4% ownership to rise anytime soon. No thanks!

Jai Arrow 2RF (Broncos, 0.6% owned) — 18 points

The Corey Parker clone that we heard about in the lead-up to his debut produced a solid 18 points given that it was in just 19 minutes of action. Unfortunately for SuperCoaches (and for Arrow himself) he has been dropped with the return of Adam Blair, Alex Glenn and Andrew McCullough.

VERDICT: Not for now. Avoid.

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Jack Cogger HFB (Knights, 0.1%) - 22 points

Knights half, tick. Worst team in the comp, tick. Dropped after one game, tick. Sorry Cogger, it’s a dire situation and now named on an extended bench its not even worth continuing.

VERDICT: Ah … Let me think about this one … NO!

Curtis Scott CTW (Storm, 5.9% owned) — 0 points

Cameron Cullen HFB | 5/8 (Titans, 5.2% owned) — 0 points

Javid Bowen CTW (Cowboys, 26.4% owned) — 0 points

Much like the Nathan Davis scenario earlier in the season, these guys remain a scouting mission. Keep your eyes peeled on late mail, if they ever make the cut then jump on!

VERDICT: All decent prospects given an opportunity, but not named for their respective sides. Watchlist.

Current Crop

James Fisher-Harris FRF | 2RF (Panthers, 7.3% owned) — 36 points

JFH as he is affectionately known really is the headline act this week as far as cheapies go.

Those that were fortunate enough to start the season with the young Kiwi sensation (yes, that’s me!) are in a situation much like the Manu Ma’u of yesteryear as we could have a keeper on our hands! Those who didn’t have missed the boat big time, as he now sits at $267k with a BE of just 18.

VERDICT: Rejoice! Lock him in until well after the Panthers great coverage of round 18 and 19, possibly as a low-end keeper if the minutes are still there. Out of cheapie price bracket now …

Will Mathews 2RF (Dragons, 0.6% owned) — 64 points

With Jack DeBelin out for 6-8 weeks, we wondered who would increase their game time and cover that lock spot. Well, it was Mathews who stepped in and played the full 80 minutes, scoring 64 points basically all in base stats. 37 tackles, 20 points in hit-ups over 8m, and some scattered tackle busts and offload points. Nice. Will be up around the $200k mark before long but seems a better prospect than we first thought given he plays the first two big bye rounds!

VERDICT: Named on bench, which is a shame. Now is the time if you want to jump on, as I wouldn’t be paying $250k for him in two weeks.

Nathan Davis CTW (Titans, 21.9% owned) — 29 points

Davis started at right centre despite being named on the wing against the Roosters, and despite the paltry 29 points in this game the best news for his owners came post match when we learned of the 6-8 week injury to David Mead which locks in Davis for at least that time frame and he therefore should cover round 15 for us!

VERDICT: Hold. Hopefully jags a few tries the next few weeks. Tackle numbers will increase with the move from wing to centre also.

Nathan Davis is a hold for now. Photo: Jerad Williams

Suliasi Vunivalu CTW (Storm, 32.8% owned) — 25 points

Vunivalu has risen $114k through two price rises and now has a BE of 14. He has been named again for the Storm, keeping Curtis Scott at bay, but with this score we see the need for tries as the work rate outside of that simply is not there. Hopefully a few tries come this week against the Eels!

VERDICT: A starting winger with try-scoring potential as Vunivalu possesses in one of the strongest teams in the competition definitely warrants a HOLD until round 12, then reassess. Potentially hold through round 15.

Ryan Matterson 5/8 (Roosters, 8.8% owned) — 18 points

Man I’m not right often, but this time I was. I warned against jumping on Matterson given the injury to Joe Burgess inflating his game time in his second outing off the bench — the result? 11 minutes against the Titans for 18 points. Yuck. Yes, he jumped $39.2k this week but now sits with a BE of 22 and is a very real prospect of being an AE nightmare!

VERDICT: If he stays on the bench playing 11 minutes like Jayden Nikorima, then you need to get rid of him, very soon.

Luke Bateman FRF | 2RF (Raiders, 3.3% owned) — 51 points

Well, well, well … Bateman is the gift that keeps on (slowly) giving! 51 points in the dark against the Dragons last Thursday night, with a whopping 41 tackles in 44 minutes. Seemingly, Bateman has earned the trust of coach Ricky Stuart and is peaking nicely for owners looking to sell somewhere between round 13 and round 15 before their first bye.

VERDICT: Making slow increments of cash, this 51 will stay in the rolling average perfectly until he covers the round 12 bye, then a sell is on the cards for a Roosters/Storm/Warriors/Rabbits/Titans player.

Daniel Saifiti FRF (Knights, 10.0% owned) — 36 points

His brother Jacob was injured on the weekend and is off this list as he should have already been sold. Daniel, however, has merit in keeping around for round 12 coverage, even as a H2H player. Remarkably consistent in his scores: 34, 30, 29, 30, 33 and 36 in his last six matches! Saifiti has been a solid slow-burn cash cow, and should peak around the $190-$200k mark in two weeks.

VERDICT: Hold until round 13. Then ship him out quicker than you can say #Sanga’sStalwartsSuck. I know, it’s a tongue twister …

Newcastle's Daniel Saifiti is a hold until round 13.

Kirisome Auva’a CTW (Rabbitohs, 5.4% owned) — 51 points

That’s 48 and 51 in consecutive weeks for Auva’a. A speculative purchase given previous years’ good scores, he could prove to be a handy one if the Rabbits continue to turn their form around despite the bye in round 12.

VERDICT: Not for me, but has good job security and as with Toutai he has value at this low price.

Isaac DeGois HOK (Eels, 1.3% owned) — 27 points

We all knew there was an opening at the HOK position at the Eels after Peats’ move to the Titans. Disappointingly for SuperCoaches it was DeGois who filled the vacancy and not Kaysa Pritchard. DeGois played 71 minutes, but made only 32 tackles and TWO runs in that time. Horrible numbers unfortunately.

VERDICT: Pass. Pritchard will probably score better in the 25mins he sees!

Josh Aloiai FRF | 2RF (Tigers, 17.5% owned) — 6 points

Aloiai only played the five minutes in the game against the Bulldogs, but positively he has been named to start in the back row this weekend against the Knights … I mean, is there any better opposition to kick start a price rise cycle?! Hopefully big minutes are there the next two weeks before selling.

VERDICT: Wait for a cheapie to arise, then sell, sell, sell.

This week’s best prospects lie in Vai Toutai who retains his spot in the centres for the Eels, Tyrone Phillips and Will Matthews at the Dragons despite being named on the bench.

Keep your eyes peeled for changes in roles and noticeable minutes increases with Origin looming — this is where the mid-priced players really are our vehicle for money making.

Good luck this weekend.

Originally published as Bargain Basement: James Fisher-Harris owners can rejoice