Last week Nelson named Ruan Combrinck as his Blue Chip pick for Rd 13 despite him not even being named in the Lions squad. Evidently he was in the ear of the Lions coaches because Combrinck came in as a late replacement and scored a double within his 60 minutes on the park! Lets hope we can keep the success coming in this weeks Stock Market.

With only 4 weeks left of the regular season there is only one last curve ball to dodge to make sure you can go big to finish the season. The Round 16 byes: the Blues, Cheetahs, Crusaders, Highlanders, Lions and Sharks having a bye at the same time means a lot of players will be unavailable, the earlier you can prep for this, the more leverage you have with the players that won’t be available. Also keep in mind this weeks Casualty Ward and be sure to check out last weeks Round review to see the players running hot!

Blue Chips:

Richie Mo’unga (Crusaders) – This one goes without saying, the Crusaders fly-half is a magician with all the skills. I’m not sure we’ll ever see him surpass Beauden as the premier fly-half in the world, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him as a close second. No doubt he will be owned in every league, but considering he can consistently score big against the top sides in the competition, this week against the Rebels could take things to a whole new level.

Allan Alaalatoa (Brumbies) – Where did this young Aussie prop come from! In his second year of Super Rugby Allan has gone from strength to strength, not only does he consistently boss the scrum, but he now sits on top of the fantasy competitions props, he is even outscoring prop/ fly-half Charlie Faumuina! His points are all work rate, the best kind if you ask me! I’d look at trading a much stronger position where there is more depth to get someone like Allan on my books.

Nehe Milner-Skudder (Hurricanes) – You may have to sell your first born to get him. But word is he’s being running for a week and is in contention to play this week. The Hurricanes have no more byes and he is probably the most electric player in the tournament. Add to this the fact that he will be pushing for a spot in the Lions tour and you could see him rip teams apart single handedly. I for one can’t wait to see him play.

Smokies – Buy Low Sell High

Harumichi Tatekawa (Sunwolves) – The Sunwolve’s backs make a habit of scoring points even when they lose and the international fly-half/ inside centre is no exception. He made 15 runs and 9 tackles last week for his 45 points. He is a workhorse and should play out the rest of the season given how highly he is regarded in Japan. If Carpenter comes back he may get a bit less ball, but the space could open up for him even more.
Jerónimo de la Fuente (Jaguares) – The Jags have been awful, but that could change this week. They finish their season against the Brumbies, Kings, Waratahs and Rebels (No byes!) and Jerónimo is back from injury. Considering this along with the return of his partner in crime Sanchez, I’m expecting big things from the Argentinian’s preferred inside centre.

Rising Stocks

The Lions – They play the Kings, Sunwolves, Bye and then Sharks. All three seem to completely ignore the need to defend, and the Lions love to score tries. I’m predicting a few three figure fantasy scores to finish the season. Which back should you pick up? I Don’t think it matters!

 

Hold – watch this space

Raymond Rhule (Cheetahs) – He started the season on fire, but in his last five games he has scores of 1, 24, 71, 16 and 18. With the exception of one week, he has been out of sorts and anything but awe-inspiring. But never fear, the Cheetahs have a cruisy run home. They play the Sunwolves, Stormers, have a bye and then the Kings. If you can manage to carry him through the Rd 16 bye, then he might be up for a few big scores yet.

 

 

Money Bill Williams (Blues) – It’s fair to say we all thought Money Bill would dominate from the first minute he joined the Blues. But after five games he hasn’t quite taken that big step to really take control. If you’re thinking of trading him, my advice is don’t. Not only will he logically get stronger with every game as he gets used to the players around him, but after this weeks Chiefs game he has the Reds, Bye and Sunwolves to finish the season off. Massive scores are not far away, I think he will be one of the top centres to finish the season.

Falling Stocks

Melani Nanai (Blues) – What a disappointing year it has been for the Blues flyer. After being one of the best backs in 2016, logic says that he was in for an even bigger 2017, but despite playing as well as ever, he just doesn’t seem to be Tana’s first choice option. He scores points when he plays, but considering Collins and Duffie have both recently been rested, I can’t see him starting more than one game for the rest of the season. It’s time to cash in your chips and trade him for whatever you can get.

David Havili (Crusaders) – Wow, what a season for the Crusaders full back. If i was Tana Umaga i’d be on the phone non-stop to try and lure David to the Blues with the carrot of a full time starting spot. Izzy Dagg should play this week, and the golden age of Havili should be over.

 

 
Written by Harrison Dale