Welcome back to Team List Tuesday from the Such Is Fantasy NRL SuperCoach & Fantasy Podcast. Round 1 is in the books — Stephen opened at 1,295 points for a rank of 35,768, not awful but plenty of rage-trade buttons already pressed. The message for Round 2 is simple: take a breath, look in the mirror, and be patient. Here's every team, every call and the full top 10 waiver wire list.
Thursday Night: Broncos vs Eels
Hold Reece Walsh. Go to a mirror, look at yourself and ask what you are doing. Three reasons he stays: you don't trade a top-three pick after one bad game, he was playing Penrith (Ivan Cleary came with a game plan to stifle him), and this week he's playing the Eels. Anyone trading Walsh out is absolutely nuts.
The other big talking point is Ben Hunt named at five-eighth over Ezra Mam. Mam has been named at 5/8 and Stephen expects him to start there — Hunt probably comes in as relief at hooker. Hold Ezra Mam in draft; he still scores well and could explode this week against the Eels. The Broncos just need to get into the grind of NRL footy after getting suffocated by Penrith's line speed.
At the Eels, they were awful — silly offloads, low completion rate, compounded by the sin bin and now suspension of Jermaine Hopgood. Sell Hopgood in Classic is understandable with so many second-row cheapies firing, but if you can be patient the work rate was there — he'd have scored 65–70 without the sin bin. In draft, bench him and pick up off waivers.
Josh Addo-Carr — "Fox's Easy Mart" — returns on the wing and is a not-a-bad waiver pickup in 12 and 14 team leagues. Brian Kelly got dropped and deserved it, a defensive liability. Expect a response from Parramatta, danger game for the Broncos, not much in it — bodes well for forward SuperCoach scoring.
Friday 6pm: Warriors vs Raiders
The Warriors looked great in Round 1 and the Raiders looked really good against Manly, despite the six-again-a-thon in the first 12 minutes. Stephen's rant on the new point-scoring interpretations: get over it, guys. Move on. Mid-season nothing will look too different.
Warriors: not much changes. Sell Jacob Laban — highly-sought cheapy now in a job share with Leka Halasima, and Stephen thinks Halasima isn't far off that starting edge. Trade to one of the second-row cheapies.
Raiders: the big call. With both Ethan Sanders and Tanah Boyd available in more than 40% of draft leagues, Stephen takes Sanders just ahead of Boyd — line-ball gut call. Sanders looked in control and that field goal did not look like missing in the wet. Simi Sisagi stays in the centres. And the breakout star: Buy Noah Martin. Two tries, incredible base, didn't miss a tackle, Ricky came out glowing. That edge/back-row spot is 100% his to lose. With Matty Nicholson injured in the NSWRL Cup, Martin is the no-brainer second-row trade in Classic this week and a comfortable pickup in 12 and 14 team draft leagues.
Friday Night: Rabbitohs vs Roosters
Roosters: James Tedesco is an absolute freak — every year we write him off, every year he's Teddy. Good pickup in Classic if you started with him. Billy Smith too inconsistent. Robert Toia returns. Hold Sam Walker — be patient, he wasn't great in Round 1, and interestingly he and Daly Cherry-Evans had the same number of touches. "Daly, take a back seat. Sam, take control, son." Hold Angus Crichton — scored a try but wasn't awesome, don't downgrade to a cheapy. Buy Siua Wong on waivers — looked really strong, starting back row then off the bench. Sell Connor Watson in draft after one more week if the sub-20-minute role doesn't change.
Rabbitohs: the left edge attack was humming. Cody Walker, Latrell Mitchell, potentially Jai Gray and left-edge back-rower Dave Fifita are all Classic-relevant. Cam Murray looked incredible — if he's sitting on your waivers for some reason, go grab him. Hold Tallis Duncan — named on the bench again, looked dangerous when he came on, just wait to see the role. And news flash: Campbell Graham is on too many waivers — he features in the top 10 later.
Friday Night: Tigers vs Cowboys
Finally the Tigers get a crack with the new team. Benji revving the troops, all about standards — "on the bus or out the door." Stephen is excited for the Tigers, calling them everyone's second team.
Tigers: Sunia Turuva… actually, the big news is Latu Fainu— sorry, the correct read from the transcript: Lachlan Galvin? No — per Stephen, Makasini has been named at centre, not on the wing. He's still a great own if you started with him, but Stephen wouldn't be jumping to buy with better centre/wing cheapies available. Terrell May has been named despite preseason back concerns — watch the minutes for how they ease him in. Kipos Paul (Kipi Paul) has been picked up well in draft, have a look but don't expect him on waivers. Hold / high on Adam Doueihi at halfback — lots of hype around his output in the halves.
Cowboys: Sell Scott Drinkwater in Classic — looks lame with a rib cartilage concern, pain tolerance play, better cash options in Ponga, Turbo and Sewer Farlonga. Braidon Burns named on the wing but successful at the judiciary — weird precedent, but he's been downgraded. Hold Jackson Perdue at 5/8 — be patient if you started with him. Tom Chester stays in the centres, high work rate, but unsure how long he keeps the spot. Murray Taulagi scored a double, should not be on your waivers. Tommy Dearden's base for a half is excellent. Heilum Luki — no longer a priority pickup in Classic with all the second-row cheapies, but check he's not sitting on waivers in draft.
Friday Night: Dragons vs Storm
The Storm obviously looked fantastic. The Dragons were gritty and will win some games this year — they'll bring you down to their level and make it a dogfight. Tight arm-wrestle expected, which bodes well for forward scoring at the Dragons.
Dragons: Sete Toia was a really good centre cheapy — an option to bring in if you didn't have him. With no Jacob Liddle, Damien Cook should get his 80 — if you picked him up in draft, well done. Buy Toby Couchman in Classic (fine swap for Hopgood), and if you started with him, well done. Hamish Stewart named to start at lock — watch for a late switch, but he'll be really good in draft leagues. Ryan Couchman on the bench — minutes unclear, Stephen is staying away but understands the cheapy trade.
Storm: the hot talking point — Joe Chan vs Lazzarini. If you started with one, don't do anything. Don't grab both. If you had neither (like Stephen), wait. Shaun Blore has been named in the reserves list and is probably a guaranteed play next week — let's see whose minutes he takes before making the call. Buy Sua Fa'alogo as a priority trade if you didn't start with him in Classic — not urgent this week, price rises are three weeks away. Draft waiver targets: Will Warbrick, Jack Howarth and Moses Leao should all be there — news flash, Leao features heavily in the top 10. Hold Harry Grant — Stephen still has Brali ahead of Grant on base, and remember Grant only scored 34 points without his two tries. Don't panic-buy. Stefano (Stefano Utoikamanu) looked unreal — a beast, leading that forward pack.
Saturday Night: Panthers vs Sharks
Time to find out what the Sharks are all about. Stephen didn't have them in his top eight — hot take acknowledged — because not enough has changed and the Gold Coast were as bad as he's seen in the NRL in Round 1.
Sharks: Buy Jesse Ramien — has to be in the top 10, looked unreal. There will be days Ramien's side sees the ball and days Kayal Iro's side sees it. Hold Kayal Iro — do not trade him out this week even against Penrith. Just chill. Blake Brailey was unreal — great pickup. Addin Fonua-Blake is always top-five front-row. Briton Nikora scored a try but his base was really low — dry points without tries. Jesse Colquhoun vanilla from a SuperCoach perspective, can stay on waivers. And the big one: Buy Braydon Trindall — top-three pickup this week in draft. Might not do much against the Panthers this week, but you saw enough to invest long-term.
Panthers: nothing changes — they looked great. Adds worth checking: Casey McLean if he hasn't been picked up. Hold Brian To'o in Classic (Stephen admits he's thinking of not being patient). Isaiah Yeo didn't play 80 — happy if you own him in draft. Luke Garner looked really strong. Isaac Tago — be patient in draft, but if he doesn't play the next two weeks he's a drop.
Sunday 4:05pm: Sea Eagles vs Knights
Potentially high-scoring if both fullbacks get into it. Tom Trbojevic looked great — at top speed, not conservative around the hamstrings, try and a couple of tri-assists. Sell Jason Saab — not an add in any format. Buy Tolu Koula — on way too many waivers, make sure you've got a claim in before waivers run at 5am tomorrow. Sell Reuben Garrick — looked horrible and has lost goal-kicking to Fogarty; big concerns, no longer relevant. Lehi Hopoate not a priority add. Taniela Paseka was excellent in the front row — a great pickup in two-front-row draft formats. Buy Ola Kuatu — looked unbelievable, Stephen likes him as a pod in Classic.
Knights (Stephen's team — declared): Kalyn Ponga looked electric. A bit of dog in him, up and about, excited — maybe the change in environment with the new coaching staff. Buy Dom Young — top-five waiver pickup. He will get on the end of work in the Knights' back line. Greig Marzhew has been picked up in a lot of leagues, Dom hasn't — now is the time to strike. The Knights' attack isn't the issue; the defence might be, which means high-scoring affairs. Sell Fletcher Sharp in Classic (bad luck) — be patient in draft, back in a couple of weeks. Sell Trey Mooney and Sell Jermaine McEwen (~$407k) in Classic — drop for a second-row cheapy.
Sunday: Dolphins vs Titans
Stephen is terrified of not owning Herbie in this one. Expect a Titans response — their Round 1 was hopeless, awful and embarrassing, some of the missed tackles elementary.
Titans: Phil Sami (Faie Marnie read) was the cheapy winner — option in Classic. AJ Brimson — Stephen has him in draft, hoping for a bounce-back. A'rama Howe (Erin How) did really well — if he's your second-row cheapy, keep him, but he's not ahead of the others for Stephen. Both Fermor is a nice little pod in Classic if you picked him up. Cooper Bai on the bench — not a priority add.
Dolphins: they can score from anywhere, attack looks so good, led by Isaiya Katoa — plays so deep in the line, so tough, love watching him. Buy Herbie Farnworth — 75 in a game where they only scored 30 is a miracle, every touch looks like he has spiders on him. Stephen is "going to hide behind the couch and watch Farnworth this weekend." Jermaine Isako scored a try, goal-kicking winger, should score more tries this year — like it in draft. Selwyn Cobbo should be in your Classic and draft teams — check the waivers. And the back-row stars: Lemu Lemu and Fenifu Uiaku scored really well — between the two, Stephen likes Lemu Lemu as a pod over the next couple of weeks. Morgan Knolls — unsure how long he keeps the spot with Max Plath back on the bench.
Top 10 Draft Waiver Wire Pickups (50% cutoff)
Team-dependent, but here's the list, with Stephen's top five all called out above:
Just missing the cut: Siua Wong at 62% owned — check your league, still worth a waiver claim. And plenty of players available in 30–40% of leagues that didn't make the list — always check your specific league.
Round 2 Buy / Sell / Hold Summary
Stephen's final word on trade plans: he's walking back the boost. The move becomes McEwen → Noah Martin, and he's waiting on the Chan/Lazzarini/Blore picture before pulling the trigger on the second trade. If he can squeeze in Farnworth, he will — otherwise keeping Brian To'o and using the one trade is the patient play. Like we say every year: be patient in the opening rounds. Hasty trades in Round 2 cost you trades later, and the big scores from Round 1 don't always back it up.
This Team List Tuesday recap is from the Such Is Fantasy NRL SuperCoach & Fantasy Podcast. Catch every episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and follow Stephen on TikTok.