Welcome back to another Team List Tuesday recap from the Such Is Fantasy NRL SuperCoach & Fantasy Podcast. Round 4 delivered the news nobody wanted — Payne Haas is out with an AC joint shoulder injury, and it's the kind of news that completely reshapes the trade week. Here's every game, every call and every buy/sell/hold that came out of the TLT show.
Stephen's personal play: trade Payne Haas down to Jackson Ford, which frees up the cash to go Sam Walker to Nathan Cleary and Jacob Kiraz out. Yes, moving Kiraz this early is a "wasted trade" — but he's not going to sit around and wait for Kiraz to pull his finger out. Reece Walsh comes in this week too, at a $50k discount. This is the week he burns non-owners.
Seagulls vs Roosters
The Seagulls are all about Tom Trbojevic. A few of you'll be looking to move on Keanu Kinnie and Tommy Turbo is a good addition from a draft perspective. There is nothing in that Seagulls side that should be attractive to you right now until we see better gameplay. Taniela Paseka — don't rush in as a cheapie, you've probably already got enough cheapies in your side. You want mid-range cash cows that get you to guns quicker.
The Roosters need to bounce back — surely they do against this Manly side. Buy James Tedesco as your anti-pod fallback fullback option instead of Kinnie or Tommy Turbo. Not instead of Walsh, but as your backup move. Watch Angus Crichton — probably a drop if he doesn't produce against Manly. Siua Wong is a great pickup in draft leagues, Billy Smith returns and Robert Toia is the better draft pickup. Connor Watson is starting to play more minutes.
Warriors vs Tigers
Red-hot Warriors — keen on all of their assets. Leka Halasima moves back to the back row with the return of Adam Pompey in the centres. The big talking point: Tanah Boyd. He'll get you really quickly to Nathan Cleary, but is the Kenny sustainable? No evidence to suggest he can't. Warriors draw tightens after this one, and if he's not a keeper you'll be trading him to Cleary anyway — so why not just go straight to Cleary now? Can't knock the cash gen though.
Buy Jackson Ford — played 80 minutes on the weekend off the back of 68 and 70. Big minute player. Erin Clark looks like he's eating into James Fisher-Harris's minutes, so Ford should get at least 70. He's running 20 times a game, tackling 40, breaking the line, breaking tackles, offloading. He's coming straight in. Chanel Harris-Tavita is back and the big news — Luke Metcalf is back. No longer a stash. He'll go fairly early on waiver wires.
Tigers — they've named Adam Doueihi and there's probably not zero chance now that he's in the side. Would be surprised if they risk him given the hamstring scare. Stay alert on team lists. They've named Jock Madden at 5/8 — not the ad there if you owned Jerome Luai (out for a month). Api Koroisau could be a pod at hooker, but Brailey and Harry Grant are so far ahead that would be madness.
Broncos vs Dolphins
Buy Reece Walsh. If you don't have him this week, this is the week he burns us. Stephen didn't start with him, now gets him at a $50k discount, next month of footy is the three Queensland teams involved, and he looks ready to go. The Broncos will take huge confidence out of their Melbourne win. Walsh should be in most teams.
Watch Jordan Riki — please, do not rush to add Jordan Riki. None of that was real in fantasy or SuperCoach terms. He's never been relevant. Two tries every week is not happening. Adam Reynolds returns at halfback — interesting to see if he makes the game.
The huge news at the Dolphins is of course Payne Haas out, which means Buy Xavier Willison — even as a one-week add in draft leagues, he'll see plenty of minutes and plenty of work. The Dolphins had a great win against the Sharks and finally looked like the team we thought they'd be. Herbie Farnworth is a must-own in all formats — base stat beast, offloading beast, tackle-breaking beast. He was on 75 at half time and only scored 12 more. That wasn't a sea moment, that's a "you got away with one" — get him in now. Jake Averillo — happy with that late try. Felise Kaufusi ("Finnefoui Aku" on the pod) is the mid-range cash cow to bring in for sure — base and power has been phenomenal for three weeks. His second-row partner Kulikefu Finefeuiaki is just as good — base a little less, relies more on attack, but solid pickup on waivers or free agency in draft.
Bulldogs vs Knights
The Knights struggled at the back end of a game where they had no possession — competitive for the first 20 before the sin-binning killed them. The Bulldogs haven't looked overly impressive in attack. Hold Stephen Crichton if you started with him, but not an add. Same with Hold Jacob Preston. Bailey Hayward is the cheapie number 9 — if you're running double cheapy you need to get to Brailey and Harry Grant this week, do not wait any longer.
Sell Jacob Kiraz. Brought in across all formats, really let us down — not looking to get involved, no tackle breaks, no offloads. Cutting ties. Stephen knows it's too early and against everything he preaches about patience. He'll probably score 120 this week and look like Jacob Kiraz again, but from what he saw it wasn't great. Connor Tracey playing great but not relevant — better options at fullback. Fletcher Hunt is an add in draft leagues.
Knights: Terrell May (Trey Mooney) suspended, which brings Tyson Frizell into the starting side. Hold Dylan Lucas — base and power has been fantastic, just needs some attack to elevate the scores. Fletcher Sharp named — wait and see how the PCL responds. NRL physios have spoken about the aggravation and pain factors when first coming back. Don't jump straight on him.
Panthers vs Eels
The Panthers have looked unbelievable. All of their assets are relevant. Buy Thomas Jenkins in all formats. You're paying up a little but no one's jumping on him — love him as a pod play. Break-even will be low, he's going to make cash, and he's not going to stop scoring tries in that Penrith juggernaut. Hold Isaah Yeo — bounced back with an 84 after we said sell due to minutes. Hold another week, still concerned he's not playing 80. Buy Nathan Cleary — the number one halfback in the game, bring him in ASAP. Dylan Edwards is another pod fallback fullback option instead of going Turbo, which most are at the moment.
Eels: if you started with Mitchell Moses, Sell — it's time to cut ties. You've got to get to Nico Hynes and you've got to get to Nathan Cleary as soon as possible. Lost Hopgood for the season — no draft add. Don't be adding Kitione Kautoga or Dylan Brown in the back row. Jonah Pezzet starts in your classic and fantasy teams if you had Cody Walker on the bye.
Cowboys vs Storm
G7 30 Saturday night game — thanks NRL scheduling. Storm could do anything. Don't think the Cowboys come back and are competitive in this one, but you just don't know what form to read into from their Gold Coast win last week. Hold Scott Drinkwater — bounced back after we told everyone to sell. Looked electric, albeit against the Titans. Better options out there. Buy Jaxon Purdue (Jackson Purgeu) — plenty of you stashed him at 5/8. Don't mind bringing him in at a position that's been really challenging for us. Zac Laybutt comes in for Chester (suspended). Reed Mahoney — get that garbage out of here.
Storm: Eliesa Katoa (Uda Kamanu) is your option if you wanted to go back-row that direction instead of Jackson Ford. Stephen is going Ford, but Katoa has looked fantastic this year. Buy Jahrome Hughes (Joe Chan) — must-own, bring him in. Lazarus (Lazardi) is out for a month so you need to sell. Harry Grant should be owned highly. Nick Meaney — goal-kicking winger at Melbourne hasn't worked out, get rid of him. Buy Sualauvi Fa'alogo — not too late to jump on, grab him if you don't have him, he looks unbelievable. You'll be paying more now though.
Raiders vs Sharks
Raiders: Hold Hudson Young — gun in the second row if you started. Sell Joseph Tapine — has not produced. Noah Martin still has cash to make but you've missed the boat. Xavier Savage (Tomale) on the wing has been unbelievable — like him as an add/pod play, definitely in draft, pod play for classic and fantasy.
Sharks were really disappointing. Buy Blake Brailey — if you're running double hooker, go Brailey over Harry Grant for the pod factor. Either is fine. Addin Fonua-Blake has been an absolute flop — you can move on from him or Tino really quickly. Hold in draft leagues. If you want to go Nico Hynes instead of Nathan Cleary, Stephen wouldn't — but he understands the anti-pod play. Jesse Colquhoun (Jesse Cole Hines) still has cash to make and has looked good the last couple of weeks. Kayal Iro — be patient one more week and reassess. 60 points in base last week; attack has to come.
Titans vs Dragons
Sunday night special. Sell Keanu Kinnie — most will be moving on and you have to, given how well other fullbacks are going. Teddy, Edwards, Turbo. If you don't have Reece Walsh, he needs to come in. Time to say goodbye to Kinnie. Iszac Fa'asuamaleaui (Arama) making cash. Jaimin Jolliffe (Faye and Marnie) making cash — tempted to play them in the 18 against the Dragons, probably on reserves for now. Jayden Campbell looked unbelievable — is he the pod of all pod plays at halfback? Very tempted, but Stephen doesn't trust the Titans.
Dragons: it's all about Buy Valentine Holmes — fixture-proof, team-proof, always relevant and scoring very nicely. Love him as a trade-in target for fantasy and SuperCoach. Buy Hamish Stewart — finally back in the starting side, and with Ryan Couchman suspended for four weeks, he should get more minutes. Really like it, particularly in drafts. Moses Suli is an add in draft leagues too.
Round 4 Buy / Sell / Hold Summary
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.