This could pretty easily be an all Tahs post. I’ll try to add some variety if possible though. The moral of the story is — hope your players are facing the Lions. They leak like a fishnet. The previously bumbling Sydney boys took advantage, and it showed in fantasy land.
The top spot in the standings is looking familiar with Steven Hawkin holding it down for another week, and retaining the FoxSports overall lead. Well done that man. Our beloved Bobas came through with a ridiculous 565 points for highest of the round. Welcome to the top 50! Making a jump of 84 spots is quite the effort. We’re still tops in the league standings too, but our average slipped a little this week with the competition gaining some ground. Let’s put them back in their place this coming round. And now for the recap …
Blinders
- Drew Mitchell, Waratahs: I’ve always thought the shorter his hair got the better he played. Well the buzz cut did wonders. Bagging 4 tries is a fantasy jackpot. Add in all the tackle busts and line breaks and all of a sudden he’s breaking the century mark. He’s got to be the first to do that.
- Israel Dagg, Highlanders: Scored 3 tries himself in a losing effort against the Bulls, who have also been known for some defensive lapses this year (but don’t worry, they still win). Had a real spark to his running which has been absent the last couple weeks. Maybe this will be the jolt he needs to keep this kind of play up.
- Dean Mumm, Waratahs: Perhaps he’s getting back into the swing after his suspension because he was lights out. Great ball running and made an impressive 19 tackles to show he still likes the dirty stuff too.
- Berrick Barnes, Waratahs: Played a good distribution game on a night when there was plenty of distributing to be done. Kicking is on point too. Much better than his 5 point bomb last week. Woof.
- Pierre Spies, Bulls: Could have easily gone with either Cliffy Palu or Josh Holmes as they were just behind in the points, but I did say I’d try to keep some variety to the Tah-parade we have going this week. The big No. 8 made a strong return from injury with his usual dangerous ball running and dotted down for 2 tries. He should return to last year’s form.
Flops
- Ryan Kankowski, Sharks: After a great start to the season, Kanko had a bit of a dud, recording -2 points. Too many errors, penalties, missed tackles, and not enough running. Was one of those days against the Brumbies …
- Bryan Habana, Stormers: The team had a great game to down the ‘Canes but Banana came away with a goose egg. 4 handling errors didn’t help.
- Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tahs: Ok, ok, he wasn’t that bad. But when it seemed like everyone was getting over the try line I expected more from TPN than 12 points. Disappointing. But it does add another Tah to the coverage….
Bargain Bin
- Young Tahs: More of them! But seriously, Kane Douglas and Dave Dennis are solid options at lock and backrow, especially on your bench. They’re cheap and they’ve been consistently producing with the game time they’ve been given.
- Francois Hougaard, Bulls: He’s a winger that’s listed as a scrum half which is a pretty big advantage. He’s either lucky, runs like lightning, or both because he has great running stats and 4 tries in his last 2 games played. Worth a flyer.
- Jano Vermaak, Lions: So he’s not that cheap and is on a shitty team, but I rate him and he was spectacular last year. He’s back in the starting role this week and I expect big things from him if he can remain healthy.
Reds and Chiefs with the bye this round.
