Fantasy Super Rugby: Who to pick and who to avoid for week three of the season

Fraser McReight made a strong start to the season for the Red. Photo / Photosport

How good is Fraser McReight? The answer might shock you.

Well, it might shock you if you haven’t watched a whole lot of Reds or Wallabies rugby in recent years, anyway.

The Australian openside flanker was back in action after a round-one bye and straight into his work against Moana Pasifika last weekend with double-digit carries and tackles, a couple of turnovers won, a try and a big fantasy score.

But he wasn’t the only loose forward in the game who has caught some attention.

Moana Pasifika flanker Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa has been impressive in the early part of the season, leading the competition in carries after taking a whopping 29 last weekend.

That led to a question around players not being on the Super Rugby Pacific Fantasy game yet – outside of the quartet who opted out – and whether teams would be monitored throughout the season and the game updated.

At the time of writing this, Ta’eiloa is not available in Fantasy Super Rugby, nor is Chiefs winger Manasa Mataele, who will start in Hamilton against the Brumbies this weekend.

“We are actively monitoring the addition of players to squads and therefore Fantasy Super Rugby Pacific,” Super Rugby Pacific said in a statement.

“We are working with clubs to get players into the game as quickly as possible.”

On the Chiefs, if you’re an active fantasy manager, it might pay to monitor their social channels over the next day or so after Damian McKenzie sustained a potential shoulder injury during training on Thursday.

The Herald understands McKenzie pulled up okay and should be good to go on Saturday, but if you’re looking at him as your captain, it’ll pay to check in on that. You can change players out until they kick off, and with the Chiefs playing in the third game of the round (4.35pm Saturday), there will be plenty of good options available at No 10 should you need one.

For your notes, Moana Pasifika winger Kyren Taumoefolau is the competition’s leading fantasy points scorer with 155 from two rounds. The top points-scorer in the forwards is Western Force loosie Carlo Tizzano. In week one of this column, Tizzano was tagged as a point-of-difference player as he only had 6.6% ownership.

The boat has sailed on that tag now, with 31.9% ownership making him the second most-owned loose forward behind Ardie Savea.

Chiefs midfielder Quinn Tupaea – who started on the bench last week – was the round’s top points-scorer with 98.

A reminder is also in order that you get unlimited trades every week in fantasy, so once teams drop, you can make changes to your heart’s content. You can also use your boosters (triple captain, co-captains or unlimited budget) in any round – but you only get one of each per season.

Here’s what I found for round three after digging through our couple of weeks of the competition.

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Must-haves

At the risk of putting some sort of hex on him, Taumoefolau (4.0) should be in your team this week. His score is inflated by scoring back-to-back doubles, but if you talk about the points that come from those, he’s still putting up good fantasy numbers from line breaks, carry metres and other base stats. Moana Pasifika have seen a total of 181 points scored in their games so far this season, so expect Taumoefolau will get a few chances – even against the Highlanders, who have the third-best defensive record so far this season, allowing an average of 29 points per game.

Tupaea (6.5) is my other must-have this week. He was the top-scoring midfielder in week one, the top-scoring player in week two and is starting again this week. An easy lock for me this week.

Points of difference

Waratahs props this week are a good play if you’re looking for something different. I’m surprised that only 4.5% of teams have brought in Waratahs prop Taniela Tupou (4.5) this week, while 7.6% of teams own Angus Bell (4.5). You could even throw in Siosifa Amone (0.7%, 3.0), after his two-try effort in week one, off the bench. They come in fresh off a bye against the Fijian Drua at home, which could lend its hand to a decent fantasy score in this match-up.

Blues lock Josh Beehre (0.2% ownership, 3.5) is also worth a look this week. He scored well in 27 minutes off the bench last time out and draws the start against the Hurricanes on Saturday.

Seriously consider

Highlanders co-captain Timoci Tavatavanawai (7.5) is playing fantastic rugby at the moment, showing his ability to secure turnovers, make offloads and score the odd try. However, he’s listed in fantasy as a back-three player – spots that are at something of a premium. With games involving Moana Pasifika being high-scoring affairs so far this season, he seems worth the pick this week.

I’d also point out you shouldn’t worry too much if you’ve got a heap of your budget left over. From conversations I’ve had, the general consensus is this is a week where a lot of players will have a lot of their budget left over.

Avoid

Hurricanes hooker Jacob Devery (3.5) remains the second-most-owned hooker in the game after a strong performance in week one. He’s coming off the bench this weekend, so I’d be looking to transfer him out for someone like Ricky Riccitelli (7.0) or Tevita Ikanivere (6.0).

The same can be said about Highlanders prop Ethan de Groot (4.0). If you have him, trade him for someone else.

My week-three XV

Front row: Angus Bell (Waratahs) and Taniela Tupou (Waratahs)

Hooker: Ricky Riccitelli (Blues)

Locks: Josh Beehre (Blues) and Tupou Vaa’i (Chiefs)

Loose trio: Harry Wilson (Reds), Fraser McReight (Reds) and Carlo Tizzano (Force)

Halfback: Cam Roigard (Hurricanes)

First five-eighths: Damian McKenzie (Chiefs)

Midfield: Quinn Tupaea (Chiefs) and Anton Lienert-Brown (Chiefs)

Outside backs: Kyren Taumoefolau (Moana Pasifika), Caleb Tangitau (Highlanders) and Timoci Tavatavanawai (Highlanders)

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Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.