GameDay Squad Rugby League: Around The Grounds!

In this blog we will have a brief look at the previous and upcoming rounds of the NRL. In round 13, who's performances stood out for the right or wrong reasons and which players made the GDS Squad of the round. With round 14 of GameDay Squad Rugby League not too far away, who should coaches consider starting and which players have positive matchups. Have a read below and gain an edge over your competition. Let us know your thoughts on who we have down below on all of our social channels: twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.

GDS Squad of the week for round 13

HOK - Jeremy Marshall-King (Dolphins) 76 points

MID - Terrell May (Roosters) 107 points

MID - Joseph Tapine (Raiders) 90 points

MID - Adam Elliott (Knights) 77 points

EDG - Raymond Faitala-Mariner (Dragons) 104 points

EDG - Jacob Preston (Bulldogs) 89 points

HLF - Sam Walker (Roosters) 61 points

HLF - Daniel Atkinson (Sharks) 57 points

CTR - Euan Aitken (Dolphins) 83 points

CTR - Will Penisini (Eels) 64 points

WNG - Mathew Feagai (Dragons) 61 points

WNG - Sione Katoa (Sharks) 58 points

FB - Scott Drinkwater (Cowboys) 95 points

BENCH FWD - Ata Mariota (Raiders) 76 points

BENCH FWD - Toby Couchman (Dragons) 70 points

BENCH HLF - Dylan Brown (Eels) 57 points

BENCH BACK - Kaeo Weekes (Raiders) 69 points

BENCH BACK - Dane Gagai (Knights) 61 points

Squad Total 1355 points

How many of these players did you start?

The performance of the week

This award goes to Terrell May. When May has been given the minutes this season, he has been a gun. Against the Cowboys, he scored a very impressive 107 points in a 75-minute performance. The most impressive part of this performance was that he scored 69 points just through running metres and tackles. On attack, he had 1 try, 1 line break and 9 tackle breaks for 41 points. May averages 51 points this season but is a player to be avoided when the Roosters forward pack is at full strength. With Collins and Crichton missing last week due to NSW duties, May saw increased minutes. If May can carve out a 50+ minute role, he will become an auto pick for me most weeks. He is a PPM monster and has a PPM of 1.13 this season. May is 25 years old and is now in his third season of first grade. Haas and Yeo have been the best two middle forwards in GDS for some time and I believe May can join them in the top tier if he is given the opportunity. I would like to see him have a bigger minute role but with the Roosters current rotation, I can't see it happening this season. With him still being relatively young, I think he is one of the best players when it comes to dynasty in GDS. If you don't already have his card, I would look at adding him to your collection as soon as possible.

Riser

This award goes to Kaeo Weekes. With Fogerty being out injured, Weekes has been making every post while he has the starting halfback role. He has a fullback position designation due to him playing most of his NRL career as a fullback and I believe this benefits him this season. Weekes made the squad of the round last week as he produced a season high 69-point performance against the Dolphins. With an average of 57 points, Weekes is ranked 5th in the GDS fullback rankings. He might not offer the ceiling like a Latrell, Edwards, or Tedesco but if you are after a starting option that has been rather consistent, Weekes may be a decent starting option on occasions. Weekes is only 22 years old, and I believe that we may see a promising career from him. He might be flying under the radar this season for some GDS coaches due to his position designation but with youth on his side, I think he can be a great depth piece for any GDS coaches' squad.

Faller

This award goes to Briton Nikora. Nikora hasn't been having a great season in GDS and is averaging 39.6 points. This is considerably down on his 2023 average of 48.8 points. His score does tend to take a dip in games when Hynes doesn't play. Hynes delivers some great passes to put Nikora into space and this gives him a boost in attacking stats. What we have seen is a decrease in running metres, in 2023 Nikora was averaging 102m and this season he is averaging 70m. There has also been an increase in his missed tackles as well, in 2023 Nikora averaged 2.9 per game and this season he averages 4.4 per game. The biggest drop off has been through tries and line breaks. Nikora has dropped from an average of 6.1 points through these two stats in 2023 to an average of 1.4 points this season. On a positive note, he is averaging 3 more tackles per game this season. With many very good edge options available each week, Nikora is well down the pecking order in my rankings at the moment. There isn't any reason he can't turn his season around and now might be a great time to buy low.

GDS Team to Beat - Round 14

HOK - Damien Cook (Rabbitohs) - GDS average of 51 points & positional rank of 1st

MID - Payne Haas (Broncos) - GDS average of 64 points & positional rank of 1st

MID - Isaah Yeo (Panthers) - GDS average of 64 points & positional rank of 2nd

MID - Addin Fonua-Blake (Warriors) - GDS average of 58 points & positional rank of 3rd

EDG - David Fifita (Titans) - GDS average of 67 points & positional rank of 2nd

EDG - Haumole Olakau'atu (Sea Eagles) - GDS average of 57 points & positional rank of 3rd

HLF - Mitchell Moses (Eels) - GDS average of 49 points & positional rank of 13th

HLF - Matt Burton (Bulldogs) - GDS average of 54 points & positional rank of 7th

CTR - Zac Lomax (Dragons) - GDS average of 52 points & positional rank of 4th

CTR - Dane Gagai (Knights) - GDS average of 54 points & positional rank of 6th

WNG - Reuben Garrick (Sea Eagles) - GDS average of 48 points & positional rank of 7th

WNG - Jacob Kiraz (Bulldogs) - GDS average of 50 points & positional rank of 6th

FB - Latrell Mitchell (Rabbitohs) - GDS average of 62 points & positional rank of 5th

BENCH FWD - J'maine Hopgood (Eels) - GDS average of 53 points & positional rank of 5th

BENCH FWD - Keaon Koloamatangi (Rabbitohs) - GDS average of 50 points & positional rank of 8th

BENCH HLF - Jahrome Hughes (Storm) - GDS average of 57 points & positional rank of 4th

BENCH BACK - Selwyn Cobbo (Broncos) - GDS average of 50 points & positional rank of 5th

BENCH BACK - Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (Warriors) - GDS average of 55 points & positional rank of 7th

Players with positive matchups

Latrell Mitchell

Since returning from suspension in round 10, Latrell has averaged 73 points and he is the inform fullback in GDS over this period. This week he is up against the Titans who are allowing an average of 67 points to opposing fullbacks over their last three games. The Titans are also allowing an average of 28 points to be scored against them each week. I'm expecting this game to be played in fine conditions and at a fast pace. With both teams' defences not being all that great this year, I think we will see a lot of points scored. If the above comes to fruition, Latrell should be able to score very well, and he is ranked as my top fullback by some margin this week.

Haumole Olakau'atu

Haumole has been having a very good season and even though he is part of the NSW squad for Game 1, he still earns himself a starting spot for this week's team to beat. He's been incredibly consistent this season and has only had scores of less than 50 points against the Storm and Eels. Both teams are ranked inside the top five teams that allow the least points to the right edge position. This week the Sea Eagles come against the Panthers at home and last week the Panthers allowed Raymond Faitala-Mariner to score 104 points against them. Even before this game, the Panthers were allowing an average of 45 points to the right edge position. I weigh the players' scoring capability in GDS above how many points a defence allows to a certain position. Basically, I think Haumole's match up against the Panthers is a recipe for success.

Jahrome Hughes

After a loss against the Sea Eagles in round 12, the Storm had the bye in round 13. With Craig Bellamy as coach, I'm expecting the Storm to come out firing this weekend after having a week off and with their most recent result being a loss. Hughes is a player that has been very productive for GDS coaches this season and with him being the dominant half for the Storm this week, I think he is due for a very big game. Newcastle's defence was woeful at times against an under-strength Bulldogs last week and if they don't improve, Hughes is capable of being the highest scoring player this round.

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