Why Orford could be a keeper

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Why Orford could be a keeper

After four rounds of Dream Team action, it's already time for some tough decisions for Dream Team coaches.



After hitting 50 at last, is it worth persisting with Robbie Farah? Is there any reason to keep misfiring Raiders recruit Matt Orford in your team? Who's the must-have player that three out of four DT teams don't have? Are there any more bargain buys out there?

Read on for our best shot at the answers.

Why you should cut Robbie Farah

Yes we suggested last week Dream Team coaches should hold on to Farah, and yes he has just posted his best score of 2011 so far with an even 50 in round 4. But news on the injury front should have DT coaches worried about Farah's ability to regularly post big scores this season.

A niggling groin injury means Farah is already restricting the amount of training he's doing, which will have an impact on his fitness and tackle-counts. And there's the genuine possibility of the Tigers skipper undergoing surgery, which would rule him out for a six-week stretch. That will be delayed as long as the Tigers' horror casualty list exists, but it remains a week-to-week proposition. Even with his price plummeting, Farah is too expensive a player to leave on your bench for any extended length of time.

There's also evidence to suggest Farah is no longer one of Dream Team's top three players, even when fully fit. His kick metres have gone down considerably this year, with more responsibility being given to Wests halfback Robert Lui. Even without Lui in the side on the weekend (he has been ruled out with injury for six weeks), Farah only scored four points through kick metres.

The third factor to consider when it comes to Farah is the form of his top DT rival. Cameron Smith is absolutely on fire in Dream Team this year, averaging a massive 62.75 points a game. The price difference between the pair (now $71,500) may have put a straight swap out of reach of some DT coaches, but it's worth a look if you can afford it. Another star hooker, Titans No.9 Nathan Friend, plays his first game of the season this week – and he's $5000 cheaper than Farah.

With Farah's price expected to continue dropping until he starts regularly scoring in the mid-to-high 50s again, now could be the time to bite the bullet and cut your losses.

Why you should keep Matt Orford

Seen as a huge recruit for the Canberra Raiders and a bargain buy for Dream Team coaches at the start of the season, Orford has turned out to be the most disappointing NRL signing of the year so far. Many coaches jumped off the Orford bandwagon last week before his first price change came through, with another average score on the weekend taking his value down by $10,000.

There's no question he is playing badly for the Raiders this year. But there are plenty of reasons why: he's at a brand new club, had been recovering from a long-term injury, and before that had been playing in the relatively easy competition of the UK Super League.

Those factors all suggest that Orford might be worth persisting with for patient Dream Team coaches. His status as his team's star signing means he's unlikely to get dropped too soon, particularly with his understudy being a talented but largely untried under-20s player. His form on the field will surely improve (put bluntly, it can't get any worse). And if he starts scoring in the high 20s (practically every other starting half has been scoring 30+ this year) then his lowly price should soon rise.

He's not worth having in your starting side, and he's certainly not worth buying, but if you can afford to leave Orford on your bench he could still make you a bit of valuable cash by the back half of the season.

(Alternatively, you could drop him for Rooster Tom Symonds now if you're after an immediate cash boost, and aren't too concerned with using up early trades.)

This week's must-have

As a former premiership-winning Storm star and now the chief workhorse in the Cowboys pack, Dallas Johnson always looked a good buy, but is he becoming one of the Dream Team giants? His score of 69 against the Eels this week suggests he could be, and despite having a couple of price rises he is still great value at $306,800. His DT hauls have improved each week (41, 42, 56, 69), and even a score of 40 next weekend would see his price continue to rise.

Less than a quarter of DT coaches currently have Johnson in their squad, so jump on board now if you haven't already.

Three new bargains

There are a few young forwards ready to make a big jump in value this week when they play their third game of the season. Two have been named on Manly's bench and come at the rookie price of $73,600. They should get an instant boost in value next week but may not be long-term options, with suspended duo Anthony Watmough and Terence Seu Seu expected to return.

The other bargain of the week has already been mentioned above, and while not as cheap as the Manly duo he'll also get a healthy price boost if he matches last week's 35-point haul. Have a quick hunt for them if you want to boost your salary cap space a little this week.

Source: Bigpond Sport