Cherry-Evans has fanatics feeling cheery
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday March 29, 2011
MANLY rookie Daly Cherry-Evans hasn't only filled Trent Hodkinson's old halfback jumper with aplomb, the Queensland-born No.7 has proved just as huge a hit as his predecessor did for Toyota NRL Dream Team coaches last year.Last season, Hodkinson, who has made an impressive start to this season with the undefeated Bulldogs, was among fantasy football's genuine cash cows. Astute Dream Team coaches who bought Hodkinson cheap watched their investment soar by thousands thanks to his tremendous workload and point-scoring ability.Cherry-Evans has had the same impact, and with three tough NRL rounds now completed - which signals the first re-evaluation of each players' market value - it was expected the 21-year-old's worth could increase by $60,000.While it's an enormous spike, Dream Team's resident expert Lone Scout advised coaches to resist the temptation to trade him and to instead "ride" the greenhorn's anticipated run of big scores."His scores have been 29, 49 and it appears as though he scored 51 in Manly's win over Newcastle, and when you consider Cherry-Evans's starting price was $73,600, it justifies my pre-season calls for everyone to recruit him because he is the competition's ultimate cash cow this year," Lone Scout said. "In the last two weeks, he has lived up to his hype in terms of scoring."He is the Trent Hodkinson of 2011 because he started the year as an unknown, he's been slotted straight into halfback, he's a kicker - which means there is extra [Dream Team] value in that he can kick goals - and halfbacks score well."He was always a safe buy, and I estimate his value will increase overnight by $50,000 to 60,000."Cherry-Evans is the type of player Dream Team coaches dream about. He's scoring points ... even if he was scoring 30, he'd still be great value ... but the last two weeks have been phenomenal."Should Cherry-Evans score at least 30 points in this Friday night's game against Souths at Gosford, it's expected his value will increase by a further $30,000."That would mean anyone who selected him before the opening round would gain between $80,000 to $100,000 in their salary cap with just one player," Lone Scout said.The challenge for Dream Team coaches would be to see how far Cherry-Evans could take them. "We all know he is going to make us money, the question is how long do we ride him," Lone Scout said. "If he's averaging 50 points, he's a keeper. You wouldn't trade him because that is the kind of player you want."However, if he starts to drop, there'll be questions that need to be addressed: Do you trade him out? Do you keep him because he might come good? That is the point when your 'guesstimation' comes into play."It's when you need to work out whether you trade him for a [Gold Coast halfback] Scott Prince, who has started slowly but should come good, when his price drops below what it should be."If he goes down far enough, some coaches will back themselves to trade for Prince, who started the season at a whopping $308,000, just before his run starts."The other cheap-as-chips buy who has so far earned his keep is Newcastle back-rower Chris Houston, who started the Dream Team season at $84,000 but was expected to have increased in value by as much as $40,000 when the new market is released.Houston has recorded scores of 26, 36 and an estimated 37 in the first three rounds, but it's expected he'll get even greater minutes - and Dream Team opportunities - due to the high injury toll Newcastle has suffered. Isaac De Gois (broken thumb), Neville Costigan (broken arm), Beau Henry (broken ankle), Cameron Ciraldo (torn pectoral muscle), Mark Taufua (broken finger) and Ben Rogers (dislocated shoulder) are all sidelined.Online tipsLog on to nrl.com for strategy advice and late mail from Lone Scout.Top 10 players in NRL Dream Team1. Cameron Smith (Storm)Value: $372,200 Total points: 1162. Ashley Harrison (Titans)Value: $290,800 Total points: 1113. Nathan Hindmarsh (Eels)Value: $363,600 Total points: 1064. Corey Parker (Broncos)Value: $391,700 Total points: 1055. Andrew Ryan (Bulldogs)Value: $259,900 Total points: 1026. Aiden Tolman (Bulldogs)Value: $233,400 Total points: 1027. Jamie Soward (Dragons)Value: $320,100 Total points: 978. Simon Mannering (Warriors)Value: $247,200 Total points: 969. Shaun Fensom (Raiders), rightValue: $311,900 Total points: 9510. Paul Gallen (Sharks)Value: $367,500 Total points: 90**** Scores provisional ****Free to play, so register anytimeThis season, the Herald, nrl.com and afl.com.au have teamed up to invite you to play the official fantasy football games. You can join anytime and be eligible for great weekly prizes.Head to head competition begins this weekend, so make sure you're in a league with friends. There's $500 for each week's top points-scorer and the major prize is a new Toyota FJ Cruiser.The first 30,000 people from NSW or the ACT who register will also receive an offer to have the Herald and The Sun-Herald delivered for a complimentary period of eight weeks at no cost to the subscriber.To join the Toyota NRL Dream Team competition, go to nrl.com and register as a MYNRL member. Then register to play. To play Toyota AFL Dream Team, go to afl.com.au and register.Follow the links at the top of this page to compete against other SMH readers.Take Dream Team with you, get live scores on your mobile or iPhone. Available at the App Store, by searching for 2011 Toyota NRL Dream Team and 2011 Toyota AFL Dream Team
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