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If you have an answer, you likely have a great buy.
Where do Jordan Riki and Tesi Niu fit in? Both are cheapies, both are set for starting spots and both are in the top 30 most popular players. Riki is hoping to take David Fifita s back row spot. Niu has been called Brisbane s best fullback prospect since Darren Lockyer , but has been training mainly in the right centre spot vacated by Kotoni Staggs (ACL).
Is Anthony Milford fit and firing? The former KFC SuperCoach stud starts at his cheapest ever price following a horror year where he averaged just 34 - half the output of his best ever season in 2017. Clearly there is massive upside in Milford if he can recapture the form of four years ago - or even match his 2019 average of 52. But it s a big IF and KFC SuperCoaches eagerly await updates on how he s training, fitness levels, commitment and the impact of Kevin The Milf Whisperer Walters.
In a series analysing who will line up in each position for all 16 teams in the opening round of the Telstra Premiership in 2021, NRL.com looks at the Canberra Raiders.
NRL.com says: Skipper Jarrod Croker will miss the first few rounds due to shoulder surgery, with Matt Timoko or Harley Smith-Shields likely to fill the breach.
With Josh Hodgson pushing to return from a knee reconstruction as early as round one, 2020 breakout star Tom Starling will be hard to leave off the bench – particularly while Hodgson builds confidence back in that knee.
Either way there will be a welcome headache for coach Ricky Stuart with a host of high-calibre middle forwards in Corey Horsburgh, Sia Soliola, Ryan Sutton, Emre Guler and new recruit Ryan James vying for two or three spots.
Rugby League by Paul Crawley
Premium Content He s known as one of the NRL s genuine nice guys, unassuming and always easygoing. But don t think for a minute that makes Jarrod Croker any less tough or competitive. And after recently getting his arm out of a sling following a full reconstruction on a busted shoulder that Croker played almost the entire preliminary final with, now Canberra s humble captain has opened up about what s driving him to be ready for the 2021 season. But forget all those tired old lines about doing it for the boys and that clichéd junk. As much as I love all the boys I hate seeing anyone wear my No.3 jersey, Croker said with his typical honesty.
I haven t done a great deal. Just getting into the rehab side of things and getting a bit of cardio done. Most of the boys aren t back in yet anyway. At the moment I m just trying to tick by, do a bit of cardio and rehab, get the shoulder moving. Do that before Christmas then in the new year get back into it.
The Raiders 2020 season in review
Because of his shoulder rehab, Croker is yet to meet new recruits Caleb Aekins and Albert Hopoate but those two, along with Timoko, Smith-Shields and Adam Cook, and the breakout performances of Semi Valemei after Bailey Simonsson s 2020 injury, will ensure everyone in the back five has someone breathing down their neck.