Who Cut the Cheese?

A lot of fantasy owners find themselves saying, “what do I do with Brandon Smith”? 

Well, we are here to see if we can help you decide what you should do by having a look at all the options.

Firstly, I am a big believer in “follow your process”. There’s clearly a reason that Smith was in your team in the first place, right? Well ask yourself what was your process to have him? Is it still relevant? And more importantly, why am I looking to YEET him?

Once you have answered those questions to yourself, you will have more insight on what you should do. Let’s have a look at the options and the pros and cons.

We have a large sample size on who Brandon Smith is. A hooker/middle forward that is basically a human wrecking ball. While he has never been a fantasy gun, he has always had some sort of fantasy relevance. 

Keep Smith?

The Roosters bench is absolute carnage, with a hooker, a utility and 2 rookies on the bench, this team screams of help from senior players. That’s not to mention the already depleted forward pack the Roosters are carrying. I predict Smith to be playing 65 minutes this week between Hooker and Middle. Depending on what happens with Victor Radley these minutes could fluctuate and change where he spends the majority of his time. Smith has a not too bad breakeven of 44, there’s no massive reason he can’t beat this BE this week, in which case he will make money.

Let’s also note the Roosters are playing the Warriors, while they won in RD1 they aren’t known to be a defensive powerhouse (No offence Regular Rob). And honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Smith jags a try. 

Lastly, if Smith bangs out a 70 this week, you’re going to be kicking yourself that you traded him. While the ceiling for Smith isn’t 100+ you’ve paid for his floor (which is apparently 34). This is my favourite argument, we’ve all rage traded a player to someone we thought was better because they scored well the previous week. Only for the player you’ve traded to go on and get a 65 while your new player gets a 40.

Trade Smith? 

We all saw the footage of Smith getting levelled by ex-teammate Felise Kaufusi. And I’m sure everyone can agree that it could be hit of the year. Because of this hit it looks like Smith may be carrying a suspected rib injury. This could be a major hamper for his scoring this week and he may be managed because of this. If Radley is ruled out, we could even see Smith play all his minutes at lock, while it may be unlikely it’s a possibility. In that case then there’s a chance that we see his PPM drop.

Upgrading Smith to someone that you think is an elite keeper (Robson, Cleary, Haas, ETC). I agree, if you have followed your process and realised you’ve made a mistake in bringing him into your team, upgrade him. Just don’t do a sideways trade chasing last weeks point (Players like J. King, Nichols, ETC). While his RD1 score was a worry, that game was something of an enigma, HIAs, injuries and a yellow card definitely altered the Roosters rotations. 

My final say, personally I don’t own Smith but if I did I would be holding. He’s not someone who’s going to lose cash and also someone who could score well again this week. While it is a risk, you must ask yourself, What’s a trade worth to me? For me that answer is 150k. And unless I’m making that money or equivalent points from trading him, then it seems like a waste.

Intern Dale, A.K.A Ryan’s apprentice. Xoxo.