Amateurs Fantasy Sports

With coaches in the market for a WFB and weighing up Scott Drinkwater and Jacob Kiraz as two of the three main options, I thought it would be interesting to make a case for why Sharpe deserves a shout in your teams—and to assess whether he’s at least a better option than one of the other two. Starting the year with an average of 54.8, the question is: can he maintain that level and push toward keeper status?

The Upside:

To start, I want to lay the foundations for why I think Sharpe is a genuine option by comparing his stats to a certain player—a player I’m sure coaches have frothed over at some point, especially when he’s been moved to the halves and had everyone reaching for the tissues in excitement.

Player X.

9 games

AVG – 58.1

BASE – 34.3

ATT – 31.2

NEG -10.4

Fletcher Sharpe:

6 games

AVG – 54.8

BASE – 34

ATT – 27.7

NEG -7

Diving Deeper:

Player X	Fletcher Sharpe
60% TSR	50% TSR
7.1 tackle busts per game	5.0 tackle busts per game
1.0 offloads per game	1.3 offloads per game
125.9 metres per game	110.0 metres per game
75.3 kick metres per game	11.2 kick metres per game

It was suggested to me that Fletcher Sharpe is what we expected Cameron Munster to be this year in terms of average and performance. But when I dug a little deeper, I found an uncanny resemblance to another player’s stats and overall impact. To me, Sharpe fits the prototype of that player—how he plays the position when given the opportunity is strikingly similar.

The only real differences? Sharpe can’t kick to save his life, and he’s a smaller version of the bloke. Perhaps not as high of a ceiling with the odd 70+ and 100.

I’ve teased you long enough—and I’m sure you’ve already figured it out. It’s none other than Joey Manu.

The reason I opened this piece with that comparison is simple: to show you that Fletcher Sharpe’s numbers aren’t a fluke. We’ve seen this before from a fantasy-relevant gun who’s been shifted out of the centres. And after watching Sharpe climb from a starting price of $550k, I’m guessing you had the same reaction I did:

“It’s not sustainable. I’ll let this one through to the keeper. You can’t catch them all.”

For the KP owners, the thought process might’ve been, “Ponga was the logical, better choice anyway.”

But here’s the simple truth: with WFBs looking as dire as a Monday morning hangover, you now have the chance to plug a cheat code into your lineup—someone who’s not actually a fullback, but a lively half averaging 54.

I’ve always been a strong believer in not starting with premium, out-and-out gun fullbacks in fantasy—because they almost always drop in price. It’s basically an immutable law at this point, so it brings a smile to my face seeing more people finally start to subscribe to that philosophy. These guys tend to be guns by the end of the season, with averages way higher than where they start.

I really wanted to begin with Ponga this year, but I bit my tongue, summoned every ounce of self-control I had, and just settled with JC.

So with that in mind—why not cheat the system a little and get a half playing in your WFB slot, especially if he has the potential to be a long-term keeper?

That brings us nicely to Sharpe’s other upside. The Newcastle Knights don’t have a bye until Round 18, which makes any Knights player incredibly valuable leading up to then. They also feature in two of the major byes (Rounds 12 & 15)—pure fantasy gold for both overall and H2H coaches playing the bye rounds. On top of that, they cover two of the minor byes (Rounds 13 & 16).

And let’s not forget the value of that DPP—it can’t be overstated. Just eyeballing it (and assuming JC/Humphreys are back by then), the halves are looking especially tricky if coaches aren’t keen on taking a punt on Hynes or I.Katoa. Sharpe could be a handy piece—if he makes it that far—or simply lock down a spot in your WFBs.

 The Downsides

Objectively, there are some downsides to taking Fletcher Sharpe over someone like Scott Drinkwater or Jacob Kiraz.

1. Limited Sample Size
   Sharpe has only played 9 games. In contrast, with Drinkwater and Kiraz, you know what you’re getting: a proven, goal-kicking fullback with fantasy pedigree and a winger with upside who was a joy to own and start last year. Any projections for Sharpe to become a fantasy gun or long-term keeper are based on a small sample size and largely reliant on personal projections rather than proven output.
2. How Many Knights?
   At some point, you’ve got to ask: how many Knights can you realistically afford to carry? Personally, I wouldn’t hold more than three. Aside from Ponga, I find it hard to justify selling any of them due to their bye coverage—unless there are injuries, rotation chaos, or they completely fall apart performance-wise.

• Kalyn Ponga (27.61% owned): It sucks holding him, I get it—but he’s a screaming buy in 1–2 weeks, even factoring in Origin.
• Dylan Lucas: Before injury, he was essentially a cheat code in the centres. Every coach (myself included) will be watching closely to see how that hamstring holds up.
• Greg Marzhew & Kai Pearce-Paul: Both were either starters for coaches or recent pickups, especially KPP.

3. The Knights Are a Mess Right Now
   Adam O’Brien used 11 different halves combinations in 2024 due to form and injury/suspension. Even though I believe the Knights will improve once their forward pack returns, that kind of instability doesn’t help Sharpe’s outlook. As talented as he is, I wouldn’t trust Adam O’Brien as far as I could kick him. That said, I think Sharpe has locked down the jersey—it’s just O’Brien can’t figure out who his halfback is.
4. Can He Sustain It?
   Even though I’ve shown that Sharpe’s stats are sustainable, it’s always worth asking the other side of the question: Can he actually keep it up? That’s the gamble, and it’s something every coach will have to weigh. I can live with the occasional game at fullback if he covers KP there—he has more freedom to run, which offsets his base loss to some extent.

Conclusion:

Fletcher Sharpe, to me, is a fun pick with upside. He can absolutely do a job for you over the next couple of months, thanks to his DPP flexibility and strong bye coverage. Even putting the fantasy lens aside, he’s consistently one of the Knights’ best performers and never stops trying.

That said, based on everything I’ve laid out, my current ranking is:

1. Drinkwater
2. Sharpe
3. Kiraz

That’s not to say Kiraz is a bad pick. In fact, he’s probably one of the only wingers I’d seriously consider buying right now—especially since Marzhew feels like someone you either already locked in or let go to the keeper. Kiraz is a quality winger who averaged 51 in 2024 and is a joy to watch and has great bye coverage.

Still, I struggle with the idea of buying a winger over a half or a goal-kicking fullback, purely due to the lower floor—even if you can argue the point. And regardless of whether you think he’s in contention for NSW, the position he plays brings volatility. Still, I think all three are excellent buys and I wouldn’t oppose to you buying either of them.

For me, I’m buying both Sharpe and Drinkwater. It’s the first time in the last four articles that I’ve actually gone through with the players I wrote about.

And shoutout to Mark—wherever you are, Belgium? Hope you’re smashing some Duvels and double-fisting waffles while basking in that Sharpe pre-season glory. You called it, boss.

The Anonymous Intern