Fantasy Super Rugby: Reds pasting opens floodgates for Blues

Lolagi Visinia broke the 30-point mark helping the Blues to post more than 300 Fantasy points. Photo / APN

But even with Simon Hickey, points will be scarce in Chiefs clash

The Blues became just the third club this year to post more than 300 fantasy points as a team in their 44-14 thrashing of the Reds at Eden Park.

While just Simon Hickey ($7,150,000) and Lolagi Visinia ($7,590,000) broke the 30-point mark, both were season-best scores against a Reds side that had previously been fairly stingy opponents as far as fantasy is concerned.

The Reds have conceded two big team scores in a row and face the Crusaders this weekend, who are coming off a season-best total against the Brumbies.

Nemani Nadolo ($9,160,000) looks like he may become a fixture in many squads going forward, while Richie McCaw ($5,020,000) scored 25 points in his return to action and is a relatively cheap pick-up.

The Reds are particularly vulnerable to opposing backs so I'm picking Nadolo for another big game, while Ryan Crotty ($9,630,000) looks like a solid option as a player fourth in the league in clean breaks.

The Blues themselves face off against the Chiefs in New Plymouth on Friday night where fantasy points will be much more difficult to come by for the visitors. To me, only Hickey has a great match-up, while, on the flipside, the Chiefs' forwards may strike gold.

Sam Cane ($6,580,000) and Liam Messam ($6,670,000) are standouts this week, while big Ben Tameifuna ($3,890,000), who has been irrelevant so far this year, may finally get his first try of the season.

A key match-up to exploit is the Hurricanes v Rebels fixture. The Hurricanes are still conceding the most fantasy points per game of any team which makes Jason Woodward ($8,510,000) a captaincy candidate for your side while Scott Higginbotham ($5,150,000) is a big risk-reward play.

The Rebels also concede a lot of fantasy points, so Dane Coles ($2,480,000), Jack Lam ($4,140,000), Beauden Barrett ($7,910,000), Andre Taylor ($7,700,000) and Conrad Smith ($8,160,000) are all great options.

In selection and injury news this week - Deon Fourie will start from the bench for the Stormers, Jeremy Thrush has yet to be cleared to play for the Hurricanes, Luke Braid is out for the Blues while Steven Luatua starts from the bench, as does Piri Weepu. Keiran Read is still yet to be cleared to return to action after showing concussion symptoms.

Get the latest fantasy advice from Dr Stats Thursdays at 6pm on Radio Sport with D'Arcy Waldegrave.