Fantasy Super Rugby: Round 17 Preview

Beauden Barrett returns to the Hurricanes this weekend but doesn't come recommended by in-house expert Dr Stats. Photo / Getty Images.

With the final two weeks of the regular season upon us fantasy coaches need to be more careful than ever in setting their teams for the round ahead.

By this point of the season you should have a fair idea what you're doing within the game, it's now a case of being vigilant in managing your team through the final rounds of the season.

Super Rugby franchises have the potential to cause more havoc than ever with both World Cup and finals strategy coming into play and at least one team is already looking towards 2016 in their team selection this week.

Some stars taking a pre-World Cup or playoffs break this weekend have already been named. Ma'a Nonu, Aaron Smith, Ben Smith, Malakai Fekitoa, Handre Pollard and Adriaan Strauss are all on the shelf while the Cheetahs have dropped or benched a number of regular starters as they look towards next season.

Crusaders and All Black back rower Kieran Read is being handled carefully as he recovers from a concussion as are fellow-injured World Cup hopefuls Israel Dagg, Colin Slade, Steven Luatua, Charlie Faumuina, Tony Woodcock and Jerome Kaino. All are unlikely to take part in any more Super Rugby this season.

Beauden Barrett returns to action this weekend for the Hurricanes, as they attempt to seal the minor premiership, and will be an attractive option for many coaches. However, I'll be passing on the All Black superstar this round as he won't be doing any goal kicking and I suspect he will not play 80 minutes.

With under half of teams named at the time of writing this article, a huge amount of top players have already been ruled out - keep your eyes peeled on team announcements as they continue to be revealed.

Looking ahead to this weekend, there are a number of fixtures with potential to provide big points and I expect a bumper round for most coaches.

While the two New Zealand derbies are attractive targets, my eyes are focused on the Reds v Chiefs match in Brisbane tomorrow. Both sides enjoy an open game and Brisbane's soil should be a little less soggy than in Napier or Auckland.

Quade Cooper ($192,100) returned to action last weekend and put up his second 50+ score from three appearances this season. Cooper is a solid choice this weekend as is Will Genia ($109,700) and James Hanson ($86,300).

As for the Chiefs, they surprisingly struggled last weekend against the Highlanders and I expect a bounce-back performance. Returning All Blacks Liam Messam and Brodie Retallick lead the choices while Tim Nanai-Williams is the pick of the backs.

Also keep in mind that these next two rounds are the last ones where you can exploit the uniqueness of your squad and make ground on rivals ahead of you on the leader board. Once the finals begin, all coaches are allowed unlimited trades to reset their squads and battle over the finish line in style.

Get the latest fantasy advice from Dr Stats Thursdays at 6.25pm on Radio Sport with D'Arcy Waldegrave.

On the bench:
Patrick Tuipulotu, Blues (out for season)
Akira Ioane, Blues (out for season)
Blake Gibson, Blues (out for season)
Lolagi Visinia, Blues (out indefinitely)
Culum Retallick, Blues (out indefinitely)
Jamison Gibson-Park, Blues (benched)
Francis Saili, Blues (out indefinitely)
Handre Pollard, Bulls (rested)
Adriaan Strauss, Bulls (rested)
Arno Botha, Bulls (benched)
Deon Stegmann, Bulls (out 1 week)
Grant Hattingh, Bulls (benched)
Jesse Kriel, Bulls (benched)
Bjorn Basson, Bulls (benched)
Sam Carter, Brumbies (out for season)
Joe Pietersen, Cheetahs (benched)
Clayton Blommetjies, Cheetahs (dropped)
Michael van der Spuy, Cheetahs (dropped)
Tian Meyer, Cheetahs (dropped)
Willie Britz, Cheetahs (dropped)
Danie Mienie, Cheetahs (benched)
Raymond Rhule, Cheetahs (out 1-2 weeks)
Damian McKenzie, Chiefs (benched)
Pauliasi Manu, Chiefs (benched)
Ben Tameifuna, Chiefs (dropped)
Ross Filipo, Chiefs (dropped)
Maama Vaipulu, Chiefs (benched)
Anton Lienert-Brown, Chiefs (benched)
Hosea Gear, Chiefs (dropped)
Ben Funnell, Crusaders (benched)
Alex Hodgman, Crusaders (benched)
Jimmy Tupou, Crusaders (out indefinitely)
Aaron Smith, Highlanders (rested)
Ben Smith, Highlanders (rested)
Malakai Feitoa, Highlanders (rested)
Liam Coltman, Highlanders (benched)
Dan Pryor, Highlanders (benched)
Patrick Osborne, Highlanders (out indefinitely)
Ma'a Nonu, Hurricanes (rested)
Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Hurricanes (benched)
Brad Shields, Hurricanes (benched)
Otere Black, Hurricanes (dropped)
Lionel Mapoe, Lions (out 1 week)
Sefanaia Naivalu, Rebels (out for season)
Laurie Weeks, Rebels (suspended, out for season)
Luke Burgess, Rebels (dropped)
Tom English, Rebels (benched)
Scarra Ntubeni, Stormers (out 1-2 weeks)
Nizaam Carr, Stormers (benched)
Vincent Koch, Stormers (benched)
Rob Horne, Waratahs (suspended, out for season)
Stephen Hoiles, Waratahs (benched)

Top pick:
Quade Cooper, Reds

Cheap pickups:
Lachie Turner, Reds
Adam Thomson, Reds
Seabelo Senatla, Stormers
Alex Ainley, Highlanders
Nehe Milner-Skudder, Hurricanes