Fantasy NRL: Why aren't you owning these guys?

Shaun Fensom is a top pick for this week's action. photo / Getty Images

After five rounds of Dream Team Fantasy NRL it's time to evaluate the ownership trends of our game players.

Round five produced some huge fantasy performances, largely by widely-owned players. However, there are still plenty of big-guns hovering under the radar and fantasy flops that owners should not be persisting with.

Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith must have himself in his fantasy team as he turned around his early-season run of poor form with a big round five.

Hopefully you took my advice on Smith last week with a grain of salt and simply benched him for a round as he once again looks relevant for fantasy teams ahead of a clash with the Dragons who give up plenty of fantasy points.

Aside from Smith, three other players went past the 70-point mark in round five and all deserve your attention.

Nathan Friend ($373,000) is a one-category wonder but will keep posting big scores if the Warriors continue to make mistakes and are starved of possession.

Sam Burgess ($415,000) is an elite front row option and will become even more valuable once international and Origin season begins.

Not enough fantasy players own Shaun Fensom ($332,000), who has been the number one second rower in our game over the past 18 months. Get your bets on this tackling machine now.

Speaking of players who deserve more or less fantasy attention, there are a number in the game whose values need to be reviewed at this point in the season.

Boyd Cordner ($309,000) seems to have been on a fantasy tear since the latter stages of last season and deserves higher ownership amongst second rowers while Simon Mannering ($268,000), like 2013, is off to another slow start and can be benched until he shows some form.

In the halves, Shaun Johnson ($279,000) is the most-owned player despite not being close to the top-10 scorers in his position while John Sutton ($407,000) is not widely owned despite being one of the best fantasy halves in 2013.

Dream Team Fantasy NRL players have placed a lot of faith in the cheap, but so far impotent Sam Tomkins ($155,000). 36% of teams own Tomkins as a back despite him averaging less than 18 points per game. Another fullback struggling for fantasy form this year is Billy Slater ($397,000) who can be safely dropped from your side.

Instead look to Pat Richards ($130,000), who is providing the most bang for your buck in the backs, or Will Chambers ($408,000) who's on a try-scoring tear at present.

The big player news this week sees Jared Waerea-Hargreaves return from suspension to face the Eels while Tigers fullback James Tedesco is set to miss up to nine weeks with an ankle injury and can be dropped.

Top Picks:
Shaun Fensom, Raiders
Boyd Cordner, Roosters

Value picks:
Pat Richards, Tigers
Nathan Peats, Eels

On the bench:
James Tedesco, Tigers (out 6-9 weeks)
Jack de Belin, Dragons (suspended one week)
Aidan Guerra, Roosters (benched)
Feleti Mateo, Warriors (dropped)
Chad Townsend, Warriors (dropped)
Glen Fisiiahi, Warriors (out 1-3 weeks)
Chase Stanley, Bulldogs (out 3 weeks)
Tinirau Arona, Sharks (benched)