One of the best attacking teams in the league last season, Canberra are more famous in NRL Fantasy circles as the home of tackle machine and Fantasy favourite Shaun Fensom and last year's breakout star Iosia Soliola. The arrivals of new signings Aidan Sezer and Elliott Whitehead look set to make the Green Machine a popular team with Fantasy coaches again in 2016.
Fantasy guns
Shaun Fensom: The Raiders lock will start the new season costing a tick under $500,000 but is worth every cent. One of the few players in the NRL who can be relied upon to make 45-50 tackles every week, Fensom's minutes dropped a little last season but he still averaged 55 points a game.
Wild cards
Aidan Sezer: Canberra snapped up Sezer from the Titans last year back when Daly Cherry-Evans looked bound for the Gold Coast and the half looks to be just what the Green Machine needed. Sezer's a talented player – averaging 52 Fantasy points a game back in 2013 – but failed to produce many attacking numbers in a weak Titans side last year, ranking 35th in the league for try assists. He joins a Canberra side that ranked third for total points last season and has a generous-looking draw this year with most of their games coming against teams who missed the finals in 2015 – meaning more opportunities for try assists.
Elliott Whitehead: It's not hard to see why Canberra recruited England forward Whitehead after the success they had with Super League recruits Iosia Soliola and Josh Hodgson last season, and Whitehead could prove to be a handy pickup for Fantasy coaches as well. With a price tag of $313,000 he doesn't come super cheap but if he can come close to matching Soliola's scores he'll be a bargain considering his Round 1 break even of about 35.
Jarrod Croker: He's not really a "wild card" but not quite an established Fantasy gun either – but what you get from Croker is one of the best attacking players in one of the NRL's best attacking teams, and a rare centre who can score more than 40 Fantasy points a week. Croker's a terrific goal-kicker and scored a dozen tries last year so remains a solid backline option for Fantasy coaches.
2016 NRL Fantasy prices
Shaun Fensom ($499,000)
Iosia Soliola ($426,000)
Aidan Sezer ($415,000)
Josh Hodgson ($412,000)
Josh Papalii ($400,000)
Paul Vaughan ($378,000)
Blake Austin ($373,000)
Jarrod Croker ($372,000)
Shannon Boyd ($355,000)
Jack Wighton ($326,000)
Sam Williams ($326,000)
Adam Clydsdale ($316,000)
Elliott Whitehead ($313,000)
Jordan Rapana ($281,000)
Jarrad Kennedy ($279,000)
Joseph Leilua ($270,000)
Sisa Waqa ($263,000)
Frank-Paul Nuuausala ($227,000)
Edrick Lee ($226,000)
Mitchell Barnett ($211,000)
Brenko Lee ($211,000)
Kurt Baptiste ($156,000)
Luke Bateman ($134,000)
Rhys Kennedy ($130,000)
This article first appeared on NRL.com.
