The Postman has the final DT Late Mail of the season… and the health of a winger’s knee is just about as good as it gets DreamTeamers.

NRL Grand Final – Late-ish Late Mail

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A sad day here on DreamTeamers – the last Captaincy Conundrum for 2012.

Before we take a look at who’s shaping to be your best captain options for the big one, let’s review last week’s effort. Remember, I don’t order these players, rather just provide five potential captains to consider plus a wildcard.

FW3 Captains Review

Cameron Smith – 43

Greg Inglis – 38

Ben Barba – 39

Billy Slater – 100

Sam Burgess – 33

Wildcard: Jorge Taufua – 0

Average: 50.6

Average (including wildcard): 44.17

For the second consecutive week, I managed to include the player that cracked three figures. A great effort. Too bad I didn’t take my own advice and captain Slater! Burgess was disappointing, Barba didn’t carve up, neither did Inglis, Smith didn’t have much to tackle, while I hope no one touched Taufua – two scores over 80 then… 0?! REALLY?!

Now it’s time to see who to captain in the grand final… Options are limited, and your captain selection is going to be the difference between premiership glory and horrible defeat.

Grand Final

Cameron Smith

A quiet week against the Sea Eagles, mainly due to his reduced workload in defence with only 24 tackles. But you’d think the Bulldogs would provide much more of a challenge than the Sea Eagles did, so that stat should improve. Perma-captain for a reason, but do you feel the need for a change? The safe option, as per usual.

Cooper Cronk

Carved up last week, finishing with 73. If Melbourne are to win, Cronk will have a say. Plenty of kick metres, try assists and if he can cross the line himself, look out. He’s a hot favourite to claim the Clive Churchill Medal, and in the sort of form he’s in, he might be one of the best captain options as well.

Billy Slater

OK, so I’m not expecting another 100 here, but I still think he can score well, particularly if the Storm get on a roll. I like the look of a 50+ score, so it depends on your situation as to what you do here. Need to make up some ground and are tipping the Storm to roll the Dogs? Captain Slater.

Ben Barba

Remember when he set up that length-of-the-field try in Round 16? Yeah, he scored 99 that week, against the Storm. So he can certainly score well against them, but this is a whole different ball game. Grand final day presents its own unique set of pressures. Will he stand up and lead his side to victory? If you think so, this is your man.

James Graham

The big Englishman has stepped up his game for the finals, scoring 57 against the Rabbitohs. With plenty of grand final experience, you just know he will make an impact regardless of the final result. 40 tackles and 131m last week certainly is a sign of things to come… I’ve got a feeling he might produce the goods.

Wildcard: Krisnan Inu

Perhaps the ultimate wildcard, you never know quite what you’re going to get from Inu. Brilliant one game, quiet the next. I personally couldn’t do it, as anything could happen. But if you want to take a risk, look no further.

Señor says… “I’m feeling a Storm win, so I’m captaining Cronk with Smith as the VC.”

That’s it for the Conundrum in 2012! Thanks so much for reading – I hope I’ve been able to help you at some point this season.

Who’s it going to be, DreamTeamers? Share your captain and vice captain in the comments below.

The Postman has run the rule over the Dogs and Storm to give you the best in show on Grand Final Day DreamTeamers…

The Finals Week 4 Team News analysis is here.

MUST HAVES

The Postman says these five players are MUST HAVES for the Grand Final.

| Cameron SMITH, HOK
Price: $316,800
Last Game: 43

Yes he let you down with a 42 last week – especially if you made him skipper but this is a Grand Final – the Dogs won’t fall over like the Sea Eagles – so pencil him in for 50 tackles, 70 metres, a handful of tackle breaks and offloads, 2-5 goals and about 200 kick metres.

| Ben BARBA, WFB
Price: $251,000
Last Game: 39

He might score 5 if the Dogs get bashed… but if he fires the Bulldogs to a premiership he could score 80+ – either way you have to take the risk and pick him.

| Billy SLATER, WFB
Price: $234,300
Last Game: 100

Exploded last week for the cool century and has that in him again this weekend… though you might want to temper your expectations down to 50-70 points… but you’ll take that right?

| Cooper CRONK, HLF
Price: $271,800
Last Game: 74

The punters are lining up to get on him for the Clive Churchill Medal… and for good reason, because close game or blowout – Cronk will be in everything and his tenacity equals DT points.

Got another sure-fire buy of the Grand Final for The Postman? Deliver the scoop below.

POINT OF DIFFERENCE

| Sam KASIANO, FRF
Price: $157,400
Last Game: 32

Almost everyone will pick Aiden Tolman and James Graham as their props (and with good reason) but if you want to take a stab at being different and possibly being rewarded handsomely – then The Wrist Watch is your man. His tackle breaks and offloads might overcome his lack of tackles… note I said might.

| Josh REYNOLDS, HLF
Price: $252,300
Last Game: 45

Like Barba – he’ll got nuts statistically if the Dogs win… or miss 20 tackles as the Dogs get rolled. It’s either him, Gareth Widdop or perish the thought Kris Keating as your partner for Cooper Cronk in the halves though. But he’s the most expensive so many might not pick him…

| Jesse BROMWICH, FRF
Price: $149,600
Last Game: 41

Like Kasiano – if you don’t go with the Cantebury Twins – Bromwich might be your guy. Has great footwork at the line, so tackle breaks might be of value.

| Todd LOWRIE, 2RF/Ryan HINCHCLIFFE 2RF/HOK
Price: $173,700 and $186,00
Last Game: 26 and 19.

Not flashy but Bellamy loves them both for their no-nonsense, minimal mistake approach. Downside is they tend to share game time but either one will make at least 25 tackles and possibly more… and that may be the extra 10-15 DT points you need if a Sika Manu or Frank Pritchard flame out.

Disagree with The Postman on Kasiano and Bromwich?

DO NOT TOUCH

| Frank PRITCHARD, 2RF
Price: $151,900
Last Game: 39

Scored a try and stopped another… downside it was his team-mate Barba that he stopped. The upside was he was in fact backing up. But he did only score 39 and played nearly the whole game… PASS.

| Michael ENNIS, HOK
Price: $185,500
Last Game: 47

He’s actually scoring well at the moment but if you don’t pick Cameron Smith you are giving yourself next to no chance of sticking with the leaders… find your point of difference elsewhere.

| Mahe FONUA, WFB/CTR
Price: $74,000
Last Game: 8

On standby with Anthony Quinn for Sisa Waqa – and even if he plays he’s Risky McRisk. Can’t see Bellamy putting him in ahead of Quinn even if Waqa is out. So just don’t bother.

Got player you think we’ve missed in any of the categories? Well don’t dilly dally, tell The Postman!

Who else did we miss?

| The Postman’s Mail: The Postman has joined NFI, Señor Winning, Hands Like Feet, Chairman Un and The Dummy’s Half as in our DT Finals League and if you want to join and take us on…

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The Postman has the Grand Final Teams for you DreamTeamers!

No surprises from the Bulldogs, while the Storm have a bench that’s huuuuuuuuuge in number, not necessarily size.

Grand Final Teams – NRL Premiership 2012

Sunday – Grand Final

| EXTRA Mail: The Postman has already joined NFI, Señor Winning, Hands Like Feet, Chairman Un and The Dummy’s Half in our DT Finals League and if you want to join and take us on…

Click here and enter the following League Code: 477297

The Postman delivers his verdict on Finals Week 3 of DT:

Week 3 of the Finals was Billy Slater’s domain DreamTeamers - with the Melbourne star cracking the cool 100 point mark in the Storm’s shellacking of a woeful Manly on Friday.

Cooper Cronk also made Manly look average – pumping out 73 DT points of his own.

But sadly, olde Hip Hip Jorge Taufua didn’t break the duck and Steve Matai went into the negatives in a bad night for Manly…

As for the rest of DT Finals Week 3 - here we go with the Wash Up and congrats to the Dogs for dumping the Bunnies en route to the GF.

Top 5 DT Scores

Billy SLATER 100 - He had been building toward this for the last month… say hello to the century people. (Dodgy try or not!)

Cooper CRONK 73 - What a player… best halfback in the NRL people, and although it isn’t by the length of the straight – he is the best.

James GRAHAM 57 - Has games like this for fun… and evidently makes Grand Finals for fun – this is his 8th straight I believe.

Krisnan INU 57 - Was poised to have an impact after being poor the previous game against Manly… if he’d kicked well he would’ve cracked 60.

Greg EASTWOOD 57 - How can you not love how this kid plays his footy? The difference in the second half as the Dogs put the Bunnies away. That cut out pass was a cracker! (Pity Perrett’s foot touched the sideline).

Top Game Scores 60+

MEL 40-12 MAN: Billy Slater 100, Cooper Cronk 73.

CBY 32-08 SOU: No Scores over 60 – Graham/Inu/Eastwood highest with 57.

Bottom 5 DT Scores

Steve MATAI -8 - Injured and awful… in his defence probably in that order.

Jorge TAUFUA 0 - Had to come crashing down at some point… but no-one thought he’d got from back to back 80+ games to not registering a single point.

Brett STEWART 6 - When Manly get smashed – Stewart never scores well… he’s a points from tries and that’s about it player.

Mahe FONUA 8 - Sisa Waqa would have scored significantly more… not sure Craig Bellamy can risk this guy in the GF personally.

Corey PAYNE/Nathan MERRITT/Andrew EVERINGHAM 10 - In Payne’s defence he scored 10 DT points in about 10 minutes, no excuses however exist for Merritt and Everingham.

How’d that happen?

Greg Eastwood exploded for 57 with a humongous second half where he set up tries for Sam Perrett and Frank Pritchard and scored the final one of the match charging down a kick and racing 50m to score. To score 57 when you only make 17 tackles is quite a feat for a lock forward.

It’s getting boring now…

Aiden Tolman and James Graham carry the Dogs – combining for 79 tackles, 293 metres gained and 105 DT points. They played 59 and 60 minutes respectively as well… they HAVE to be in your GF DT.

Please explain?

Michael Ennis scores 47 DT points via 44 tackles and just 2 missed tackles… I demand a recount!

Injuries and Suspensions

Adam Reynolds did his hammy… and Souths fans wept for the remaining 50 odd minutes. Josh Reynolds had a tender shoulder and left the field late, while Will Chambers was a little stiff in the final minutes of the Storm game with hamstring soreness. Steve Matai had a cork on his leg that plagued him the entire match and Anthony Watmough’s knee finally saw him pack it in for season 2012 late in the match.

Late Withdrawals due to injury: Sisa Waqa (Withdrew in the warm-up).

Charges from NRL judiciary: Michael Crocker faces a week for a high shot.

What was your take on DT Finals Week 3?

Share the wealth DreamTeamers.

| The Postman’s Mail: The Postman has joined NFI, Señor Winning, Hands Like Feet, Chairman Un and The Dummy’s Half in our DT Finals League and if you want to join and take us on…

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The Postman is back with next to no DT Late Mail for this weekend’s Preliminary Finals…

Finals Week 3 – Latest of Late Mail

Friday Night – 1st Preliminary Final

Saturday – 2nd Preliminary Final

Canterbury Bulldogs v South Sydney Rabbitohs in Sydney 7:45pm

| EXTRA Mail: The Postman has already joined NFI, Señor Winning, Hands Like Feet, Chairman Un and The Dummy’s Half in our DT Finals League and if you want to join and take us on…

Click here and enter the following League Code: 477297

And then there were four… What a week I had last week. Both my DT and the majority of my captains performed well.

Before we get to the captains, I managed to score 907 last weekend and am now 14th overall in the DreamTeamers Cup – score! Just thought I’d mention that, as I’m sure I’ll fade right back into the pack after this week. Let’s review last week’s captains. Remember, I don’t order these players, rather just provide five potential captains to consider plus a wildcard.

FW2 Captains Review

Matthew Bowen – 24

Tony Williams – 39

Jorge Taufua – 89

Greg Inglis – 74

Shaun Fensom – 58

Wildcard: James Tamou – 103

Average: 56.8

Average (including wildcard): 64.5

Bowen and T-Rex let a lot of teams down, but the other three wouldn’t have been so disappointing. Did anyone take a chance on Tamou? I’m so disappointed that I didn’t! What a champion. If you thought it was tough to pick a captain and vice captain last week, it’s getting harder…

Finals – Week 3

Cameron Smith

Perma-captain returns! I don’t really need to explain this one to you. You know what to do.

Greg Inglis

Has been scoring well this finals series, and even scored 51 in the game against Melbourne as part of a beaten side. I’m concerned the Bulldogs could shut him down and limit his scoring, but if you’re still confident he can do some damage, maybe VC is the way to go.

Ben Barba

So disappointing in the first week of the finals with 14 (including a try), and has had modest returns against the Rabbitohs this season with scores of 22 and 33. But if the Bulldogs are to make the GF, they need their key players to stand and be counted – can Barba run riot? If you’ve got a good feeling and need to make up some ground, roll the dice. But be warned, it could turn pear shaped.

Billy Slater

Slater has been slowly building, and could explode here. Averages 41.44 against the Sea Eagles, and is coming off 43 against the Rabbitohs. If you’re confident his knee can hold up and he can make a real impact against Manly, I like the look of him as a… safe-ish, unique-ish option. If that makes sense. One to consider.

Sam Burgess

Has been immense as of late, with a handy 73 last week. Has played the Bulldogs four times for an average of 55.50, and in this sort of form, I think he’s definitely one to think about, especially as a VC.

Wildcard: Jorge Taufua

Again, you may be questioning this one, but I’m sure we all agree that there’s no way he could score 80+ again… But that’s exactly what we said last week. Our favourite Mexican travels south of the border to take on the Storm this Friday night and is in some supurb form. Making metres (268 against the Cows – wow), tackle breaks and scoring the occasional try, he is a machine. Will it be three in a row? I’m not 100% convinced, but I hope he can produce the goods yet again.

Señor says… “Cameron Smith gets the nod as captain, while Sam Burgess is VC.”

Who’s it going to be, DreamTeamers? Share your captain and vice captain in the comments below.

The Postman stops by to give you a look at what’s out there to grab in Finals Week 3 DreamTeamers…

The Finals Week 3 Team News analysis is here as well.

BUY

The Postman says these three players are MUST buys if you don’t have them already.

| Cameron SMITH, HOK
Price: $316,800
Last Game: 73

No brainer in the hooking position… unless you think Issac Luke will get plenty of room to run against the Dogs and Matt Ballin is due for 60 tackles against the Storm. Those two eventualities may yet occur, but Smith could also go out and score 75. He’s that good.

| Josh MORRIS, CTR
Price: $207,600
Last Game: 64

Comes up against Dylan Farrell… need I say more?

| Sam BURGESS, 2RF/FRF
Price: $223,200
Last Game: 72

Don’t think about it – either get him into your team or keep him safely in your front or second row and plug him in for 50+ points. He’s a beast.

Got a better buy of the week than The Postman? Deliver the scoop below.

HOLD

| Ben BARBA, WFB
Price: $251,000
Last Game: 14

Scored a try in Week 1 but only picked up 6 other points… but if the Dogs do anything Saturday night – he’ll be at the centre of it.

| Josh REYNOLDS, HLF
Price: $252,300
Last Game: 19

Like Barba – if the Dogs make things happen against the Bunnies – then his score has 50+ written all over it… a quality 3rd option behind the obvious Daly Cherry-Evans/Cooper Cronk halves duo.

Disagree with The Postman on Barba and Reynolds? Obviously you are a Souths fan but state your case below.

IGNORE

| Frank PRITCHARD, 2RF
Price: $151,900
Last Game: 20

He’s flakey at the best of times… in a big game he just might struggle to get above 10… just doesn’t tackle enough to take ahead of a more reliable second rower people.

| Jason KING, FRF
Price: $163,800
Last Game: 17

Is in liquorice with a shoulder injury, so even if he plays – he might score you 20 and that would be as high as you’re likely to get.

Yes there are plenty more options to Buy, Hold or Ignore - but that’s for you to either figure out or discuss in the comments below. So pull your finger out!

Got player you think everyone simply has to buy/hold or ignore for Finals Week 3? Well don’t dilly dally, tell The Postman!

Who else did we miss?

| The Postman’s Mail: The Postman has joined NFI, Señor Winning, Hands Like Feet, Chairman Un and The Dummy’s Half as in our DT Finals League and if you want to join and take us on…

Click here and enter the following League Code: 477297

The Postman had a quick look over the ownership stats after Finals Week 2 with interesting results…

While your Finals NRL Dream Team is about to start bulging with Melbourne and Canterbury players for this weekend’s Preliminary Finals – it is interesting to note that at least three players who were the most heavily owned DT stars in the Semi Final stage – will likely remain that way.

Greg Inglis was Mr Popular with 25,835 DreamTeamers quite rightly jumping on the Inglisian bandwagon… and getting 74 points (at least) for your trouble.

Baby John Sam Burgess was the maid of honour with 21,559 owners, giving them a great return of 72 points.

But Mr Bronze won’t be in any teams this weekend, nor will Mr 4th Place – with the Cowboys getting dusted (or dudded) in their semi, so Johnathan Thurston and Matthew Bowen are forcing at least 20,000 owners to jump on a Dog or a Storm…

Hip Hip Jorge Taufua was still only the 7th most owned player with 16,593 owners realising that his 83 in Week 1 wasn’t a fluke… and getting 89 DT points in Week 2.

The DT player who barely got an invite to the dance last weekend AND Performed were Luke Burgess and Antonio Winterstein.

Toddler Luke scored 54 DT points for just 1,366 owners, while Winterstein looked great in Spring with 55 DT points for 1,726 owners.

But with the Cows and Raiders gone, the most interesting selection change awaiting everyone is in the backrow.

Shaun Fensom’s finished – so the last of the DT staples in your regular season backrow is out of the running, so 19,051 owners need to choose between a host of good (but not elite) backrowers this weekend… is there a standout?

Okay DreamTeamers who will you be jumping on this week?

The Postman would like to hear your thoughts.

The Postman has the Finals Week 3 Teams for you DreamTeamers!

Steve Matai is back, Nathan Merritt is back, Melbourne have included a plethora of players who missed their first final and the Dogs are 1-17!

Finals Week 3 – NRL Premiership 2012

Friday Night – 1st Preliminary Final

Saturday – 2nd Preliminary Final

Canterbury Bulldogs v South Sydney Rabbitohs in Sydney 7:45pm

V

| EXTRA Mail: The Postman has already joined NFI, Señor Winning, Hands Like Feet, Chairman Un and The Dummy’s Half in our DT Finals League and if you want to join and take us on…

Click here and enter the following League Code: 477297