NRL Broncos vs Panthers Draftstars DFS Preview and Projections for Preliminary Finals, 2025
Last updated: Sep 26, 2025, 12:22AM | Published: Sep 24, 2025, 9:23AM
Draftstars Australia's NRL Broncos vs Panthers Preliminary Finals, 2025 DFS contest commences at 4:05pm AEST on September 28, 2025, and Fantasy Insider has looked at the data for each player in the game to help you make winning line-ups.
An accurate Draftstars cheat sheet is a must for NRL fantasy players. This DFS preview is designed to help you put together your fantasy teams for Draftstars' NRL contests.
Fantasy Insider, renowned for its world-class DFS tools and projections since 2015, uses the same machine learning models as Stats Insider to deliver some of the most accurate DFS projections available.
With the best NRL fantasy insights and DFS strategies from Fantasy Insider, you're set to win in more NRL fantasy contests.
Cheat Sheet and Projections
We have reviewed players from each team in the Brisbane Broncos vs Penrith Panthers match-up to help you find the best choices on Sunday's slate.
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Payne Haas (BRI, FLEX/FWD) | $23,330 | 75.8 | 3.3 |
| Value | Dylan Edwards (PEN, OB/FLEX) | $11,740 | 49 | 4.2 |
| Fade | Ezra Mam (BRI, FLEX/HH) | $10,560 | 19.5 | 1.8 |
| Cheapie | Brendan Piakura (BRI, FWD/FLEX) | $8,160 | 33.9 | 4.2 |
According to Fantasy Insider's DFS model, our "stud" is the highest projected scorer across the slate, while "value" picks provide the most "bang for your buck," meaning they're expected to perform well relative to their salary.
Conversely, a "fade" is a player considered to offer lower value for money, based on their expected score relative to their salary. For those needing to stay under the salary cap, "cheapie" options refer to the best value players at lower price points not already mentioned.
In fantasy sports, understanding value—assessing a player's potential output against their salary—is crucial, as players scoring high relative to their cost are key in crafting the optimal line-up.
The "Pts/$1K" metric shows the predicted points for every $1,000 of a player's salary. A higher number indicates better value, making it easier to spot players who could outperform their cost.
Positional Breakdown
OB (Outside Back)
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Reece Walsh (BRI) | $20,720 | 53.6 | 2.6 |
| Value | Dylan Edwards (PEN) | $11,740 | 49 | 4.2 |
| Fade | Josiah Karapani (BRI) | $13,220 | 33.3 | 2.5 |
HH (Half/Hooker)
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Nathan Cleary (PEN) | $24,060 | 75.3 | 3.1 |
| Value | Ben Hunt (BRI) | $10,660 | 39.1 | 3.7 |
| Fade | Ezra Mam (BRI) | $10,560 | 19.5 | 1.8 |
| Cheapie | Cory Paix (BRI) | $9,890 | 35.6 | 3.6 |
FWD (Forward)
| Selection | Player | Salary | Proj. Pts | Pts/$1K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | Payne Haas (BRI) | $23,330 | 75.8 | 3.3 |
| Value | Brendan Piakura (BRI) | $8,160 | 33.9 | 4.2 |
| Fade | Luke Garner (PEN) | $10,510 | 21.6 | 2.1 |
| Cheapie | Tyson Smoothy (BRI) | $8,000 | 30.3 | 3.8 |
Conclusion
When building your NRL Broncos vs Panthers Preliminary Finals, 2025 teams, consider starting with a value player like Dylan Edwards. To secure one of the highest projected scorers, Payne Haas is a strong option. If you're looking for budget-friendly choices to free up salary cap for more studs, check out our cheapie options, including Brendan Piakura.
On the other hand, according to our model, Ezra Mam is one of the lowest value options in this game, suggesting you might want to limit exposure to him if building out multiple line-ups.
Ready to go? Draftstars' NRL Broncos vs Panthers slate closes at 4:05pm AEST on Sunday. ENTER NOW!
As with all NRL DFS contests, whether you start with our studs or build around our value picks, leveraging Fantasy Insider's data-driven NRL fantasy news and strategies, combined with your own research, can enhance your chances of winning in the NRL Broncos vs Panthers Preliminary Finals slate. The unique insights here can give you an edge when you make your NRL DFS line-ups.
For the latest projections and optimised NRL Broncos vs Panthers line-ups, check out the Fantasy Insider Cruncher on Draftstars! It's free to use when you're logged in.
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