When it comes to Fantasy Rugby all positions were not made equal. Let's take a closer look at just how productive the different positions are in Fantasy terms.

Before we do that though refresh your memory on what players actually score points for using the cool new pop-up that has been added to the Fantasy Rugby site.

Tight Forwards

Prop - These boys aren't big contributors in the fantasy stakes, tackling in close to the ruck and incurring the odd penalty (for all manner of things!) is about all you can count on these guys to do. If you can afford a hooker or a lock then don't bother with a prop.

Hooker - The best hookers in the competition are very productive, and are the only players that score points in the Lineout Throw category (0.5 per successful throw). They also get involved in the tackling close to the ruck. Anton Oliver and Norm Hewitt are two of the top hookers in the competition and are both in the top 10 Tight Forwards for the season. Oliver in particular has been one of the most popular players (currently on over 23% of FR teams).

Lock - Locks dominates the top 10 Tight Forwards category. As well as the pulling down valuable lineout takes (2 points per take) the best Locks get out amongst the backs and tackle like loose forwards. Most teams use one of their Locks as the first option in the lineout, if you can pick a combination of a good lineout jumper and a strong tackler you will be highly successful. Paul Tito, Norm Maxwell and Justin Harrison are great examples of this. Interestingly the top Lock is legendary Crusader Todd Blackadder, I say interesting because he is on top because he tackles for 80 minutes, he is actually the third option in the lineout behind Maxwell and Thorne.

Loose Forwards

If you haven't worked out yet that Loose forward is the most productive position in the fantasy game then you are probably struggling in the race to win your conference! 20 of the top 30 fantasy players are loose forwards and for one reason, tackling. At 3 points a tackle if a loosie plays the full 80 minutes they will consistantly rack up fantasy points. And if they tackle like Andrew Blowers, Kupu Vanesi or Scott Robertson then they will be consistantly racking up double-digit tackle counts and causing valuable turnovers (5 points a pop).

No. 6 & No. 7 - It's hard to generalise about the No 6 and No 7 positions in terms of Fantasy output. While on many teams the no. 7 has the higher tackle count (because he tends to be first to the play in set pieces) the No. 6 is never far behind. Top player in the competition is a No 6, Andrew Blowers. One thing to look for is Loosies that are good lineout options. Rueben Thorne is a good example of this, with he and Blackadder seeming to swap roles in lineout situations (not surprisingly, they have effectively swapped positions in the last few seasons.)

No. 8 - The only No. 8 in the top 30 fantasy players is Ron Cribb. In general these guys just don't seem to get as involved in the tackling as their loose forward teammates, although they are often more involved in the offensive side of the game, particularly set plays, and this can play dividends in the try-scoring lottery.

Inside Backs

This is the realm of the Goal kickers. The vast majority of kickers in the Super 12 play at first-five and it's these guys that dominate the top 10 Inside Backs, if you can afford it grab 3 kickers for your Inside Backs.

Half Back - While the top Half-backs rack up a good number of assists, the occasional try and tackle like an extra loose forward unless you are a bit short on $$ you are better off picking up a goal kicker. Justin Marshall, George Gregan, Byron Kelleher and Mark Robinson are the top performers at the Half Back spot.

First Five - This position is known for it's kicking, of all flavours, penalties, conversions and drop goals. Having said that the only first-fives worth grabbing are those that do kick goals, first fives like Orene Ai'i or (to a lesser extent) Stephen Larkham are just a complete waste of money in the fantasy game. While you can expect a few assists and the occasional try from this position don't count on too many of them to tackle a lot. The rare ones that do, Tony Brown, Braam Van Straten and David Holwell in particular, are the big time producers here, make sure you have at least one of them on your squad.

Second Five& Centre - On offense the second five generally doesn't contribute with the boot (except for Stirling Mortlock of ACT) so all they can offer is assists and the occasional try. On defence is where these guys really deliver though, both the Centre and the Second Five are the midfield defense, expect some good tackle counts from these guys.

Outside Backs

These show ponies definitely attract the big $$ given their relatively anemic fantasy production. Top outside back Christen Cullen makes $2.4M for his 21 fantasy points per game (compared to superflanker Andrew Blowers who makes just over $2M for his heroic 51 fantasy points per game!).

This is where you should do you gambling on trying to pick up the bonus points each week for 4 or more tries.

Wing - Given they don't get involved in a lot of defence don't count on these guys to really contribute in the tackle stats, just hope they can run in some trys or at least set some up for an assists or two. Any of the top wingers on the top offensive teams are worth a look.

Fullback - Fullbacks are similar to the Wingers in terms of where they can contribute, although there are a few goal kicking fullbacks that are worth considering if you want to be more cautious and guarentee yourself some points from your Outside Backs. Matt Burke and Adrian Cashmore are the two biggest names to contribute in this way, although given the lack of tries that their teams have scored you may be better taking some chances!

Hopefully you have enough transfers left (and $$ in the bank) to be able to follow our advice and retrofit your team to better rack up the fantasy points. Good luck!