1st Year Player from America

[andys]

Hi all,

My name is Andy, i'm from New Hampshire (in the US) and this is my first year playing AFL Dream Team

To be honest, I have never seen a full Australian Rules Football Game before, let alone seen one in person, and I have to admit that I am still iffy on the rules, but I figured that it must be similiar to fantasy leagues in other sports and it'd be a good way to learn the game.

So, please be gentle and tell me what you think, i've put the subs in parentheses. Thankfully, I've still got some time to make adjustments.

Defenders: Mackie, Lake, Thornton, McPhee, McMahon, McGrath, Surjan, (Laidler), (Thursfield)

Midfield: Kirk, Rosa, Mackay, Ebert, Ibbotson, Dyson, (Hill), (Melksham)

Rucks: Minson, White (McEvoy), (Sellar)

Forwards: Sylvia, Hill, Polkinghorne, Gamble, Dangerfield, Brown, Daniher, (Stokes), (Polak)

[ossie85]

Welcome aboard. However, that team won't get you far....

Have a look at this article Monty wrote a while ago

http://www.fanfooty.com.au/blog/2010/01/21/2010-dream-team-structure-1/

Should get you started :)

[andys]

Thanks!

I'll take a look, re-tool and re-post!

[mcwarne]

I would keep Mackie and Dangerfield and send that rest out to Triple A Pawtucket for Spring Training!!!!

[gerco]

Hi Andy,

Really I don't know where to start... You've had a go at making a team without much knowledge about AFL and I have to say it shows. But that is very fixable. I think you'll enjoy it even more finding new players and it is a great way to get into AFL.

I've got a few pieces of advice for you.

First up, have a read of this: www.fanfooty.com.au/blog/2010/01/21/2010-dream-team-structure-1. This will give you an idea about how to structure a team; I said in another post if you have a rough idea about how to structure a team (I'd say I use the 3 premium in DEF, MID, FWD and 1 in the Ruck, plus some players I think will be cash cows or turn into premiums , priced from about 230-370k and then rookies), the actual players you pick can be easily swapped for better players.

This site will also be helpful for injuries and suspensions: www.injuryupdate.com.au/afl.php (First thing you'll notice is that Stokes is out for 9 weeks minimum... I think you picking him now is bold, but entirely unnecessary)

Also, try to spend less than 150-k on each of your EMGs, or at a maximum about 1m for all 8. There is plenty of value in the sub 100k in the rucks and a few through the rest of the positions.

Have a bit of look thru other team posts, and get a feel for how people are structuring teams and who is popular.

But most of all enjoy it!

[ossie85]

Gerco, wasn't actually aware of the injury/suspension site myself. Cheers! Beat you to the structure article though  ;)

[gerco]

Gerco, wasn't actually aware of the injury/suspension site myself. Cheers! Beat you to the structure article though  ;)

Damn, foiled again!

[richgo]

I think he's talking about Cam Stokes mate, not Matty

[gerco]

I think he's talking about Cam Stokes mate, not Matty

Actually that makes sense... Thanks richgo.

In that case its an even worse pick as he will notice that Cameron Stokes is listed as 'indefinite' on the injuryupdate site.

[andys]

Forget Pawtucket, I sent them down to Lowell!

How's this?

Starting Defenders: Adcock, Hodge, Mackie, McGrath, Ellis, Hurley, Broadbent

Starting Midfielders: Bartel, Boyd, Salopek, Mastn, Palmer, Sheldon

Starting Rucks: Jolly, Seaby

Starting Forwards: Sylvia, Lockyer, Pavlich, Dangerfield, Yarran, Veszpremi, Wright

Bench Defenders: Myers, Ladson

Bench Midfielders: Farmer, Shuey

Bench Rucks: Warnock, Trengove

Bench Forwards: Davis, Lobbe

[andys]

Also, what am I looking for here? Poking around at some statistics sites, but it's somewhat overwhelming at first. I guess Australians would feel the same way about Baseball fantasy leagues I suppose.

[daddsy404]

andy that is actually a pretty fair team, your forward line probably needs a little work, and hurley in the back line has a suspension hanging over him at the moment, as well as a court case, so may want to replace him with josh hunt from geelong? which will leave u a bit of money to play with as well.
Dreamteam basically is dependent on how many possessions u have, or how many times u get the ball. A mark (catching the ball) is worth 3 points, a handball is 2, a kick is 3, and a tackle is 4. Giving away a free kick is minus 3 points, and getting a free kick is plus 1. A goal gets a player 6 points and a point is 1.

[Prospector_1]

and a point (behind) is 1.

[mcwarne]

Thats quite funny andys as I actually know someone from Lowell MA! I also play fantasy MLB on their official website and it took a season to win my league (which I did last year and played off for the 10 Grand which I was ineligable for seeing as I am not from the 50 states of US or Canada) but it means that you dont have to be an expert to play these games. Just do some homework and trade for the guys in form. But DONT blow all your trades too early. Thats a certain road to Dream Team oblivion.

[andys]

Thanks guys!

I replaced Hurley with Hunt and used the left over money to get Riewoldt in the front (elsewhere on this site it said that alot of coaches had gotten him, seems to be a blue chipper). I've got about 70k left, I may do some more tinkering before round 1, but I've got two more questions for you, I apologize for not being clearer earlier

1. Is it better to go for specialists (players that do really well in one statistic consistently), or all arounders (don't really stand out, but do fairly good in everything). I would assume it's better to get players that are less likely to be injured/suspended even if they have better stats since this seems like a marathon rather than a sprint.

2. Where do I/should I go for all the stats and projections on the players? The dream team site itself doesn't seem that helpful.

Thanks again guys for all your help.

P.S -- McWarne, I'll start up an MLB fantasy team and we can split the winnings if either of us wins the AFL or MLB contest! I live right between Lowell and Manchester, always fun come hockey season when the Monarchs play the Lock Monsters (the Devils should have just let them keep their old name)