The Watchlist - Season started, team Angry Pirates

[Money Shot]

Wow just realised Tom Bell is a fwd. He is a lock now for me

I didn't realise he was a fwd either lol.
Don't know about locking him in just yet :P

[Mat0369]

Decisions, decisions. If I go with ruck cover I probably won't go with someone like Bell/Monfries, but if I risk it and start Kreuz with no cover in the forward line then I might look at starting one of those guys. The one that I still think stands out isJeff Garlett if he kills it in the NAB. A 90 average from Jeffy early could be a difference maker. It probably sounds horrible at face value, but go and have a look at his early season scores every 2nd year.

[Vinny]

I'm strongly considering starting him, will be a ridiculous POD cause everyone has written him off. Gotta wait to see how he goes in the NAB cup as you said. He is 250k so anything 80 plus would be awesome.

[_wato]

Am considering Garlett also lads, have put him in and taken him out of my fan planner squad a number of times, but I really did think the same as you guys, and think that he could well average 80+ and rise to $450kish and be a great stepping stone for a premium.

[Vinny]

Am considering Garlett also lads, have put him in and taken him out of my fan planner squad a number of times, but I really did think the same as you guys, and think that he could well average 80+ and rise to $450kish and be a great stepping stone for a premium.

Yeah agreed man but I'm unsure if it's worth the risk, everyone seems to be going with Bellchambers for 50k more but I reckon Giles will be #1 at Essendon and Belly won't be as good as everyone thinks. Do you have Belly as well?

[Mat0369]

Yeah agreed man but I'm unsure if it's worth the risk, everyone seems to be going with Bellchambers for 50k more but I reckon Giles will be #1 at Essendon and Belly won't be as good as everyone thinks. Do you have Belly as well?

Nah I brought the Belcho/Giles issue up in another thread as well. Giles won't leave GWS to go not play at another team so I expect him to be either the number 1 ruck or maybe a 60/40 split with Belch. I might do my ruck list now

[Mat0369]

Nic Nat - No Cox means he is officially the guy and will get the majority of the ruck work. He is a proven scorer but has just had injury issues the last couple of seasons. He seemed to be over it at the end of last year so a full pre-season with no hiccups means he is the lock of all locks
Minno - Does everyone remember the start of last year when Sauce was a never again and the spuddiest player going around? Yeah I do and Minno seems to be lumped into that category this season. The fact is top dollar guys since the Cox/Sandi glory days don't tend to back it up, I have brought this up time and time again with a bit of proof. So this brings me back to Minno, he has had the down year so a bounce back could be on the cards this season. He was also carrying an injury last season which saw him get dropped so he is one I am going to look at but at a similar price to Nic Nat (NN is cheaper) I will probably pass unless the midprice guys look cooked
Berger - So I was on the Leunberger bandwagon when he was coming off his achilles, however last year I was avoiding him for one reason in particular and that was the inclusion of Trent West. While West is a spud, he forced Leuenberger to play deep forward which killed his scoring, now we have Stef Martin in the team. Assuming Martin is going to force Leunberger to play forward I will be hesitant with him
Kreuz - Our coach is a spud. Add in his injury history, but if our coach decides to not be a massive f-wit and play him in his natural position lock and load him
Belcho- Giles is the factor here, if I start Bellchambers it will likely be as a forward for ruck cover but it depends on my strategy. If there are any rookie priced guys getting games they might get a look in at ruck 3 and I can gamble with my ruck injuries and pick someone like Jeffy
Hammer - Top two in the league for hitouts to advantage, if Maric gets injured close to the start of the season lock in the Hammer at his price.
Tom Nicholls - I think a lot of people will look at this a bit wtf. Tom Nicholls plays a very similar game to Nic Nat and the way he plays is brilliant for SC. Now that Smith is back and the Suns have tall timber it will be a battle between Nicholls and Smith for the #1 ruck role, if Nicholls wins out I really like him for his price. He is about 10k more then Kreuz. I am pretty sure during his run in 2013 he averaged 100 if you take out his sub game.
Grundy - 30k more then Belcho  and far more talented. I see him as a better player then Witts but he needs to stop giving away FA's. He would probably be the last choice out of the above guys

[eaglesman]

I can't believe you blokes are considering Jeff Garlett! An absolute hack!!!!

What I have taken out of his is your love for kreuz as number 1 ruck at blues ... Will have to pay more attention in nab for him

Love the thought of Tom Nichols though! Like him a lot

[Mat0369]

I can't believe you blokes are considering Jeff Garlett! An absolute hack!!!!

What I have taken out of his is your love for kreuz as number 1 ruck at blues ... Will have to pay more attention in nab for him

Love the thought of Tom Nichols though! Like him a lot

He has kicked more then 40 goals a year twice (39 another year) so he isn't a hack. Take it from someone that has watched every AFL game he has played, he is a confidence player, when he is confident he is brilliant. If he is flying in the NAB it will translate into some good early season form. I am not looking at him as a keeper, but just  a stepping stone to a premium once he earns enough cash. He is priced mid 200's which is pretty good for this purpose, if he can average 80 early (which he is more then capable of) then you should get a nice price rise.

[eaglesman]

I have watch every game. I have done so for many years.
This bloke is not worth a supercoach selection.

Your summaries of just about every player so far have been really really good.
I would much prefer the saving of 50k for a Salem

[Mat0369]

Jeffy has to really be flying in the NAB though for me to consider him. As I said, he is a confidence player, if he is confident he kills it and when he kills it he has a ceiling. If the risk pays off you are probably a couple of steps in front of everyone. It is just someone to watch along with the other 30 forwards on my list  :P


I have also noticed some mistakes like rotation the cap instead of a cap on rotations  ::) Watching basketball and typing means my spelling and grammar is going to have a bad time

[Dayze]

Really really enjoyed this read Matty.
I'm pretty set on my forward midfield and ruck line but would love to hear a write up on ur defense watch list.
Don't think there is a need for stepping stones in the forward line this year. Feel very confident I can pick four forward keepers.
Good stuff mate keep it coming

[Mat0369]

Really really enjoyed this read Matty.
I'm pretty set on my forward midfield and ruck line but would love to hear a write up on ur defense watch list.
Don't think there is a need for stepping stones in the forward line this year. Feel very confident I can pick four forward keepers.
Good stuff mate keep it coming

I will do that line next

[Mat0369]

Simmo - A couple of reasons I am looking at Simmo as a lock starter. First is the emergence of a couple of young guys at the Blues in Ciaran Sheehan and Dylan Buckley. Throw in Yaz and Docherty and there is a plethora of young rebounding defenders at the Blues. You also have Andrew Walker who I would prefer Carlton use up the ground but I am unsure if he will be as another rebounding defender. So what this means is I can see Simmo used on the wing where he has been so damaging in the past. If he looks to be playing mainly on the wing then he should comfortable average around the 95 mark. The Blues also have a pretty good early run of teams which should also help out Simmo
Seedsman - He was hurt by injury last season but at his price he looks a pretty good bet to increase his average with his line breaking pace and clean disposal. I think he is one guy that can improve his average, but the question is how much. In 2013 if you take away his sub game he averaged 82 which is alright but not fantastic. He is priced at a 68 which means he he is cheap for what he is capable of and he also has a huge ceiling.
Ricky Henderson - Had a brilliant run at the end of 2013 before getting injured where he looked the goods for the Crows racking up possessions while also kicking goals. He had an injury plagued season last year which means he is cheap this year. The question is where does he fit in and can he recapture form?
Birch - With the introduction of Chip it means Birch could be roaming around the back half a bit more freely. He is a damaging player which teams put a hell of a lot of time into because of his disposal. He was always one of my SC faves since he racked up the pill at a good rate for a defender, with a lack of premium options he could be a cheaper premium that pays off. He put up the odd stinker last year but was fairly durable which helps when players start falling like flies
Harbrow - The reason I have Harbrow here is the introduction of Malceski. I think this means he now moves up the ground and becomes the link run and carry player that breaks the lines along the wing. That is normally good for an 80-95 average, depending on the player and how good their ball use is. The thing you want to do is pick defenders that look to play in the middle and that is the role I think Harbrow will have, he is also reunited with his old coach in Rocket who already knows his capabilities so I expect the transition for Jarrod to be pretty seamless. He averaged 85 off HB in his last year with the Dogs so I see that as a starting point
Walker/Yarran - The reason I included these two together is I expect one to play up forward. The one that gets to play off HB/wing is the one to pick, hopefully we get an idea in the NAB cup as either of these guys could turn out to be really strong POD's
Geary - The reason I have included Geary starts with his price. He is relatively cheap, which is good, however he has been prone to defensive roles which hurts his scoring. The reason I am looking at Geary goes back to his 2013 season, in particular, his start to the season. He averaged 95 over his first 5 rounds, while it is a small sample size, you only need him to score well early to become a decent stepping stone. He is probably too pricey being over 300k for this, but if he looks to be racking up possessions off HB in the preseason I might consider him
Roberton - Another guy that had a decent start the season a couple of years ago when switching over to the Saints. At mid 200k he is an interesting price and with a lack of defenders if he can push to around a 75 average (his 2013 average which included two sub games) he could be a decent stepping stone. I probably won't consider him at this point but I will keep my eye on him through the NAB
La Bamba - I am not his biggest fan if I am being honest. One of my mates is a Melbourne supporter and was pretty pissed when he moved over there. He went to training around the Christmas/New Years period and his words to me were 'I hate him, but he looked really good out ther'. Roos has picked him up for a reason and from what I have read he looks to be doing a lot of stoppage work. In a year where premium defenders look to be around a 90, he very well could be one, especially if he is lining up at stoppages a fair chunk of the time
Zak Jones - When I watched him play for the Swans he impressed me, with Malceski gone a spot opens up in the team, if he can grab his opportunity he is cheap enough to warrant a selection.
Whitecross - Simply because he is cheap as chips and a talented player that has had bad luck with his knees.
Walking Beundaid - Mr Waters can't seem to shake the injury curse, he can score well, but he appears to be injured very often. The last injury was said to be career threatening which makes me hesitant even if he is good to go round 1
Harry Taylor - Put up decent numbers a couple years ago but he was down on form last year and he doesn't seem settled in one position. The pickups of Stanley and Mitch Clark intrigue me because it might mean he is more settled in defense and can play loose which will equal a lot of points from intercept marks.
Hurn - He is a gun and I really like him, my issue is that he has had 2 significant injuries in the past 2 seasons which have killed a lot of coaches. I took SC off last year but if I played I had Hurn locked and loaded due to his injury score which meant he was under priced. He is under priced again, but can I trust him to not get injured and ruin my season?

[creeker]

I'd like to throw Jason Johannisen on the watchlist.
Had a modest season but in the games that Higgins missed, JJ scored 118 and 107.
Will be either Biggs or Johannisen who takes over Higgins role.
Would like to get some Bulldogs supporters views on this.
On my watchlist. Keen to see his pre season games.