The Watchlist - Season started, team Angry Pirates

[My Chumps]

Like the first teams backline better.

Nah but in all seriousness I'm feeling Harley this year over Swallow. Maybe not for total points (although it should be close) but also because he's more likely to be a top 6 forward than Swallow to be a top 8-12 mid which you want at the end of your season.

[Mat0369]

I had the Swallow team and was looking at it and thinking, can Swallow bounce back to a 105-110 average and is he someone I would want in my final 8 mids. The answer was no and I didn't want to sink 500k into a mid 9 so I was trying to figure if I could get Harley into my team. I was slightly short on cash, made a few moves and there we had it. Harley has issues with his body, but on average I think he will be top 10 in his position, Swallow might be top 20 and on the bottom end of the 20.

I would love to roll with Gaz, Pendles, Sidebottom, Hanners and Jack Steven as my 5 mids but they all have the same bye. I think Steven and Swallow are likely to average around the same and with Steven being that much cheaper I would feel comfortable making that move.

[Mat0369]

I read that Harley was best on in the match sim for the Suns. I reallllllllyyyyyy want to start him but I know he is going to get injured at some point.

[Mat0369]

So I was fiddling around with some formations today

My F4 changed from Jeffy to Swan to Gus to Harley. I had to downgrade Whitecross and Lobb to Brown and Durdin to get the cash from Swan to Bennell.



I have 25 k in the bank with this team

I also had Beams instead of Hanners and Goldstein in the ruck at one point if I do go Garlett up forward.

[Bully]

You're exposing yourself to 7 rookies from the outset, that's too many in my opinion. I think you need to bring at least 1 more premo into the mix, preferably a midfielder.

[Mat0369]

6/7 seems about right. To get another premium mid in means I am going to have to probably go with 12 keepers instead of the 13 I have an pick up a couple of extra mid priced players. The only guy cheaper then Hanners I am considering is Steven but with Hanners and the two Collingwood boys I am screwed in terms of pricing. I had Scooter in my first draft and he seems to be only sort of running now so he has a line through him for now.

Midfield and forward line is where I expect to make most of my cash generation with so many potential rookie priced players and I have gone for the pricier options so I can downgrade them but know what my cash limit is at. I would rather a Bennell/Salem combo then something like Wells and Bellchambers by swinging Laverde up forward (even though it gives me more cash). The trade down the track is more valuable to me in an upgrade situation.

I actually did a quick play around now and to get A Swallow into the mids I had to trade out Bennell, Biggs, Salem and Durdin to bring in Bellcho, Swallow, Robbie Tarrant and Read (who won't get a game). I prefer the first set of players to the 2nd.

[Bully]

Bellchambers I like as a pick given he can cover your rucks, he will also score higher than any rookie so it makes sense to me. If you are keen on keeping Durdin then swing him back for Jones and use Read/Cox as you swingman & captain's loophole. Salem is awkwardly priced I think, great footballer but there's so many cheap forward options this year that it makes sense go for value and make your money quicker. You have flexibility too, just swing Krakouer or Laverde forward and bring in another mid. There's also Caleb Daniel to consider as a cheap option.

[Mat0369]

The whole point of the Durdin pick is ruck coverage. I would rather the 40-50 potential score he can provide to avoid a donut and also generate some cash instead of sitting Read/Cox in my rucks and have Bellchambers do the same thing when I am not sold on him.

Salem is basically an expensive rookie since he is cheaper then Brayshaw/Petracca and he should play most games after being eased into footy last season. He also appears to be having a ripping preseason and should have better job security then some of the other rookies. I would also prefer to be able to downgrade to someone like Saad then have to find the cash to grab Salem as I get closer to the season. As the rookies start to shape around the NAB I will play around with it more, but the more cash I allocate to getting the best available rookies the easier it will make it for me to swing the changes.

[Bully]

Fair enough, not so sure Durdin will play loads of football this year, he' still very raw and talls take time. If he's named round one then fair enough, if he's not then I would just wait until he's on the bubble. I think for ruck coverage Belly & Cox is the way to go.

[eaglesman]

Fair enough, not so sure Durdin will play loads of football this year, he' still very raw and talls take time. If he's named round one then fair enough, if he's not then I would just wait until he's on the bubble. I think for ruck coverage Belly & Cox is the way to go.

Everyone will be picking durdin if named round 1

But he won't be

[Bully]

Fair enough, not so sure Durdin will play loads of football this year, he' still very raw and talls take time. If he's named round one then fair enough, if he's not then I would just wait until he's on the bubble. I think for ruck coverage Belly & Cox is the way to go.

Everyone will be picking durdin if named round 1

But he won't be

I suspect that is correct so why not wait until he's on the bubble? There will be so few defensive downgrades so I'm more inclined to wait until he has a couple of games under his belt.

[Mat0369]

Ruck rookies are going to be tougher to find then defensive rookies. I had Lobb initially in there because I expect Mummy to get injured at some point, if Durdin is named round 1 then he is a lock as a ruck otherwise I will start with Lobb or Nankervis

[Money Shot]

For me I would do this
Delidio/Goddard out for Swan.
Durdin to Nankers who is likely to get games this year.
And that could get one of Lumummumumumba/Hanners into a super premium player.

That's what I would do.

[Mat0369]

For me I would do this
Delidio/Goddard out for Swan.
Durdin to Nankers who is likely to get games this year.
And that could get one of Lumummumumumba/Hanners into a super premium player.

That's what I would do.

Just going from what I wrote earlier when I was doing my watch list

Lids - Pretty obvious selection here, running mid that was always a lock as a defender, he should average over 100 so unless injury strikes I am likely to be starting him
BJ - Same as Lids, throw in the fact he was averaging quite a bit early in the season last year. He seems to start well then tail off from memory the last few seasons so if I pick him it will be early to get those big scores

Pretty much my 3 forward locks are Lids, BJ and Buddy and that isn't changing.

Swan - I am not sold on him, he had a huge drop off in scoring and people will say it is because he was injured. I will make 3 points with Swan, age catches up with everyone, as you get older you need to prepare your body better between games and he is not one to strike me as doing this and I don't think it is a coincidence that the most rotated player in the league struggled when the rotation on the cap came in.

I still stick by this and unless I see something to really sway me (which I haven't yet) I will be leaving him out of my team. The same reason guys like Judd and Pav are no longer fantasy options, age and their body. I did have him in one of my earlier drafts but I wasn't a huge fan of that team

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

The more I read the more he is a lock. He is doing a lot of stoppage work and if he looks to be doing that in the NAB he is locked and loaded.

Hanners - He had a horrid start to the season, but when Sydney turned there form around so did Hanners. From round 5 until his injury game Hanners averaged 124.4 which is just ridiculous. He then finished the season off with a 154 against the Tiges and 130 against the Crowley tag before a quiet prelim and GF. I see him as under priced and I am trying to flip a coin between Hanners and Jack

I was tossing up Beams but I wouldn't be disappointed using the cash elsewhere and maybe bring in Goldstein if I did downgrade Bennell. I think Hanners could be top 10 this year so I am have pretty much locked him in at mid 4. Sidebottom and Hanners are the two POD's in the midfield I am really keen on.

The Nank move is one I am considering but for cash purposes at the moment I am leaving Durdin in as it will be easier to downgrade then upgrade.

Obviously the point of the thread initially was to create a list of guys I was contemplating and try and monitor their preseason performances in the NAB. I am just currently trying to create a team based around those guys and it will likely change again once the pre-season comp starts and I can gauge what the hell is going on in terms of where guys are playing.

[Mat0369]

So with the news on Waters, Birch and Lids I have swapped them out for the time being to Pearce, Newnes and Martin. I also have 72.9k in the bank to play around with as I get closer to the NAB.