Spicing things up

[Edgeovertherest]

I managed to finish in the top 5k last season (even though I messed up the last two rounds with Neale on the bench) I am going to be trying to push the top 3k for the 2018 season

Def: Laird - Tuohy - Wilson - Birchall - O'Shea - Doedee* (A.Morgan* - A.Johnson*)
Mid: Dangerfield - Mitchell - Fyfe - J.Selwood - Cripps - Coniglio - LDU* - T.Kelly (Starcevich* - Ahern* - Worpel*)
Ruc: Gawn - Naitanui (T.Olango)
Fwd: Heeney - Gray - D.Smith - Lobb - J.Higgins* - Venables* (Baker* - L.Ryan)

*Players may be subject to change (they're rookies afterall  ;))

$89500 remaining

Would love some critique on my team on how to make it better. Bring on 2018!

[shaker]

Very even team on all lines couple of unique's in Tuohy and Selwood solid first up team can't really pinpoint any changes if you are happy with that so be it a good start

[Edgeovertherest]

Very even team on all lines couple of unique's in Tuohy and Selwood solid first up team can't really pinpoint any changes if you are happy with that so be it a good start

Was surprised to see Tuohy was such a unique at first since Henderson and Mackie won't be in the backline for Geeling thus making him more likely to get high possessions and interceptions. Out of Dangerfield, Ablett and Selwood, Selwood will most likely be the one to spend the least amount of time in the Forward line (Also at his price he is VERY hard to ignore after the 2016 season he had).

[SilverLion]

I managed to finish in the top 5k last season (even though I messed up the last two rounds with Neale on the bench) I am going to be trying to push the top 3k for the 2018 season

Def: Laird - Tuohy - Wilson - Birchall - O'Shea - Doedee* (A.Morgan* - A.Johnson*)
Mid: Dangerfield - Mitchell - Fyfe - J.Selwood - Cripps - Coniglio - LDU* - T.Kelly (Starcevich* - Ahern* - Worpel*)
Ruc: Gawn - Naitanui (T.Olango)
Fwd: Heeney - Gray - D.Smith - Lobb - J.Higgins* - Venables* (Baker* - L.Ryan)

*Players may be subject to change (they're rookies afterall  ;))

$89500 remaining

Would love some critique on my team on how to make it better. Bring on 2018!

Looks good. Only concerns are the Wilson, Smith and possibly Jelwood picks. Think theres better options available for their price. Thats just nitpicking though :)

[Edgeovertherest]

Looks good. Only concerns are the Wilson, Smith and possibly Jelwood picks. Think theres better options available for their price. Thats just nitpicking though :)

Yeah I can see the concern itself with Wilson and Smith. To be honest I wasn't 100% sure myself until I thought about how WIlson was already on the way up. Now that he is in a Fremantle side where he has little to no competition in the back I can see him performing really well for what he is worth. It was either going to be Smith of De Goey but apparently De Goey is behind Maynard when it comes to midfield minutes for next season. Some Eseendon supporters also reckon that Smith will spend more time in the Midfield rather than in the forward line with Merrett spending a bit of time in the forward line as well (pure speculation of course). 

All of this may be wishful thinking and they might bomb out of my team but SC hasn't been won without some risks ;)

[Money Shot]

I was (still am) considering Wilson as a pod my self as he is young, playing in a team that will utilise him across half back and was scoring well in a better side. He could turn into a Laird/Docherty type and if he does you will be in a good stead for 2018. However for only a little bit more Hanley presents as a better option albeit he will be less of a pod. Hanley has proven in the past that he can go 100+ across a whole season and with Ablett leaving minutes in the midfield will open up and Hanley (along with Barlow) are set to take them as  they need experienced bodies in there. Thats just my two cents worth on that one.

Tuohy is another good pick in my opinion and will be a nice pod. Think he will finish in that 6-12 rank of highest scoring defenders which is good enough for a spot in your side.

Selwood is a good pick no worries there for me.

Like Lobb and Heeney but am unsure on Gray and Smith. Gray will play close to no midfield minutes this year in my opinion and will be used as a crafty small forward and although he is fun to watch I don't think he will be that good a scorer especially with the year he had last year. Smith I like a little more because he did move to Essendon for more midfield opportunities and I don't see why they wouldn't give them to him so he could be another good pod.

Dahlhous, Walters, McLean and Barlow I would look at before Gray and all of them will be pods as well at this stage anyways. 

[crowls]

I was (still am) considering Wilson as a pod my self as he is young, playing in a team that will utilise him across half back and was scoring well in a better side. He could turn into a Laird/Docherty type and if he does you will be in a good stead for 2018. However for only a little bit more Hanley presents as a better option albeit he will be less of a pod. Hanley has proven in the past that he can go 100+ across a whole season and with Ablett leaving minutes in the midfield will open up and Hanley (along with Barlow) are set to take them as  they need experienced bodies in there. Thats just my two cents worth on that one.

Tuohy is another good pick in my opinion and will be a nice pod. Think he will finish in that 6-12 rank of highest scoring defenders which is good enough for a spot in your side.

Selwood is a good pick no worries there for me.

Like Lobb and Heeney but am unsure on Gray and Smith. Gray will play close to no midfield minutes this year in my opinion and will be used as a crafty small forward and although he is fun to watch I don't think he will be that good a scorer especially with the year he had last year. Smith I like a little more because he did move to Essendon for more midfield opportunities and I don't see why they wouldn't give them to him so he could be another good pod.

Dahlhous, Walters, McLean and Barlow I would look at before Gray and all of them will be pods as well at this stage anyways.

Agree with MS that Gray is big risk.   Lots of new bodies in at Port that will impact how there on ball group will function.  Gray has proven that without guaranteed mid time he is a risky pick.   Better options around in Greene, Billings and Barlow.    You have explained Smith.  I am not sure he will score at 90+ at Essendon but better risk reward option than Gray.   

[Ringo]

Gray is the only concern with the ins at Port that may decrease his mid time and scoring. Risk v Reward though.

[Edgeovertherest]

Yeah I can see the concern with Gray. Initially I thought that with Rockliff and Motlop coming in Gray would have a bit more time in the midfield if they rotated.

What do you guys think about Franklin as a replacement. Has a better bye and even as a KPF scores pretty well. Sydney also have a point to prove next season after their horrible start.

[Money Shot]

Yeah I can see the concern with Gray. Initially I thought that with Rockliff and Motlop coming in Gray would have a bit more time in the midfield if they rotated.

What do you guys think about Franklin as a replacement. Has a better bye and even as a KPF scores pretty well. Sydney also have a point to prove next season after their horrible start.

Franklin is someone that I would either start or not have at all. He had three games above 160 last year but also had 2 games below 50. He is good for a 90 average easily and will likely go 95+ but you want him from the start. So by no means is he a bad pick (he is in my side at the moment) but you just need to be ready for him to win you games one week and lose you games the next.

Also age isnt a factor for me he finished the season with scores of 164, 98 and 183 so he does not look like slowing down at all.

edit: In the 8 losses for the season he averaged 88.5 but in the 14 wins he averaged 104.1 so if you are expecting Sydney too do better than last season i would strongly consider him.

[DCAK]

Yeah I can see the concern with Gray. Initially I thought that with Rockliff and Motlop coming in Gray would have a bit more time in the midfield if they rotated.

What do you guys think about Franklin as a replacement. Has a better bye and even as a KPF scores pretty well. Sydney also have a point to prove next season after their horrible start.

Franklin is someone that I would either start or not have at all. He had three games above 160 last year but also had 2 games below 50. He is good for a 90 average easily and will likely go 95+ but you want him from the start. So by no means is he a bad pick (he is in my side at the moment) but you just need to be ready for him to win you games one week and lose you games the next.

Also age isnt a factor for me he finished the season with scores of 164, 98 and 183 so he does not look like slowing down at all.

edit: In the 8 losses for the season he averaged 88.5 but in the 14 wins he averaged 104.1 so if you are expecting Sydney too do better than last season i would strongly consider him.

IMO Franklin is a player I try and bring in as one of my last upgrades for the season so I minimise my exposure to his peak/trough scoring trends, and he tends to come home like a freight train.  I always try to fill my starting FWD premium positions w/ FWD/MID DPP types to try and ensure consistant scorring for my team. So back to the original question, who would/could you replace R. Gray with? I'd suggest Billings, or Menegola.

[SilverLion]

Lot of interesting prem choices there. Starting to like Wilson as a pick, still not sure of Smith though. Personally, I wouldn't have both Jelwood and Cripps, but thats just me :)

[Edgeovertherest]

For all the seasons of SC I have done, not once have I started with Franklin. With the limited (proven) stock up forward, Franklin looks too good to pass up. I have done a bit of changing with my team and I am left with the choice between Selwood and Cripps.

Selwood:
Positives:
- Will play majority midfield when compared to Gaz and Danger
- last time he was this cheap (2016) he managed to get to a 111 avg even with the worries that Dangerfield will steal some of his points.
- Started off the year very well before being hampered by injury
- Serial Ducker (Free Kick points)

Negatives:
- Seems to ALWAYS have this rough patch of 3 games where he doesn't break 100 points followed consecutive 120+ scores which may make it seem like getting him after the byes is better
- Will Ablett have a strong influence on the midfield making him seem irrelevant SC wise?
- Serial Ducker (Unlikable trait)

Cripps:
Positives:
- Clearance Beast (especially in SC where it is highly valued)
- Very cheap when compared to previous outputs
- Scores pretty well even in losses (really good considering Carlton won't be setting the world on fire in 2018)

Negatives:
- Coming back from injury
- Will he receive more attention now that Gibbs is gone and Docherty isn't playing in 2018?
- Hasn't broken 110 avg yet so we are not Exactly sure that he can

The other option I was thinking about was downgrading LDU (since he is 190k) to someone a bit cheaper and them getting Sloane who is in his contract year (and we know what happens to players out of contract i.e: Martin, Kelly...). I like the look of Sloane since some attention might be directed at Gibbs or another player. Gibson coming in may help as well.

[Money Shot]

Good write up Edge.

haven't really considered Sloane but as you said players in their contract year do seem to kill it and if you take away Sloane's two lowest scores of 36 and 50 he averaged 116.2 for the season. He will probably still cop a lot of attention but I think it will be harder for opposition teams to shut him out completely as they will need to give Gibbs and the Crouch brothers some more attention which means a 115 average is extremely possible.

Cripps averaged 107.6 at the age of 21 with an interrupted preseason. He is now 23 and going into his first full preseason ever. He is a contested beast as you said and it is harder to tag a player like Cripps then it would be to tag Murphy which is why I think Cripps is due for a 110-115 season to get into the elite category. (I may have some bias however:P) FWIW He isn't in my team currently as I have picked the 5 players who I think will be the top 5 in the midfield come seasons end and I have Cripps coming around 10th which at his price is pretty good value.

Selwood: Can't really play as a forward like Danger/Gaz can which means his midfield time won't really be affected. If you take out the 3 points he scored in his injury affected game he averaged 108 for the season. So if you look at it that way he is underpriced. He scored well when Geelong has an elite midfield so Ablett coming in won't affect his scoring much at all.

Long storey short they are all good picks, I personally would go with Cripps as he is cheaper.

[Edgeovertherest]

Good write up Edge.

haven't really considered Sloane but as you said players in their contract year do seem to kill it and if you take away Sloane's two lowest scores of 36 and 50 he averaged 116.2 for the season. He will probably still cop a lot of attention but I think it will be harder for opposition teams to shut him out completely as they will need to give Gibbs and the Crouch brothers some more attention which means a 115 average is extremely possible.

Cripps averaged 107.6 at the age of 21 with an interrupted preseason. He is now 23 and going into his first full preseason ever. He is a contested beast as you said and it is harder to tag a player like Cripps then it would be to tag Murphy which is why I think Cripps is due for a 110-115 season to get into the elite category. (I may have some bias however:P) FWIW He isn't in my team currently as I have picked the 5 players who I think will be the top 5 in the midfield come seasons end and I have Cripps coming around 10th which at his price is pretty good value.

Selwood: Can't really play as a forward like Danger/Gaz can which means his midfield time won't really be affected. If you take out the 3 points he scored in his injury affected game he averaged 108 for the season. So if you look at it that way he is underpriced. He scored well when Geelong has an elite midfield so Ablett coming in won't affect his scoring much at all.

Long storey short they are all good picks, I personally would go with Cripps as he is cheaper.

Another thing is that Sloane would most likely be a POD (since people who had him last year most likely won't take him). So with that he is an updated team that looks a lot more solid in my opinion. This team is also after taking a look at what you guys said (btw thanks guys :))) so here is the result

Def: Yeo, Laird, HIbberd, Birchall, O'Shea, Doedee (Morgan, Johnson)
Mid: Dangerfield, D.Martin, T.Mitchell, Sloane, Fyfe, O'Meara, Higgins, Starcevich (Ahern, J.Garlett, Kelly)
Ruc: Gawn, Naitanui (Olango)
Fwd: Franklin, Gray, Dahlhaus, Ah Chee, Venables, Baker (Ryan, Fritsch)
Bank $8,800

WIth this team I am looking at players who are more certain to finish top in their positions (so top 3 def, top 5 mid etc...) and limiting the mid-price madness (hope the JLT doesn't mess with that). But to also have my mid-price fix I have put 1 mid price player per line (excluding ruck) so as to have that one speculative player but to also not hurt me in the long run.

Out of Sloane, Cripps and Selwood I chose Sloane due to his massive upside when let loose and as Money Shot said, if you take out his 36 and 50, he averaged 116.2 which is pretty massive. I can seem him improving his output with more help in the midfield and Adelaide looking to improve on their performance in the GF. Coupled together with him trying to impress in his contract year leads me to believe that he will have an unbelievable year this year.