Bully's Boys 2018

[Bully]

Another shocking week but I knew it was coming with Gaz, Lobb, Kelly, Armitage & Ryan all omitted. Lost some more ground but my team isn't exactly shot to bits, it will just take some luck and a bit of careful trading. So we come to this week's trades & I'm torn. The only thing I know is that Ryan needs to be moved on so I will be going early on Guelfi or Mirra, perhaps even both if I choose to give Goldy & Billings more time. If Armitage is named I will hold, that means I can sit on one trade, or alternatively can bring in Gray for Billings or Grundy for Goldy. Not sure what to do but both are slightly concerning. Billings just doesn't look like it but he did this last year & when he hits form he tends to string a few good games together. Gray looks to be a permanent mid these days so you could just about chalk in a 110 season. The only problem being the bye. And there's Yeo & Merrett next week who will both be under 500k, could maybe save some dough and upgrade Holman or Naughton.

[_wato]

I'd be holding Goldy/Billings mate, Guelfi is a good in and I too will be making the same trade. Gotta remember with Billings too, is that he scored 133 round one, an 80 the week after in a big loss, a 54 shocker against grand finalists Crows, then a 65 against Geelong in Geelong.

I'd also be building up the war chest to bring in a premo for next week. Wouldn't be trading Naughton as your backs look fine, but a Holman to Zerrett trade could easily be on the cards, especially if Kelly is out another week.

[Bully]

I'd be holding Goldy/Billings mate, Guelfi is a good in and I too will be making the same trade. Gotta remember with Billings too, is that he scored 133 round one, an 80 the week after in a big loss, a 54 shocker against grand finalists Crows, then a 65 against Geelong in Geelong.

I'd also be building up the war chest to bring in a premo for next week. Wouldn't be trading Naughton as your backs look fine, but a Holman to Zerrett trade could easily be on the cards, especially if Kelly is out another week.

Think you're right, might just do Ryan to Guelfi, that should also increase the scoring capacity of F6 as Guelfi is a mature-age  midfilder. That gives me 90k for next week & puts me in a position for an upgrade. The two I'm thinking are -

Holman to Mirra (150k)
Naughton to Yeo (Finlayson to the mids)

or

Naughton to Mirra (150k)
Holman to Merrett

Will assess both Yeo & Merrett this week & make a final call. Probably liking Yeo slightly more at this stage because he's unlikely to dip below 500k again. That 27 was a once in a blue moon occurance. This would also push Armitage to M8 which isn't a bad result.

[Bully]

Have finally cleared out most of the deadwood & seem to be matching most teams for firepower. Last week it was Yeo & this week Dusty makes his first appearance. Very tempted to to bring in Oliver who is 50k cheaper but I don't want to push my luck with Dusty who has delivered two 90s in his 3 match rolling average. Probably not the discount I was angling for but I'll take it.



Next week I'll be looking at swinging Finlayson back to defence & upgrading Murray to a midfielder, Oliver is still on my radar & with a 108 BE he won't increase too much. Merrett is the other I think is a value bet.

As for rank, still only 29,000 but can see some light at the end of the tunnel.

[Bully]

The week from hell, took the C off Gawn last minute, Dusty puts in his worst game against the Pies in 3 years, Walters goes down after 10 minutes, Langdon goes down after a quarter & half. Billings spews his weekly muck. The worst part is Walters has gone from a 100 average to a dud in the blink of an eye. Have lost valuable cash in the process. Trades have been decimated this year too.

RIP

Liberatore
Ablett
Kelly
Lobb
Walters
Ryan
Langdon

All I can say is bugger the forward line until everything is sorted, Gray the only definite in my opinion. The rest still up for conjecture so it will the be the last thing on my agenda. Spargo & Guelfi can fill the spots for the next 3 weeks. Will grab Cripps given he's looking like a super premo this year. Still a good price but ready to shoot up.



Next week I'll get a closer look at Crouch, Neale, Merrett & JPK. Really liking Macrae too but to get him in will require some serious luck with Murray & Fogarty. Also ready to ditch Goldy, one last chance but dangling by a thread.

My strategy with the forwards will be to grab Buddy & Walters when they bottom out. Defence is rock solid & about the only thing that looks competitive at the moment. McLean another possibility but I'm not in the mood for any more selection errors.

And apologies in advance if I break Cripps, there's a black cat just outside my window so things are looking ominous.   

[Bully]

Definitely made the wrong call getting Cripps but dems the breaks, has been the story of my year so far. Score this week was typically average, Billings & Goldy the main culprits. Willing to take some chances now & that's why I'm rolling the dice with JPK. Have gone over his history & the one thing that stands out is his slow starts & strong finishes. Even last year he only averaged 102 but the lions share of poor scores came in the first 7 rounds. Worth remembering that since 2012 he has gone 120, 105, 113, 110, 113, 102.



So with 100k in the bank I'll look at getting another premo forward next week, hopefully McLean, then it will be strictly Port players, Gray, Boak & Ryder is the plan. Need to make a full assault with the byes in mind. 

[zoomba23]

Definitely made the wrong call getting Cripps but dems the breaks, has been the story of my year so far. Score this week was typically average, Billings & Goldy the main culprits. Willing to take some chances now & that's why I'm rolling the dice with JPK. Have gone over his history & the one thing that stands out is his slow starts & strong finishes. Even last year he only averaged 102 but the lions share of poor scores came in the first 7 rounds. Worth remembering that since 2012 he has gone 120, 105, 113, 110, 113, 102.



So with 100k in the bank I'll look at getting another premo forward next week, hopefully McLean, then it will be strictly Port players, Gray, Boak & Ryder is the plan. Need to make a full assault with the byes in mind.

Reckon Ryder's a fantastic option after his bye, once he gets back into the swing of things. Due to drop in price nicely too. Apart from that, would be looking to upgrade the forward line. Fielding three rookies is living very dangerously, as although it does strengthen your other lines, it may be your undoing if your three put up subpar scores. Would be culling a few cash cows in the near future in order to get those Gray & McLean types.

[Bully]

To be honest I'm now fielding 4 rookies as I consider Billings to be a rookie (and not even the best one on offer) but the method behind the madness is getting the best cows at the present moment. Even if I take a small hit in points my cash generation will be superior to most. The rookie exposure will be reduced by 1 player next week, Holman to someone & Fritsch to McLean is the plan. Then I start building funds to get my Port players in.

[_wato]

Have considered Boak & R Gray. Ryder is a definite for me especially with a 204 be and predicted 500k purchase come Rd 11.

Reckon Boak can match it around a 95 average to compete with the big boys?

[Bully]

Boak as a mid was irrelevant, as a forward he's fine in the F5-F6 range. Fairly high ceiling too, just need him to pull in a big score over the byes. Durability is another big tick.

[Dudge]

Tempted Bully like you with JPK. Could make or break my season. Nah, that's a bull$hit  comment, my seasons already over

[Bully]

Slight change of plan, bringing in Mclean instead, BE of 56 and due to increase 30k. Next week have the option of Crouch or JPK, reckon it's best to leave my options open with the mids.

[Bully]

Very good week & have now moved up to 20,000 odd. My rookie forwards are saving my season which just goes to show anything can happen in this game. Billings & Goldy still hampering my progress so this is the week Billings gets the chop, would rather field Spargo at this stage so that's the cue to cut my losses. Trades will be Finlayson & Billings out for Oliver & Phillips. Really liked Ed's game on the weekend, would have given him 3 votes amongst the Saint players so I'm very confident he gets plenty of match time from here.



So now it's time for bye planning & Ryder & Gray are at the top of my wishlist. Will strongly consider Cumming next week, slightly disappointed Mirra & Murphy haven't ripened but I'm still holding out hope one gets a gig next week. Holding Garlett for now, he's actually really handy for loopholing & if Guelfi gets a recall it will be the perfect scenario. Holman could be useful over the byes so he stays for now. 

[Bully]

Just a par week for me, could have climbed 3000 spots if not for a dumbass captain's choice, Oliver obviously not the right pick & probably should have paid more attention in the warm-up given he was wearing a glove due to surgery on his finger. Anyhow, squad looking strong with cash generation humming along. No trades this week, next week will weigh up Walters, Buddy, Boak & Rocky. A lot to choose from & if Kelly misfires again then he'll be in the gun. Happy to hold Fritsch given he's playing as a wingman now.   

[Bully]

Good week & have moved up to 12,000 odd. Squad looks strong with just a few upgrades left to make. Doedee at D6 is humming along nicely & won't cost much to upgrade, Hurley the guy I'm eyeing off over the bye period. This week I'm jumping on Walters who looks in ripping form, almost a straight swap with Kelly which makes up for the loss of cash this week. The big decision is who to offload for Smith, thought about ZGL but that doesn't leave too many options for a double upgrade next week. In the end I'm offloading Ronke, maybe early but the 120 is out of the rolling average now, BE of 45 means there's not a huge amount of petrol left in the tank.



Next week I'll look at adding 2 of Buddy, Rocky, Gray & Boak. Fritsch possibly goes & I'll consider upgrading Holman. With byes in mind round 13 is my main issue, will look at addressing that with upgrades to Guelfi, Spargo or ZGL.