Bully's Boys 2018

[Bully]

Just a rough draft but here's the opening salvo-

Def - Laird, Hibberd, Simpson, Shaw, Hanley, Birchall (Murray, Goddard)

Mids - Danger, Bont, Selwood, Cripps, Prestia, Wigg, Ahern, Kelly (Crowden, L.Fogarty, Worpel)

Rucks - Gawn, Naitanui (D.Cameron)

Forwards - Gray, Dahlhaus, Deledio, C.Rioli, Bennell, Higgins (J.Garlett, Daniels)

Defence

Batting deep here, the front 3 are durable and 90+ scorers, Shaw hasn't been too shabby lately either. It's for this reason I feel I can take the plunge on two former premos coming back from injury. Defensive rookies look very lean this year, plugging D6 is imperative.

Mids

I've got a feeling that paying top dollar for Dusty, Mitchell, Gaz & Kelly is a big mistake. For me it's scouring the basement for value.  Selwood is in my team every year and I can only feel that he'll be back to his very best with Gaz in the side. Bont had a downer but class always rises to the top. Cripps has a monster ceiling and has been discounted due to injury, this is his year I feel. My smokey is Prestia, didn't train or have a preseason yet stormed home averaging 110 in his last 7 games. He's a bit like Murphy from last year, could easily be a keeper at M8 or M9. No high priced rookies as yet but will assess after JLT. Brodie & LDU on the shortlist.

Rucks

Didn't have to think much about this but will monitor Naitanui over the preseason.

Forwards

Stacked with risk but scoring potential should account for any guns and rookies strategy. Rioli, Deledio & Bennell are cash cows and I'll be looking at around 400k between the 3 of them. Higgins should be able to nail down F6 but can also swing Ahern or Garlett in there.

[shaker]

Mids are the big scorers so for me to much spent in defence on lower scoring players and mids are a bit weak , forwards far to risky for me but that is only my opinion if you are happy go for it

[Bully]

Mids are the big scorers so for me to much spent in defence on lower scoring players and mids are a bit weak , forwards far to risky for me but that is only my opinion if you are happy go for it

Defensive rookies are lean, don't have much faith and will be avoiding fielding any. Your point about mids is correct but on the flipside,  it comes down to assessing your weakest link. Wigg has been recruited to fill an immediate need, SANFL form has been good. Kelly is a classic plug and play & there's enough depth on the bench to plug M8. Will wait for buying opportunities to grab Dusty, Gaz & Kelly.

[shaker]

Mids are the big scorers so for me to much spent in defence on lower scoring players and mids are a bit weak , forwards far to risky for me but that is only my opinion if you are happy go for it

Defensive rookies are lean, don't have much faith and will be avoiding fielding any. Your point about mids is correct but on the flipside,  it comes down to assessing your weakest link. Wigg has been recruited to fill an immediate need, SANFL form has been good. Kelly is a classic plug and play & there's enough depth on the bench to plug M8. Will wait for buying opportunities to grab Dusty, Gaz & Kelly.

Didn't Wigg get injured ? or am I confusing him with another injured play

[Bully]

Mids are the big scorers so for me to much spent in defence on lower scoring players and mids are a bit weak , forwards far to risky for me but that is only my opinion if you are happy go for it

Defensive rookies are lean, don't have much faith and will be avoiding fielding any. Your point about mids is correct but on the flipside,  it comes down to assessing your weakest link. Wigg has been recruited to fill an immediate need, SANFL form has been good. Kelly is a classic plug and play & there's enough depth on the bench to plug M8. Will wait for buying opportunities to grab Dusty, Gaz & Kelly.

Didn't Wigg get injured ? or am I confusing him with another injured play

Ankle injury early December, could still make it back in time but will have to watch JLT.

[shaker]

Ok but this just my opinion but straying to far from the cookie cutter template with a team is a recipe for a shower ranking but good luck it's only your first draft  ;)

[Bully]

Ok but this just my opinion but straying to far from the cookie cutter template with a team is a recipe for a shower ranking but good luck it's only your first draft  ;)

Midfield still bats to M5, granted Prestia is a risk but he's a risk worth taking. Have often looked at bringing in a solid mid for M9 with my last few trades so this is a pre-emptive strategy with upside. Bottom line is Prestia has a 106 year under his belt, he starred for Richmond throughout the finals & has had a solid preseason. Talent is there, still only 25 and is coming off career best form. The depth of Richmond's midfield also means he takes the lesser opponents.

Forward line is probably the one area which may need tweaking but provided Deledio, Rioli & Bennell all line up round 1 I'm taking the plunge. GWS seemingly have Deledio's calves under control so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt given last year he had zero preparation. These are cash cows with some potential to be keepers. All will make money and could easily turn into 1 trade upgrades. Cyril only needs to string a few games together to edge up to 450k, excluding 2017 his averages have been 94, 99, 98, 88, 92, 92 & 90.

[eaglesman]

Prestia

[SilverLion]

Prestia

Don't mind him as a PoD myself, showed a bit towards the end of last year, if he can stay on the park would be a good pick I reckon.

[FLUX]

Not a bad side Bully, a lot of risk but can see why you have picked most players. I think Birchall is going to burn a few people this season. Still not back running and can see him missing more games in 2018 as knee's are pretty dodgy. Also love Selwood and he always ends up in my side at some stage but i would never start with him. Much better off upgrading a rookie to him when he drops 100-150k which happens every year. Good luck!

[HappyDEZ]

Hi Bully. I have Cripps in my team as this stage too but I am not sure he has been discounted. He is priced at his 97.7 average from what I can see.

[Spite]

Hi Bully. I have Cripps in my team as this stage too but I am not sure he has been discounted. He is priced at his 97.7 average from what I can see.

It is counting his injured game where he scored less than 30, so there is some sort of discount still!

@Bully, why not Brandon Ellis? Averaged 100+ in the back end of the season but as a Richmond fan, would love to know your thoughts on him. Cheers!

[Bully]

Not a bad side Bully, a lot of risk but can see why you have picked most players. I think Birchall is going to burn a few people this season. Still not back running and can see him missing more games in 2018 as knee's are pretty dodgy. Also love Selwood and he always ends up in my side at some stage but i would never start with him. Much better off upgrading a rookie to him when he drops 100-150k which happens every year. Good luck!

Birch must be a round 1 starter with some reasonable JLT form to back it up. But at his starting price you'd back him in to average 80 which is all I want. Defensive rookies are rotten this year, Doedee maybe but is competing with too many others in a strong Crows line-up. D5 & D6 present as a huge issue this year.

Hi Bully. I have Cripps in my team as this stage too but I am not sure he has been discounted. He is priced at his 97.7 average from what I can see.

Cripps copped a 25 in his last game, discounting that game his average would be up around the 102 mark. He was just working into some red hot form too, just have a feeling this will be his blockbuster year.

Hi Bully. I have Cripps in my team as this stage too but I am not sure he has been discounted. He is priced at his 97.7 average from what I can see.

It is counting his injured game where he scored less than 30, so there is some sort of discount still!

@Bully, why not Brandon Ellis? Averaged 100+ in the back end of the season but as a Richmond fan, would love to know your thoughts on him. Cheers!

Ellis added another string to his bow in 2017, in the past he was seen as an accumulator but not a hardened inside ball-getter, last year saw some serious mongrel return. If guys like Hibberd, Yeo & Laird are slightly out of reach then Ellis would be a very good pick, super durable and a guy who shouldn't dip below 85 but has an upside of potentially 100. I haven't discounted him myself.

[frenzy]

refreshing to see a squad with no Bundy, Witherden or Lobb in it. Could you change the C Rioli to D Rioli to through the punters off.

[RaisyDaisy]

Heya Bully, welcome back for 2018 :)

I must admit that when I opened this thread I was totally surprised by the team that you have put

We're usually very similar in our thinking and selections which is probably why I was so surprised to see your selections, because it just doesn't look like a traditional Bully side

I'm not sure I agree with your sentiment regarding defensive rookies or the lack thereof. From all reports Ed Richards should slot right in to replace Boyd/Bob and Cam O'Shea should fill in for Docherty, so those 2 I see starting

Goddard, Murray, Keeffe, Doedee, Cumming plus a few others are all legit chances to line up Rd1 too, so for all of those reasons I think you drop a prem or two from down back

If you're going to start with just 5 mids, then I'd want them to be rock solid with no question marks. Jelwood has been a staple of my side for years, and I know you've always said he has his standard drop off 7 or so rounds in so I'm surprised you're starting him, coupled with the riskier Prestia too

As for the forward line, again I am totally surprised to see you're willing to roll the dice on all of Deledio, Cyril, Bennell and even Gray. I will admit that this is probably the hardest line to select due to no other real standouts (with Heeney injured or whatever that was) but even so I think you've got too many risky players there

Sorry for the mostly negative response, but I know you like constructive feedback as much as I do so I just thought I'd try and give you a few things to think about :)