Updated (No Whitfield!) - My first year playing, rate my team please!

[RookieDTer]

Updated team near bottom of page 2.
Hey Guys,

this is my first year playing DreamTeam... any chance of some feedback?

My backs are fairly weak, but I'm not sure how to improve them. Any hints would be appreciated.



Backs:
Goddard, Gibbs, Henderson, Sellar, Talia, Dawson (Pittard, Docherty)

Mids:
Ablett, Beams, Dangerfield, Chapman, Johnson Stevie, Monfries, Embley, Wines (Crouch, Viney)

Rucks:
Cox, Leuenberger (Osborn, Moller)

Fwd:
Roughead J, Walker, Cloke, Jenkins, Varcoe, Byrnes (Jaksch, Macaffer)

[LF]

You have way too much money in your midfield
You need to cut Chapman and Monfries
Move Stevie J forward
Bring in Omeara to your mids
You have 2 rucks rookies that probably won`t play
Zac Dawson is a DT spud swap him to B Goodes

[RookieDTer]

You have way too much money in your midfield
You need to cut Chapman and Monfries
Move Stevie J forward
Bring in Omeara to your mids
You have 2 rucks rookies that probably won`t play
Zac Dawson is a DT spud swap him to B Goodes

Thanks mate, happy to immediately take a couple of suggestions on board, but hoping for a little bit more guidance on a couple of other suggestions.

Monfries is one of my key picks this year, so he stays unless you can come up with a fantastic suggestion of who to replace him with... I'm happier to get rid of Chapman, Chapman can go, but then who should I replace him with? Scott Thompson? Pendlebury?

Stevie J can move forward, happy with that... but who would you get rid of for him? Cloke?

The amount of times I've taken O'meara in and out of my team is remarkable. I just can't make up my mind. I prefer Wines and Crouch to O'Meara. I could swap Viney for O'meara though? Which three of those four would you pick?

Alright, I've swapped Dawson for Goodies. I was never sure of Dawson, so I'm happy with that.

Making just that Dawson trade means I have $77k to spend.... How should I spend it? Really, it gives me an option to upgrade one defender or one midfielder.... Could put Stevie J to Forward, delist Cloke... then have $460k to spend on a midfielder - for example, Fyfe? Or even find an extra $5k somewhere and put Judd into the midfield? --- Will Fyfe play 22 games this year though, and where would I find that $5k?

Alternatively, could upgrade Sellar with my spare $77k as I haven't seen anyone else on this board who has Sellar in their team... I just can't pick who to. They all seem overpriced at the around $320k mark.

So many options, not sure which to take! Any other thoughts very much appreciated!

[LF]

no you need to balance your lines out if you stack your mids you lose points in your other lines
You need rookies to make you money then you downgrade them eventually to another playing rookie that is about to go up in price to make money to then upgrade another rookie/player to a premium fantasy player.

[Nige]

DEF: You started well picking Goddard and Gibbs, but from there you didn't do to well picking players. You need to ditch the rest of them. The two on your bench - Pittard and Docherty can come on to your field. Then you have two places left in the backline as well as your bench. You can grab B.Goodes and Terlich to stick on the bench. With the two other spots in defense, grab any two of Heppell/Stanley/Broughton/Hartlett/Birchall.

MID: It's too stacked with expensive players. Ablett's good, you must have him and Embley, Wines, Viney and Crouch are fine. You should have O'Meara, he's the pick of the rookies in 2013, starting without him will put you behind the 8-ball. Beams, Danger, Chappy, Stevie J and Monfries can all go. Replace those three with other premiums. People like Murphy, Cotchin and Fyfe are good players to fill these spots. Look at other teams in these RMDT/RMSC boards for ideas. A player like Stevie J or Monfries are probably better off being selected in your forward line if at all.

RUC: Decent starting duo, but you should look at Daw, Currie, Witts, Grundy or Gorringe to fill those two bench spots.

FWD: This line isn't bad, but you'd be better off picking players like Rockliff, Robinson, Stevie J and the like for your first 3 forward spots. Then you can maybe get a midpricer or two if you have the money. You can then fill the remaining field spot with someone like Macaffer who you have and put Lee and Neade on your bench.

[LF]

replace Chapman with either of Pendlbury,murphy,boyd,fyfe,cotchin
Ruck rookie suggestions rowe,currie,daw
out of those 4 mid rooks you mentioned wines,omeara and viney
cut jenkins out and replace him with stevie j
if you want monfries then cut Embley to a rook

[RookieDTer]

Updated Team:
Back:
Goddard, Gibbs, Heppel, Birchall, B. Goodes, Talia (Pittard, Docherty).

Mid:
Ablett, Beams, Dangerfield, Embley, Varcoe, Whitfield, Wines, O'Meara (Crouch, Viney)

Ruck:
Cox, Leunerberger (Daw, Moller)

Fwd:
Stevie J, Rockliff, Roughead, Walker, Monfries, Jenkins (Jaksch, Macaffer)

Reasoning:
Brilliant, taking a lot of this on board.

Firstly, got rid of Chapman for O'meara... Which gave me a tonne of cash to play with. I used this to completely change my defense.

Completely changed defense, see above.

Keeping Talia as I think he is remarkably under priced at $180k, and I can't think of any better players in the $180 to $250k price range. If Pittard is doing well and will play each week, then that is when Talia gets the chop... but, Talia did play all 22 games last year and I'm not sure that Goodes is. Will Goodes even play Round 1?

Keeping Jenkins, as I think that without Tippet, Jenkins will have a fantastic year. Also works will that Cox is a DPP and Jenkins is a DPP (Ruck), so if Cox is ever out injured, Jenkins can go straight into the Ruck and someone from the Fwds bench can come on (same with Roughead).

Though, I changed one of my ruck rookies to Daw. I am, at the moment, keeping the other at the cheapest cost, $89.3k as I just don't need a second ruck on the bench.

Realistically, I think you guys are then going to be happy enough with my backs now - my only non-standard choice is Talia, and I have a strong bench. My ruck department is probably okay as well. Maybe I could upgrade the other $89.3ker... but, in reality, I'm not going to put the Emergency vest on my two ruck subs in the one week.

This left my forward line to improve, and an overpowered Mid. To fix this, I got rid of Stevie J for L Whitfield.... (fixes the 'over powered Mid problem)........ Which gave me more cash...... Which then allowed me to go - Cloke, - Byrnes + Stevie J back in and +Rockliff.

This means I've only got three real strong midfielders - Ablett, Beams and Dangerfield... but I want Ablett for Captain (Swan is overpriced).... and Beams I want in case Ablett gets a late withdrawal and Beams takes the captaincy for a week. Dangerfield is absolutely underrated - so those three stay. This means I'm relying on Wines, O'Meara, Whitfield and Embley to all play.... but, at least Crouch should start the season playing, and maybe Viney? Not sure?

I've got $18k left... so I could get rid of the $89.3k ruck and get Currie in...

Is Jaksch a good choice for the Fwd bench, or can I get something better for Jaksch+$18.3k?

Finally,I swapped Monfries to Forward and put Varcoe in mid. If Varcoe doesn't play, then I'd rather have the option to swap Crouch in than Macaffer, as I think Crouch is much more likely to play Round 1.

I think I've addressed most of the problems?
Chapman gone, Monfires and Stevie J out of mid... defense has improved from utter shambles.... made the midfield much less powerful, improved my ruck bench, have rockliff in Fwd, have O'meara... now am I ready?

[Nige]

Looking a lot better mate, still needs a few changes imo.

Talia should go, he won't score well. You're better off with Dean Terlich. He should be in the Demons' best 22 to begin with.

Varcoe is better off in your forwards.

Whitfield is too pricey and JS could be a worry, better options out there.

Moller should become Witts or someone like that.

Jaksch should go, grab Lee or Neade.

Make those changes and you should have a fairly good looking team.

[RookieDTer]

Cool, so Talia is gone, Terlich is in. Done, thanks.

Why is Varcoe better off in my forward line?

Whitfield is quite pricey... but, let's be honest, this is probably worth $180k. Consider the other players costing $180k?

Why could JS be a worry? (and, by JS, do you mean Stevie J?) - most people seem to like Stevie J on here?

Moller will become Witts or Currie if I have a spare $19k or so at the end after I have completed my team.... otherwise, not too fussed.

Definitely considering getting rid of Jaksch.... if he has a great NAB cup, he can stay... if he doesn't, will look at getting rid of him. Whilst you suggested Lee or Neade, I probably would lead towards Kerridge instead though.

This leads me to having $95.7k cash since Talia is much more expensive.... and so I have one more need for some advice :)

Options:
Can do -Jaksch, +Byrnes.
Or, could do -Jenkins +Lewis Jetta or Greg Broughton
Or, could do -Monfries +Matthew Wright
Or, could do -Monfries +Jude Bolton (would need to find $3,500 from somewhere - maybe downgrading Daw from Ruck substitute?)
Or, could do -Embley +Craig Bird?

Or, how could I spend $95.7k? The only change I've made since my last post is =Talia + Terlich

[Nige]

Cool, so Talia is gone, Terlich is in. Done, thanks.

Why is Varcoe better off in my forward line? You can get better players for a cheaper price in his place in your midfield

Whitfield is quite pricey... but, let's be honest, this is probably worth $180k. Consider the other players costing $180k? No. Go someone cheaper, look at Kane Mitchell, Jesse Lonergan, Tom Mitchell etc. They'll serve you better.

Why could JS be a worry? (and, by JS, do you mean Stevie J?) - most people seem to like Stevie J on here? JS means job security, that's why it's a worry. Yes, he's the no.1 draft pick, but he'll get rotated through since GWS have a young list and like I said before, you can get better players for less.

Moller will become Witts or Currie if I have a spare $19k or so at the end after I have completed my team.... otherwise, not too fussed.

Definitely considering getting rid of Jaksch.... if he has a great NAB cup, he can stay... if he doesn't, will look at getting rid of him. Whilst you suggested Lee or Neade, I probably would lead towards Kerridge instead though. Kerridge is definitely an option, watch the NAB Cup and see how he fairs there, also if he's named Round 1

This leads me to having $95.7k cash since Talia is much more expensive.... and so I have one more need for some advice :)

Options:
Can do -Jaksch, +Byrnes. Jaksch -> Byrnes is a good idea.
Or, could do -Jenkins +Lewis Jetta or Greg Broughton Jenkins to Broughton also a good idea
Or, could do -Monfries +Matthew Wright Wright's probably slightly better, but Monfries isn't too much of a difference
Or, could do -Monfries +Jude Bolton (would need to find $3,500 from somewhere - maybe downgrading Daw from Ruck substitute?) Nope, stick with Monfries imo.
Or, could do -Embley +Craig Bird? Nope, keep Embley over Bird.

Or, how could I spend $95.7k? The only change I've made since my last post is =Talia + Terlich

[RookieDTer]

Ended up choosing Jaksch -> Byrnes.

Haven't decided about Whtifield, but still considering it.

Thanks very much for your help, and to everyone else as well. I can see it is actually stronger than the OP :)

[Nige]

Ended up choosing Jaksch -> Byrnes.

Haven't decided about Whtifield, but still considering it.

Thanks very much for your help, and to everyone else as well. I can see it is actually stronger than the OP :)

Oh good. Seriously though, Whitfield isn't worth it. Find somebody else.

You're welcome for the help mate.

[lachie_001]

Defense is good, Goddard and Gibbs are musts. I wonder whether birchall will get more attention this year than he did last year, if he does I think that will effect his scores so watch that in the early rounds. Rookies are good so for back ill give you a 9/10.

Your midfield is okay but you are lacking premiums, I would get rid of varcoe and embley and upgrade them to someone like pendles or cotchin. There is also plenty of rookies to pick from this year in the midfield and both wines and Whitfield are both to over priced for what they will make in cash, I'd downgrade them to cheaper rookies. But I like danger, beams and ablett so your mids are about 5/10

Rucks are pretty standard, pretty much everyone is going with premium + berger 9/10

Forwards needs to be changed, walker although is a dominant forward is unreliable dt scores wise there are better options, I'm a crows supporter and although I love tex his dt output I won't go near until its proven consistency wise. I'm not a big fan of midpricers and I don't think Jenkins is going to be a big scorer, and you've taken both forwards of the crows which in itself is a bad idea as they are both KPP. Maybe offload monfries but ill leave that up to you, he might make a POD. I would recommend bring these trades Jenkins to rook, walker - franklin, monfries to rook and spend on your midfield.
For this I'm giving you a 6/10 for your forwards

Overall then I'm giving you a 7 for your team. Sorry if its harsh but you have some positives in your team and if you fix up what I've mentioned you can get that 7 right up. But this is just my opinion I hope it helps :)

[RookieDTer]

Your midfield is okay but you are lacking premiums, I would get rid of varcoe and embley and upgrade them to someone like pendles or cotchin. There is also plenty of rookies to pick from this year in the midfield and both wines and Whitfield are both to over priced for what they will make in cash, I'd downgrade them to cheaper rookies. But I like danger, beams and ablett so your mids are about 5/10

Forwards needs to be changed, walker although is a dominant forward is unreliable dt scores wise there are better options, I'm a crows supporter and although I love tex his dt output I won't go near until its proven consistency wise. I'm not a big fan of midpricers and I don't think Jenkins is going to be a big scorer, and you've taken both forwards of the crows which in itself is a bad idea as they are both KPP. Maybe offload monfries but ill leave that up to you, he might make a POD. I would recommend bring these trades Jenkins to rook, walker - franklin, monfries to rook and spend on your midfield.
For this I'm giving you a 6/10 for your forwards

Overall then I'm giving you a 7 for your team. Sorry if its harsh but you have some positives in your team and if you fix up what I've mentioned you can get that 7 right up. But this is just my opinion I hope it helps :)

Not harsh at all. Overall, I generally see your criticisms... but don't always agree on the solution. Which means I'm "stuck" with how it is - at least til I can see how Kerridge is going. Not fantastic in first NAB cup matches, 11 and 16 IIRC....

Varcoe and Embley are too underpriced, and I'm reading wonderful things about Varcoe. Think he is an absolute keeper. I could be tempted to get rid of Embley, but can't find anything better at his price. Any suggestions welcome!

There are plenty of mid rookies this year... but, I have all of them that I'm interested in (except maybe Kerridge) -see, Crouch, Viney, O'meara, Wines, Whitfield... I'm absolutely happy to get rid of Whitfield, but I have no idea who to swap him to - again, except maybe Kerridge... but will he play R1?

Besides, getting rid of Whtifield and Embley still only gives me $449k to spend on two players... would need at least $108k for a rookie, leaving me with $341k for another midfielder.... and, again, back to Embley :P?

I don't see Wines as overpriced - at least we know he will get game time, compare this to other options like Neade or Lee... I'm paying $40k for job security, yes.... but.

In conclusion, with respect to midfielders... I'm absolutely happy to get rid of Whitfield, just tell me who to... that is not Neade! If Kerridge did get named for R1, that is when I could do -Whtifield +Kerridge, -Monfries +Wellingham or Hartlett.

I see the problem with Jenkins/Walker... esp. both together. If Kerridge is playing R1, could do -Whitfield + Kerridge, - Jenkins + Cloke. Cloke isn't entirely, but is fairly, unique.

Crows do have a good run, so I'm particularly happy with Walker, esp. at the start of the season. Certainly potential to move to NicNat if required, or even Matty Wright. Just think, first round back is Bombers at AAMI, Brisbane, Port then Doggies at AAMI.

Alternatively, could be a sheep and do -Byrnes, + Lee, -Whitfield + Kerridge ... then have the cash to upgrade Jenkins to a premo like Robinson or Zorko.

I'm not picking Franklin - especially with his first three matches.

Monfries is fairly unique, but very happy with him - esp. as I have four starting Forwards/Mids in my forward line, one Mid/Fwd in my midfield is nice! Shame I don't have any Def/Mid or Def/Fwds, but alas.

Can see you are not a fan of midpricers - I've never played before, so I'm not sure if I'm kicking myself in the foot..... but, it just seems like there are some midprices that are clearly in the best 22, that are competent and have good cash cow potential - Varcoe is the prime example of this.

Will definitely keep thinking of how to get rid of Whitfield - he is the only play *I'm* not happy with.

Jenkins/Walker is somewhat troubling, but not too fussed, especially at the start of the season. With any luck, can upgrade Jenkins for Round 5 (v Carlton)....

[SilentBob]

The big thing to remember is that Dream Team is about stats - marks, kicks, handballs, tackles, etc.
Although a player like Talia might be good at what he does defensively & is good for Adelaide, he isn't a good DT player as he doesn't get enough 'stats' to get big scores regularly.
Another issue with players like Jenkins & Walker is that being key forwards, their DT points scoring tends to fluctuate a lot, depending on whether they get a lot of the ball, kick goals, etc. Most of the more expensive forwards have other ways to score DT points, so players like Franklin score points when they play up the ground & get possessions, tackles, etc. Cox, Naitanui, etc get extra points from hitouts when they are playing in the ruck & players like Johnson, Rockliff, etc spend a large amount of time in the midfield, so can score points from marks, kicks, handballs, tackles, etc when in the midfield, whether they kick goals or not.
In terms of rookies, you want to use them to make money - when they increase in value, you trade them for 'premium' players who regularly score highly. Given that players like Whitfield, Wines etc are slightly higher priced (being early picks), they don't gain as much value as a lower-priced rookie like Viney, O'Meara, etc. Of course the trick with rookies is to get ones that are playing, as they can increase in value - rookies that don't play can't gain any value.

Keep that stuff in mind when trying to pick your team ... some of your choices are good, but others need some work ...