Bargain Ruck team

[SilentBob]

Have been thinking about different structural options for DT sides this year & it occurred to me that although the rookie rucks aren't quite as good as 2012 (with Giles in particular, along with Redden & Stephenson), they're still looking decent this year. Add to that the lack of forward rookie options & a huge number of promising rookie mids & it got me thinking about a different structure from the norm ... and I've come up with the following team:

Defs: Goddard, Gibbs, Hartlett, Hibberd, Jacobs, Vlastuin (Goodes, Stephenson)
Mids: Ablett, Pendlebury, Dangerfield, Fyfe, Bennell, Whitfield, Wines, K Mitchell (Crouch, O'Meara)
Rucks: Leuenberger, Currie (Gorringe, Witts)
Fwds: Franklin, Cox, Bartel, Rockliff, Kennedy, Karnezis (O'Hailpin, Macaffer)
$18,300 left

I've tried to stack the forwards & backs, at the expense of the rucks. I like my forward & back lines, which is a big change from previous versions of my side, when I always had issues with my forward line in particular.
With Leuenberger apparently in doubt, another option could be to move Cox to the ruck & bring in someone like Varcoe or Cornelius in the forwards.
With my mids, Whitfield is probably the least secure of my choices, but being a high-priced rookie, it leaves me some extra cash if I want to swap him for someone like Viney to use some cash elsewhere depending on final selections for round 1 teams.

Thoughts?

[Jukes]

Leuey won't play r1. "Downgrade" Spudlett Jr to Swallow, Franklin to Zorko and Jacobs to Armstrong, upgrade Leuey to Roughead/Bellchambers?

[SilentBob]

Leuey won't play r1. "Downgrade" Spudlett Jr to Swallow, Franklin to Zorko and Jacobs to Armstrong, upgrade Leuey to Roughead/Bellchambers?

Want to explain your logic?
Did you read the other part of the post where I explained some of my less conventional choices?

I'm happy to wait & see with Leuenberger & have a plan B ready if need be.
Why do you not like Ablett?
I was at the Brisbane v Collingwood game on the weekend & Zorko was hardly sighted - not interested in him this year unless he does something very special in the early rounds. What's so bad about Franklin anyway?
Jacobs & Armstrong seem like very similar players, though to be honest I haven't really looked at Armstrong in much detail.
Don't mind Bellchambers, but not sure if the possible role change for Roughead will be good, bad or neutral for his scoring.

[SilentBob]

Looks like Leuey's gone for round 1, so I've shuffled a bit, but still kept Currie at R2.

Def: Goddard, Gibbs, Hartlett, Hibberd, Jacobs, Vlastuin (Goodes, Stevenson)
Mids: Ablett, Pendlebury, Dangerfield, Fyfe, Moloney, Wines, Lonergan, Mitchell (Crouch, O'Meara)
Ruck: Bellchambers, Currie (O'hAilpin, Witts)
Fwd: Franklin, Cox, Bartel, Rockliff, Kennedy, Karnezis (Macaffer, Rowe)

O'hAilpin is there as a Fwd/Ruck DPP who is likely to be playing most games at GWS, so is 'insurance' if Currie not selected.
Not sure about some of my mids - like my top 4, but not sure Moloney will do enough to be a M5, though should still score much better than his price this year. Also not sure about which rooks to start/bench other than Wines.
Rowe & Witts are also far from settled, but seem like reasonable options if they get games.
Still haven't found a forward rookie I like ...

[Swan fan]

take out Maloney as Parker has a better upside...    :o

[korza]

Nice 1


I too think the Ruck's position can be a cheap option. With the extra trades it can be a quick fix, if it goes pear shape. Im not going to criticize player pick's, everyone for thier own.
Your strategy has merit and i applaud it.


KORZA

[SilentBob]

take out Maloney as Parker has a better upside...    :o

Although he might from an AFL perspective, does he have the same upside in terms of raw DT stats?
Can see Moloney scoring much better at Brisbane this year than he has in the past at Melbourne & he's clearly in the best 22 at Brisbane. Not so sure about Parker's consistency in Swans 22 (could get the vest on occasion).

Should have also mentioned that I have $42,800 in the bank, so some 'wriggle room' in terms of options depending on round 1 selections, particularly when it comes to rookie choices.

[SilentBob]

Have had another re-think & have decided that the bargain ruck theory might be a bit too ridiculous with Leuenberger in doubt & Currie not as locked in to be playing number 1 ruck at North Melbourne ... so I've tried another alternative - with so few good forward rookies, stack the forwards & put the bulk of the rookies in the midfield, where the cream of the 2013 rookie crop seem to be!

Team now looks like this:
$49,200 in bank
Def: Goddard, Gibbs, Hartlett, Hibberd, Vlastuin, Goodes (Stevenson, Terlich)
Mid: Ablett, Pendlebury, Fyfe, Lucas, Toumpas, Wines, Crouch, O'Meara (Mitchell, Blicavs)
Ruck: Maric, Bellchambers (Currie, O'hAilpin)
Fwd: Franklin, Cox, Bartel, Rockliff, Zorko, Karnezis (Macaffer, Spangher)

Reasonably happy with the look of it, with plenty of potential for cash generation in the mids & solid starters on other lines. A few bench options that I am a little unsure about (Terlich, Blicavs, Spangher being the most concerning), but I'm not unhappy with it either.

Thoughts?