Birchall v Scotland

[Sweetness]

Looked for a similar thread but couldn't find one.
I have Goddard, Hartlett, Birch/Scotland Terlich, Heath, Stevenson (Heppell, Pittard)
Goodes is on my mid bench.

Birchall:
Pros- Off to a flyer this year. Has GWS, Gold Coast, Melbourne in rds 8, 9, 10. Should be top 6 mid by seasons end.
Cons- At $526,000 he is $53k more than Scotland. Is he going to cop the forward tag?

Scotland:
Pros- Has an insanely easy draw coming up. $53k cheaper. Reliable for many seasons.
Cons- Maybe doesn't have the scoring power of Birchall. He is old. Will he be top 6 mid (very close in my opinion)

Thoughts and votes appreciated.

[jamfrank]

I agree on all your points. Birch is too expensive right now. Only scored an 80 last week and has the crows and syd before that easy run. Reckon he'll come down in price before rd 8, then you should jump on him.

[Andrew]

As this week has shown, 2-3 weeks plans can go wrong and you don't end up making the trades you planned. Bringing Birchall into your side in 2 weeks time will be difficult and in the meantime Scotland hasn't tonned up yet. Both have easy draws coming up, but with Suckling being out, it's Birchall's time to shine - he will definitely be top 6 defender this year. Also important:

Birchall's b/e: 97
Scotland: 117

So even if Scotland gets 100-110 this week he could still drop a bit and be a good value pickup next week or the week after, when I will be likely upgrading Stevenson/Heath. Bring in the best player now - Birchall. He could go bang against a Tex-less Adelaide (how much loose ball will there be for the defence to mop up?!).

[bombers11]

I went Heppell to Birchall and Gibbs to Hartlett, leaving Goodes and Pittard on the pine
Then next week i'll bring in Vlasturin and Heppell for Moloney and the best option out of Whitfield/Pittard/Stevenson ect.

I too was tossing up between Birchall and Scotland, Birch better scoring potential, B/E 92 this week against the Crows, might go down in price a bit after the Sydney game but he's projected to make 8 out 9 B/Es so unless you're looking to bring him in after Sydney he's not going down in price any time soon. Bottom line for me, if you can afford Birch get him, he's a gun will be in your team at the end of the year any way. Scotland, jury's still out but if he passes you can always pick him up later at a cheaper price

[Sweetness]

As this week has shown, 2-3 weeks plans can go wrong and you don't end up making the trades you planned. Bringing Birchall into your side in 2 weeks time will be difficult and in the meantime Scotland hasn't tonned up yet. Both have easy draws coming up, but with Suckling being out, it's Birchall's time to shine - he will definitely be top 6 defender this year. Also important:

Birchall's b/e: 97
Scotland: 117

So even if Scotland gets 100-110 this week he could still drop a bit and be a good value pickup next week or the week after, when I will be likely upgrading Stevenson/Heath. Bring in the best player now - Birchall. He could go bang against a Tex-less Adelaide (how much loose ball will there be for the defence to mop up?!).

Cheers for your thoughts.
Birchall's BE is only 97 because his 151 is still in his rolling average. After this week it won't be, thus he will start falling in price.
Assistant Coach has his projected scores being 110+ for the rest of the year which I think is unrealistic.
Whereas AC has Scotland scoring mid 80's which I think he can better...

[turry17]

If you can afford it go the birch for sure, get him now rather than worry later