Round 1 'Free Hit' Team

[SilentBob]

How does this look for a round 1 team to maximise points with the 'free hit'?

Aim for bare minimum spend on bench & maximise points on ground, so stacked the mids with 8 premos & tried to get a few premos & some value on field in other lines.

Def: S.Mitchell, K.Simpson, D.Swallow, N.Vlastuin, M.Suckling, L.McDonald (A.Georgiou, J.Battersby)
Mid: D.Swan, G.Ablett, B.Stanton, T.Rockliff, J.Watson, T.Liberatore, T.Cotchin, D.Beams (B.Newton, D.Wanganeen)
Ruc: B.Grundy, A.Sandilands (S.Naismith, F.Thurlow)
Fwd: P.Dangerfield, L.Dahlhaus, J.Caddy, R.Nahas, S.Blease, G.Rohan (D.Markworth, S.Kersten)
Remaining: $11,700

I would expect my round 2 'starting' side (when trades limited) to look much different to this ...

[R.Griffen]

Defenders: Strong why Vlastuin any reason???
Midfielders: Loaded midfield I think you need atleast 1 mid rookie that will score 80+ in round 1
Ruckman: I would rather Hickey over Grundy due to the bye but 2 cheap rucks
Forwards: Nahas and Blease wil aren't big scorers and I don't see them flying out of the blocks

[SilentBob]

Defenders: Strong why Vlastuin any reason???
Midfielders: Loaded midfield I think you need atleast 1 mid rookie that will score 80+ in round 1
Ruckman: I would rather Hickey over Grundy due to the bye but 2 cheap rucks
Forwards: Nahas and Blease wil aren't big scorers and I don't see them flying out of the blocks

To answer your questions ...

Remember I am picking this team for round 1 only, planning to change it for round 2 & beyond with trades still unlimited before round 2 ...

Vlastuin: he's under $400k & has the potential to score 100+. I'm looking for players with a high ceiling & there's not many with potential for 100s around his price.

Mids: Why do I need a rookie for round 1? Yes, I need some mid rookies for round 2 & beyond, but why round 1? I want to maximise points while I still have unlimited trades ...

Rucks: Bye is irrelevant - only having this team for 1 round.

Forwards: Obviously my forward line is my gamble in the team. Blease had been talked up a bit in pre-season, although his numbers from NAB 1 weren't great. Nahas is another who has the potential to score 100+ (I remember having him in my side a few years ago & Traded him out just before he had a purple patch where he scored 2 or 3 100+ games in a few weeks) & scores of 48 & 70 in the NAB are decent for someone of his price if he can get a spot in the best 22 for round 1. Also being at a new club, he could see this as a 'last chance' to play AFL, so potentially more determined to give 100% all game than when at Richmond. Having said that, I'm happy to change one or both of these if there is more round 1 potential elsewhere - now that you've mentioned Blease, I'd consider changing him to his team mate Jay Kennedy-Harris, who scored 69 in NAB 1, but open to suggestions.

[jvalles69]

Good in theory, but you also want guys you perform well against their first round opponents.

For example, Kade Simpson has a horribel record against his first up team, whereas Grimes is up against the Saints so should see a lot of the ball plus will save you cash.

I'd downgrade 1 premo mid (ie the one who has the worst record against opposition) to either an Ellis or Polec so you can spend this money in the fwd line.

Grundy against Sandi? I don't think you want this score.

I'd def try and upgrade two fwds into guys like Darling (will smash the doggies), Gunston, Titchell etc.

[R.Griffen]

Defenders: Strong why Vlastuin any reason???
Midfielders: Loaded midfield I think you need atleast 1 mid rookie that will score 80+ in round 1
Ruckman: I would rather Hickey over Grundy due to the bye but 2 cheap rucks
Forwards: Nahas and Blease wil aren't big scorers and I don't see them flying out of the blocks

To answer your questions ...

Remember I am picking this team for round 1 only, planning to change it for round 2 & beyond with trades still unlimited before round 2 ...

Vlastuin: he's under $400k & has the potential to score 100+. I'm looking for players with a high ceiling & there's not many with potential for 100s around his price.

Mids: Why do I need a rookie for round 1? Yes, I need some mid rookies for round 2 & beyond, but why round 1? I want to maximise points while I still have unlimited trades ...

Rucks: Bye is irrelevant - only having this team for 1 round.

Forwards: Obviously my forward line is my gamble in the team. Blease had been talked up a bit in pre-season, although his numbers from NAB 1 weren't great. Nahas is another who has the potential to score 100+ (I remember having him in my side a few years ago & Traded him out just before he had a purple patch where he scored 2 or 3 100+ games in a few weeks) & scores of 48 & 70 in the NAB are decent for someone of his price if he can get a spot in the best 22 for round 1. Also being at a new club, he could see this as a 'last chance' to play AFL, so potentially more determined to give 100% all game than when at Richmond. Having said that, I'm happy to change one or both of these if there is more round 1 potential elsewhere - now that you've mentioned Blease, I'd consider changing him to his team mate Jay Kennedy-Harris, who scored 69 in NAB 1, but open to suggestions.

I know it's a round 1 team but Ellis, Polec will outscore the forward rookies by 20+ where the Midfielders Watson shouldn't score 20+ more points than Martin

[SilentBob]

The actual round 1 team (subject to changes for second weekend):

TEAM NAME: Round 1 Team. (AFL Fantasy 2014)
Def: J.McVeigh, S.Mitchell, N.Vlastuin, M.Suckling, L.McDonald, B.Griffiths (C.Cameron, J.Tippett)
Mid: D.Swan, G.Ablett, M.Barlow, J.Watson, T.Cotchin, D.Beams, B.Vince, B.Ellis (E.Templeton, A.Woodward)
Ruc: S.Hampson, A.Sandilands (D.Currie, F.Thurlow)
Fwd: P.Dangerfield, T.Mitchell, C.Wingard, J.Caddy, M.McDonough, G.Rohan (D.Markworth, S.Kersten)

Thoughts?