Sir Tom "GOAT" Rockliff

[RaisyDaisy]

Did somewhat of a deep dive to talk myself into/out of this.

Rocky had an interrupted pre-season. He said in a press conference after the GC game that he didn't feel right for the opening 4 games of the season. Staff told him to sit out a week, then returned with two big games in the SANFL. Proceeds to score pretty well playing mostly midfield upon return to the ones, then gets another week off to do some more fitness work last week. Primed and ready for a big second half of the season (flower me I sound like a Port supporter on BigFooty)

You'd be silly not to really

Still only a 98 & 102 on return though, so there are still question marks on whether he can actually achieve the 120+ scores at Port that are needed from a starting premium midfielder.

Who said anything about being a starter? Most people that pick him are doing so for cover over the byes and then M9

If it was for a keeper then I wouldn't be picking him, but 375k for a M9 who can potentially go 100+ could be very good insurance for the second half of the season

I said I wouldn't pick him again in the past, but that's as a starter - as M9 and bye cover I think there is much less risk so it's worth it

[MontyJnr]

Who said anything about being a starter? Most people that pick him are doing so for cover over the byes and then M9

If it was for a keeper then I wouldn't be picking him, but 375k for a M9 who can potentially go 100+ could be very good insurance for the second half of the season

I said I wouldn't pick him again in the past, but that's as a starter - as M9 and bye cover I think there is much less risk so it's worth it

Yeah I am quite aware everyone has this big grand plan to push him to M9. Whether that ends up happening or not is another story.

There is a risk going early on a luxury trade like this. Rocky's spot at M8 will likely become your last priority for an upgrade, with moving Doedee, Fritsch, Billings, Tim Smith, Mirra, Richards, Guelfi types out of your best 22 taking precedence instead. That means that Rocky will likely be holding down M8 for you until the end of the byes minimum.

What happens if you get a few injuries in the meantime though? Suddenly with a finished team and Rocky at M8 you are running low on trades. Then you have to weigh up the tough decision on whether with 4-5 trades left it is worth making two 1 up/1 down "luxury" trades to bring in Dangerfield as your 9th midfielder or you hold the 4-5 trades to cover more injuries.

It could easily backfire and then you're stuck with Rocky at M8 when you could've just got Danger out of the way much earlier.

[RaisyDaisy]

Who said anything about being a starter? Most people that pick him are doing so for cover over the byes and then M9

If it was for a keeper then I wouldn't be picking him, but 375k for a M9 who can potentially go 100+ could be very good insurance for the second half of the season

I said I wouldn't pick him again in the past, but that's as a starter - as M9 and bye cover I think there is much less risk so it's worth it

Yeah I am quite aware everyone has this big grand plan to push him to M9. Whether that ends up happening or not is another story.

There is a risk going early on a luxury trade like this. Rocky's spot at M8 will likely become your last priority for an upgrade, with moving Doedee, Fritsch, Billings, Tim Smith, Mirra, Richards, Guelfi types out of your best 22 taking precedence instead. That means that Rocky will likely be holding down M8 for you until the end of the byes minimum.

What happens if you get a few injuries in the meantime though? Suddenly with a finished team and Rocky at M8 you are running low on trades. Then you have to weigh up the tough decision on whether with 4-5 trades left it is worth making two 1 up/1 down "luxury" trades to bring in Dangerfield as your 9th midfielder or you hold the 4-5 trades to cover more injuries.

It could easily backfire and then you're stuck with Rocky at M8 when you could've just got Danger out of the way much earlier.

Goes both ways though doesn't it?

You get Danger now and complete your mids, but then you're fielding rookies elsewhere longer, or premiums from another line could get injured meaning you need to deal with that

The position to a certain extent is irrelevant. It's about getting 22 prems on the park, and unfortunately for someone like myself who has been smashed with injuries and low on trades, I might just have to settle with Rocky as M8 or most likely a rookie at F6 possibly F5 too

Bottom line for me, getting Rocky (or Walters) this week means I can double upgrade next week which I desperately need. Walters will likely be good enough for keeper where as Rocky probably won't, but Walters bye could be the difference between copping a donut or not in R14

There's no right or wrong answer with this, it's situational to each team and where they stand, but having Holman at M9 I am confident I can turn him into Danger or another prem eventually, and I will do that before I finish off my forward line too because some of the forward rookies are doing more than fine to stay on field and I know that a prem mid is eventually going to miss a game or two and that's when having Rocky come on as cover while others bring on a rookie will be advantageous for me, and coupled with his bye coverage and super cheap price I think the move is a good one which carries low risk

[MontyJnr]

Who said anything about being a starter? Most people that pick him are doing so for cover over the byes and then M9

If it was for a keeper then I wouldn't be picking him, but 375k for a M9 who can potentially go 100+ could be very good insurance for the second half of the season

I said I wouldn't pick him again in the past, but that's as a starter - as M9 and bye cover I think there is much less risk so it's worth it

Yeah I am quite aware everyone has this big grand plan to push him to M9. Whether that ends up happening or not is another story.

There is a risk going early on a luxury trade like this. Rocky's spot at M8 will likely become your last priority for an upgrade, with moving Doedee, Fritsch, Billings, Tim Smith, Mirra, Richards, Guelfi types out of your best 22 taking precedence instead. That means that Rocky will likely be holding down M8 for you until the end of the byes minimum.

What happens if you get a few injuries in the meantime though? Suddenly with a finished team and Rocky at M8 you are running low on trades. Then you have to weigh up the tough decision on whether with 4-5 trades left it is worth making two 1 up/1 down "luxury" trades to bring in Dangerfield as your 9th midfielder or you hold the 4-5 trades to cover more injuries.

It could easily backfire and then you're stuck with Rocky at M8 when you could've just got Danger out of the way much earlier.

Goes both ways though doesn't it?

You get Danger now and complete your mids, but then you're fielding rookies elsewhere longer, or premiums from another line could get injured meaning you need to deal with that

The position to a certain extent is irrelevant. It's about getting 22 prems on the park, and unfortunately for someone like myself who has been smashed with injuries and low on trades, I might just have to settle with Rocky as M8 or most likely a rookie at F6 possibly F5 too

Bottom line for me, getting Rocky (or Walters) this week means I can double upgrade next week which I desperately need. Walters will likely be good enough for keeper where as Rocky probably won't, but Walters bye could be the difference between copping a donut or not in R14

There's no right or wrong answer with this, it's situational to each team and where they stand, but having Holman at M9 I am confident I can turn him into Danger or another prem eventually, and I will do that before I finish off my forward line too because some of the forward rookies are doing more than fine to stay on field and I know that a prem mid is eventually going to miss a game or two and that's when having Rocky come on as cover while others bring on a rookie will be advantageous for me, and coupled with his bye coverage and super cheap price I think the move is a good one which carries low risk

Understand it is situational and it probably makes sense for someone like yourself to bring in Rocky given you have been hammered with injuries and may not have the chance to finish with 22 premiums on the park anyway.

I would love to have 22 premiums on field and Rocky at M9 personally, but then I look back at previous seasons and think of the number of times I actually finish the year with a premium at D7/M9/F7. It has happened once or twice, but I have definitely completed plenty more seasons without the extra premium.

I am reluctant to assume I will have this luxury at Round 11.

[My Chumps]

Who said anything about being a starter? Most people that pick him are doing so for cover over the byes and then M9

If it was for a keeper then I wouldn't be picking him, but 375k for a M9 who can potentially go 100+ could be very good insurance for the second half of the season

I said I wouldn't pick him again in the past, but that's as a starter - as M9 and bye cover I think there is much less risk so it's worth it

Yeah I am quite aware everyone has this big grand plan to push him to M9. Whether that ends up happening or not is another story.

There is a risk going early on a luxury trade like this. Rocky's spot at M8 will likely become your last priority for an upgrade, with moving Doedee, Fritsch, Billings, Tim Smith, Mirra, Richards, Guelfi types out of your best 22 taking precedence instead. That means that Rocky will likely be holding down M8 for you until the end of the byes minimum.

What happens if you get a few injuries in the meantime though? Suddenly with a finished team and Rocky at M8 you are running low on trades. Then you have to weigh up the tough decision on whether with 4-5 trades left it is worth making two 1 up/1 down "luxury" trades to bring in Dangerfield as your 9th midfielder or you hold the 4-5 trades to cover more injuries.

It could easily backfire and then you're stuck with Rocky at M8 when you could've just got Danger out of the way much earlier.

Goes both ways though doesn't it?

Yeah Monty, the point is you're saving 250k by backing Rockliff, which is essentially an upgrade/downgrade. If things go pear shaped it will essentially take one more trade to fix the issue - you're going to trade Tim Kelly in either scenario, if it's for Danger now or Rockliff+250k then Danger later.

I'm in a somewhat similar boat to RD anyway with the fact that this season has been less-than-pleasant, so I'm keen to spice things up and take a punt on the GOAT

[MontyJnr]

Yeah Monty, the point is you're saving 250k by backing Rockliff, which is essentially an upgrade/downgrade. If things go pear shaped it will essentially take one more trade to fix the issue - you're going to trade Tim Kelly in either scenario, if it's for Danger now or Rockliff+250k then Danger later.

I'm in a somewhat similar boat to RD anyway with the fact that this season has been less-than-pleasant, so I'm keen to spice things up and take a punt on the GOAT

You make a good point, but you are assuming 250k will be enough to reach a Top 8 midfielder.

We were obviously very lucky with Tim Kelly that he reached 400-430k.

Will Phillips, Spargo, Ahern & Giro get up to 350-380k so you can afford Dangerfield at 600-630k though? I am not so certain right now.

[tkringle]

Yeah Monty, the point is you're saving 250k by backing Rockliff, which is essentially an upgrade/downgrade. If things go pear shaped it will essentially take one more trade to fix the issue - you're going to trade Tim Kelly in either scenario, if it's for Danger now or Rockliff+250k then Danger later.

I'm in a somewhat similar boat to RD anyway with the fact that this season has been less-than-pleasant, so I'm keen to spice things up and take a punt on the GOAT

You make a good point, but you are assuming 250k will be enough to reach a Top 8 midfielder.

We were obviously very lucky with Tim Kelly that he reached 400-430k.

Will Phillips, Spargo, Ahern & Giro get up to 350-380k so you can afford Dangerfield at 600-630k though? I am not so certain right now.

Possibly not, but Fritsch and Smith are a good chance to for those of us with DPP sitting in the midfield waiting. As RD said, it’s situational.

Great discussion on the pro’s and con’s though.. has me still undecided either way!

[MontyJnr]

Yeah Monty, the point is you're saving 250k by backing Rockliff, which is essentially an upgrade/downgrade. If things go pear shaped it will essentially take one more trade to fix the issue - you're going to trade Tim Kelly in either scenario, if it's for Danger now or Rockliff+250k then Danger later.

I'm in a somewhat similar boat to RD anyway with the fact that this season has been less-than-pleasant, so I'm keen to spice things up and take a punt on the GOAT

You make a good point, but you are assuming 250k will be enough to reach a Top 8 midfielder.

We were obviously very lucky with Tim Kelly that he reached 400-430k.

Will Phillips, Spargo, Ahern & Giro get up to 350-380k so you can afford Dangerfield at 600-630k though? I am not so certain right now.

Possibly not, but Fritsch and Smith are a good chance to for those of us with DPP sitting in the midfield waiting. As RD said, it’s situational.

Great discussion on the pro’s and con’s though.. has me still undecided either way!

True. I assumed Fritsch & Doedee were holding down on-field spots for most and would simply be upgraded to premium forwards/defenders from their positions. Tim Smith to Danger could be an option down the track though certainly if he keeps up his scoring.

[RaisyDaisy]

Even though I've been pro Rocky in this discussion, I am still considering my options and there's a chance I might not get him this week

He will be very handy over the byes and become a great M9, but like you say Monty there's every chance I won't even be able to get 22 prems let alone 22 + good bench cover, so for that reason I am still trying to decide whether I grab Rocky, or do I just pay up and lock in my midfield by bringing in an 8th proven gun

Danger seems the obvious choice, but I am seriously considering passing on him all together for season 2018 and grabbing Crouch who is 85k cheaper, as I think once the Crows get their groove back and he gets more continuity he can go 110+ and the money saved there would still allow me to double upgrade next week

Tough bloody decision, but I need to bring in one of Danger, Crouch or Rocky and I've only got this morning to figure it out

[SilverLion]

Even though I've been pro Rocky in this discussion, I am still considering my options and there's a chance I might not get him this week

He will be very handy over the byes and become a great M9, but like you say Monty there's every chance I won't even be able to get 22 prems let alone 22 + good bench cover, so for that reason I am still trying to decide whether I grab Rocky, or do I just pay up and lock in my midfield by bringing in an 8th proven gun

Danger seems the obvious choice, but I am seriously considering passing on him all together for season 2018 and grabbing Crouch who is 85k cheaper, as I think once the Crows get their groove back and he gets more continuity he can go 110+ and the money saved there would still allow me to double upgrade next week

Tough bloody decision, but I need to bring in one of Danger, Crouch or Rocky and I've only got this morning to figure it out

Danger easily mate.

[batt]

I've been trying to figure out whether my team can afford Rocky at M9.

The options are:
Rocky M8 (cheap as chips)
Normal premo M8
Normal premo M8 + Rocky M9 (most expensive option)

If he pumps out a 110 this week he's coming in no questions asked.  Anything around the hundred mark and I'm probably going for Cripps M8 given the cruddy score last night.

But if you told me Cripps would fall off a cliff in the second half of the season and averaged 105 I wouldn't be surprised.  If you told me Rocky averaged more than Cripps from here on out I wouldn't be surprised.

The first half of the season and the second half of the season are two very different things.  Rocky has the support to see the season out.  A guy like Crippa can't Atlas every week in a team getting smashed.

[RaisyDaisy]

Even though I've been pro Rocky in this discussion, I am still considering my options and there's a chance I might not get him this week

He will be very handy over the byes and become a great M9, but like you say Monty there's every chance I won't even be able to get 22 prems let alone 22 + good bench cover, so for that reason I am still trying to decide whether I grab Rocky, or do I just pay up and lock in my midfield by bringing in an 8th proven gun

Danger seems the obvious choice, but I am seriously considering passing on him all together for season 2018 and grabbing Crouch who is 85k cheaper, as I think once the Crows get their groove back and he gets more continuity he can go 110+ and the money saved there would still allow me to double upgrade next week

Tough bloody decision, but I need to bring in one of Danger, Crouch or Rocky and I've only got this morning to figure it out

Danger easily mate.

I don't think Danger is the easy choice

612k for a guy who has put up a few 130's and that's it

He isn't the Danger of previous years and I think there's more value elsewhere which is why I am probably going to pass on him for now and grab Crouch or Rocky

Still a long way to go, and if an existing prem mid gets injured then Danger is always an option, but as of right now I just think there is much more value around

[RaisyDaisy]

Burn man gonna burn

[AaronKirk]

Had a poor first half and resorted to being used as a tagger on Mitchell.

7 touches in 3 quarters of football. He is too inconsistent. Not touching him.

[RaisyDaisy]

Glad I came to my senses and avoided burn man

Still think he could be handy M9 cover but I need 22 on park first and I didn't want to get stuck with him as my M8, plus I remember how much he has burnt me in the past

Been a double win, because now I can confidently bring in Gray next week too