Your Starting Squad 2014 – The Backs

Written by Motts on August 19 2013

For many of us, 2013 is done and dusted and if you’re anything like me, your thoughts are already turning to 2014. So rather than discussing The Movers this week, lets have a chat about who our starting Defenders are going to be next year.

Given we know nothing about pricing, DPP status, or preseason form/injuries its going to be a little hit and miss but should be something that’ll be interesting to look back on.

Given what you know today, who would make your starting lineup next year? I won’t poll it, so those who comment can come back next year and see where their heads were at at the completion of this season.

 

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54 thoughts on “Your Starting Squad 2014 – The Backs”

  1. Agree 100% with H4L.

    Walker, Mitchell, McVeigh will be the most expensive options assuming they all get their new DPP status, and you’d have to pick 1 or 2 of them. (Goddard could potentially lose his to be a pure mid).

    Shaw will have to be strongly considered, as well as Gibbs if he keeps his defence eligibility and looks have ditched the tagging role in pre-season. Both have the capability to average 100+ and will come in at a price $50-100k lower than the above three.

    Waters and Grimes will no doubt tempt a few as underpriced selections, despite their injury history. Hopefully I’m not drawn into such a booby trap.

    Ellis will be a lock for me, as I have grown a strong attachment to the lad after he’s served me so well this year. Will come in at a nice price because of those vestings at the start of the season which has kept his average to ~80.

    At this stage I’d hazard a guess as to say my backline could look something like this:

    Walker, Mitchell, Shaw, Ellis, Rookie, Rookie

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  2. Walker, Hibberd, McKenzie/Hanley/Suckling, Ellis, Rookie, Rookie

    Surely Bob Murphy or Corey Enright couldn’t go yet ANOTHER season averaging 95-100, could they? Well I hope they do, love watching both of them play and are ultra consistent when it comes to SC.

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  3. Liking this topic as it has been in my thoughts a lot. Apart from all of the above, what about Scott D Thompson?

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  4. If Goddard remains a Defender next year, it’ll be;

    McVeigh, Walker, Goddard,
    Ellis, Rookie, Rookie.

    If Goddard isn’t a defender I’ll take Sammy Mitchell.

    A few young boys who are gonna get drafted I’ll be looking at to fill the rookie spots include Scharenberg, Salem, and Kolodjashnij?? I read somewhere he plays across half back, hoping he’s a defender for SC.

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  5. Depending on cash flow, I’ve pencilled in Scott D Thompson, Suckling, Ellis, Hurn, Hanley and L.Henderson (if the last two are still defenders). Hoping Hurn and Suckling will be cheap following this year’s injuries…….

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  6. If hanley or bartel go dpp they are certainly lockins. Im pretty keen to get goodes again too but pricing will decide.

    If goddard goes pure midfielder this is the last time he will grace my team. 100 points out of a back is good. 100 out of a midfielder, not so much….

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  7. Watch out for Jarryn Geary from the saints,he looked really good against the swans on the weekend. Maybe the best I’ve seen him play. Around 130 sc points.

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  8. Interesting to see that a lot of people are planning to spend quite a bit of money on the backline, I want to spend the least amount here as it’s often quite difficult to predict and the scoring potential is low.

    So far my plans are
    McVeigh, Mitchell or Bartel (at least one should be DPP), Suckling and the rest rookies.

    If there’s a shortage of defensive rookies possibly Ellis and if there’s a serious shortage then Waters too, please don’t let there be a serious shortage.

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  9. Given how all the defenders have dropped in price this season, I may employ a new strategy in 2014 of getting more rookies and upgrade once the price drops come in.

    I’d only pay over $500K for Goddard. He’s always my first pick as a DEF so I hope he can keep it. I’m also hoping Ellis will represent good value but you can never tell with how they price these guys. Everyone else will depend on price.

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  10. Harry Taylor, Scott D.Thompson, Charlie Dixon, Matt Suckling (discounted), Bock (heavily discounted), Rookies. I will consider DPP player changes if and when they happen. I will not consider Dockers.

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  11. A word on Ellis, has hardly played in the backline this year so I don’t see him retaining his DEF positioning, I think he will be a MID or MID/FWD if anything.

    Also, beware those that dodge the second year blues. Similar to D.Pearce (ave 49 year 1, then 82 year 2, then 76 year 3), I expect B.Ellis (56 year 1, 78 year 2) to drop off in output. If not, maintain an average of 78 for the season. We seem to forget that between the string of 134, 82, 103, 149, 127, he pushed out 71, 77, 38, 82, 77, 75.

    He is young and will still be prone to push out poor scores. I won’t be taking the punt on a 20 year old that isn’t starting below 250k.

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  12. Current thoughts include Scotty Thompson, Ellis, Heppell or Hibberd, Hanley.

    Suckling could be good value too, depends on his discount.

    Agree with an earlier comment re $500K players. Scores this year have been lower down back and the defensive tag seems to be heavily effecting anyone who hits form. Thinking i may not get anyone over $500-520K and trade in those that are in form mid-season.

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  13. Great call putting this up, Motts.

    Assuming that it remains a eight-man back-line, then:

    – The obvious question is how many rookies (or just sub-$200k players) will be playing often enough to start with. I’m going to call four. Nobody can really answer this until we see who gets drafted where and how they perform in the pre-season and whether they get selected for round 1, 2014, so at the moment, four is an educated guess that is more guess than educated.

    – With that in mind, I need four premiums or mid-pricers and that’s what I’ve gone with. So far my early-call back-line looks like:

    D1: Jarrad McVeigh

    If he gets DPP status (as he should), then he should be everybody’s first picked defender in 2014. He will be 29 going into the season. He will continue running off the half-back-flanks for the Swans and pushing up into the midfield and onto the wings. Since 2006 he has missed six games. Six games in eight years. He is just a walk-up hundred as a backman. The fact that he has never been suspended is also a bonus as he will get a good record deduction should he do something stupid next year. I always think saying that somebody is a ‘lock’ this far out from the new season is just silly, because you really don’t know what will happen between now and round 1, 2014, but he is as close as it gets for me.

    D2: Sam Mitchell

    I’m not quite as convinced on Mitchell as McVeigh, but he is still appealing if he does get the DPP status that he deserves. He will be 31 all through next year and that is a touch worrying. His average has reduced each of the last two seasons which is also worrying. The big question could be where he plays next year. With Suckling coming back into the fold and Hodge often floating around the back-line as well, can the Hawks run Birchall, Suckling, Hodge and Mitchell all off the half-back-line? I would’ve thought no, so does that stick Sammy back in the guts? You’d have to think so. Either way, he has only missed 12 games in eight years and has only averaged under 100 once in the last nine years. He should get you a ton each week off the back-line, so enjoy it!

    D3: Pearce Hanley

    This was the hardest call for me, as there just isn’t a whole lot of consistent quality in the back-line and if you are forking out big dollars, you want a decent, consistent, reliable player. Hanley beat out the likes of Walker and Shaw, because of a few things. Firstly, he will be 25 all of next season. History says 25-27 is when your best scoring occurs (usually, obviously there are exceptions). He is durable, missing only two games in three seasons. His average is steadily increasing (61 in 2010, 82 in 2011, 90 in 2012, 97 in 2013). One of the biggest factors is that he can play out of defense, on a wing or up forward. That kind of durability should allow him to be less susceptible to taggers, which is something that has often plagued quality running defenders. The Lions are giving him five years as well and you don’t do that for just anyone. They love him and I’m pretty fond of the Irishman’s game too.

    D4: Matt Suckling

    Missed all of this season with an ACL injury, so, depending on what mood Virtual Sports are in, he should get somewhere between a 30% and 50% discount on his 2014 starting price. This will have him priced at an average of between 41 and 58. For that price you will get a guy who will either be a great stepping stone to a premium or will average you 90 as a defender and slip in at D6 for the season. He had only missed two games in two years prior to the ACL and will be 25 going into the season. That lovely left foot will be a very strong chance for my 2014 starting side.

    D5: Nathan Bock

    Stay with me here, because this pick sounds a little silly before you think about it. Broken legs are terrible, terrible injuries. I really feel for anybody who goes through it and history says it takes a long time to come back to your best. He will have just turned 31 when round 1 kicks off, so his best is gone regardless of the leg. He has played six games in two years and hasn’t ever averaged 100. So why am I getting him? Three reasons. One, he will be around $200k. That is super-cheap for a guys that fits reason two, which is that he will play each week barring injury. A defender who will play every week for $200k or less is very nice. The third reason is that I don’t think that he will play in defense anymore. I don’t think that he will be able to tackle the centre-half-forwards the way that he used to, so that makes him a forward from now onwards for mine. Therefore, all he has to do is couple together two-three good weeks together and he will shoot above $400k and be a straight swap for a fallen premium. If he gets through the pre-season and is around the $200k mark then I think he is worth the risk. Any injury problems or an inflated price and he is crossed off, but at the moment, I think he is worth the D5 risk.

    D6, D7 and D8 are saved for draftees. I have no idea who these players will be at this stage, but hopefully we get some more Goodes’, Vlastuins’ and co for 2014.

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  14. I refuse to spend the big bucks on any defenders next year after seeing them all fall to around 400k at some point in the year. Will go with a highly speculative, high risk backline in J.Grimes, Waters, B.Ellis and Suckling (all very underpriced) with the rest being rookies and will hope they can all stay injury free, or at least perform well and make some cash.

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  15. goddard and hanley with birchall and suckling the discounted premos….rest will be rookies…..

    although I will watch mckenzie with interest preseason

    heppell shaw hartlett and duffield will need to regain my trust through the year……

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  16. Scotty Thompson, Heath Shaw, Dyson Heppel, Brendan Goddard, Matty Suckling and Mathew Fuller (bulldogs mature age Mid/def)

    Expensive List but Providing there being no major injuries this line up wont need much adjustment and looks rock solid on paper….

    Heath shaw, Grant Birchel or Pearce Hanley …. That’s the big decision.. None out of the 3 likely to play out a full season without injury. but no gamble no glory.. Shaw for me though as he will have plenty of defensive rebounding to do this year at GWS haha

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  17. J.Bartel, B.Houli, N.Malceski, S.Burgoyne, M.Suckling, M.Fuller, K.Kolodjashnij, T.Cutler. Plz rate and comment

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