About the time of the year where we revisit our admin Team Reveals. I’ll kick things off, talk through how I went into Round 1, the ebbs and flows of the season and then where I’m at right now.
Original Team Reveal
Team Reveal – Gunboat Diplomacy
Changes & Starting Picks
I ended up dropping Brayshaw to Hopper, grabbing a DEF and then spreading the remaining cash on rookies. In my original Team Reveal I had omitted Hopper saying:
“Hopper is a notable omission and a big bet against to make but I can see him having a lot of awkward games given his lack of attributes outside of contests and CBs”
The read was, to a large extent, accurate but I felt I needed to shield against his ownership and had his tons come consecutively I would have probably jumped – so he ended up starting.
I then had to fight you all in the comments but I stuck with my scant defence, which ended up consisting of Cumming, McGovern, Jones, Cole and the obvious rookies. Crozier didn’t get up. With the exception of Dawson (as if anyone predicted him becoming a god tier SC MID), none of the 600k guys were worth starting and my reticence was rewarded. I was able to apportion value on other lines. McGovern was honestly popping till he got injured with opening scores of 108 and 116. I would have received major dividends if he stayed on the park. Cumming obviously should have been Daicos and I made that correction early. My boy Cole was then also pretty great with decent scores and the B22 JS I had assured you all of. An untimely injury to him deprived me of maximum value but I was happy enough with him quickly getting to 250k.
I refused to not start Baird and Satan and once I got over Baird’s 50 I was happy with that. Probably better ways to allocate value but I rode so many VC/C scores from Satan early and Baird has recovered quite nicely. Neale was a tremendous blunder and so painfully should have been Bont. Gone backwards in so many ways this season and one I will never start again. Disaster.
My forward line was pretty much optimal once I switched Jones for Sheezel. Dunks, Cogs, Taranto, Gulden and Ziebell was the play – glad I drilled that. In the rucks I had Witts narrowly edge out Tingles just for bye balance but we’ll get to the merry go round I’ve have there. Finally, on rookies, I was huge on Callaghan, I never got on Chandler unfortunately and ended up doing a rookie rework in Round 2 of Jones and Chesser for Sheezel and McKenna. Should have had the foresight to start both of course.
Trades & Season Summary
By Round 5, I was ranked 422 OA. The addition of Sheezel gave me a finished forwardline and my scant defence, despite McGovern and Cumming tanking, had offered me a lot of maneuverability early. Some critical juncture trades, errors and injuries set me into free fall from 422 however. I’ll take you all through a few of those now.
The Round Three Triple Barrel
I did not trust Callaghan to stay on the park after the shoulder scare against West Coast so, given his history and despite how much I liked him, I moved him on, jumped on the Setters train and then made a big call to grab some cash by dropping Witts to D. Cam. Both ended up getting injured promptly but it allowed me to ultimately grab Tingles, who as he know proceeded to absolutely haul ass. Setters was a mistake and Cumming to Daicos did itself.
Dark Days
Injuries to D. Cam and McGovern sent me burning through trades. Tingles came in and has been superb but as you can see it was straight in and straight out for Day. Who did I chose to replace him with? Of course, Touk Miller. He’s my favourite non-Eagles player (maybe tied with Sinclair), he was hitting some form, had a good fixture and was on that excellent Round 13 bye. 2 weeks later we went out injured on 40 – oh, and of course, I had the C on him that week. I always planned to grab Day again, and I did, given the value at sub 500k and his role.
Empty Cannons
These next three trade ins were total misfires on my part and ended up as empty cannons, all of whom I have since traded out. They were: Heeney at 485k, Hewett at 486k and Stringer at 391k. My strategy this season was to exclusively go for value and get to full premium as possible given the CG landscape. Targeting sub 500k players was the practical application of that philosophy. My reads on all three I honestly thought were good.
Heeney had done triple figures and finished Top 6 last year and I’m a huge fan of him as a player. Ba-bong! He scored poorly and was then out with a 1 week injury that dropped me to 17. I ended up having to trade him (we’ll get to who later) and, of bloody course, he came back the next week and did 150 against my Eagles – the pain. Want more pain? The week I grabbed Heeney I did so over Butters…yeah. That’s my life.
Hewett, similarly, I saw a B22 MID who just needed some continuity. He’d returned to full CBAs, decent match fitness and had popped a 120 v Eagles, so I sneakily tagged on. What I’d failed to appreciate, as was the case with Heeney, was the relative strength of the side he was playing in. The Blues engine room dominance had severely dissipated from last year, so shackling myself to players in bottom 8 sides was a poor move. Heeney needs service and Hewett needs a fully firing engine room. Both flopped and got injured, forcing my hand.
Finally I jumped on Stringer. Why? The Dons were/are flying and he was playing a full time MID burst role. What was most frustrating about him failing to fire was he was still getting team high CBAs! Not some CBAs but TEAM HIGH! How someone can attend 22 CBAs and score 60 is beyond me but, yes, he too failed spectacularly and continued to send me plummeting.
I also lost De Goey to the suspension having been on him since Round 10 and he was honestly looking the goods and then I’ve just copped Jeremy Cameron down this week but I’ll be holding
Masterstrokes
Masterstrokes is probably generous, I just got on some good players at the right time. In the context of my previous trade ins however, these fellas maybe are masterstrokes! I got Merrett nice and early, enjoying his 160 v Richmond and form since, and then Sinclair, Stewart, Dawson and Keays all at nice prices to finish their respective lines. One move I will say was a genuine masterstroke was dropping Ziebell to Ridley in Round 12. It netted me 140k, got rid of a flailing Ziebell, added some bye balance and Riddles has been sensational since, with a casual 133 in Perth over the weekend. Drilling Gulden C v Eagles also came as my magnum opus for the season.
The Final Act
Developing a musical theme to this write up somehow. To close the concerto, I’ve traded Marshall to Bontempelli and moved Briggs on field. When Heeney went down during that bye round I needed to replace him and was also getting Seamus Mitchell up. I decided to drop Heeney right down in order to buy a solid MID instead of a DEF. In came Mitch Owens and Anderson. Ended up being them or like Ryan and Hawkins, I think. Liked the firepower of Anderson (although hated his reduced CBA load over the weekend) and Owens is high variance like Heeney but I’m not kidding myself that he’s a good pick – just one I had to do.
Current Team Reveal
Rank: 4411/2 trades left
And that’s where I’ve ended up. I’ve somehow manufactured some pretty great cover with T. Young, Cincotta, Fletcher and Humph and I’m really happy with that.
Confident with the defence. Would have loved my boy Luke Ryan there but Ridley is getting the job done and I convinced enough people to get Ryan that I can own him vicariously. Midfield is a little shallow at the bottom end but it is what it is. Totally happy with the rucks, they’re the two I want. The FWD line is obviously dicey and that’s my main sweat for the rest of the season. Looking to loop Owens and Humph but if J. Cameron isn’t back after 1 week I’m actually considering Libba over Bont and then Humph to Saad, swing Sheezel FWD and loop Owens and J. Cameron for the rest of the season.
Given I’ve been without Bont all year, only recently got Dawson and missed major CG in Chandler, I’m kind of chuffed to be at 4k. Obviously disappointment I slid from 422 in Round 5, but if I can press to the Top 2k I’ll count it as a win. The next revisited Team Reveal is FT!
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2 trades left…..
Boy oh boy wowee
Could be sweating on suspension calls and injuries in the next couple of weeks
A bit of a road less traveled approach. Right from the outset. Feels like you were the proverbial away from pulling it off too. A little unlucky in places with logical calls not exactly working out, and on the wrong side of a few 50/50 calls. Love the fact that you put it out there and set yourself up.
You are so right on those 500k calls that you need to do to get to full premium. They can be excellent or send you a bit backwards.
I think one of the good learnings for all of us is to keep track of our season like you have done. Gives you the chance to go back and review what you have done- was it bad luck, or a dumb decision?
Thanks for what you have contributed to this site this year GD. I am one of many who find it extremely valuable.
Thanks, Phil. Remind me to get you into Gun’s Regulars next year.
Yeah, look, probably should’ve just told myself no on Stringer but saw full CBAs and a soft draw (Eagles, North) and got excited.
Should have also read Hewett & Blues better and 3x 600k MIDs was too many.
I got on the Stringer train too, for all the same reasons, it felt like a key decision at the time but I was really confident. He’s on the never again list now!
This was a really fun read, thanks GD. It does show how similar teams do end up looking, which reinforces trading often and early I feel. I’d love to see a change in the scoring system to benefit key position players a bit more to open things up, but you’ve ended up with a lot of the right players and 4k is a really good rank. Well done, fingers crossed 2 trades left is enough!
Hey, CW.
Yeah, recalled you also jumping on. Shame he didn’t pan out for us.
You make a good point. Think there does need to be a mechanic, multiplier or change to increase selection diversity. Would make things fun.
My argument is what is more influential than goals (fwds) or spoils i50/for behinds (def). Every type of fantasy sport has flaws, but increasing variation should be encouraged.
Well done GD, if anyone deserves a good year overall wise it’s you! I’m on the low end of trades too so fingers crossed we both have a bit of injury/suspension luck!
Gidday GD, luv your contribution to SCT, job well done.
Stating the obvious 2 trades over the remaining 9 games will be a problem.
Good luck.
I cashed in Oliver last week for DCam which has allowed me to upgrade Weddle and Humphrey to Ryan and Walsh.
Surely Walsh is due to come good but has Ryan already posted his good scores for the season? I’m a tad uneasy on him .
Hoping Walsh returns to a good scoring form for you with a 94 5 Rd average.
Then hoping Ryan doesn’t do what he has done in past seasons and drop off. Ryan looking a more safe option than Walsh for me
Cheers Nato, I’m surprisedly becoming more comfortable with the choices, just the 4 trades left and probably one shy of full premo, but for the minute will put the cue in the rack for any unseen injuries.
2 trades remaining isn’t ideal. Do you usually have so few trades left after byes or was this year different?
Seems to me many more players were super aggressive with trades this year. Might be the trade boosts or mighty be the many YouTubers out there doing it. Not sure, but seems your not the only one down to a couple of trades.
Great work
A lot of injuries and suspensions occurred this season. A lot of those made trades were due to this. Miller, Cameron, Day, De Goey, McGovern etc.
Also seemed to be early on rookie upgrades due to a good overall rank
There are injuries and suspensions every year. We just forget how many in other years. Don’t think this year has been any worse
The biggest difference this year over prior years is the new sub rule. Its made coaches have to cash in on rookies early to avoid them loosing all their value.
E.g. prior years i would never have done a davey to sharp trade as i did not trust sharp one bit and no other rookies on the bubble at that price at the time. But it allowed me to get Sinclair. If i had waited two weeks would not have missed out as davey dropped $40k
Also made people have to trade their premos around as the rookies were making not enough cash.