Bloody hell, what a game! The amount of talking points to come out of this game will be huge.

The surface will be brought up again, but that interchange decision that killed the Hawks. boy oh boy, makes for an interesting week in footy.

Figured I would be a shoe-in with my iScent pick of Franklin considering his 5 goals- but what was I thinking going against old faithful Hodge- or even Goddard.

Man, big week already!

When a mummy team and a daddy team love each other very much… Team happen.

So, teams are out and every trade is becoming like gold. So it’s a welcome relief that we are seeing some big ins this week. Namely with the names Franklin, Hall and Johnson should bolster a lot of forwardlines.

Sadly though for the people that held him, Hille still isn’t back, but he should be back next week.

Any last minute downgrades would have to be happy with the inclusion of Kyle Hardingham and the continued selection of Ashley Smith. There’s also a pair of Freo youngins that should be worth a lookin.

Personally though, I’m a little sad that Crichton is getting a game this year- I had him pencilled in for my squad next year!

IN: Franklin, Nason, Johnson, Hall, Gray, Bock
OUT: Peterson, Shaw, Silvagni

Read the rest of this entry »

Round 17 already?  And Collingwood on top of the ladder?  I can’t think how unbelievable both sound!
Sorry this didn’t come up yesterday, had a very full-on day at work.

Best Buys advice for the week: If you are out of the finals and by trading you can make the finals with zero trades, then do it, rather than missing out because you saved them.  So yeah, most of us have 4 trades, but useless these are if you can’t make the finals.

I’ll try some different tips over the break

Read the rest of this entry »

Hello all,

Sorry for the delay, but I’ve been hammered at work, so I have to keep this one quick. Also, I would like to send my best out to SoUpS who’s dad is hospital and thus he won’t be contributing this week. Hope he is okay mate from all here at TS.

On with the review and we are 2 weeks out of the finals and things are heating up in all leagues around the country, with some make or break games due to happen this week. Do you trade to ensure top 4 in the finals (I say no unless you have heaps), do you trade to get in full stop (of course).

Key outs over the week cost a few I am sure (NDS in particular, cost me a game by 2 points and I dropped from 2nd to 5th in another league), but with a mass of in’s, I am sure we saw some teams that were struggling get right back in the mix.

On to the review and in the TS 20 league, the weekly top score by SoUpS sees him move into the top spot, with Mash Sticks and Behind the Goals hot on his tail. Some close games saw Hard@It and Winners r Grinners sneak over the line against Sultans of Swing and Behind The Goals respectively, and game of the round was a 13 point thriller that saw The Green Jelly Bean take the chocolates over The Dirty Dozen.

In the Orange Boys (who moved up 10 posies to sit 179 overall), we had a top of the table clash that resulted in top place getting knocked off in a 30 point thriller. Next week shapes up as a crucial round for many teams with 2 top 8 games being played and 7 teams still vying for the last 4 spots in the finals.

The Pine Warmers continued there string run and moved into 19th overall and this round had a bit of everything. There was a few upsets, some massive movement up and down the ladder, a 2 point thriller and a whopping high score. The thing is, finals are open to anyone all the way down to 14th in this league (percentage makes it tough but not impossible)…it is tight like a tiger.

Veni Vidi Vici got over the line in the game of the round against Prospectus Boy to the tune of a measly 2 points, Thunder Guns knocked off 9/11WasAnInsideJob in a massive upset, fcmeh plummeted 3 spots down the ladder, and Razors top scored for the round, knocked off 3rd place, and rocketed 4 spots up the ladder into 6th and with a couple of easy games coming up, is a chance at the top 4.

Next week is crucial in this league with a top 4 clash and 2 top 8 clashes…and this is going to be an absolute ball tearer of a finish.

Review over the break but until next week… Read the rest of this entry »

Hi guys,

With all the chatter revolving around the imminent return of the worlds greatest football league (bar AFL) re-commencing in less than a month; it is time to get into one of the many SC off season games; Fantasy English Premier League, or FEPL for short.

This year, TS has 2 leagues running. One is a head to head type format where you play off against an opponent each week and collect 3 points for the win, 1 for a draw and none for a loss with the highest points after week 38 crowned the winner, and the other league is the traditional system where the winner is the team that scores most fantasy points after week 38.

League codes are classic: 32457-12154 and H2H: 32457-12169, and the site you need to go to is here. Then simply just sign up, create your team and enter those 2 leagues.

Each week we will have a post up with information and advice, fixtures and weekly tipping predictions, injury/suspension news, global issues (eg: 2 games in one week), live TV schedule, etc and as we get closer to the first game, I will post a rate my team entry. If there is anything you guys want to see in these posts, let me know.

So the season starts off this year on August 14th with a big opening game of 4th vs 5th; Tottenham at home against Manchester City. This game should prove to be a cracker and will no doubt be shown live on Fox Sports at 11.45 on the Saturday night.

Other notable games for the round include newly promoted West Brom travelling to Stamford Bridge to take on the reigning champions, Chelsea (ouch…welcome to the premier league West Brom), the 2 teams in red play Sunday when Arsenal travel to Merseyside to take on Liverpool at Anfield, and finally Newcastle commence their campaign at Old Trafford against Manchester United on Monday.

I will finish this post with a joke that my lovely wife to be tells me every year and that is “Look at the table Josh, Arsenal is on top, so take it in now because it will be the only time they are there until this time next year”. Isn’t she lovely!

The full fixture is over the break. Read the rest of this entry »

So, we’re nearing the end of our run with the iScent comp, and with only one score below 50, six below 70, it was a pretty tough week!

But one selector managed to take out the prize with a score of 42.

matty.hutch, put in a great week, missing only 2 tips, which was better than the rest of us! Well done mate, expect an email in the not-too-distant future.

The winning tips were…

Read the rest of this entry »

Was hoping that TAB would release the odds for most votes per team (as they did after Rd 16 last year), so we’d have something other than the continuing Shaw-Hodge party to talk about – however, not to be.  The significance of both of their best on ground performances over the weekend, is such that none of their main rivals polled a vote, increasing the gap from 2nd to 3rd to a now massive 9 votes – and an even bigger gap from 1st to 3rd of 13 votes.  Unless the unlikelihood of them both being suspended happens before the finals, the only thing that is left to decided is who’ll finish 1st and who’ll be runner-up.

Other vote-getters of importance over the weekend were J Selwood’s 2 in the Cats loss to the Crows, bringing him within 1 vote of Ablett and Bartel, along with BOG’s for Boyd, Swallow and Goodes propelling them into the lead for their respective teams.

Over to the bookies, and TAB had Swan as outright favourite at $5 before suspending betting earlier this evening (not sure what the go is there…) with Hodge and Ablett equal 2nd favourite at $5.50 from memory.

All of this weeks votes over the page:

Read the rest of this entry »

So, Round 16 and the king is dead. Gary “PermaCaptain” Ablett scored his second 70 in two weeks and his salary is TANKING! – And for mine, for the games sake, I couldn’t be happier! I love the strategies involved in selection captains- It’s a lot of fun! Might even need to bring back the weekly Captains post if it wasn’t just pointing at Hodge, Goddard or Swan.

So, the first game, with big news, Former #16 crows take down the Cats!! Ablett, got himself a 76, Corey 72, Bartel 70. How the mighty ABC has come down! At least the S kicked on with a 144. Taylor also did well with a 138. The Crows biggest scorers were Vince, Stevens and Johncock with 113, 111 and 111. I reckon if the Crows can keep this form through to the end of the year, they are going to provide a lot of value next year- so keep an eye on them, particularly Vince. I reckon Tippett will prolly go better next year as well, just needs to drop out his 23 point games as like today.

Saturday day saw two games, both of them whitewashes. First up saw Collingwood decimate St Kilda to the tune of 48 points, in the process securing top spot on the ladder. I think after this weekend, the premiership race is well annd truely on! and for mine, with 3 teams vying for the top2, 5 teams for the top4, means that it’s going to be tough for teams to rest players. Which should be great news for us fantasy coaches!! As for the game, Fisher top scored with a 147 with a massive 18 marks, but not far behind was Swan on a 145. Rounding out the top 3 was Montagna on 137. On the low side, Davis dropped further below $300k! While J. Gram continued the kind of form that will make him a delicious pick up next year! Gotta keep an eye on those bargains now!

The next game saw the Hawks smash the Lions to the tune of 75 points. Lewis top scored with a massive 170, while Hodgy did his thing and picked up 153. Skipper was the big mover though, picking up a massive 149 and proving himself a great cashcow. Sucks to be sitting with Warnock and Lobbe on the bench with that kind of score backing you up! No real big suprises from a scoring front though, the Hawks dominated both boards, with the Lions top scorer being J. Brennan, who might be a bargain trade-up if needs be…

Saturday night started with the Coasters putting possibly the final nail into the coffin of one M. Knights. In fact, LeCras himself put 12 nails in himself, all the while scoring a massive 226 points! Bout time you paid some back man! Priddis was next on 148 points while rookie, Ashton Hams rounded out the top3 with a 128. Delicious cash cow. A couple of stinkers in this game, Ryder 56, Waters 40, Sheppard 29 and Melksham 29. But perhaps the biggest news of all, since the first Bombers game young Eli has seen was a loss, it means 3 more years of winter for us Bombers fans.

The next game on Saturday night came from all the way up in the balmy temperatures of Marrara Oval where the NT saw the Dogs run out as 34 point winners. However, in his 200th game, Kornes top scored with 36 touches and 152 points. After that, it was all dogs with Cross scoring 138 and Boyd 130. Hargraves is finally starting to show some form with his 3rd decent game in a row. Moles did great for the coaches that haven’t cashed him in with a 102. At the other end, Higgins continued his low form with a 53 and Hitchcock is going way backwards with a 17- you’d almost prefer a Zero!!

Sunday rolled round and we saw another upset as Mumford led his Swans to victory over the blues with 33 hitouts and 124 points. Goodes came second with a 121 while Murphy rounded out the top3 with a 115. Plenty of good times in this game with ROK, Kennelly, Grundy annd Malceski all breaking the ton, while Waite did servicible with a 91. Kane Lucas however did the opposite, his 2 tackle, 1 Handball, 1 FA – 5, has taken his salary backwards.

The next game saw the inform Tigers go down hard to the under-the-radar Roos. Currently only percentage out of the top8, they might suprise a lot of people pinching one of the spots. Time will tell I guess. As for the game, Swallow did his thing and put on a fantastic 157. He currently the 22nd highest averaging midfielder at the moment, but if he- and North can work on their consistancy issues next year, I can see him being a big candedate for a break out to elite status. Adams second placed with a 137 while Tuck top scored for the Tigers with a 125. D. Conners put in another star performance with a great 110, while Martin did his owner proud with a 96.

The final game of the round saw the Dockers knock off a valant Demons outfit, though to be fair, they were a lot more inaccurate. Michael Johnson looked a huge benefactor of the SuperCoach scoring model more that doubling his DT65 with a score of 151. I feel for anyone who’s league opponeny had his playing for them! Duffield and hill both put in a great 115, while Garland top scored for the Demons with a 99. Scully did his owners proud with a 98 while Ballantyne kicked 4 goals on his way to a respectable 98. Roberton and Fyfe did well on the rookie front with a 75 and 71 respectively while Silvagni hasn’t done his BE real any favors with a 44.

So we finish round 16 with the finals race well and truely on. The top2, top4 and top8 are all well and truely up for grabs, while at the other end, 16th through to 12 are seperated by a single game- and percentage. Basically, 6 games to go and anything can happen!

On a different note, the Premier league Competition has opened to us all, and we all now have a month to get our squads in (To those of you interested. ). There are a pair of TS leagues availiable to anyone interested, they are- Classic: 32457-12154 and H2H: 32457-12169. I’ll get an official post up once the VS competition opens as well.

And if there are any other comps out there that run over the off-season that you guys get into, whether it’s one of the american sports or whatever, drop me a line- we’ve got fantasy sports nuts from all walks here and I’m sure we could drum up some decent numbers in any comp. Plus, I’ve been meaning to play in the NFL league, so I’ld love to get a few tips from some of you guys!

Cheers guys, I hope you’ve scored well this week, personally I’m sick of my DT team constantly beating my SC team- but hey, we can’t win them all! how’d you all go??

So, it’s Friday night, apparently- and there’s a footy game on tonight! So I get to teach my new born all about the virtues of selecting big Gaz as captain- C’mon, get a 180 for mah boy!

On the same note, fingers are crossed that the first Bombers game he gets to watch is a win, cause I hear he’s like the Groundhog- and if he first sees us lose, then it’s 3 more years of winter…

Ah well, it’s nice to be getting a little bit of normality around these parts, my team still sucks, but at least I should be able to catch a few games. Rock and roll.

With Walesy somewhat distracted at the minute with the recent arrival of his new born 84kg bomber (congrats once again Jo and Walsey, and welcome to the world of footy young Eli), here are the teams for this week and there are some huge in’s and out’s, none bigger than the much anticipated return of Jonothan Brown. Let’s see if tens of thousands of coaches have been rewarded for their patience. Also named is a kid called Marcus from Caaaaarlton who ooozes class…one to keep your eye on for next year.

Some SC teams will be bolstered significantly (chris88 ) and will be back to their best scoring capacity so look out.

Ins: McLeod, Corey, Moonman, Neon Leon, BJ, Kosi, Extractor, Brown Dog, Goose, Gumby, Hurn, Waite, Warnock, Broughton, Fyfe, Bail.
Outs: Porpose, Milburn, Sewell, Black, BBBBBH, Nason, Petrie, Trengrove.

Should mention Buddy Love is very doubtful for the Hawks after rolling his ankle at training and will be given to the last minute to come up.

Friday July 16
Adelaide v Geelong Cats at AAMI Stadium, 8.10pm

Saturday July 17
Collingwood v St Kilda at the MCG, 2.10pm
Hawthorn v Brisbane Lions at Aurora Stadium, 2.10pm
Essendon v West Coast Eagles at Etihad Stadium, 7.10pm
Western Bulldogs v Port Adelaide at TIO Stadium, 7.10pm

Sunday July 18
Carlton v Sydney Swans at Etihad Stadium, 1.10pm
Richmond v North Melbourne at the MCG, 2.10pm
Fremantle v Melbourne at Subiaco Oval, 2.40pm

Full teams over the break. Read the rest of this entry »