TooSerious

With Concussions set to become more closely scrutinised, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to run an eye over the database to check out which (near) premiums in the past have missed games through concussion.



Sadly, I don't have the figures on players who got concussed, but made it back the next week- just the big ones that misses a match.



Tippett 3, all in 2012



CHRISTENSEN 2, in 2011, 2012

Dempster 2, all in 2011

McPharlin 2, in 2011, 2012

Riewoldt 2 in 2009, 2011

Selwood 2, in 2011, 2012

Taylor 2, in 2009, 2011



Adams 1 in 2010

Boak 1 in 2011

Bolton 1 in 2010

Breust 1 in 2012

Fisher 1 in 2010

FYFE 1 in 2010

Goddard 1 in 2011

Hale 1 in 2009

Lewis 1 in 2010

Johnson 1 in 2012...

Todays guest post comes from Liam Quinn at BackPageLead.com.au

The term superstar gets bandied around far too often in the AFL.

String together a few 30 plus possession games - superstar. Turn in one spectacular season - elite. The undue haste in which the footballing public, and media, spring forward to crown a very good player a 'great', and to begin preparations for their pending Hall of Fame induction, can be grating indeed.

Having said all that, I've set about the task of sorting the wheat from the chaff and identifying those players who do make the top-tier cut. There are literally dozens of very, very good players that the case could be made for, so a strict set of criteria was needed.

For those playing along at home, a premiership doesn't make a player elite, although it can certainly help - considering the circumstances. Neither does playing in excess of 250 games; that's a sign of incredible durability and longevity, not greatness - however, greatness isn't earned in a season or two, so players need a few notches under their belt.

In a similar fashion, Brownlow medals aren't a sure indicator of greatness, with a raft of other factors - teammate quality, one-hit wonder seasons - playing a role in who walks away Charlie each year. Further, the line had to be established between club greats and great players. No one would argue that Dustin Fletcher, Brent Harvey and Lenny Hayes aren't champion players for their respective clubs, but whether any of the aforementioned trio ever crossed over into elite territory is very much up for debate.

And, finally, for any player to be considered a superstar they must be untouchable to their club, in terms of trade value. To clarify, that means that their straight swap could tempt another club into parting with their superstar, unless it was another one of these elite players.

After meticulously poring over the candidates, and consulting with many a...

Before continuing on with
the 3rd and 4th month performances of the [span style='font-weight: bold;]W2SP Club,
let's recap where the club stood after the first 2 months of operations.
Month 1 (Sep/Oct 2012)
saw our punting record show we had [span style='font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;]staked [span style='font-weight: bold;]$453.63 for a [span style='font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;]return of [span style='font-weight: bold;]$401.49 - a [span style='font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;]loss of [span style='font-weight: bold; color: #ff0000;]$52.14 for the month.
Month 2 (Oct/Nov 2012)
produced a result of [span style='font-weight: bold;]$532.07 [span style='font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;]staked for a [span style='font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;]return of [span style='font-weight: bold;]$459.04 - an overall [span style='font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;]loss of [span style='font-weight: bold; color: #ff0000;]$73.03 for the month.
This meant an overall
performance over the first 2 months of [span style='font-weight: bold;]$985.70 [span style='font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;]staked; [span style='font-weight: bold;]$860.53 [span style='font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;]return - [span style='font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;]loss of [span style='font-weight: bold; color: #ff0000;]$125.17
Not the best start, but
could've been much worse!!!
So now we head on to the
3rd and 4th months of our performances.

[span style='font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;]Month 3 - Nov/Dec 2012
Another
shaky start with 2 donuts to start the 3rd month's roster,
but that all changed with [span style='font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;]Weazel (Sat 24th Nov) recording
a [span style='font-weight: bold;]$10.59
profit which was followed by another donut next day. The next 2 days
was a case of BANG, BANG as firstly [span...

Premier League



The participants for the finals are Jasmine, Karlos, Ruddy, Heaver, Mick and Anthak. Jasmine and Karlos have the first week off in the finals due to winning their respective conferences.

King of Karlos (10-6) 2175 v Adelaide Maggotz (5-10-1) 1928



Both teams played the identical number of games this round but Karlos came home strong and was able to overcome a determined Maggotz lineup. The best players for Karlos were Walker (265/6), Curry (241/5) and Green (230/6). The leading scorers for the Maggotz were Harden (261/5), Bosh (223/6) and Anderson (217/5). The Maggotz will be in a fight in the minor finals to avoid relegation.

Ruddy's Cavaliers (10-6) 1987 v Wade Machine (7-9) 1802



The Cavaliers posted a comfortable victory over Wade Machine this round and helped themselves to the No 4 seed in the finals. Once again Durant led the way with (310/5) for the Cavaliers followed by Monroe (227/6) and Hill (189/5). Wade Machine were best served by Wade (280/6), KG (180/5) and Ellis (218/5). Wade Machine will be going all out in the minor finals to avoid relegation.

Fudge's Sixers (3-13) 2069 v Run TMC (6-9-1) 1687



Fudge finally got back on the winners list and posted a very high score this round to defeat Run TMC. Fudge has been hit hard with injuries this season. The best players for Fudge this round were Dirk (280/5), Lawson (274/5) and Green (238/6). Run TMC has struggled over the latter half of the season and this week were led by George (226/5), Westbrook (243/5) and Noah (204/6). Fudge will also be in the battle of survival in the minor finals to avoid relegation.

Anthak (9-7) 2224 v Team Heaver (10-6) 2105



Anthak was able to get the close victory over Heaver this round which ensures his spot in the finals. This was highest scoring match of the round in the Premier League and right down to the very last day. The leading scorers for...

Here we are, two weeks in and we've managed a first look at every team.



Anyone catching your eye so far? Who have you brought in base on this weeks perform? Who should you?



Let's take a look at what's gone down this week.





Friday, 22th February



North vs Melbourne

Results: North by 2.



North had more of the ball, more kicks, more clearances and more contested possessions- and in the end, more points on the board winning by 2 point, by virtue of a Supergoal.



What we did see though, we North sharing the ball around a lot, which we all know is a goldmine for fantasy sports if they keep it up.



McMahon, SD Thompson, Swallow, Wright, ATLEY and JACOBS all benefitted massively from this, with McMahon breaking 60DT points.



Wright certainly added to his selection credentials under this gameplan, priced at a smidge under $400k, he's steadily increased his average over the past few years and could definitely step up.



The other obvious premium we're looking at here is Swallow. 12 disposals, 4 tackles and 50DT has him once again pushing for selection in my squad.



Sierakowski looks to be teasing again, a 115k defender would be fantastic, and with 9 touches and 42DT, would...

<p style='font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica; color: #424242;]If you play in a keeper league, like I imagine anyone reading this is, it's a pertinent question; what is pick 15 in a yearly draft worth? How do you even quantify that?

<p style='font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica; color: #424242; min-height: 14px;]

<p style='font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica; color: #424242;]Head over the break and we explore what draft picks are worth in the long and short term.

<p style='font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica; color: #424242; min-height: 14px;]

<p style='font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica; color: #424242;]I've been mulling over this question of draft pick worth for muchof the preseason. On the one hand given that in the ORFFL we're cutting lists down to a maximum of 20, that pick is essentially a R21 pick. We all remember R21 in the original; Lachie Hansen, Liam Jones, Jayden Post were a sample of names called out.

<p style='font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica; color: #424242; min-height: 14px;]

<p style='font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica; color: #424242;]On the other hand though, where do Lance Franklin's come from?

<p style='font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica; color: #424242; min-height: 14px;]

<p style='font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica; color: #424242;]This time last year the 18 ORFFL clubs drafted 42 first year players, picking them up on average in the 20th round. 15 GWS pre listed players (including 17yo's and Issy) and 18 players picked in the first 25 of the 2011 AFL ND.

<p style='font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica; color: #424242; min-height: 14px;]

<p style='font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica; color: #424242;]I bring up the first 25 players picked in the draft as when I began pondering the title question months ago there was a general consensus that there were roughly 25 rookies from the 2012 AFL draft worth picking. Further to that there was the contention that...

Well, it looks like Sportsbet has gotten into the Supercoach gambling market, creating 6 groups across the 4 positions.




So lets take a closer look at these groups, see if we can't find some value.




Group One: Mids




$ 2.75 Ablett

$ 4.50 Pendlebury

$ 6.00 Swan

$ 8.00 Watson

$ 8.00 Dangerfield

$ 8.00 Beams

$10.00 JPK

$10.00 J. Selwood





Ablett, the clear front runner would have won this group by a smidge over 100 points last year. However, considering the high averages at play here, that's only 1 game clear. So had he played 19 games last year (As he's done in the past), Watson, JPK and Dangerfield all would have hit beat.




Definitely worth a sneaky nibble on JPK I reckon, and maybe Beams if he can play all 22.




Group Two: Mids




$3.50 Cotchin




Alright, being a betting man, reckon you'd be crazy to bet against Cotchin in this group




Group Three: Mids




$5.00 S. Selwood

$5.50 Ward

$6.00 Sloane

$6.00 Griffin

$7.00 O'Keefe

$7.00 Judd

$7.00 Sidebottom

$8.00 Redden





Definitely some value here, but boy will it be tough to seperate. Selwood for mine rightfully tops the group, scoring the most this year, with a little room to grow, but then, Ward topped the averages in this group, but missed 2 game- also with some potential to grow.




Personally, I'd rule Griffen, O'keefe and Judd out, making it a group of 5. Definitely would be some worth in getting on a couple of them, but the amount of time they'd be holding your cash would make it not so worth it.




Group Four: Forwards




$2.75 Franklin

$5.50 Rockliff

$7.00 Rioli

$7.00 Zorko

$8.00 SJ

$8.00 Walker

$8.00 Chapman

$9.00 Hawkins





Franklin does deserve to top this group, his average is a mile ahead of his competitors....

It's been a big two weeks of football. Plenty of rookies have been given a crack, while other fringe(ish) players have raised their hand and said: Me too!



Let's take a lightning quick look over the first 9 games of football.



Friday, 15th February



Essendon vs Western

Results: Essendon by 26 points



I wish it was fantasy relevant, but I simply have to open this article with a mention of the 43 year old, Dustin Fletcher out there, doing his part, in the middle of February. Someone must have slipped something very good into his OJ I reckon!



Anyways, for the game, it was a fairly one sided even, with Essendon scoring heavily at the end of both halves. Hoping to see that continued through to the season proper with the Bombers inability to run out games a big factor in the second half of last years.



Plenty of statistics went the Bombers way, with a lot of short accurate kicks promising to deliver a lot of fantasy value next year.



Leading the charge was Dempsey who managed 12 touches and 57DT points off just 79% game time. Fantastic number and a real option if he can pick up how he started last year.



I know I said he wasn't relevant, but he certainly was prevalent, with Fletcher picking up 10 disposals across the backline for an exceptional 53DT.



HEPPELL collected 9 touches, however should be noted that 8 of those were picked up in the second half. He'll be one to ignore at your peril.



Meanwhile HIBBERD and Goddard were both solid in what...

QPR v Man Utd 0-2
Evans, Rooney and Valencia all started on the bench with the latter two coming on just after the hour. RVP came off in the first half with a hip injury which will increase concern that he'll miss game-time next week before Utd's return leg against Real Madrid. Giggs scored on his 999th senior appearance while Rafael scored a peach of a volley.
Fabio was unavailable to play against his parent club but it was still a huge shock to see Bosingwa line-up at RB. Onuoha was on the bench. Zamora lasted an hour before being replaced by Remy. QPR haven't scored at home since Boxing Day.

Fulham v Stoke 1-0

Marc Wilson (3.9mill) made his long awaited comeback after his broken leg. It wasn't enough to keep a clean sheet though and Stoke have still only won one away game all season. Jon Walters - not for the first time this season - failed to score from the spot, preventing Shea an assist on his debut.
Berbatov, with his 9th of the season and 3rd in 6, scored a beauty. Riether played well and set up Berba's goal.

Arsenal v Aston Villa 2-1

For the 3rd league game in a row, Podolski started on the bench, Koscielny was also benched while Jenkinson replaced the injured Sagna. Cazorla was the hero with both goals to take his league total for the season to 10.
Villa looked threatening with Weimann the scorer and N'Zogbia again the provider. Villa are now back in the bottom three.

West Brom v Sunderland 2-1

Lukaka was again excellent and scored a brace. The referee blowing for a WBA free kick too quickly instead of playing advantage cost him a hat-trick. Fellow budget striker Shane Long also started while Odemwingie found his way back from QPR's car park to take his place on the bench. Jones remained on the bench.
Sunderland had both Bardsley and Cueller on the bench as Bramble continued to play and scare the bejayus out of the Sunderland supporters. Graham started alongside Fletcher and Fletch should've notched a couple. Forgotten...

<p style='font: inherit;]Wait what, I missed the start of the round! d'oh!
<p style='font: inherit;]
<p style='font: inherit;]Ah well, join us over the weekend in theChatand we'll see what we see.
<p style='font: inherit;]
<p style='font: inherit;]Will Viney or Toumpas do much? How about that Daw fellow? Will O'Meara live up to the hype? Will Leuenburger get himself an injury? Let's find out.