TooSerious

Holy wowzers, its a week that will go down in infamy. Gotta be the single hugest week in the history of ever. So much so that this weeks winner- which I sure will be out by the time I finish this article, will have their name and score recorded forever at the bottom of this post so that we can- in future times- look back and say- I remember the first dude that scored over 3000!

But before we review the week that was SuperCoach, join us over the break to take a look at the games that got us there.

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North Melbourne vs Carlton
Result: Carlton by 18, 11.14.80 to 9.8.62

It was a good game by the Kangeroos. They were helped a little by some inaccurate kicking by the Blues, who went into the halftime break trailing by 11 points. It wasnt under the final quarter, in which Carlton kicked 5.2 that they really put the result beyond doubt- so while it was still a loss, theres a lot of reasons to hold your head up as a Kangeroo fan this week. Gibbs top scored off just 20 possessions, that said though, there were 4 goals in that mix. Marc Murphy was hot on his heels though, 28 touches and a 138SC while Chris Yarran knocked up a 136SC off 27 disposals. Top scoring for the Roos was Andrew Swallow, who picked up 33 touches for a 122SC. Rounding out the top5 was Heath Scotland, who joined Yarran on 27 touches, but only made 121SC. Not too many villians in this game, though the biggest was easily Brady Rawlings, who made the list for the third week in a row with a 43SC. Early days, Judd looked like he was going to make the list- and hey, maybe he still will dor lack of others- but he scraped in to an 88SC after a terrible start which was nice.

Heroes: Gibbs, Murphy, Yarran
Villians: Rawlings, Walker, Judd... heh heh.

Western Bulldogs vs West Coast Eagles.
Result: West Coast by 8, 15.13.103 to 15.5.95

It was the battle of the two west...ern...place...teams, but it was the Eagles who threw the gauntlet out...

Time for the Champions League final.   In the midst of the carnage from this weekend, two teams remain.

Go Simonoz!

Over the break, the preview of the final (from StKildaThunda) and the number of points you will need to get to catch the leaders.   Needless to say I need a 3000 this weekend <!--more-->
<p class="MsoNormal">[span lang="EN-AU">Its that time of the year we have all been waiting for, that last weekend in July and that means it’s the Final of the Too Serious Champions League Knockout Competition. In the BLACK corner we have <a href="http://supercoach.heraldsun.com.au/?p=other_teams&amp;tid=16306&amp;lid=1">simonoz[/url], ranked 214th overall &amp; 11th in total points during multi byes. In the GREEN corner we have <a href="http://supercoach.heraldsun.com.au/?p=other_teams&amp;tid=49466&amp;lid=1">IPIKDA WONG PRAYER[/url], ranked 182nd overall &amp; 3rd in total points during multi byes. As you can tell not much separates this two teams in the rankings and is set up to be a absolute ring a ding ding contest.
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<p class="MsoNormal">[span lang="EN-AU">Alright its time to take a look at both sides, bare in mind that ive swapped players around in each line up to try and get it as close as possible to what they might do themselves. Also will be interesting to see if either of them trade this week, simonoz has Shaw still &amp; IWP has Newman he might be tempted to trade.
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<p class="MsoNormal">[span style="text-decoration: underline">[span lang="EN-AU">SIMONOZ
<p class="MsoNormal">[span lang="EN-AU">
<p class="MsoNormal">[span lang="EN-AU">DEF: Scotland, [span style="color: red">Gibbs, Goddard, Enright, Broughton, Heppell, [span style="color: red">Puopolo (Jacobs, Deledio, Shaw)
<p class="MsoNormal">[span lang="EN-AU">
<p class="MsoNormal">[span lang="EN-AU">MID: [span style="color: red">Pendlebury, Judd, A.Swallow, Ablett, Thompson, [span...

There seem to be a number of viable options this week. (By the way, thanks to Walesy for filling in for me last week and last minute’s notice!). In previous weeks I have had no hesitation giving Ablett the captaincy but since his injury, his has only managed great, but not fantastic, scores of 126 and 127. The question is whether the injury is not letting him perform at his best.

The stats below don’t really point to anyone in particular. Hence, recent form this year is a key consideration for me ...

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Ablett v. St Kilda

QF 2010: 75 SuperCoach points, 21 disposals
Rd 13 2010: 154 SuperCoach points, 32 disposals
GF 2009: 123 SuperCoach points, 25 disposals
Rd 14 2009: 105 SuperCoach points, 27 disposals
QF 2008: 136 SuperCoach points, 35 disposals
Rd 4 2008: 115 SuperCoach points, 26 disposals
Rd 10 2007: 103 SuperCoach points, 27 disposals

Average is 116 SuperCoach points with 28 disposals.

Note: Taking out his most recent game and his average jumps to 123. Has been in unbelievably consistent form this season. Has averaged 142 over his past 7 games (not including the game where he was injured and only scored 19).

Cox v. Western Bulldogs

Rd 9 2011: 149 SuperCoach points, 23 disposals, 33 hitouts
Rd 13 2010: 78 SuperCoach points, 18 disposals, 11 hitouts
Rd 4 2009: 102 SuperCoach points, 25 disposals, 31 hitouts
Rd 6 2008: 95 SuperCoach points, 20 disposals, 21 hitouts
Rd 17 2007: 83 SuperCoach points, 18 disposals, 23 hitouts
Rd 62 2007: 76 SuperCoach points, 16 disposals, 10 hitouts

Average is 97 SuperCoach points with 20 disposals and 22 hitouts.

Note: Not a good record against the Bulldogs. Only one big score which was earlier this season. Has good recent form with 149 and 137 in his two most recent games this year.

Judd v. Kangaroos

Rd 12 2010: 119 SuperCoach points, 23 disposals
Rd 18 2009: 88 SuperCoach points, 21 disposals
Rd 20 2008: 113 SuperCoach points, 23 disposals
Rd 19 2007: 63...

With the majority of people out of the running, and the multi-bye meaning a league bye- it looks like a lot of coaches have been taking a very relaxed run into this week- but not the overall chasers- Ive really been looking forward to this week as a chance to catch out all those coaches whove been going in unaware... heres hoping that Roo out doesnt bite too hard though!

So while this week wont play a part in the Supercoach finals, its looking to play a massive part in the real finals!

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We open up with a huge game of North Melbourne, and after winning 6 of their last 8 games, youd have to say they were a chance... but then you examine that figure- in the past 8 weeks, theyve beaten 17th, 16th, 15th, 14th, 12th and 9th - losing to 8th and well, a smashing to 1st. What it does do though, is give you some tasty odds on the Blues.

West Coast v the Doggies should be the final nail in the coffin for the Dogs, and with the Tigers, Dees, Bombers, Lions and Crows to come, they are a massive chance for the top4 with Carlton 2 points in front with a bye and a Hawthorn match to come- at 1.45 to make the top4, I reckon they represent a good little bit of value there.

Geelong vs Melbourne should be a non-event, as should St Kilda heading up to the Gold Coast and Collingwood taking on the Bombers- the odds on the underdogs in those games are pretty huge (Dees: $9, GC: $7.5, Ess: $8.5) - so if you feel that one might get up, it might be worth a tipple- but really, outside of the Dons, which of those really has a chance!

Freo vs Hawthorn and Freo have got a bloody tough run home, with Hawthorn just the first of 3 top 4 opponents over the next 5 weeks. I guess thats why sportsbet have them at $3.05 for making the top8, the 9th shortest odds.

Finally, the Adelaide Derby should see Adelaide take it out in a canter, but funnier things have happened!

Anyways, would love to here your thoughts on the round- let us know!

And so it is, the Be(at) the Best column does not have any recent challenger to update.

Its been rather quiet from me in the analysis, and its because this week is the real crux of the whole thing. Its a crucial week where so many of the star players are out of some of the best teams, so after this week, we will have 5 weeks more, but most of them will have deeper and better coverage because the leaders will have factored that into their trading.

Currently there are 29 competitors within 500 points of the lead. Thats really close, particularly when you consider that 1000 points off the lead is the top 200, and 1500 points off the lead is the top 1000. Truly, Supercoach has become an exponential game.

It means that if you have a real stinker of a week, you go from respectability to nothing. If you have a brilliant week, like JEEZEBEL, you can go from contention to nearly into the lead.

Anyone in the top 30 with a few big rounds get the gap back, and with the injuries or poor form to contender defenders in particular, it means that points of difference can be found, and can be crucial. That, coverage in the midfield, a good R2 and the old captain selection will determine the run of the top 30 teams this season.

Good luck Impromptu on keeping the lead, and for the chasing pack led by Ex Prez (p2), Yamum (p5), Shagga (p7), bombers4ever (p9) and the fading Whorks (p19), heres hoping that this week becomes the one that moves you back into contention.

If par was 2500 last week, we didnt quite get there. A few bad decisions and a bit of bad luck saw us score 2438 and drop 351 spots in rankings to be ranked 3,122nd overall.

We did one trade this week - Iles to Priddis - which should be ok in the long run, but so far it hasnt been so great as Priddis scored only 4 points more than our mid emergency this week.

We had 6 players score more than our captain - Pendles - this week, but at least he did better than our 2nd choice - VC Swan.

Our bench selection wasnt too bad, but could have been better. In fact, we could have done better in all 4 lines! We started Puopolo over Heppell and lost 31 points there; we started ZSmith over Keefe and lost 21 points there, but the real damage was done with our placement of our m/f mpps... Mzungu was the closest to gaining a berth on field so he had to be an emergency, and Richardson had more support than ISmith so he had to be an emergency as well, and they all came in in front of Prestia. This all meant that we had to start Mzungu on mid bench as Richardson was our Fwd emergency - who ended up being called in as a late replacement for Steve Johnson! Meaning we scored his 20 points, and had Mzungus 95 was sitting on the midfield pine!

Anyway, full scores of our players are over the break:::::::::

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<table id="scoringPlayers" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>

<td colspan="2">SCORING PLAYERS



<td colspan="2">



1. <a href="http://supercoach.heraldsun.com.au/player/130">Scotland[/url] (DEF)
<td align="right">119



2. <a href="http://supercoach.heraldsun.com.au/player/575">Deledio[/url] (DEF)
<td align="right">115



3. <a href="http://supercoach.heraldsun.com.au/player/110">Gibbs[/url] (DEF)
<td align="right">128



4. <a href="http://supercoach.heraldsun.com.au/player/632">Goddard[/url] (DEF)
<td align="right">119



5. <a...

Well, I know three teams that wont be named tonight!

And N. Riewoldt. And Higgins.

Gunna be some pain, and as always- feel free to share it in the live chat - Just click Read More to join the fun.

So... The newsletter comes out today! If you havent signed up yet, now is the time! Walesy was up half the night last night getting it together and it may be one of the most important reference pieces for the start of next year with ALL of the stats from EVERY player in the Under18 Championships- all tied together in a nice little package. Get in there, save it, send it around to your mates. Its a goodun and youll be kicking yourself at the start of 2012 if you dont have a copy.
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To sign up for the newsletter, log in and go to your <a href="http://tooserious.net/profile">Profile Page[/url] via the link in the sidebar on the right. Under your profile picture theres an <a href="http://tooserious.net/account?ScrollToElement=1250">[Edit][/url] button. Click that and it will open up all the options for your profile. Scroll down and you should see three tick boxes for subscriptions to emails - newsletter, messages from our sponsors and competition reminders. Check the ones that you want to receive, save and youre golden! (or yanno, click <a href="http://tooserious.net/account?ScrollToElement=1250">here[/url] and youll be taken straight there! )

Whilst youre in there, if youre at all into wine, you should consider signing up for the emails from our sponsors. Ive got a couple of awesome deals from Cellarmasters sitting in my hot little hand at the moment that will be going out tomorrow that can be used seperately or in conjunction.

16 bottles of wine that would usually go for just under $16/ per bottle and if you use both vouchers together, you end up paying $5.56/ per bottle. Thats like... 64% off for those of you who didnt feel like doing the math. Even if you only drink wine at Christmas or keep a few bottles around the house to impress the lovely ladies... it doesnt really get cheaper than that *and* you can support TooSerious in the doing. Win!

And... Since Im already being a bit of a corporate shill (my apologies)...

Hi all, sorry I have been really flat chat. No time for my usual wrap. I will list a few best options and then throw open the floor to discussion.

My thoughts on best buys for this week are to try to cover players who have byes or longer-term injuries with players with no byes to come.

Some might consider going Newman-Scotland, but Im thinking there is a world of pain brewing in such a move.

So, my Best Buys in terms of value (with no byes to come)
D: Fisher, Birchall, Suckling
M: Ablett, Priddis
F: Franklin, Sylvia, Kennedy, Rioli
R: ... Can I say Cox, Sandilands

OK, I might see what I can do to contribute in the comments section, but as always fire away with the thumbs up/down and happy trading!

So, we now have three EPL comps that were going to be running with as something to keep our fantasy minds ticking over through the off season.

So if youre a fan of the EPL comps, or perhaps want to branch into something new- the full details, and a couple of tips, are found over the break.

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<a href="http://epldreamteam.sportal.com.au/">Virtual Sports[/url]

So, the first game on offer is the <a href="http://epldreamteam.sportal.com.au/">Virtual Sports[/url] offering. This game is a fantastic game to start up the EPL dream as its mechanics are very similar to SuperCoach, youve got your players, youve got your bench, while you dont have emergencies, you do have the good ol faithful 3 week rolling average that youve been loving for the past 18 week.

One key change that you seasoned folks would have noticed is that the scoring has changed- your bench players no longer score half points- which for mine is a fantastic change in the rules. No longer will you be punished when Chelsea has a week off. Strategy-wise however, it does mean that upgrading your first 11 is more important than ever!

The general strategy that youll want to use in this game is the game as Supercoach, you want to pick your guns, and your rookies who will improve- the big difference in this game over Supercoach however, if a cheap defender/midfielder *team* score two clean sheets in a row, the player will go up millions over the 3 week period- so when picking your starting line-up, particularly your cheapies, you want to look for guys who have a string of games against easy teams, remember, it doesnt matter if they dont win, just so long as the other poor team doesnt score!

The other trick which can be used for salary generation is chasing strikers- basically, roll over a position in your forward line to whatever forward has scored 2 or more goals that week- because of the 3 week rolling average, it can be a decent way to keep your cash ticking up.

Finally,...