TooSerious

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,...

Round 18.  Moving Round.

Judd, Pendlebury and Goodes all best on or thereabouts.  Mitchell*, Ablett, Murphy, Selwood* &amp; Franklin* all good chances to poll.  And whilst Chris Judd is seemingly on to his way to his third brownlow ($2.65 for the win), dont discount Pendles at $8.50....

The pair are pulling away from the chasing group, with a rift of now 2-3 votes back to the third placed Boyd - who was in the best 5-6 on the ground, but not in the top 3.

Milne picks up 3 votes for his 8 goals, whilst Eddiell have to settle with 2.

Over the break are this weeks votes in full, leaderboards, plus a detailed review of where the team leaders are at...not for any other reason than Im over in Melbourne for work, the bar fridge is empty, and Im dreaming of September coin...

<!--more-->So if we can discount the final 6 rounds that are yet to be played, I have in order of safest as follows:

G. Ablett (GCS) - 13-15 ahead of the next best, and an outside chance to take the overall.  Paying $1.01.
S. Thompson (ADE) - 7-11 votes clear. $1.42, good value considering the margin.
B. Moloney (MEL) - 7-10 votes clear.  $1.22.
M. Boyd (WBD) - 7-9 votes clear.  $1.40 - again, pretty good value.
J. Watson (ESS) - 6-7 clear.  $1.16 - better options out there at this stage.
S. Pendlebury (COL) - 3-9 votes ahead.  Paying $1.90, great odds.
J. Selwood (GEE) - 3-8 votes clear.  Paying $1.63, like Watson - has missed a big chunk of footy, but the odds are more favourable for Joel.
N. Dal Santo (STK) - 3-5 votes clear.  $1.85, good value for a standout in an average-ish year for the Saints.
S. Mitchell (HAW) - 2-5 votes ahead.  $1.36...the umps being given directives for Mitchell not to poll too much the only real threat.

Pretty comfortable with any of the above 9 being in my certainties list - but at $22,  we need to beef up the odds with the next tier:

S. Black (BRL) - Rockliff a minor threat.  $2 pretty good value, I have the range of Simon...

EDIT: This weeks round review was supplied by Sainters. Youre a legend mate. - Also, youll find it over the break.

Alright guys, the full review is gunna be late tonight, but just a few quick points.

Firstly, the halcyon days of Saturday night all but asploded with StevieJ being replaced by Issac Smiths 10 on Sunday- Hurts even more that I had Mzungu as a midfield emergency- and even *more* that I was high-5ing myself of Saturday night at my decision to move Petrie to the rucks, being Z. Smith and move NRoo from Forward emergency to F7. Its a funny old game.

Still, wound up with a 2553, not bad, but enough to win just a *single* league game! Just one!!

So, how did you all go? For those playing at home, the highest score Ive seen so far is a 2734, while the comp leader, Impromptu got himself a 2576. Huge in any other week!

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St Kilda V Adelaide
St Kilda Defeated Adelaide by 103 points

When the first siren blew, and the match was underway, the Saints were in control from the very first bounce, Milne ran Johncock in circles and kicked the first 2 goals, Adam Schneider chipped in for 2 in the middle parts of the quarter, and Milne kicked his 3rd to finish of a fantastic quarter of footy for the Saints. Patrick Dangerfield kicked Adelaides only goal in the quarter. We fast-forward to the final siren and nothing had changed, the Saints win comfortably 127-24. Nick Dal Santos 31 possession game was enough to rack up a very good 158 SC, Milne and his 8 goals trooped along and scored a nice 139 SC, Schneiders 5 goals straight got him 121 SC, Nick Riewoldts 3.2 got 120 SC, Brendon Goddards 30 disposals earnt him 119 SC, Montagna got 28 disposals and 129 SC. For the Crows, Sam Jacobs dominated the ruck early on and got a solid 107 SuperCoach & Michael Doughty got 104 SC. Sean Dempster tagged Bernie Vince and kept him quite as "Ferb".
Heroes: Dal Santo - Montagna - Riewoldt - Goddard - Jacobs
Villains: Vince -...

So, welcome to captains choice for round 18, Im youre host, Walesy, filling in for the always vibrant Jasmine, whos once again been whisked off on a great adventure of both daring and intrigue.

So, bare with us and well see if I cant stalk the numbers and tease a little bit of love out of them! Keep in mind though, that Im a little pressed for time, so after looking at the numbers, Ill just be writing about the exceptional choices, not the rest- but feel free to pull up the numbers and discuss them in the comments for everyone else!

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Nick Dal Santo vs Adelaide

Round 6, 2011: 150SC, 29 disposals
Round 22, 2010: 124SC, 34 disposals
Round 10, 2010: 138SC, 31 disposals
Round 16, 2009: 121SC, 30 disposals
Round 2, 2009: 122SC, 27 disposals

3 game average: 140, average against team: 137

Notes: Dal Santo certainly is Mr Consistancy when it comes to playing the Crows, doesnt matter if its here or there, he seems to knock up a good score!


Scott Pendlebury vs Gold Coast

3 games average: 141

Notes: Well, theres not really any stats to back this one up, but a 141 average leading into this game, against the Gold Coast Suns has got to be considered heavily.

Chris Juddd vs Essendon

Round 4, 2011: 84SC, 24 disposals
Round 19, 2010: 110SC, 28 disposals
Round 13, 2010: 79SC, 22 disposals
Round 3, 2009: 119SC, 33 disposals

3 game average: 136

Notes: Well, its been a while since Juddy has had a big game against the Bombers, but he is certainly in a rich vein of form at the moment, averaging 136SC over the last 3 weeks. With Watson and Hocking sitting the game out as well, it could be a perfect storm for him pulling out a good one.

Luke Hodge vs Melbourne

Round 2, 2011: 79SC, 21 disposals
Round 20, 2010: 72SC, 19 disposals
Round 1, 2010: 121SC, 34 disposals

3 game average: 139

Notes: As with Judd, its been a while since hes knocked out a big one against the Dees, but his current...

With lockout just hours away, whats the plan? Any trades needed this week?

Or just happy to sit with your bench covering any outs? Handling Suckling alright?

What about the maybe Pendles out? Seems to be picking up steam that rumour- love to get an official word!

Like the Judd one, while Twiggers is due soon, its not tomorrow!

<a href="http://www.iscent.com.au/"><img src="http://tooserious.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/iScent.com_.au_RGB.jpg">[/url]



So, its the final week of the iScent comp- well, technically, Ill still be running the comp for fun and stuff, but it is the last week for prizes!



Anyways, this week we found ourself with a winner whos been doing magnificently at the ClubDeals comp of late, looks like hes decided to turn his attention to the iScent, beating second place this week by a massive 250 points!
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And so the winner was: Torcida, with a captains selection of Brendan Goddard.



The full winning team is:



DEF: Broughton, Enright, Newman, Deledio, Goddard, Marin, Watson (Okeefe, Webster, McGovern)

MID: Vince, Swan, Bartel, Montagna, Cotchin, Priddis (Simpkin, Twomey, Wanganeen)

RUC: Cox, Leuenberger (McCulloch, Curnow)

FWD: Podsiadly, Goodes, Higgins, OKeefe, Sylvia, Brennan, Petrie (Schneider, Reilly, Von Bertouch)


You can see the full ladder <a href="http://tooserious.net/competitions.php?competition=iScent&ladder=1&sort=score">here[/url]<a href="http://tooserious.net" target="_blank" style="color: #111111;text-decoration: none;font-weight: normal;">, and hey, while youre there- get your entry in for next week!
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,,and dont forget, to check out Silverbacks Team of the Round, <a href="http://tooserious.net/forum?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=1025.0">click here to see what team was good enough to score 3125 points.[/url]
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<a href="http://clubdeals.com.au" target="_blank"><img alt="image" border="0" src="http://tooserious.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Clubdeal-logo.png" style="border-width: 0pt;border-style: solid;border: 0;" width="476">[/url]
Wow, it was a suprisingly tough week in ClubDeals this week, with a lot of the favorites to do well, messing people up. Boyd, Goldstein, and a couple of the Cats boys really messed up the majority, so much so that a Gary Ablett pick made the top 3 (in fact, 3rd place was a complete draw this week, so has gone down to who got their tip in earlier!
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,So check over the break for the winners!
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,Daveo - Chris Newman - missed by 7

,Tim - Scott Pendlebury - missed by 20

,stowie - Gary Ablett - Missed by 33

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,That said, our own JoshyC also tipped Ablett for 160 and missed by 33, so we go to who got their tips in earlier. Stowie got his in a 9:58 on the Friday morning, while Joshy waited til 14:49 on the same day! Bad luck mate!!
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,Dont forget, youll need to sign up at <a href="http://clubdeals.com.au" target="_blank">ClubDeals[/url] to claim your prize, but youll get the details for that in the mail.
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,While Ive got your attention, check out <a href="http://clubdeals.com.au" target="_blank">todays deal[/url]- Only $29 for a Total Hair & Body Rejuvenation Pack from world-class beauty & skincare company, The Natural Source, normally $69.
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,As with the iScent comp, this brings to an end the fun and games for this one, however, for anyone interested, Ill keep running the scores through so we can all keep playing!
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Not too many outs this week which is pretty nice, should allow us to run full teams this week. The only couple of issues is Murphy and Suckling sitting out.

INS: Richardson, Buckley, Rioli
OUTS: JB, Bob Murphy, Jolly, Watson, Suckling
Extended Bench: StevieJ, Howe, Evans, Lower, Darling

Still, should see some pretty big scores this week I reckon!!

Full list of teams are over the break
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Also, rumour has it that Jobe Watson has done his hammy again, which could have him sitting out until the finals.

St Kilda v Adelaide
ES &#8211; Fri Jul 22, 7:40pm
St Kilda
B: Dean Polo, Zac Dawson, Raphael Clarke
HB: Brendon Goddard, Sam Fisher, Sean Dempster
C: Farren Ray, Nick Dal Santo, Jason Gram
HF: Brett Peake, Nick Riewoldt, Sam Gilbert
F: Stephen Milne, Justin Koschitzke, Jack Steven
Foll: Ben McEvoy, Clinton Jones, Leigh Montagna
I/C: David Armitage, Jarryn Geary, Adam Schneider, Ryan Gamble
Emg: Andrew McQualter, Tom Lynch, Tommy Walsh
In: Jarryn Geary
Out: James Gwilt (Knee)
Adelaide
B: Graham Johncock, Daniel Talia, Andy Otten
HB: Michael Doughty, Ben Rutten, Nathan van Berlo
C: David Mackay, Scott Thompson, Brodie Smith
HF: Richard Tambling, Jack Gunston, Ricky Henderson
F: Patrick Dangerfield, Kurt Tippett, Matthew Wright
Foll: Sam Jacobs, Bernie Vince, Rory Sloane
I/C: Brent Reilly, Brad Moran, Brad Symes, Jared Petrenko
Emg: Chris Knights, Ivan Maric, Luke Thompson
In: Jack Gunston
Out: Matthew Jaensch (Shoulder)
Milestones: Graham Johncock &#8211; 200 games, Brent Reilly &#8211; 150 games
North Melbourne v Brisbane Lions
ES &#8211; Sat Jul 23, 2:10pm
North Melbourne
B: Cameron Richardson, Cameron Pedersen, Michael Firrito
HB: Brady Rawlings, Scott Thompson, Kieran Harper
C: Daniel Wells, Ryan...

Welcome to another Best Buys.  Not long now before trades are made from necessity rather than design.   In fact we are probably in that area for a lot of teams.

Anyway, for some this week will be the time after the cold light of day, to decide who to trade Shaw to.   I was constrained by cash in the end fortuitously because Lower came in and did the business.   Though Nick has shown some amazing form at times this year, hes not someone he can be completely relied upon, so its back to the Shaw out drawing board for my team this week.   Its not easy to find the right player, and with finances being stretched in the Legion, Im running out of fuel at precisely the wrong time.   Where Newman might have been a discount option, a big week has removed his name.   Johncock went and got injured, Suckling and Birchall are tantalisingly out of reach, and Scotland still retains that annoying bye.

The other thing to consider is a good run for your team doesnt necessarily mean a good score for defenders.   Those thinking Hurn might reconsider when they see the Eagles good draw.  That might mean good for Kennedy and not for Hurn.   Id love someone to run some stats on the scoring of defenders in winning teams to see if my thought holds water.   The ticker tends to buck my gutfeel thought, and I dont want to be one to argue with the ticker, but is this a time for a minority report?

Making the right move is paramount, but its nearly impossible.   Makes you think just relying on Stanley and Lower is a legitimate tactic.

The other area of interest I think is how you handle Smith in R2.   A fair few have him there, and while hes been serviceable, you can see the signs of a long year taking its toll.   Id certainly plan on keeping him for this week at least, because he should be able to get some points against Jolly (who is a good tap-to-ad vs opponent ruck, but not a great "get hitouts" ruck).

Most of us have a decent forward line, and it appears Petrie...