TooSerious

Chris, you asked earlier if Ablett was the #1 contested ball getter for 09.

Well, Ive finally massaged TS to give it up. And heres the top five. (in order of *most* contested possessions.)

#: Name: Contested possessions at their percentage of contested possessions in relation to their total possessions.

#1: Chris Judd. 246 at 41.2%
#2: Gary Ablett. 245 at 34.51%
#3: Dane Swan. 244 at 32.44%
#4: Joel Selwood. 231 as 35.11%
#5: Matthew Boyd. 231 at 32.08%

Looking at it as a relation to their total possessions however, has it all being rucks (unsurprising), with Nicholas Naitanui leading the charge with 66.33% of his possessions being contested.

The highest percentage for Non-rucks are.

Daniel Kerr: 53.8%
Hayden Ballantyne: 49.31%
Patrick Dangerfield: 48.72%
Eddie Betts: 48.13%
Jason Porplyzia: 47.38%

Which while unhelpful, is interesting. But more importantly, means Ive got a bunch of data available for use now that I previously didnt have. Rock and Roll.

Lucas, if there wasnt a game on tonight, your high/low salaries would be implemented. But since there is- youll have to wait over the weekend...

Carn the Bombers!

Welcome to the first of the Too Serious Discussions.

What are the Too Serious Discussions? Essentially, a question is asked of each of our writer, and we provide a brief paragraph or to that sums up our thoughts. Then you, the reader can agree, or tear us apart, in the comments. Choose a favorite- sledge the other guys if you want. Its mean to be fun, and most importantly, generate discussion on the topic on hand.

So, what is the topic on hand? To Gary or not to Gary. Hes $744k and an average of 140. Can you, should you say no?

Today weve got 4 people posting their thoughts...
<!--more-->

First off the ranks- Is last years SuperCoach Winner, Chris.
<blockquote>
Ok, so to Gary or not to Gary. The same question was asked last year, and those who didnt pick the little bald fella got burned just like his taggers. Everything says you must pick him. However, last season, there was absolutely no reason to think he wouldnt smash it every week (which he subsequently did) and i think anyone who didnt pick him round 1 last year were either very tight with coin or just mentally retarded.

BUT, i think this year there may be a shred of doubt and those who dont pick him can at least have a foot to stand on in an argument when he starts busting out those 190s. Gary has won his brownlow, he has won the flag the Cats wanted (ie, had to work for), he has lost his missus and he has golden beaches and surf on his mind. Also, i dont think the gap between Gary and the mere mortals like Nicky Dal is so great this year. The pts per game difference this year could be down to under 10pts.

The biggest worth for Gary tho, is the big C next to his name. It is because of this big C that every team should have the little champ in their team from round 1.
</blockquote>

Next up, we have the crowd favorite, Knighty.
<blockquote>
Ablett may have been overlooked for the Geelong captaincy, but in Supercoach thousands of teams should rely on him as...

Fo. Shizzle.

Alright guys, the 2010 stats are up and running. Now, that doesnt mean that development isnt still going on. (Particularly in the back end to speed things up), so if things go funny, let me know.

Right now, Im in the process of feeding new columns and data into the place, so this is a good chance to ask for any kind of information to be onscreen that currently isnt. A short list of the stuff that Ill be adding is: highest_salary, lowest_salary, medium_salary, std_dev as well as an assortment of average agaisnt statistics.

So let me know if theres anything you would like!

Now, because weve clicked over to the new year, Ive reset the Donor list (oh noes!), which as with last year, I didnt reset those who gave more than $20 last year (cause damn, thats generous!)

So if you want to get back on it- hit that little donate button up there and give til it hurts! Its all going to a good cause. (The keep TS running with Beer and Internet monies fund.)

Now, onto the Leagues. Weve filled one league and have started on another. Ill start handing out the league codes once we get at least two full (so that I can fulfill any conditions people might ask for) - So get in people, sign up your friends, your wives, your dogs, even your "wifes team" - *wink wink* *nudge nudge* We dont judge here... .

Also, there looks to be a bit of interest in running a $20 league. So were gunna run one.

Space is limited because I dont think well get two (but again, will run two if we get the interest).

If youre interested in the $20 league, send an email titled "TooSeriousLeagues$20" to <a href="mailto:too.serious.team.management@gmail.com?subject=TooSeriousLeagues$20">too.serious.team.management@gmail.com[/url] with the following information.
<blockquote>
Too Serious Leagues $20
Name.
Team name.
Preferred contact email address. (this one is really important if you win!)
Method of payment. (I would prefer you to make a paypal deposit to...

As we draw closer to the start of the NAB Cup, and therefore inch closer to the start of the 2010 Dreamteam season, it’s time to dig out the bargain picks for your Dreamteam! Here are some of my bargain picks.

Forwards - Patrick Dangerfield



Patrick is now entering his third season in the AFL system, commonly seen as the ‘breakout ‘year for young midfielders like Patrick. Playing predominantly as a small forward pocketer / HHF for 2009, A move to the Midfield is a likely move for 2010, Making him a perfect selection for 2010.



Adelaide fans rate this kid very highly, and why wouldn’t they, he is a natural. Dangerfield has great speed and skills. With a good pre season, and a little more size to his frame he is the perfect candidate to spend some extra time in the midfield.

Playing 19 games last year plus 2 finals, Patrick averaged 52 points per game. An increase of 15+ points isn’t out of the questions. $232,000 is his 2010 price, and I predict he will be a very popular pick.

Rucks - David Hille



David has been one of the most talked about players this pre-season.  How’s his pre season going? Has he recovered from his ACL knee reconstruction? What will his role in the Essendon team?  These are all very frequently asked questions in fantasy football land at the moment.

There are a lot of doubts hanging over this fellas head at the present time. Hille tore his ACL in Essendon’s round 5 ANZAC Day clash against Collingwood in 2009, and since this, I’m sure a lot of fantasy coaches have had Hille high on their radar.  As with most big men returning from these types of injuries, Hille has made a slow, but steady recovery, and is a race against time to be 100% fit for round 1. From most recent reports, Hille is completing full training, including contact drills. Matthew Knights has stated that they hoped for him to be back within 12 months from the initial injury,  and it’s...

Alright, I was going to wait til I had finally finished wiring TS up for the 2010 season, but there have been too many inquiries to hold off anymore.

So without further ado, allow me to officially open the Too Serious SuperCoach Leagues.

After last year, we learnt a few lessons, so things are going to be a little different this year.

Firstly, we are going to have a TooSerious administrator in each league that wont be eligible for prizes (So each comp will be out of 15.)

Secondly, we learnt that Paypal takes their cut on payment both ways, so Im gunna sift a little ($3.33) off the top to cover the admin costs. I hope everyone is cool with that.

And thirdly, the GF winner wont be getting a cash prize. They will be getting a mystery prize which hasnt been figured out yet. It could be something good, might just be a t-shirt, possibly a pack of pringles. Who knows, does anyone want to sponsor these things? Because we would love to give a shout out to your business throughout the season.

So, the details are as follows:
Entry fee: $50

1st prize based on overall ranking: $600
2nd prize based on overall ranking: $100
Grand final winner: Mystery prize

In addition to that, the boys over at <a href="http://yoursupercoachcoach.com/">Your SuperCoach Coach[/url] are trying to put together a league of leagues competition. currently the details are pretty sketchy, but the gist of it will be Elite leagues, brought together from the various SuperCoach sites off the web, competing against each other for both site-pride, and to scoop up the total cash prize pool. Tentatively, the entry fee for a league will be $250, so Im thinking a $10 entrance fee, with me picking up the rest sounds fair.

So, how to enter?

Firstly the TooSerious leagues.

I will need you to send an email to <a href="mailto: too.serious.team.management@gmail.com?subject=TooSeriousLeagues">too.serious.team.management@gmail.com[/url] with the title "TooSeriousLeagues" and following...

OK we are still thinking through the whole Multi Positional Players (MPP) thing.  And Im sure that people still need some rock solid examples to make their thoughts gel.  Im sure I do.

First lets get a few assumptions out of the way early.  Im happy to debate them.

1) You wont win just because you put a few MPPs in your team.
2) You wont win if you completely ignore MPPs through the entire competition - flexibility alone of players will be worth at least 1000 points which no-one (not even Chris) can afford to give up to his opponents.
3) The best value MPPs may never even play a match.
4) Not thinking before you lace a team with MPPs is the same as picking a team of players in the 350k range - will give you a quite easy wooden spoon in a competitive league.  This includes picking all MPPs in the same line so you cannot substitute them.
5) Thinking about MPPs is like thinking about cash-cow trades.  Two is the minimum to get the job done.
6) It doesnt matter (much) that Mitch Farmer is the lowest price MPP in the MID-DEF category at over the 150k mark.

Now I hear you asking wheres that Peace of Mind?  And for only $269k.  You cant get much for that, only Ladson and a bit of change.

Peace of Mind comes in the most unlikely of sources: Dylan McNeil, Matthew Lobbe and Jack Weston.  Combined, they cost 269k and look innocuous.  It would not shock me if we see under 15 games between the three of them this year.   But that doesnt mean you dont pick them in your team.  Walesy has tried to make this look easy and Im not sure if everyone here understands, but Im going to be simple and hopefully effective in this demonstration.  (Salesmans note though - buyer beware)

McNeil is the gutsy FOR9, Lobbe is the much-maligned RUC4 and Weston is the cursory DEF9.

Combine these three players with a few more for good measure - and keeping with the value theme - we will add to them a nucleus of: Waite (F), Pavlich (M) and Tippett (F) - three...

Looks like <a href="http://supercoach.heraldsun.com.au/">its open[/url]

Mah team is in! Im expecting a million changes between now and 52 days.

Interesting to see the price of the rookies. Things are looking good.

Though it doesnt look like the eliminator made it across, nor did the multi-positioning stuff.

Ah well, I gotta crash, but Ill put this here to start discussion.

Looks like reports of the first intra-club match are coming out of Tiger town.

I myself usually find these sessions to be a fantastic indicator as to which rookies will make it through their NAB cup games and into the season proper, so Ill be trying to track them as the pre-season goes on. If anyone hears any reports that I miss, give me a shout ok?

Anyways, the teams were Best availiable vs The rest.

The yellow team consisted of the following:

B: Edwards, Post, Rance
HB: Newman, Moore, Tambling
C: McMahon, Deledio, Cousins
HF: Hislop, Riewoldt, Taylor
F: Morton, Polak, Polo
R: Graham, Thomson, Martin

With Graham, Browne and Vickery rotating through the rucks on both teams.

While its great to see Martin starting right in the guts, youll need to remember the following players werent participating: Jackson, Cotchin, Foley, McGuane, Simmonds, Nason, Griffiths and Roberts.

But still, the boy is boding well for a round 1 start and is doing everything that could be expected of him, so lock him in!

(ps- A big shout out to RT off BigFooty- quality work man.)

Its official. Supercoach is opening the same time as DreamTeam this year.

February the First. Thats right- only 5 more sleeps.

I for one am excited! I cant wait to see what new tricks theyve got up their sleeves.

(Though I have to ask- did anyone else get a 5 minute TAC commercial sent to them in the email? Wipe off five peoples.)

And boy am I a happy man.

I dont see myself putting this thing down for a while- and plan on digging every last ounce of knowledge out of this lengthy tome.

Did you know, that Cyril Rioli is the best kick in the AFL?

Also, a polish- being part of the No Passenger group on <a href="www.bigfooty.com/forum">Big Footy[/url], I can find no way to say this without feeling like a knob for stroking my own ego. But Ive got to say, it is a fantastic read. From team selection strategies, to trading, Injury management and captain selection strategies, the boys have done an outstanding job.

That, combined with the stats and freako reviews, makes it an easy purchase for this time of year.

So what are you waiting for?

(or yanno, if you want to ask a question in the comments, Im more than happy to "answer" it for you. From player positions to Freako reviews.)