I'm completely torn over everything no idea what to do at all. I'm going for league win with 11 trades left and $67,300 in the bank. My team is: DEF: Deledio, Adcock, Goddard, H.Shaw, Gibbs, Heppell, L.Thompson (Hibberd, Batchelor, Toy) MID: Pendlebury, S.Thompson, Bartel, Cotchin, Hodge, Liberatore (D.Swallow, A.Krakouer, I.Smith) RUC: Cox, Sandilands (Z.Smith, McCauley) FWD: Franklin, Fyfe, Rioli, Goodes, Darling, Petrie, Higgins (Tapscott, Matera, C.Richardson) Tapscott needs to go over the next two weeks obviously. And a number of my other cash cows are near or at their peak. Thing is with only 11 trades left I'm wanting to save! I want atleast say 3 trades left come finals, one to get Gibbs out, one to MAYBE get Bartel out should I lose first final (basically guaranteed top 4), and atleast one for reassurance. I think I'm going to keep Sandilands and play Smith while he is out, hopefully it is only for the 4 weeks. The one that is really giving me headaches is Higgins. Basically I need to decide if he's worth the risk of keeping. I think at full fitness he can be a 100ppg player, and that will be enough for me to keep him for finals. However if he's not able to stay fit and average a solid number, nows the time to offload him before he drops 25-30k. I'm leaning towards keeping him just because of my lack of trades, maybe he's a risk I need to take when he's got the potential to be a keeper. Cotchin is also a little bit of a question mark. Realistically come finals you don't want one of your starting mids to average only 102, and I do have a top of the ladder clash next week when Richmond have the bye. Again my lack of trades make me think about keeping him. Hmmmmmm. Finally I already have ALOT of cash cows, so making more money isn't my prime motivation, especially with only 11 trades left. I just want to make my starting 22 as solid as possible with one decent backup on the pine in each position. With only 11 trades left I'm looking for the best way to do that. Obviously that does mean bringing in some young guns, of which I have been looking at. The ones that spring to mind are the same as most. Lynch (just for his good scores so far and guaranteed price rise), Jacobs for his MPP, Mzungu for his MPP and obvious potential and job security, Evans for his lower price and solid first game, and also Cam Pedersen. Who if he is named I would probably rather over the lot of them. Alot of money to be made and a very solid player I feel. Basically I've just written out all my thoughts and I would love some advice on what to do. Feel free to question any of my logic because I'm still pretty terrible at Supercoach!
Sandilands to J Tippett, bring Petrie into the mix if you want, and upgrade the fringe players in your starting lineup (ie those who are OK but not absolute guns) into those guns. L Thompson, Higgins and Libba - these three should go for the best you can possibly afford. I think too much is now being made for downgrade options. The main reason you get a downgrade is so you can make money to make your starting 22 better. Not sure you need to jump on every train going by the station, just need to get on one of the many that are moving. Your main issue I think is that you burn through trades but don't improve your final team. That's not great and I think it's fairly likely you will have to munch on some zeroes (donuts) later in the year as your trades dry up. All things that can be improved next year in terms of strategy.
Yeah I completed my team the night before the season started and included way too many mid priced players. So I have had to use alot of trades to fix it up.
Since trades are a major issue, I would keep Sandi (sorry Lucas) and hope he's back before Cox's bye. IMO, Jacobs is a must this week into your MID's. Being D/M he'll link to Heppell, Deledio, Goddard, Hibberd and might provide the flexibility you'll need to avoid donuts without trading. But I agree with Lucas that rookies should be selected carefully. Mzungu could be the other next week. And like Lucas, I'd be concentrating on the best upgrades to improve your 22. That means keeping players like Cotchin and maybe taking the risk with Higgins (for reasons you mentioned).
I think you need to spend your trades wisely. Worrying about Cotchin "only" averaging 102 to me is worrying about the wrong bit. Even if you upgraded him to a superstar, you're making maybe 15-20pts per game, max. Much more important to avoid donuts or playing complete hacks later in the year. I'm a firm believer in MPPs, and think you need to make sure you have a F-M and D-M in your midfield. You already have I Smith, so I'd concur that Jacobs is must-have in that midfield. With those guys in place, there's almost no excuse for copping a 0 later in the year, as you can shuffle players with byes, injuries and 'the general' around to ensure coverage. Also, with trades at a premium, I can't see how you would possibly trade Sandilands. He'll be back for finals, when plenty of your opponents will have him. It'll likely cost you 2-4 trades to get him out and back in. You can't afford that. Hope that helps. You're also welcome to dismiss me as a raving idiot and go your own way.
if you are guaranteed a top 4 finish, why not bring in Jacobs for MPP, and ride out until you are on par for trades? Use the trades you have left to get/keep good scores on the park, and concentrate on finals. A few donuts on the way won't kill you, especially if you finish top 4.
Be careful about focussing to much on price increases from here on in, as chances are you won't be realising them. It's all very well seeing Pederson projected salary increases, but to realise that value you are going to need 2 trades (which you probably won't have spare by the time he is mooing). I have made that mistake previously; finishing the season with high value rookies on the pine who aren't getting games but I have no trades to realise their value and improve my 22. More important at this point of the season is that the rookie you trade in has job security, so that if you get a spate of injuries you avoid a donut. (Pederson looks like he could be pretty good, but Scott doesn't seem to have much interest in playing him this season.)
Thing is chances are Jacobs won't be needed besides Multi Bye Rounds, which clearly doesn't bother me as there are no games. It's highly doubtful I am going to be copping any donuts in league game rounds.
u shouldnt worry about someone like pederson - even if u trade him in u wont be able to make any $ of him. by the time upgrade/downgrade krak/swallow/tappy/libba/thompson and maybe higgins u wont have many trades left.maybe 4-5 money makin season is over by rnd 15 IMO anyway. any rookie u pick now will stay in ur team for the rest of the season .
Your defence could do with an upgrade but cover wise looks solid. Everyone can always go harder in the midfield but your cover here looks solid also. The forward line for me looks sketchy with Tappy out, Shaun "The Big Question Mark" Higgins (good nickname you heard it here 1st) and Richo is a concern having not played for some time. If your prepared to run the gauntlet with your rucks of Cox and Smith for a week or two or even until Sandi is back, trade down Tappy and upgrade Higgo. This will shore up your forward line for cover in a big way - and get you more points depending on who you upgrade into and help avoid munching zeros.
Very good point. In that case I guess Mzungu would be the pick of the litter. How is Jacobs job security? This weeks chopping block consists of two of Batchelor, L.Thompson, Swallow and Tapscott out. Only one mid, and I'm wanting Ablett in this week, which is why I'm keen on either Pedersen or Jacobs down back for Thompson or Batchelor, or Mzungu up forward for Tappy. Lynch is off my radar. After everyones thoughts I think I'll keep all 3 of Sandilands, Higgins and Cotchin. If I have any spare trades at the end of the season the latter two can be slightly upgraded. Until then I think I will just do the old Upgrade/Downgrade trick and get the best premiums possible until I have a full team. That should take 8 trades, plus 3 for Gibbs, Heppell and Bartel, thats 11. Though hopefully I can win first final and save the Bartel trade for an injury or Cotchin/Higgins upgrade before the GF. Really really hoping I don't get raped by injuries/soreness/rests etc.
Higgins for N. Riewoldt (+ gives you 20k) Swallow for Jacobs The slight miscalculation was bringing in Hibberd in DEF. Now you have to get Jacobs to work the MPP. A decision on Cotchin can be made much closer to finals when you know how you are fixed for trades and who your likely opponents have. At the moment he is a good POD. Other than that, down Tappy and up Libba can wait. Richardson close and Sandi will be back before you know it. If you are assured of top 4, then you should be riding your team rather than chasing every potential cow. The time for fattening has passed.