Any thoughts on a top 5 criteria for selecting a player in 2012. What do (or could) people use to keep from being distracted by all the pre season "waffle" and keep a focus on what makes a good selection?
I have a new theory which I will try next year. Due to the total salary limit, players need to increase their points per game by approx 10% to even keep their salary at the same level as last year. I won't grab any "Superpremiums" (ie Goddard, Ablett) right from the start as they will be the ones least likely to increase by another 10%, their price will drop, I will get them during the year with upgrades. This year has been my worst for injuries, so I definitely will be looking at avoiding anyone who continually gets niggling injuries. ( Cyril, Higgins etc). With rookies I am definitely looking for the ones with the bigger, stronger bodies (mature age players) over the younger pipsqueaks. Will have to think about my other two criteria.
If the scores of this year are of any consequence, I reckon a mid price ruckman is the go. Should have avoided Sandilands and gone a midranger. I reckon the winner will have either started with a mid ruck, or moved Sandilands to a middling (McEvoy or Goldstein) at the time of his injury. If not, then that's what people should have done!
@lucas Easy to say with hindsight, a week before sandi went down sandi+cox was head and shoulders above any other combo
@ Zander If you start with zero 'Superpremiums' you wont have enough trades to upgrade your team adequately. Plus you'll lose all your games from the start as it wont compete with teams that are actually good. You need a good mix of cashcows, premiums and then a few risks such as players who could have breakout years and undervalued players from injuries the previous year.
Dean not so. If you look when Sandi went down, sure he was the 2nd best scoring ruck, but for value in terms of start price, he was nowhere near it. McEvoy clearly, and at the time basically every mid priced ruck like Ottens and probably even Leuenberger were better bang per buck than Lurch, even though Sandi had points on the board. I guess the key is that if you could have had the extra $ working for your start team from someone else and had Big Mac in your team, you'd be streaking away. But don't mention Jolly, even though I did say steer clear, he would have been a complete disaster for your team.
<blockquote>how come i cant thumbs up or thumbs down people. not fair</blockquote> @Dogs4Life Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down(s) are on the Main Page/Recent Comments Section that you will se to the right if thse comments. Thse comments can't be thumbed......I don't know why but yeah.
2012. A minefield of cash cows to get thru at GWS and even a few leftovers at the Suns. More teams, more players = more PODs. No byes. And who will under-perform next year? This year it was the Saints and the Doggies who, when they started to fire, cost a lot of trades to jump onto. Who will spud it up ala Lake? And not come up to expectations ala Didak? Who will remain prems and maybe go one better and whose time is up? Have to wait for Lucas on that one. I for one will be glad to see the end of byes so that you can have your full arsenal on the paddock. Agree with the comments on Higgins and Rioli. Expect Cyril to smash out big ones from next week on but really, not worth the angst. As for starting with a 'mid' ruck this year or next? Y'all are welcome to Paddy, Warnock, Jamar, Hille, Graham, Fraser, Clark, Jacobs, Hale, Tippett, Hampson, et al. I won't be buying.
For me, picking midpricers prior to R1 to go premium is fools gold. Aside from the various rucks (which, let's be honest, no sane person had on their short list), the only worthwhile midpricers this season have been Suckling and Fyfe. Hawks fans weren't even convinced about Suckling early in the season, and SC coaches only became convinced in the past month. Fyfe, as a 2nd year player, is an aberration. Neither player was on anyone's shortlist during preseason. And then there's the truckload of midpricers who amounted to nothing eg Callan Ward, Higgins, Gilbert etc A general rule for midfield is to project the top 3-4, and buy them. Mids who average 120+ will usually have a strong scoring record, good durability, and don't usually get suspended as much as other players. Not too many players break into the class of Ablett, Pendles, Swan... Avoid any players with the name Grimes, Higgins, Rioli, Gumbleton, Drummond!
I think the next crop of midfielders have shown enough to be strongly considered next year...players like Marc Murphy, Daisy and Griffin have all shown quite a bit this year and have at times shaded their counterparts e.g Murphy v Judd, Daisy v Swan. I would be quite happy with a final midfield of Ablett, Pendles, Selwood, Thomas, Murphy, Griffin.
Picking the mid priced guns is part of the challenge, and i personally think its necessary to go the distance in this game. A team full of premuims and rookies, is leaving a lot of work to be done through the middle of the season. Picking the right mid pricers could prove the difference in the end. I also agree with Lucas, in his comments about ruckman next year. Theyve definitely been inflated this year, which will probably change next year. However, i think this means it would be wiser to go with the true and tried.
How about Trent Cotchin if gets another pre-season under his belt I think he'll be a very solid pick. Averages 99 this year, jumping 21 from his last years average with a pre-season, amazing what it can do for you! Anyone think he could jump another 10+ ppg? And regarding above comments of going for at least 4 120+ top midfielders, I've come up with this midfield before I saw that and would like to know what you think. Ablett, Cotchin, Hayes, Cooney, Bartel, Mundy For reserves I'll be considering Daniel Rich if he moves clubs to West Coast. It's got good depth, but is it good enough? Or should I dump say Bartel or someone else for a premium like Judd/Murphy/Pendlebury?
Agree with Meataxe above. Going mid-pricers is fools Gold. Next year the challenge will be in fallen premiums and whether they will rise again. Players like Lake and Didak come to mind. Also I am unsure how long the Premium Fwds like Goodes, Pavlich, ROK and Harvey can continue to remain so durable and so consistently good. Where are the the next batch of Premium forwards coming from outside this bunch?
Shanaz I'm also with Meataxe on this one. My mid priced players this year drom the start were Fyfe, Rockliff, Higgins, Krakouer, Hurley, Kennedy, Foley, and Thornton. Yes, I'd watched the NAB cup games and stats and read all the articles. Unfortunately I didn't find TS until about round 4. I'll leave it to you to work out where the wins were.