I'm not a contender for overall but I was hoping to make up a bit of ground during the byes. I don't go for leagues only overall. I traded carefully earlier on to keep the side in balance so that come a few rounds from the byes I had a bit of flexibility. Officially I had one doughnut in round 11 but I will end up with 5 plus Sandi's disaster. A lot of other coaches would be like me no doubt. In normal circumstances I could have covered the zeroes with trades and bench coverage Going for overall however means you stick everything out there with no bench coverage. No matter how much you plan, how much research you do or how good you might be at SC coaching wise (and I consider myself average at best) the 3 round bye makes all of this redundant in one big hit. If I was say in the top 100 I would be pissed to the max to watch it go down the toilet in one round while someone that is fortunate enough to have a team that dodges the bullets walks right on by. Injuries happen and you make bad trades but if that happens during the regular rounds you can structure your team right to cover your butt but with this 3 round bye it is just a lucky dip. If they have a 3 round bye next year maybe SC should have one or two bye rounds as well. Otherwise overall is just a lottery.
Chin up, Manikato. I'm only a 3rd year SCér and in the first two years played against mates in leagues only. Have learnt a lot thru experience and TS but am going for a best overall this year. (Not too well I might add!) I agree there's lottery involved but it's the same for all. I might get 1600 this week and this will be my really bad round. For mine, treat the bye rounds as a 3-week issue and not get too pi55ed off with enormous donuts in one week. Hopefully, you'll improve from Rd 10 to Rd 13. And apart from all that, as you're a WC supporter, I think you're looking all right.
Thanks Whips. Yes I'm taking on the chin but SC is a lot of fun for me and I hate seeing my fun go down the toilet because of the bye rounds.
I drew the short straw for luck. With money in the bank, I traded in Sandi, Deledio and Ablett (arguably your best def, mid and ruck). I was expecting at least 110, 100, 125, and copped 5, 67, 64. Had I waited until after the byes I would be snapping each player up at least $50k cheaper. I'd say SC overall is more like the world series main event of poker. You just need everything to fall into place, or you won't win. Call it either being lucky, or avoiding being unlucky.
I think everybody is in the same boat because most of the good SC teams have the same players in them. Its only the lucky ones who have POD players that have done well for them that are getting ahead but fortunes can change. I was doing incredably poorly early on because some of my POD player didn't produce the goods (Priddis, Adcock) I also had Fyfe and Mummy who I fortunately traded into Cox and ROK. This week I have had my fair share of donuts but so far looking like I am going to win most of my leagues due to not having any of the injured players (sheer luck on my behalf) in my team and Swan coming back at the right time. I'm still along way from the top (and I'm talking a loooong way) but I am gaining ground and learnig alot of lessons. So chin up there's always next year and if you are on this site you WILL be back, damn this terrible addiction.
Thought the fact its a lucky dip is obvious? Hundreds of thousands of entrants, innumerable variables (player form, injuries, coaching selections etc etc) how could it be anything but?
I think a highly skilled coach should be able to finish top 100 almost every year. It is luck that gets you from there top 100 to 1st.
Manikato - I've taken a similar approach to you and was hoping to make a bit of ground over the byes. Not counting bye players I had 4 of my starting 22 out, 3 from the backline, and then 2 late withdrawals. Its the sort of thing that happens maybe once a year but for it to happen during the byes is like all the planets aligning. Add to that Waters out as well(who I dont have), Sandi injured early(also dont have), the perma-captain getting his lowest non-injury score in 4 years, and a stack of other low scores to premium players. I honestly cant remember so much carnage in 1 week ever, regardless of the byes. I agree if I was genuinely in contention to win I would be absolutely devastated. I'm looking like winning all my leagues games but it does just leave you shaking your head when you think of all the time you put into planning only for this to happen, knowing some will have dodged the bullets.
Let's see.....I've had/got: Parker, Fyfe, Goodes, Mumford, Stanley, Christensen, Ablett, Murphy, Heppell, Townsend, Coniglio, Pendlebury and a side order of Kreuzer and Waters just for good measure. Not to mention the likes of Clay Smith and Horsley etc etc. Obviously that's not bad luck but all part of a cunning plan. Last time I buy one of those cheap Chinese crystal balls off eBay. Do I feel lucky ?...want me to give you next weeks Lotto numbers .
I think it's a lot like playing poker or gambling. If something good happens (you trade in a player just before he starts posting massive scores), you attribute it to skill as a super-coach but if something goes wrong (you hold an injured player or sub out an injured player who makes a miraculous recovery), you say that it is bad luck...