After last two weeks predictions of Meataxe and Snowdogs taking top spot the next week, Im not sure who will get the kiss of life from this article.

Needless to say, the strongest teams prevail when the chips are down, and for Snowdogs to have been in the top 3 last week without Selwood so much as firing a shot, it stood to reason that when he returned with a bang, that this side would take the lead.

Heres the current leading team, last weeks P3 Snowdogs:

DEF: Enright, Gibbs, Goddard, Deledio, Grimes, Lower, Duigan (Otten, Guthrie, Buckley)
MID: Swan, Pendlebury, Judd, Selwood, Curnow, Liberatore (Savage, Irons, Wallis)
RUC: Cox, Sandilands (Keefe, Charman)
FWD:  Franklin, Higgins, Pavlich, Hurley, Rioli, Tapscott, Darling (Krakouer, Richardson, Matera)

Interesting team.  Analysis to come after the break.

<!--more-->The first things that stand out:

Defence has a 5-0-5 structure rather than 4-0-6.  This has led to a bit better structure possibly, but leaves open the issue of underperforming backline rookies to upgrade later.  I see Buckley and Guthrie as issues going forward here.
Midfield is strong.  Very strong having the three best rookies.  Should be a full-strength mid collection before long.  Irons in danger of the axe, but the rest are legitimate team members.
Rucks are the top combination, but without backup this could get ugly in Round 5/6 not to mention if Sandi misses this week.
Forwards has Hurley as a risk, Higgins and Rioli have starred as midpricers, and no Nick Riewoldt to start the year is a definite surprise.  Could take a few trades getting him in though the advantage of not having him flows nicely in R4.

I see the big weaknesses as being in the backline and ruck rookies over the next few weeks when the coverage is critical.  Thats why I can see this team slinking back through the ranks and being maybe a top 50 side at the end but not being there at the pointy end.   I can see this week as being a time for Snowdogs to bring in Smith into the ruck mix for sure.

Still, being number one is some sort of achievement, and a full 3.5k better than I at the moment!

In terms of teams to review for next week, Im not too sure.

P6 - Hoochymama has the highest value team of any in the top 10, which is  a clear sign of choosing your rookies well.   You would think a midprice team like this should do well through the bye period, but having looked again at the team, again Im not sure.  I think it could be up and about for a while, but not at the pointy end.

P7 - Cat amongst Pigeons has a very strong 5 premium midfield (what I was debating having earlier in the year), and a few different team members (e.g. no Deledio), so I think the structure there is worth a look in future games.

P15 - Watch my Cotch I think is the highest value team of all at the moment.   A lovely blend of quality and midrange which I expect to do better into the future.  Sure, its reliant on players like Cotchin kicking on, but so far so good.

I must say though the list Im looking forward to reviewing most is P13, the Green Jellybean.  Ive enjoyed tackling her team in the past, but I hazard a guess its been the added requirement to fix up the team through being on media street thats actually put the blinkers on to this mare, and shes showing no mercy for teams getting in the way.

My prediction for P1 next week: Hoochymama to take a small lead.

And in terms of feedback on previous leaders, heres an update:

R1 Leader: Tentacle - 10848
R2 Leader Meataxe - 9

Note - its pretty hard to find where different teams were each week as a progressive because I cant go back in time and monitor them from R1.  I can pretty much only monitor teams from where they were this week (and last) so thats what Im going to update you all on in future.

Until next week, good luck making ground on the leaders!