Now some people may have read that introduction as though I'm complaining, as though I'm bitter, or upset… Far from It! I enjoy looking after the donor team, and I enjoy writing about our trials and tribulations each week. I also enjoy being part of this site, part of a community that comes together and shares their individual knowledge and love of all things SuperCoach (and DT, and Stadium Sport, and Big Bash, and, and, and&hellip. I also know for sure that each of the people who contribute articles to TS enjoy doing so just as much (maybe more) than I do - that's why they do it, each and every week, to help people out. You can see the effort that goes into these articles, simply by reading through them and taking in the detail of the analysis, and the willingness to share. Yes, it is true, we're only talking about fantasy football here, its not as though we're curing cancer or helping the needy. What I see every time I come onto this site is more than just someone's detailed thoughts about the weekends footy, I see a community full of people willing to share and help and contribute. It makes me feel good knowing that if people like that exist here on TS, then people like that can exist out in the real world, trying to cure cancer, trying to help the needy, trying to make a difference, trying to be the small glimmer of hope when all hope seems lost.



...






I don't wish to sound like I'm preaching, I just think that its worth taking the time sometimes to show your appreciation for the things around you. As such, I'd like everyone who contributes to this site to know that I appreciate the time and effort that goes into sharing their thoughts and knowledge. Just as I appreciate the true hero's in the wider community, the ones who share their knowledge and abilities to the betterment of those around them.



And with that I can come back around to the donor team, and thanking the contributions of all the donors who take the time to think not only about their own team (or teams as is likely the case), but also about the TS Donor Team. Because of the fine work of these people, we're continuing our rise back up the ladder. No, I'm sorry - after such an in-depth and insightful introduction, I can't say that we're in the top 10, or something like that. What I can say is that we scored 2284 points in round 8, which placed us at 8300 for the week, and had us jump 10k places in the overall, to now be ranked 25,956 (here you all were thinking that I'd forgotten about the real reason for this article… nope! Never!)



For the first time this season we strung together 5 wins in our 5 leagues. In UCantBeTooSerious we're now 11th, with a 3-3 win-loss record, and an 8th placing in total points. In UCantBe TS we're now 5th, with a 4-2 record, and another 8th placing in the overall points. In TS Donuts we're also 5th, with a 5-1 record putting us equal 1st, and a 7th placing in the overall stakes. In the first of our public leagues we're 6th, with a 5-1 record (equal 2nd), and we're 5th in the overall race. In our final public league we're ranked 4th, with a 4-2 record, and we're 5th on the overall points table.



So how did we finally break our duck and clean-sweep our leagues (yes, I know, the objective of this team is overall, but we all know that ship has sailed, so its now just the best we can do, in points and leagues)? Well, we did it like this:



Backmen:
Vlastuin 141
Goddard 111
Terlich 110
Heppell 86
Goodes 77
Lester 70
Midfield:
Ablett 112 (Captain 244)
Kennedy 151
Cotchin 119
Pendlebury 118
O'Meara 109
Lonergan 105
Dangerfield 89
Rockliff 81
Rucks:
Leuenberger 86
Cox 84
Forwards:
Zorko 124
Franklin 107 (VC)
Kennedy 91
Westhoff 81
Macaffer 62
Neade 58
Bench:
Stevenson 40 (emergency)
Dixon 0
Viney 0
Crouch 0
Gawn 18 (emergency)
Currie 0
Johnson 0
Rowe 0



As you can see, we brought Stevie J in a couple of weeks ago, he played one game for us, then decided to take a holiday. It didn't cost us anything, except for the points that we've lost, because we traded out Dwyer to get Stevie J in the side…. Thanks mate!



There were actually no missed points this week in terms of team selection, as our top 22 scorers were out there on the field. The only missed points were in captain selection. We went with Buddy as VC, and when he failed to shine we always had the back-up of permacap, who was rather disappointing in his 112. Missing the boat with JPK cost us 39 points this week, and that's all she wrote.
Onto the trades, and we dropped Wines and Heath going into the round, brining in two top scorers in that man JPK, and inspired rookie selection Lonergan. Some very tastey points there, and hopefully they'll continue, rather than following the lead of our previously mentioned disappointment, Stevie J.



Come and join us over in the donor forum, to discuss who goes out, who comes in, and who get the honour of leading the Donors into battle in round 9.






(and please don't forget to show your appreciation for the good work of others!)